CHICAGO — A federal jury on Thursday convicted a politically connected Chicago businessman of attempting to pay off two state legislators to pass a bill beneficial to his sweepstakes gaming company and then lying about it to the FBI.
After a weeklong trial, the jury of seven women and five men deliberated for about four hours before finding James T. Weiss, 44, guilty of bribery, wire fraud, mail fraud and lying to the FBI.
Weiss is the son-in-law of former Cook County Democratic boss Joseph Berrios. The most serious charges carry a maximum of 20 years in prison.
