4 held in City Hall drug bust

Four city workers, one of them a convicted murderer, have beenarrested for allegedly selling cocaine in City Hall and at a nearbywell-known restaurant frequented by politicians, officials announcedThursday.

Inspector General Alexander Vroustouris, whose four-monthinvestigation resulted in the arrests, said most of the drug buystook place in the basement of Counsellors Row restaurant, acrossNorth La Salle Street from City Hall.

Some of the drug buys took place in City Hall elevators,hallways and stairwells, he said, and some of the sales were to cityemployees.

Mayor Daley said he was "amazed at the brazen conduct" of thefour employees. "Not only did they think they could get away withselling drugs, but to do it on city time and around City Hall," hesaid.

Discovery of the alleged drug ring has prompted the Daleyadministration to consider a sweeping drug testing policy coveringall city employees, not just those whose jobs are safety related, asis the case now.

Although Counsellors Row became well known for a federal wiretapplanted there in 1988, Vroustouris said, the drug ring chose therestaurant basement to deliver drugs because it "saw it as a placethat wasn't being looked at."

The electronic eavesdropping device, discovered by a busboy lastsummer, was planted near Booth 1, where 1st Ward politiciansroutinely dine. No hidden cameras or microphones were planted in thebasement.

Vroustouris identified the alleged drug "ringleader" as StevenMcCorry, a convicted murderer working as a processing clerk in theConsumer Services Department. McCorry and three other city employees- Charlie Franklin, JoAnne Strickland and Sheila Tillman - routinelyspent 25 percent of their working hours arranging drug buys ordelivering narcotics, the inspector general said.

All four have been charged with narcotics trafficking and placedon administrative leave of absence with pay pending terminationhearings.

Vroustouris, who described the operation as a "narcoticsnetwork," estimated that the ring was supplying cocaine to at least15 city employees and an "extensive" number of others outside citygovernment.

McCorry, 42, who was arrested Wednesday with 17 bags of acontrolled substance believed to be cocaine, was convicted of murderin December, 1968. Although sentenced to 75 to 100 years in prison,he was paroled in 1979 and hired by the city the following year.

According to Vroustouris, McCorry wore a beeper and madefrequent bus and taxi trips to City Hall or Counsellors Row from hisjob at 510 N. Peshtigo to deliver drugs.

Undercover city investigators, posing as drug users, madenumerous cocaine buys from the ring, Vroustouris said.

Franklin, a 43-year-old city building inspector, was convictedof robbery in 1969 and served 2 1/2 years in prison. He was hired bythe city in August, 1972, a month after his release.

Past felony convictions cannot be used to deny jobs to potentialapplicants, provided they have served their time in prison, accordingto City Personnel Director Glenn Carr.

At Daley's request, Carr said, he and Corporation Counsel KellyWelsh are developing a new drug testing policy that would cover alljob applicants and workers in non-safety-related positions.

Ald. William M. Beavers (7th) predicted widespread City Councilsupport for mandatory drug testing.