CHICAGO, Oct. 28 (UPI) — Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert pleaded guilty Wednesday in Chicago to bank fraud charges connected with what prosecutors say is a sexual misconduct matter.
His indictment says Hastert, 73, a former Republican Congressman from Illinois and House Speaker from 1999 to 2007, broke banking laws and lied to investigators. He agreed to pay hush money amounting to $3.5 million to an unidentified person to hide his “past misconduct.”
No details were provided Wednesday regarding what led Hastert to withdraw nearly $1 million in cash from four bank accounts over a two-and-a-half-year period.
A federal law enforcement official has said “Individual A,” as he has been identified, is a former male student who alleges Hastert molested him when Hastert was a teacher and wrestling coach in the 1980s.
In court Wednesday, Hastert, before pleading guilty, said, “I didn’t want them [bank officials] to know how I intended to spend the money … I withdrew the money in less than $10,000 increments.”
A Feb. 29 sentencing hearing was scheduled. Prosecutors said they will recommend a six-month jail sentence.
