Every month, Thomas Villanova gets a $9,000 reminder of how lucrative it can be to serve as a union leader in Chicago.

The sum is part of a city pension that comes on top of the $198,000 annual salary he is paid to represent the interests of thousands of city workers.

Villanova last worked for the city in 1989 as an electrical mechanic with the Department of Streets and Sanitation, making about $40,000 a year. Yet in 2008 he was allowed to retire at age 56 with a $108,000 city pension. That's because, under a little-known state law, his pension was based not on his city paycheck but on his much higher union salary.

This kind of deal is available only to union officials who meet certain requirements, but a Tribune/WGN-TV investigation has uncovered documents that show Villanova violated state law when he applied for the pension and cast doubt on whether he truly qualifies for all that money.

A U.S. government contractor in Iraq charged the Pentagon a whopping amount of money for inexpensive items, including $900 for a $7 control switch, according to a new report from a U.S. watchdog.

U.S. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart W. Bowen Jr. said review found that Anham, LLC, which is based in suburban Washington, allowed its subcontractors in Iraq to also charge $3,000 for a $100 circuit breaker, and $80 for a piece of plumbing equipment worth $1.41.

As a result, Bowen's inspectors are seeking to review all Anham contracts with the U.S. government in Iraq and Afghanistan, which total about $3.9 billion.

Hassan S. Judeh, the administration director at Anham's headquarters in Vienna, Va., declined to respond to Bowen's examples because he said the company has not seen the report. But Judeh said Anham has a history of providing competitive prices for services, resulting so far in $132 million in savings to the government.

An illegal immigrant has been arrested on charges he used a stolen ID to get a job he held in Sarasota for nearly a year, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office reports. Emilio Perez-Ramirez, 34, became a suspect when the IRS notified a man in Texas that som

A Harrington woman pleaded guilty Oct. 10 to federal fraud and identity theft charges. United States Attorney Paula D. Silsby announced that Doris Amanda Ayala Escalante, 39, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Bangor to fraud, misuse of visas and co

The thieves struck in the middle of the night. They cut the steel cables holding the brand new Plan B, a 36-foot fishing boat, on its elevated mooring behind a Key Largo home, dropped it into the water and roared off. They didn't go far. The $200,000 boat

Drug trafficking. Gang activity. Identity theft. These are a few of the crimes that would prompt city police to call federal immigration agents, under an almost-approved new city policy.