The brother of James Weiss, the politically connected business owner convicted of bribing two state elected officials, plans to plead guilty later this month in an indictment accusing him of lying to federal investigators about his brother’s contacts with notorious Outfit hit man Frank “The German” Schweihs.
Joseph “Joey” Weiss, 43, of Oak Lawn, was charged in an indictment unsealed last year with lying to federal investigators and obstruction of justice.
During a brief status hearing Thursday, Weiss’ attorney, Lisa Wood, said they have reviewed a draft plea agreement from prosecutors and were ready to move forward with a guilty plea in the case. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly set a change-of-plea hearing for May 20.
The charges against Weiss brought new mob intrigue to a case that already had elements of political corruption, a state senator-turned-government mole, a corrupt former police officer and the shady world of sweepstakes gaming machines.
According to the six-page indictment, Weiss collected revenue and performed other services for his brother’s sweepstakes gaming business, which operated the quasi-legal machines that look like video poker terminals but are not regulated by the state.
In October 2020, the brother, James Weiss, who is the son-in-law of former Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios, was charged in a superseding indictment with attempting to pay off two state legislators to pass a bill beneficial to his sweepstakes gaming company and then lying about it to two FBI agents.
The next year a new federal grand jury investigation was initiated to determine whether James Weiss, his company or another co-owner of the company, identified only as Individual B, had any ties to the Chicago Outfit, and in particular Schweihs, the mob hit man who was charged in the landmark Family Secrets case more than a decade earlier, according to the indictment.
Schweihs, who according to authorities spent decades as a reputed enforcer for the mob’s Grand Avenue street crew, died of cancer in 2008 while awaiting trial.
In January 2022, more than a year after his brother’s indictment, Joseph Weiss lied to FBI and IRS agents in an interview when he denied knowing anyone who used to do business with Schweihs, including both his brother and Individual B, according to the indictment.
James Weiss convicted
Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune
Chicago businessman James Weiss leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on June 15, 2023, after a jury convicted him of attempting to bribe two state legislators. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
After being told that a federal grand jury was examining the connections, Weiss allegedly told investigators, “I swear I’ve been honest. I think I’ve given you what I know,” the indictment alleged.
But it turned out that Joseph Weiss had been caught on a federal wiretap saying his brother was “good friends” with Schweihs and once went to him for protection for his massage parlors being threatened by other gangsters.
Joseph Weiss was also recorded telling someone his brother had partnered up with “a known long-time mob associate,” Individual B, after Weiss had reportedly gone to Schweihs for help, according to prosecutors.
“Yeah, well, Jimmy and Frank were good friends, and some Russians were muscling Jimmy, but Frank was on the run,” Joseph Weiss allegedly told an unidentified person in a wiretapped call. “Frank was in hiding and Jimmy called Frank and says, hey man, these guys just busted up my (expletive store). Scared the (expletive) out of the girls, this and that, you know, I need your help, where the (expletive) are you?”
At the time, Schweihs had been charged in the Family Secrets mob case and was on the run. According to the brother’s story, The German told Weiss, “‘Jim, I’m underground right now … but I’ll have someone call you right back.’”
“Somebody called Jimmy” and told him to go see Individual B, who “straightened it all out,” Joseph Weiss said, according to the transcript of the call. “Ever since then, they’re partners on everything. The problem is (Individual B)’s like a gangster but he’s an honest guy. If you’re his friend, you’re his friend.”
James Weiss’ attorneys have denied that Weiss has any connection to Schweihs, saying he had never met him and never did business with him.
Weiss, who was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steven Seeger in October to 5 ½ years in prison, is currently at a federal prison facility in Minnesota and is due to be released in August 2028, records show.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com