Investigations

During the week of June 20, three defendants pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Chicago to conspiracy charges related to guaranteeing Illinois residents they could receive CDLs in Wisconsin in exchange for cash payments of up to $2,000. Agnieszka Gierula pled guilty on June 20. Magdalena Jelic (a/k/a Magdalena Biczek), and Rafal Maliszewski pled guilty on June 21. These three former employees of the Chicago firm, Bamba, Inc., along with the company and its owner and president, Adam Babul were indicted in June 2004. The conspiracy involved the defendants assisting Illinois residents in obtaining Wisconsin bank accounts to provide proof of residency, transporting the CDL applicants to Wisconsin, and providing CDL written test answers by a language translator at the test site. It is estimated that 600 bogus licenses were issued as a result of the scheme. (A list of the CDL applicants involved has been provided to the Wisconsin licensing authorities for follow through on re-testing.) Sentencing for Gierula, Jelic, and Maliszewski is scheduled for September 22, 2005. A jury trial for Babul began on June 21, 2005. The investigation is being conducted jointly with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.