A former Oak Park police officer was indicted Wednesday for his alleged involvement in the December 2004 hijacking of a truck loaded with high definition and plasma screen televisions.
Oak Park resident Mani Adams, 32, is charged in a grand jury indictment with conspiring with two other men, Donald Brown and David Wilkins, both of Chicago, to store the stolen electronics at his residence in the 1100 block of South Highland Avenue, and to protect Brown and Wilkins from arrest.
Adams, who is free on $4,500 bond, is scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday, May 25, before federal judge Harry D. Leinenweber.
Adams, a seven-year veteran of the force resigned on Friday, December 9, 2005, one day short of a year after the truck hijacking, and three days after Oak Park Police Chief Rick Tanksley formally charged him with 21 violations of department regulations. Those charges, including 19 counts of insubordination, are related to the department’s internal investigation of Adams’ alleged role in the hijacking and reported refusal to cooperate fully with investigators during a November 8, 2005, interrogation. Tanksley had been seeking Adam’s dismissal from the force.
Adams was also charged with failing to notify his superiors that he had been questioned by the FBI and was served a subpoena in October ordering him to testify before a federal grand jury investigating the incident.
Read a complete account in next week’s Journal.
