CHICAGO — Former speaker Dennis Hastert committed bank fraud as part of a plan to pay hush money to someone he allegedly sexually abused when the victim was 14 years old and in the ex-lawmaker's charge, federal prosecutors alleged in a court filing on Friday.
Hastert, 74, pleaded guilty in October to one count of illegally structuring bank withdrawals, but the new court filing lays out, for the first time, detail of the wrongdoing that the former speaker allegedly committed when he was a wrestling coach and high school teacher in a small town outside of Chicago decades ago.
Prosecutors allege that Hastert abused or had inappropriate contact with at least five minor boys during his time at Yorkville High School, touching them in the "groin area and genitals" or having oral sex with them. The statutes of limitations have long passed on the alleged sexual misconduct. Hastert is facing up to six months in federal prison on an illegal bank structuring charge. He taught and coached at Yorkville for about 16 years before launching his political career in the early 1980s.
The man, who is known in court papers as "Individual A" and Hastert agreed to pay off, said he was molested at a motel during an out of trip with the wrestling team.
Other former wrestlers who have come forward told prosecutors Hastert touched them in the locker room at Yorkville High, after saying he would give them massages. Two of those wrestlers, who were ages 14 and 17, say Hastert performed sex acts on them.
In his filing, prosecutor Steven Block accused Hastert of "stunning hypocrisy." The former speaker reflected in his 2004 memoir on his days as a high school wrestling coach and offered, "There’s never sufficient reason to try to strip away another person’s dignity.”
"Yet that is exactly what defendant did to his victims. He made them feel alone, ashamed, guilty and devoid of dignity. While defendant achieved great success, reaping all the benefits that went with it, these boys struggled, and all are still struggling now with what defendant did to them," the prosecutor writes.
Hastert's sentencing, scheduled for April 27, will mark the culminating point in the stunning fall from grace for the man who was once second in the line of succession to the presidency. Hastert, the longest serving Republican speaker of the U.S. House, held the speakership from January 1999 until Republicans lost the House in the 2006 elections.
Authorities began investigating Hastert for unusual bank withdrawals after the IRS and FBI became suspicious of Hastert's odd financial transactions.
From 2010 to 2014, Hastert withdrew a total of approximately $1.7 million in cash from his bank accounts and provided it to Individual A.
Officials at his bank in Yorkville initially became suspicious of Hastert after conducting a routine audit in April 2012 in which they found he had made seven withdrawals of $50,000. Bank officials said they asked Hastert why he was making such large withdrawals as the bank is required to file currency transaction reports for any withdrawal above $10,000 under federal law.
Hastert told bank officials that he was withdrawing the cash for investments and to buy stocks and also because he wanted to keep his cash deposits under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance limits.
Around July 2012, Hastert started structuring his cash withdrawals in increments of less than $10,000 to try to evade triggering the bank filing requirement. He made $952,000 in withdrawals in mostly $9,000 increments withdrawn on 106 separate occasions, according to prosecutors.
Bank officials' suspicions were again raised and they informed Hastert in February 2013 they intended to close his account, because of the suspicious activity. Hastert, however, closed his account before the bank acted.
Meanwhile, the FBI and IRS began looking at suspicious activity by Hastert at the Yorkville bank as well as two other banks where he had made large withdrawals.
The former speaker was working as a high-profile lobbyist for Dickstein Shapiro, which did business in foreign countries. Law enforcement was initially concerned that the unusual withdrawals suggested Hastert could be either a perpetrator or a victim of criminal activity, federal prosecutors said.
Agents initially interviewed Hastert in December 2014, and he told agents that he was keeping the cash he had been withdrawing in a safe place.
His attorney later told authorities that Hastert was the victim of an extortion plot by Individual A. Hastert said he had agreed to pay $3.5 million to Individual A, a former wrestler and student he coached and taught at Yorkvillle High School, to stay quiet, according to the court filing. His attorney told agents that it was a "false claim" and Hastert agreed to allow agents to record conversations with the man he was paying off.
Individual A told prosecutors the abuse occurred in a motel room on the way home from a trip to wrestling camp. Between 10 and 14 boys were on the trip. But Hastert, who was the only adult on the trip, shared a room with the 14-year-old while the other boys stayed in a different room. Individual A said Hastert touched him inappropriately after suggesting he would massage a groin injury the boy had complained about earlier.
"It became clear to Individual A that defendant was not touching him in a therapeutic manner to address a wrestling injury but was touching him in an inappropriate sexual way," the memo said. " A few moments later, Individual A jumped off the bed, grabbed his underwear, and ran across the room to slouch in a chair."
In early March 2015, soon after Individual A had texted Hastert to arrange a meeting to make a $100,000 payment, authorities directed Hastert to tell Individual A that he was having problems with the banks and would need more time to get him the money.
"This was the first time agents and prosecutors heard Individual A speak," according to the prosecution's memo "Individual A’s tone and comments during the recorded conversation were inconsistent with someone committing extortion. Instead of objecting to defendant’s request, for example, Individual A expressed understanding for defendant’s supposed need for more time to come up with the money. Individual A did not make any threats, implicit or explicit, nor did he seem angry that defendant was asking for more time to get the money."
Before a second phone call weeks later, agents told Hastert to tell Individual A that he would no longer pay him, because it was extortion and he was making a false claim of abuse against him. Agents were hoping to elicit evidence that Individual A was in fact extorting Hastert.
Instead, Hastert again told Individual A that he was having trouble with his bank. Individual A's language and demeanor were again inconsistent with someone looking to extort Hastert, according to the prosecutor's memo.
Authorities interviewed Individual A soon after that second call and learned that he had confronted Hastert in 2010 about the incident and told the former speaker that he wanted $3.5 million to make amends for the abuse. He reiterated to federal agents that he told Hastert that they should get a lawyer or people that the lawmaker trusted to iron out the settlement. Individual A also suggested Hastert tell his wife.
"Defendant refused these suggestions and said he did not want to involve others or to write anything down," according to the prosecutor's memo. "Defendant did not negotiate or argue about the amount and agreed to pay."
Earlier this week, Hastert's legal team filed their own sentencing memo in which they urged Judge Thomas Durkin to sentence the former lawmaker to probation. In making their case for a light sentence, Hastert's team did not speak directly of the alleged abuse in their memo but acknowledged that Hastert was "deeply sorry and apologizes for misconduct that occurred decades ago and the resulting harm he caused to others."
Hastert's attorneys have also asked the judge to consider the ex-speaker's health. He spent two months in the hospital shortly after he pleaded guilty in October. He suffered a small stroke and was debilitated by blood and spinal infections.
"Neither we as his lawyers, nor Mr. Hastert, have the present insight to understand and reconcile the unfortunate and harmful incidents he caused decades ago with the enduring achievements, leadership, and generosity that earned him extraordinary affection and respect throughout this country during his many years of public service," the memo said. "What we do know is that he will stand before the Court having deteriorated both physically and emotionally, undoubtedly in part due to public shaming and humiliation of an unprecedented degree."
Prosecutors, who had previously said that Hastert should receive a maximum of six months of prison time as part of the plea deal, said last month that they may call on an alleged sexual abuse victim of Hastert and the sister of another alleged victim to testify at sentencing. The abuse victim is identified in court documents as Individual D. One of Hastert's attorney's, John Gallo, said last month that Hastert's attorneys did not intend to contest allegations made by Individual D.
Individual D, who was also a wrestler and 17 at the time of the alleged incident, told prosecutors that Hastert had performed a sex act on him when he had stayed after practice.
"Defendant told Individual D he could help him make weight," the prosecutor's memo said. "Individual D asked how defendant could help, and defendant told Individual D that a massage could take some pounds off. Defendant had Individual D lie face down on a table. Defendant soon removed Individual D’s pants and told Individual D to turn over on his back. Defendant then performed a sexual act on Individual D. At some point, Individual D got up, dressed, and left. This was the only time that defendant molested Individual D, and defendant and Individual D never spoke of it."
Another man, identified as Individual B, who also was on Hastert's wrestling team, told prosecutors that Hastert had performed a sex act on him during his freshman year. He said that he was alone with Hastert in the locker room after a workout when the abuse occurred.
Soon after Hastert was charged last year, Jolene Burdge, a former Yorkville resident, told reporters that her late brother, Steve Reinboldt, confided to her before he died that he was the victim of four years of sexual abuse by Hastert during his time at Yorkville High. Reinboldt graduated in 1971 and died in 1995. Reinboldt had served as student-manager for Hastert in the late 1970s. Her account was repeated in the prosecutor's memo.
Prosecutors also say they interviewed a fifth man coached by Hastert who recalled having a "very weird" encounter with the former lawmaker after a practice. The man, identified as Individual C, recalled staying late for practice to do some extra running. While alone in the locker room with Hastert after the run, Individual C said Hastert offered him a massage.
At one point during the massage, Individual C said Hastert brushed his genitals with his hand, but Individual C did not know if it was on purpose, according to prosecutors.
Follow USA TODAY Chicago correspondent Aamer Madhani on Twitter: @AamerISmad
