Former Ald. Proco Joe Moreno Arrested For DUI, Reckless Driving After Crashing Into Parked Cars In Gold Coast
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Former Ald. Proco Joe Moreno was arrested Sunday night on drunk driving charges, after he crashed into several parked cars in the Gold Coast neighborhood.
Police said Moreno, 48, was driving south on Astor Street around 9:20 p.m. Sunday, when he hit several parked cars between the 1500 and 1200 blocks of North Astor Street, and then drove into a tree near Division Street. An iron fence was also damaged.
Moreno was arrested at the scene and charged with two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence of alcohol, one misdemeanor count of reckless driving, and five misdemeanor counts of failure to notify damage to an unattended vehicle. Police said Moreno was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital after the crash to be treated for minor injuries.
The former 1st Ward aldermen left office in May 2019, after he lost the February election to Daniel La Spata. Days before leaving office, Moreno was arrested and charged with insurance fraud and obstruction of justice, accused of filing a false police report that his car was stolen in January.
Cook County prosecutors said Moreno filed a false insurance claim for the car, and his insurance company was prepared to pay him $30,000 for the 2016 Audi sedan until detectives informed them the car had not been stolen.
In January, Chicago police began investigating the alderman for filing a false police report about the car. He had reported his Audi stolen in January, and his girlfriend, Lilya Hrabar, later was charged with criminal trespass after she was seen driving it weeks later.
Prosecutors dropped charges against Hrabar the day after her arrest, after Moreno admitted he had let her use the car.
"We were having a miscommunication about when she needed to return it," Moreno said at the time.
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