COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — Two former Kennedy-King College employees are accused of stealing $66,000 worth of textbooks — and then selling them to a nearby bookstore for $15,000 cash.
In all, Genise Grant and Phillip Gill peddled more than 200 books between August 2014 and April 2015, according to an arrest report.
Grant, now 34, used her clerical position at Kennedy-King, 710 W. 65th St., to order textbooks for professors who didn't request them, and in some cases no longer worked for the college, Assistant State's Attorney Lorraine Scaduto alleged during a bond hearing Thursday.
Gill, meanwhile, was employed in a college mailroom, court records show.
When Gill spotted Grant's textbook packages, prosecutors said, he set them aside and later passed them off to Grant, who sold them as "used" to Beck's Book Store, a local chain that caters to college and university students.
City Colleges of Chicago, which operates Kennedy-King College, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to authorities, Grant ordered brand new textbooks directly from publishers. The total estimated value exceeds $66,100, Scaduto said.
But Grant claimed the books were used when she brought them to Beck's, and she and Gill were paid only $15,088 in cash, according to prosecutors.
Grant, of the 7200 block of South Campbell Avenue, is charged with theft. According to her public defender, Grant works as a receptionist at a nursing home and as an "admissions associate" at a hospital.
Gill, now 34, who lives in southwest suburban Evergreen Park, also is charged with theft. His public defender said Gill works for a Michaels craft store.
According to an arrest report, both Grant and Gill admitted to their roles in the textbook scheme.
Cook County Judge Laura Sullivan on Thursday said Grant and Gill could be released on their own recognizance pending trial if the Cook County Sheriff's Office agrees to provide electronic monitoring.
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