BRONZEVILLE — Let 'em eat cake.
That’s how the Chicago Police Department on Thursday is set to celebrate the retirement of the target of an ongoing probe into alleged cheating on the department's lieutenants exam, Deputy Supt. Eugene Williams.
Not everyone is happy that Williams — who reaches the department’s mandatory retirement age of 63 this month — will be feted at police headquarters at noon Thursday.
One ticked-off tipster who called offering a heads-up about the scheduled “coffee and cake party” said Williams shouldn’t be celebrated for getting saved by the bell in light of the ongoing investigation into cheating.
A source familiar with the probe told DNAinfo the investigation could lead to criminal official misconduct charges if those allegations were proved to be true.
Last month — after DNAinfo reported that Williams could retire before being interviewed — a whistleblower who had been anonymous agreed to sign an official misconduct complaint at the urging of city watchdogs who said the probe would otherwise die.
That cleared the way for Williams and others to be interviewed in connection with the inspector general’s investigation.
It was unclear Wednesday if Williams had been questioned yet.
The official misconduct complaint questions whether Williams, considered a “subject matter expert” on the promotion exam with access to test information, used confidential information about the test to give a select group of sergeants — including the wife of the Police Department’s then-second in command, who got the top score on the test, and Police Supt. Eddie Johnson’s fiancee — an unfair advantage on the lieutenants exam.
While the investigation continues, Williams is set to retire in “good standing,” and his last day on the job is set for May 21, Police Department spokesman Anthony Gugliemi said.
With nine days left in Williams' police career, and the probe looming over his retirement, one question remains: Will he get to eat his cake and keep his pension, too?
Contributing: Heather Cherone
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