The brother of Chicago Bears linebacker and Pro Football Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher was among the 143 people who received pardons or commutations by outgoing President Donald Trump late Tuesday night.
Casey Urlacher, the mayor of Mettawa, Ill., was one of 73 people pardoned by Trump in the final hours of his presidency. The 41-year-old Urlacher, who has been mayor of the Chicago suburb since 2013, was among 10 people charged in a federal indictment last February for allegedly running an illegal offshore sports betting ring.
The White House statement offered a brief description of who supported the pardon or commutation, the alleged crime committed or convicted of, and what the person has done that helped prompt Trump to either pardon the person or commute their sentence. Brian Urlacher, a longtime fan favorite after playing linebacker for the Bears from 2000-12 and leading them to their most recent Super Bowl appearance in 2006, met with Trump in March, according to media reports.
“Casey Urlacher – President Trump granted a full pardon to Casey Urlacher. This pardon is supported by his friends and family, and countless members of his community. Mr. Urlacher has been charged with conspiracy to engage in illegal gambling. Throughout his life, Mr. Urlacher has been committed to public service and has consistently given back to his community. Currently, Mr. Urlacher serves as the unpaid Mayor of Mettawa, Illinois. He is a devoted husband to his wife and a loving father to his 17-month old daughter.” — White House statement
Casey Urlacher attorney reacts to #Trumppardon: pic.twitter.com/sPs4zQS9Wc
— Mary Ann Ahern (@MaryAnnAhernNBC) January 20, 2021
Details of the illegal gambling charges
Casey Urlacher pled not guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of running an illegal gambling business in March. The indictment alleged Urlacher asked Vincent DelGuidice — the lead defendant — to set up an account for a new gambler on DelGuidice’s gambling website in December 2018 and later that month passed along an envelope containing gambling debts to DelGuidice from Vasilios Prassas, who was also among the 10 charged.
Prassas is alleged to have told DelGuidice, “This is Casey’s” when passing the envelope to him. Urlacher also is alleged to have asked DelGuidice to shut down a gambler’s account in December 2018 and later had it reactivated after the gambler wired Urlacher $3,000 to settle the debt. Urlacher is also alleged to have paid a gambling debt to DelGuidice in February 2019.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, DelGuidice is expected to plead guilty to his charges Monday. His father, Eugene DelGuidice, was sentenced to three months of home detention in October after pleading guilty to a charge of conspiring to conduct an illegal gambling business in July.