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<\/p>\nJawad Fakroune isn\u2019t a dangerous extortionist \u2014 despite FBI video and audio recordings that show him punching and threatening to murder a Chicago restaurant owner, his lawyer told jurors Tuesday. Fakroune, 46, is standing trial in federal court in the first of two criminal cases he\u2019s facing. Prosecutors say the Moroccan national threatened to kill restaurateur Adolfo Garcia and his family in November 2024 unless he forked over $1.5 million.<\/p>\n
To bolster his tough-guy reputation, Fakroune told people he was a son of Pablo Escobar, the Colombian drug kingpin who died in 1993, prosecutors say. Assistant U.S. attorney Richard Rothblatt gave jurors a glimpse of the threats Fakroune was making while he was beating Garcia inside a now-closed restaurant, Yours Truly in River North, all captured on the restaurant\u2019s video cameras. \u201cI\u2019m going to bury you. I\u2019m going to kill you and your kids, I promise you. I\u2019m going to f\u2014- your wife and your children. I\u2019m going to murder you before they get me,\u201d said a transcript that Rothblatt read to jurors.<\/p>\n
Fakroune\u2019s attorney Damon Cheronis acknowledged his client\u2019s threats and violence against Garcia, but insisted Fakroune was a business partner with Garcia, not a thug trying to collect on an loan. Cheronis described Garcia as a liar, pointing out he originally told federal agents he had no business dealings with Fakroune. Cheronis said Garcia actually was stealing from Fakroune and sharing the money with other partners. \u201cThis was a toxic business relationship that blew up in the ugliest way possible,\u201d Cheronis told jurors. \u201cYou are going to learn that the restaurant industry in Chicago is cutthroat,\u201d Cheronis said. \u201cAnd Adolfo Garcia lives in the middle of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adolfo Garcia at the opening of the now-closed Pearl Tavern oyster bar at 180 N. Wacker Drive on Jan. 18, 2014.<\/p>\n
Garcia is a former partner of one of Chicago\u2019s biggest restaurateurs, Phil Stefani, who introduced Garcia to Fakroune in the spring of 2021, Cheronis said. Stefani has operated many of Chicago\u2019s busiest, high-end restaurants including Tavern on Rush, Stefani Prime and Riva Crab House, the Navy Pier establishment that ceased operations in 2021 after 25 years. Cheronis pointed out that Garcia had operated a string of failed restaurants when he and Fakroune became business partners. Garcia is expected to testify Wednesday when he will have to come face to face with Fakroune, who\u2019s been held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center following his arrest in January 2025.<\/p>\n
Fakroune was financially connected to Lisa Duarte, a lobbyist and former high-level aide to Gov. JB Pritzker. She paid the property taxes on an estate Fakroune owned in Lemont, records show. Duarte told the Chicago Sun-Times she was a victim and was cooperating with federal authorities.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Lobbyist Lisa Duarte speaks with Kevin Warren, the Bears president and chief executive officer, last September at The Economic Club of Chicago.
\nAccording to prosecutors, Fakroune also is tied to a Chicago police officer whose guns were seized in late 2024 in an FBI raid of a New York home where Fakroune was staying. Fakroune escaped capture, running barefoot down the streets of Manhattan clothed only in a plastic garbage bag. In court papers, Cheronis described the unidentified cop as a drunk and a liar. Chicago police officials said last year that they opened an inquiry into the officer\u2019s story.<\/p>\n
The trial of Jawad Fakroune promises to expose the ‘cutthroat’ side of Chicago’s restaurant business, with allegations of extortion, violence, and deceit. As the trial unfolds, it will be interesting to see how the defense strategy plays out and how the prosecution’s evidence holds up. The case has already revealed a complex web of relationships and connections within the Chicago restaurant industry, and it will likely continue to shed light on the darker side of the business.<\/p>\n
Q: Who is Jawad Fakroune and what is he accused of?
\nA: Jawad Fakroune is a 46-year-old Moroccan national who is accused of threatening to kill restaurateur Adolfo Garcia and his family unless he paid $1.5 million.
\nQ: What is the defense strategy in the case?
\nA: The defense claims that Fakroune was a business partner with Garcia and that the threats and violence were a result of a toxic business relationship.
\nQ: What other investigations and charges are Fakroune facing?
\nA: Fakroune is also charged with evading federal income taxes and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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