A former Milwaukee alderman who heads Milwaukee County’s workforce development board has been charged with three counts of wire fraud by the U.S. Department of Justice.
According to a federal grand jury indictment, Willie Wade, 56, who served on the Milwaukee Common Council from 2003 until early 2016, received $30,000 in cash from a Milwaukee strip club operator in exchange for promising a current alderman’s vote in favor of approving a license for a downtown club.
That alderman, Khalif Rainey, was reportedly not aware Wade was using his name and never offered to accept any bribe.
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The strip club is not named, however, according to the indictment, the bribes were taking place between April 13, 2017 and March 21, 2018. At that time, Silk strip club was seeking a license to open a strip club in downtown Milwaukee.
Silk opened in 2018, following a contentious battle with the city. When asked if he is worried about potential indictment, Jon Ferraro, former owner of Silk said “absolutely not.” Ferraro was instrumental in getting Silk’s downtown Milwaukee license in 2017. He would not answer further questions about Wade’s indictment or provide a date when he sold his share of the business.
Wade obtained an initial payment of $15,000 on May 8, 2018 before the city Licenses Committee voted on the application, and a second $15,000 payment on May 9, 2018 after the full council approved the application, according to the indictment.
To conceal his scheme, Wade told the people paying him not to tell anyone, explaining the alderman would, “act like nothing had happened and that Wade would remain silent until he sees St. Peter at the gate,” according to the indictment.
Wade resigned from his role as an alderman in 2016 to take a job with Employ Milwaukee (formerly the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board).
Last year, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett selected Wade to lead the organization.
Employ Milwaukee Board Chair Don Layden said Wade told him last week about the pending charges. Wade is currently on administrative leave without pay.
“I will be meeting with the senior staff and the executive committee of our board to discuss the transition during his leave and the likely appointment of an interim CEO,” Layden said.
In a statement, Barrett said he was “shocked” by the allegations against Wade.
“But, I want to be clear,” Barrett said. “I will not tolerate corruption in government at any level. Mr. Wade is no longer leading the agency and is not being paid pending resolution of his case.”
If convicted, Wade could receive a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count and a maximum fine of $250,000.
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