Man pleads guilty to stealing from homeowners association
By Susan Frick Carlman scarlman@stmedianetwork.com November 7, 2012 2:08PM
Jerome L. "Jerry" Feldott, 63
Updated: December 10, 2012 6:15AM
A local businessman and member of a prominent Naperville family has begun two years of supervision after pleading guilty to a felony theft charge Wednesday morning.
Jerome L. “Jerry” Feldott, 64, entered the plea before 18th Circuit Court Judge John J. Kinsella, admitting he committed a theft involving a sum larger than $10,000, a class 2 felony, nearly seven months after he was accused of stealing more than $25,900 from the North Edgewood Homeowners Association in Naperville, which had hired him to oversee some of its accounts.
Paul Darrah, spokesman for DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin, said Feldott faces no reporting requirements as a result of his sentence to two years of conditional discharge. He must not run afoul of the law over the 24 months ahead, and “he does have a felony conviction now,” Darrah said, although he added that Feldott has made full restitution.
He also had to submit DNA samples for inclusion in a database that stores that information for all convicted felons, Darrah said.
Robert A. Heap, a former DuPage County Board member and attorney representing Feldott, entered a not guilty plea on his client’s behalf in June.
Feldott, who lives with his family on Benton Avenue near downtown Naperville, is a real estate agent and owner of Feldott & Associates. He stepped down from his position as president of the Naperville Public Library Board of Trustees in April, several hours after The Sun broke the story of his arrest. The charges culminated a two-month probe by the Naperville Police Department that was launched after the president and vice president of the homeowners association discovered account discrepancies and reported them to authorities.
Among the other leadership roles he has played locally are with the Rotary Club of Naperville’s Charities and Oktoberfest divisions, and as chairman of Citizens Appreciate Police and Fire Dept. (CAPS), according to Feldott’s website, www.jerryfeldott.com.
Feldott did not return calls seeking comment.
