A former congressman from Chicago was arrested in Atlanta early Monday and is expected to return to Illinois, where he’s facing tax evasion charges.
Mel Reynolds appeared in federal court in Atlanta Monday afternoon, following his apprehension that morning at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The U.S. Marshals Service Police arrested Reynolds after he stepped off a flight from Johannesburg.
Reynolds has a case waiting in Chicago, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Fitzpatrick of the Northern District of Illinois.
“His case is scheduled for trial in Chicago on May 2, and we expect him to be here for it,” Fitzpatrick wrote in an email.
Reynolds became a wanted man after failing to appear at a hearing on tax evasion charges. He told a federal judge he would not appear in court to answer the charges because he wouldn’t leave his seriously ill daughter in South Africa. The judge on March 31 issued a warrant for his arrest.
Reynolds’ arrest is the latest in a series of legal run-ins that derailed what had once appeared to be a promising political career.
A graduate of Harvard and a Rhodes scholar, Reynolds was serving in Congress when he was convicted of statutory rape – he had sex with a 16-year-old campaign worker. He served two years.
He got in federal trouble for concealing debts to get bank loans. He also padded his election campaign funds with money intended for voter registration drives.
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