FS_030917

10 | March 9, 2017 | The frankfort station News
frankfortstation.com
Lawsuit claims Morgan ousted sister-in-law from floral shop
Morgan denies
claims as attempt to
derail campaign
Kirsten Onsgard, Editor
A lawsuit filed against
mayoral candidate Todd
Morgan and his wife alleges
they attempted to undermine
Morgan’s sister-and-law and
disassociate her from a floral
shop she and Morgan’s wife
owned.
The complaint — which
Morgan said is “completely
false” and an attempt to sink
his campaign — alleges
Morgan used his political
leverage as trustee to secure
Village loans for the floral
shop and used his employer
to allow the business to operate
rent-free. The lawsuit
was filed in Will County
Circuit Court Feb. 14 and
lists Todd Morgan, his wife,
Cindy Morgan, and Todd
Morgan’s employer LaSalle
St. Services as defendants.
Todd Morgan said he will
file a countersuit alleging his
sister-in-law, Becky Dees,
stole from the business and
physically “attacked” his
wife. Dees refuted the claims.
“[Dees] is using my candidacy
... to try to extort or
blackmail more money out
of me and my wife than the
business is worth,” Todd
Morgan said.
Dees is seeking more than
$1 million.
Cindy Morgan and her sister,
Dees, share equal ownership
and management of
Bokay Flowers, LLC, which
they launched in 2010 after
creating floral arrangements
out of the Morgans’ basement
since 2005. Bokay Flowers,
located at 130 Kansas St. in
Frankfort, operates out of
the same building as LaSalle
St. Services, 14 Hickory St.,
where Todd Morgan works as
a financial planner.
The complaint claims that
Morgan, “using his influence
and power as Trustee
for the Village of Frankfort,
obtained a grant of $10,000
from the Village of Fankfort
[sic] on behalf of Becky,
Cindy and Bokay Flowers
in order to build out of the
1,000 square foot leased
space.” Bokay obtained an
initial $10,000 small business
grant from the Village in
2010, and a second $10,000
grant in 2014 to expand the
floral shop, according to Village
documents.
Morgan said that, as trustee,
he recused himself from
discussions and decisions
about Bokay Flowers and
made his conflict of interest
clear through a public announcement
during a Village
Board meeting.
According to the minutes
from Village Board’s May
17, 2010 and Dec. 15, 2014
meetings, Morgan abstained
from votes on whether Bokay
would receive the Village
grants. Other minutes
from committee meetings
that included discussions of
Bokay Flowers do not show
any record of his presence.
“At no time in any of that
did I participate in that process,”
said Morgan, who
served as trustee for 14 years
before stepping down in 2015.
Dees said that Morgan’s
political position meant that
Bokay Flowers was more
prepared than other businesses
to apply for the grants
“because of the fact that we
knew that there were grants,
and the fact that we knew
what committee we would
be talking to, and what we
should be prepared to answer
and say,” Dees said.
“It’s unfortunate I [was]
on the Village Board; there’s
nothing I can do about that,
but everyone’s qualified to
apply for that grant,” Morgan
said.
The lawsuit also alleges
that Todd Morgan “convinced
LaSalle to lease a
portion of the building” to
Cindy and Dees rent-free
from 2010-2013.
A February 2010 lease
agreement, attached to Bokay’s
2010 Village grant application,
shows a monthly
rent of $800 and a $1,000
security deposit for the
1,000-square-foot space.
Both parties agree that a
heated exchange occurred
on Nov. 8, 2016. Morgan
said that Dees was stealing
from Bokay Flowers, but
when confronted, Dees became
“physically violent”
and quit, he said.
However, Dees said the
argument last November did
not become violent and that
she was not stealing from the
company. The incident occurred,
she said, after she and
Cindy were not being paid
because of the shop’s expansion
and “the way the books
were handled,” Dees said.
After the exchange, Dees
said, the Morgans changed
the locks and “prevented and
denied [Dees] access to Bokay
Flowers space,” according
to the complaint. Morgan
said the shop was open daily
and Dees was not prevented
from entering.
“It’s a sad set of events
— I just can’t tell you [why
this occurred],” Dees said.
“I have no idea, I have no
idea.”
“How do you handle getting
locked out of a business
you own half of? It just
Please see Lawsuit, 11