Trib Re-Reports FOP Subpoena
Why is the Tribune covering this again? (this is a paywalled article):
Federal investigators issued a subpoena to the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police late last year for an FBI probe into Chicago’s FOP President John Catanzara’s financial dealings, according to a copy of the document reviewed by the Tribune.
The subpoena, dated October 2025 and sent as part of a grand jury investigation, demands that Illinois FOP personnel turn over a slew of financial and governance records dating back to October 2020. Among the records sought were expense vouchers, reimbursement forms and receipts. The subpoena was issued from the Northern District of Illinois, although the Illinois FOP is based in Springfield.
Catanzara — long a lightning rod for controversy who has represented the Chicago Police Department’s rank and file since May 2020 — is the only person named in the document. He took a leave of absence from his role as the first vice president of the state police union in October 2025.
The cited subpoena is nearly a year old.
Catanzara is making his usual threats:
Reached by phone for comment Tuesday afternoon, Catanzara told the Tribune that he had not seen the subpoena issued to the state lodge, and said he had not testified to the grand jury or retained an attorney to represent him in the proceedings. He said the investigation was likely sparked by animus within the union, and added that the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 received a similar subpoena last year as well.
“Should we ever determine the origins of this investigation that has cost this lodge membership a lot of money over nonsense and pure hatred, personally, of me — it’s based on nothing more than that — those members will be held responsible,” Catanzara said.
Yeah, John might call Florida and tell stories about retired Officers to their new employers. Or refuse to allow anyone to see the FOP credit card receipts. Or ask the Board for $50K in seed money for a charity that duplicates the work of two or three already existing charities. Or swings another 10K for a five person road trip with the food trailer to a city that doesn't have an FOP lodge.
So is something heating up?
UPDATE: free version of the article here.
Labels: FOP
posted by SCC at 12:09 AM
86 Comments:
If he was clean...
He would release the records...
Criminals and politicians when faced with an onslaught of allegations of impropriety and/or criminal acts normally respond with a mountain of denials and stonewalling right before the hammer falls.
I hope the whole lot of them ended up in prison. They were robbing our money.
J-Cat here....
Try the corn on the cob from the food truck...$5.00 a ear....Cash Only
Hey never the police Prieb, how would you know who worked hard at the FOP? You were a NO-SHOW most of the time. When you were there you never picked up the phone
unless your name was wrigley.
stick to your podcast about the best cat food or sanitizing your litter box and leave the FOP to people who dont pick up their ball and leave when they lose.
get a real haircut.
OFT. A great friend and organizer for the Chicago Flip red nonsense that many get aroused about l, called CPD a problem and said they’re harassing people in the latest video of a suspect resisting arrest in 011. I thought republicans support police?
https://x.com/chicagoredp/status/2097406586125771171?s=46
He must think he's a part if the CTU?
Openly threatening people reporting criminal activity. Nice.
Shame on these unions. Many simply waste money and funnel it to politiliars instead of taking care of workers. Seems like this situation is far worse. Prayers it's appropriately resolved. A food truck is a super waste. What happened to a simple folding table, a folding chair, a few cheap logo pens and a rented tent at events? All that flying around on the backs of our brave is disgusting. Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Thrilled it's getting called out.
I can’t wait for John’s Friday video from New York.
Pretty obvious the blog is campaigning against current leadership.
Loud mouth MATT the Po Po the latest casualty of the J Cat adoration fan club caught a nice beef for all the immature and racist public comments on social media the last few years. When will you guys learn. How many more like Matty and Double D will be taken down.
Sunlight the best disinfectant
When the FBI handcuffs Catanzara,he will beg to become a cheese eating rat..
Perhaps FOP members should STOP paying dues until the FOP opens the books but we all know no one has the guts to do it...The FOP is only as strong as its members but no one goes to meetings and goes out and makes noise like the CTU members....Im retired, not paying dues and dont care but remember, SCC is right, its only YOUR money I guess no one cares about.
Oct 1 is coming up
And John continues to lie lie lie.
But I thought there was no there there 🤣
I noticed the part of the article that says John is named in the subpoena. They usually don't name honest people who don't steal in Federal subpoenas.
"This is someone else's fault and I'm gonna make them pay." Great response J-Dork.
Can't we all get along? No, I guess not.
This dude is gross
Another anonymous tough guy. Fuck you. I worked ten times harder than every JCat sycophant combined. Enjoy arbitration over the police board, which i won. PREIB
That's a bargain at twice the price.
Reminds me of dopers I have arrested who deny the drugs they had was theirs, than file a complaint that we stole their dope/money, before finally saying they will cooperate so they can get a reduced sentence. If the feds have a good case it will be interesting to see who he flips on?
FBI really wants to investigate corruption would be the Johnson administration and COPA. Racist maybe, where does the money go?
If he’s a criminal lock him up! If he screwed up, he’ll be sitting in that cold dank Federal courtroom as his family is out in the gallery crying asking Johnny why did you do it? The game time is over if it’s all real but then again, did he do it or was it memorex? So many accusations as coppers we know everything has to be sorted out. What is the truth? If John tells the truth, it would be the best situation! I’m sure the ghosts in the closets will be revealed. They will be exposed not like years ago, sunshine now shines bright.
The next meeting is the 16th at noon, come, go to the microphone and ask questions. Be the solution.
If Eddie Vrdolyak and Eddie Burke spent time in the joint and Mike Madigan sits in the slammer, why does Johnnie Boy think he’ll get a pass. Next up at the Dirksen Federal Building…Johnnie C.
Front Page. How fucking embarrassing, he needs to resign. He is making the FOP into a damn circus. What a clown. Everyone in this picture should go with him for allowing this bullshit. Oh yeah I thought our dues were paying for his attorney. He said he doesn’t have one
Never forget the story of the Frog and the Scorpion.
It's their nature.
I think J-Cat is just trying to stay employed (as the charity's director) once his term is over. Lets call this for what it is.
Waller will not promote merits with scores under 70%
The "Clout" Perception: Rank-and-file officers and independent Department of Justice reports frequently critique the system as a vehicle for cronyism and political favoritism, arguing it rewards "who you know" over objective mastery of department directives. [1] (/goto?url=CAESnwEB6zswFeIg2bQMe8U1H4G9ui24vvkon_8PKkb6IePuhoKMZfFBjIv_6p3QeiuAcPCgjISDJPfvmD20R5BdEhXA7-QmJMwVzMUqvuwTGaquyDS0SqThF_cQ0hwDUdHAmVUrl3XoNKj1ZpSepSXtKpyrCQSDk2J1_lxMAJePs6zr7zHfLrK30n_vzDjalPe1eJiDXs1p0xD_ExRyJ4-kQO4), [2] (/goto?url=CAESmgEB6zswFaRLQJclJjr3GW3hYHHPgRMs6L46ME9j15mY-KRU9CE5rLTImxBIwXRwM7up-WMm8Az36hYXn47uRiZJUflLPi5HmsP77C6YAiWfvOLAWORXDpspRDzhnDd1ElyKyHw4WPAsXfww8TiyeXZ66jr6Vrhkk5KxoSUUwOgl773cbGt5CclTvIxChKU_ZO9hbryGYPaEUrYi)Calls for Reform: Independent consultants hired by the city have recently recommended either abolishing merit promotions entirely or mandating a much higher minimum exam score cutoff to ensure academic baseline competency before an officer can be nominated. [1] (https://www.injusticewatch.org/criminal-courts/police/2025/chicago-police-merit-promotions-secret/)Are you trying to find out what the current minimum qualifying score is for the latest exam cycle, or are you looking for the specific disciplinary criteria that can disqualify a merit candidate?AI responses may include mistakes. For
Maybe a pre-emptive shot at a candidate whom the toxic FOP might endorse...?
J-Cat is that you????
I wish you guys would stop calling him JCat, it feeds his ego. He’s had that name since HS, give him something condescending that he deserves.
It appears FOP president "Can't stand ya" may be going to the federal pen if he refuses to get on the bus first.
also on the subpoena list: a shoebox with cash, 2 white castle cheeseburgers and a bikini and a threatening text to an ex gf
Emails and text messages are on the subpoena? Sounds like more than just JC are being looked at….. better start making a deal or be the last man standing and serving the most years…… The next general meeting is going to be entertaining.
This lodge needs an enema!!
I wouldn't get to excited here. The northern IL DOJ and FBI offices are fully embedded with the local and state corruption in IL and have been for years. They trip over corruption every day on the way to work and can't seem to figure it out. Who the President is matters not. The Feds are corrupt beyond any administration. If they go after someone or some group, it's not in an effort to be righteous or fix some wrong in society. They are working their own hustles. Yes, if you have watched these people over the past 10 years, it should be pretty obvious.
We don’t need anymore charities. There are plenty out there that do a decent job. Catanzarra cannot be trusted to run a charity
Rob NoSeNada is going to serve his county again. IN PRISON
Any investigative reporter who can find fraud in the money wasted on illegals,violence interrupters. Meritorious promotions for dummies scoring under 70%?
It’s called tickling the wire. The Feds have the article rereleased in the hopes Kitty Kat will make some calls while they have a wire up. He is too stoopid not to call someone and try to cover something up.
SCC. Just a correction. NYC and NYPD have a union, it’s not an FOP. It’s the nypd benevolent association. Their social media is great, well organized and run, not prefect. But they re out there representing, always on the news fighting and always keeping their members updated. Not like the clown show we have.
May be one of the former State lodge board members you just threw out of the union because they gave over their lap top to Feds released it. Or perhaps your former secretary you just fired because she told the truth about what you were doing gave it to them. May be the Board member you’re currently trying to kick out of the union because he’s going to run against you and brought charges against you for what you have done gave a copy out. Keep acting like you’re the victim jrat.
Well if you don't pay dues then you are not a member in good standing and legally, only members in good standing are entitled to see the books.
Everyone wants a new union , not just the blog.
really?
we thought we wrote "a city that doesn't have an FOP lodge."
not "a city that doesn't have a police union."
100
Reading is fundamental. The original poster didn’t say HE was entitled to see the books, only that the FOP should open them
Did anyone else see the 2 men in FBI jackets enter the lodge today?
Might that be a White Bikini by any chance? ha ha ha ha
The second subpoena tells a lot.. even if it was back in October. The 1st one to the lodge is normal.. the fact they then issued a second weeks later means they see something and want to go further. Forensic audits take time.. this will absolutely go infront of a grand jury. If the Feds found everything was legit with the initial dip subpeonas then they wouldn’t go further. They found something. And JCats statement of “they are looking at everyone at the state lodge not me” is also very telling.. that’s Jcats justification of “I’m not the only one” doing this and if I go down everyone is going down. Deflection at its best.
If I was JCAT and wanted to sleep well at night I would have released all of these records as soon as the masses started agreeing with the female detective who keeps pushing the issue. The way to shut them all up is to release it all… but he didn’t.. we know why
Will there be free beer and pizza?
With the voter apathy in the FOP, I wouldnt be surprised if Hunter Biden was elected our next FOP president.
70% = C... so yeah sure they're stolen the top three right?
Huh??? What the fuck, dude. Say what you mean, mean what you say.
jfraud the biggest loser!
Thanks for the tip, Shamus
The next meeting will be the same retirees as always, I’m not knocking it, working people don’t have the time.
100% correct, wants to make that big money that Phil Cline made for his charity.
your the only important person in your whole little world.
and that was Bartlett not you. irrelevance trying to be relevant. now go get your shinebox.
The gatekeepers who run the news agencies would never allow an “investigative reporter” to go off of the reservation and really investigate, because it would cause harm to the leftist agenda. The old Soviet Union news agency TASS were a bunch of pikers compared to American news agencies.
Or perhaps someone he didn’t see coming!! Karma
John stop! You’re embarrassing yourself.
He wears spf-1000 sunscreen. New leadership is the only way
Johnny Boy sure has accumulated a lot of enemies and the people he surrounds himself with are just as dirty.
I’m psyched for having to work 12 hour days the whole week. Thank you Mexican Independence Day $$$.
They'll simply get around it by quietly passing out copies of the test and or all the answers. Problem solved: only meritbtest geniuses will be promoted.
so now we trust the reporting and timing of what would otherwise be a typical hit piece from one of our local branches of propagandist news media?
Got it...
Marty worked everyday, dont know which asshat this is but your anger is seriously misplaced
Congratulations to all on Promotion to Lt. 16 Sgt’s promoted . 12 in rank order,
4 merit. What did they do to deserve a merit promotion?
Did they do anything better than all the Sgt.’s that are assigned to District Patrol, working 1st and 3rd watches on holiday and week ends.
Sgts that were promoted by test scores to Sgt?
Any chance whoever calculated the 4 merit is off ?
4 is 30% of 13.33
Looks like someone deserves to be in the Lt. class starting next Monday .
Any of the merit candidates make Sgt from test scores?
Is there a federal consent decree monitor?
Does the Sgt PBPA Union look at or challenge these merit? 3 out of 4 will be commnanders within a year. Will any be assigned to midnights?
Free pizza and beer is the only solution that makes sense.
I think their point is that they do have.a lodge, but it’s called the NYPD Benevolent Assn. same thing. Different words.
As he has gotten CR’s on many of us and filed charges on many more FOP officers…me thinks JRat is more than appropriate.
You gotta wonder how many "ideas" the feds get from reading this blog. Gotta love the easy feed of information.
How about the useless singing PPP scammer?
Hope she gets some prison time as well.
A piece of shit is a piece of shit. Whether the news says it is or isnt.
The FBI is gonna make sure they properly conduct a thorough investigation . They probably have in their possession the past Illinois State Lodge Presidents computer and are reading each and every e mail , business transaction and personal transmissions .
Thai could go down as one of the biggest thefts in the history of Unions . JCat has had at his command the last three years a Board which has failed miserably to ensure that every Nickel spent was for the membership .
How much money has been stolen from the coffers and who helped steal it . Dennis has a lot of explaining to do and in my opinion will be Witness # 1 .
The rest of his minions will not fall on the sword but will be willing to testify to save themselves . Hey Vision Team use your Voice and fess up . I see bars for some on the closest collaborators !
We have to wait for Jc to come back from his vacation to New York that the FOP is paying for. While our troops are working 12 hour days and days off cancelled.
Who has time for meetings
When were charges first filed for the same issues ?2003!
Lots of misappropriation between 2023 and present.
Guessing 999k
So you think the Tribune completely made up and manufactured a Federal subpoena? Are you trying to convince us or yourself that Johnny is innocent?
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