Tribune: Ex-Country Club Hills police chief arrested on witness tampering charges

Photo of Regal Theater auditorium courtesy of Cinema Treasures

You may be wondering why this is relevant. This chief is the owner of the Regal Theater located near 79th & Stony Island. This case involves her investment in that venue:

A former south suburban police chief is in custody after being charged with witness tampering in a federal fraud case involving a $1.25 million state grant.

Ex-Country Club Hills Chief Regina Evans is accused of coaching a witness to lie to the grand jury about allegedly cashing fake paychecks and returning the money to Evans.

Evans, a former Chicago police lieutenant, and her husband were charged last year with siphoning hundreds of thousands of dollars from the job-training grant to pay friends and relatives and cover the mortgage on the couple's landmark New Regal Theater on Chicago's South Side. The money was supposed to help train dozens of minorities and women for construction jobs.

In the latest charges, authorities say Evans directed a close associate to lie to investigators while downplaying the associate's concerns about getting caught.

Evans' attorney, Lawrence Beaumont, said his client is innocent. "We dispute the allegations, and we plan on litigating the matter vigorously," Beaumont said.

Authorities say they have it on tape. The recordings started last month, soon after the associate told a grand jury about teaching courses for the nonprofit and being paid thousands of dollars, authorities say. The associate was not named in court records.

Some extra info this Regal Theater was renamed during the 1980s in honor of the old Regal Theater located in the Bronzeville neighborhood @ 4710 S. King Dr. has apparently been rechristened to it's old name as the Avalon Theater last fall according to the Cinema Treasures website.