Vito Scavo (left) and Gary Montino arrive at court in May.
Two crooked Melrose Park cops — the chief and his deputy — got convicted of the same crime.
One got his pension yanked this week.
But the other will keep on receiving more than $5,600 a month in benefits, in a highly unusual decision by the Melrose Park Police Pension Board.
Both former Police Chief Vito Scavo, 62, and his right-hand man, Deputy Chief Gary Montino, 54, were convicted of racketeering conspiracy in 2009 for their roles in a scheme to muscle local businesses into hiring the two security firms Scavo illegally ran out of the police department.
By law, a police officer can’t get a pension if he’s been convicted of a felony related to his job.
Scavo oversaw and profited from the two security firms which used on-duty police officers and police equipment for private jobs.
His deputy, Montino, was heavily involved in the day-to-day operations of the firms while working at the police department, according to government filings.
What an odd decision.
Look, this is a tough one to post. I have a great deal of respect for our men and women in blue.
But, really, why the split decision? To what extent were personal feelings an issue here?