Two suburban Chicago, Ill., men have been cleared of charges in connection with a flood at a high-rise hotel that caused hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of damage.
A Cook County judge threw out criminal damage to property charges against Carl Koenemann and Daniel Maradei on Wednesday after a third co-defendant pleaded guilty. Benjamin Nitch was sentenced to two years of probation and 480 hours of community service.
The three friends were accused of opening a water valve in a fifth-floor stairwell at the Trump International Hotel and Tower last February. Prosecutors alleged the men were angry after a hotel bartender refused to continue serving them drinks.
Prosecutors said water rushed down a stairwell, destroying two elevators, damaging marble floor in the lobby and causing $700,000 in damage.
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