In this file photo, Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno speaks with WTTW News.

Former 1st Ward Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno pleaded guilty to multiple charges Friday, but will avoid jail time, following a highly publicized 2019 incident in which he loaned his vehicle to a woman and then falsely claimed it had been stolen.

Moreno pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and disorderly conduct charges, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, and was sentenced to 24 months of “second chance” probation.

That means Moreno’s case will be dismissed in two years if he is able to avoid further criminal charges and fulfill the terms of his probation.

The alderperson was charged in May 2019 after prosecutors alleged he had falsely claimed both to Chicago police and his insurance agency that his Audi A6 had been stolen out of his garage sometime before Jan. 4, 2019. However, Moreno had actually turned the vehicle and its keys over willingly only hours earlier to a woman he had previously dated.

Those charges came only days before Moreno was set to leave office after being defeated in his reelection bid by current 1st Ward Ald. Daniel La Spata.

Moreno was also charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and having a blood alcohol level greater than 0.08 in a separate incident late last year after he allegedly crashed that same Audi into eight vehicles over a three-block stretch in the Gold Coast neighborhood before crashing into a tree.

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