Chicago Gives Jussie Smollett $130,000 Ultimatum

Jussie Smollett may have gotten one over on prosecutors in the Windy City, but the Mayor’s office isn’t going to go down quite as easily.

Smollett’s crime was abhorrent, and few within the legal system are willing to say that he’s innocent…including the Chicago Police and the attorney that helped arrange his freedom.  The Empire actor is accused of paying two on-set extras to assist him in hoaxing a hate crime all for the purpose of Smollett riding a wave of sympathy to a larger paycheck.

Yes, that is just as heinous and inconceivably conceited as it sounds.

And while some truly shady legal wrangling went down in order for Smollett to get off scot-free, the City of Chicago isn’t having it.

The City of Chicago on Thursday warned Empire actor Jussie Smollett that he could be prosecuted for lying if he fails to repay the the six-figure cost of the Chicago Police Department’s investigation into his alleged hate hoax in the next seven days.

In a letter written by Edward Siskel, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s senior legal adviser, Smollett is accused of making “false statements,” which led law enforcement to divert “resources from other investigations and undermining the criminal justice system.”

And here is where it gets nasty…

Siskel’s letter, which was sent to the office of Smollet’s attorney, Patricia Brown Holmes, states that “Chicago police investigation revealed that [Smollett] knowingly filed a false police report and had in fact orchestrated your own attack.” Further, Smollett is requested to issue an “immediate payment of the $130,160.15 expended on overtime hours in the investigation of this matter,” to be made within one week.

The letter continues that if the actor doesn’t resolve the amount owed to the City of Chicago Corporate Counsel, he could be prosecuted by the Department of Law and slapped with a fine of up to $1,000, “plus up to three times the amount of damages the city sustains as a result of the violation.”

Smollett, who doesn’t appear to be getting any renewed traction in Hollywood after his false exoneration, has not yet responded to the city’s demands.