PLAINFIELD – The company that tried to sell LED lighting to the Plainfield Township Park District – which a fellow board member has alleged is connected to board President Peter Hurtado – has been tough to trace.

Whether the company exists at all is hard to prove through invoices the company submitted to the park district.

The sale was made through Josue Solis & Associates. Park district invoices have contact information for the company as being at 10247 South Avenue O, Chicago, IL 60617. But a different company, Master Polishing & Buffing Inc., currently is at that address.

When called, a representative of Master Polishing & Buffing said there is no person or company by the name of Josue Solis at the location.

During a Jan. 29 special board meeting, Vice President Janet Silosky outlined a series of events that she said suggested Hurtado’s tried to force the sale of LED lights he owned to the park district. She said the company selling the lights appeared to be linked to Hurtado’s daughter’s boyfriend.

Hurtado said Thursday he could not comment because of a pending investigation with the Will County State’s Attorneys Office.

“I gave my view the day the allegation came out,” Hurtado said. “I said these are serious accusations and I asked our attorney to contact the state’s attorney for an investigation.”

Hurtado also asked for media to not contact or harass anyone in his family about the allegations.

Other commissioners are concerned about the allegations.

“I think we have to determine whether there is more than wrongdoing, whether the law has been broken,” Commissioner Larry Newton said. “We’re still in the process of getting the smoking gun. Right now we haven’t found too much.”

Information obtained through documents requested through the Illinois Freedom of Information Act included all invoices for LED lighting handled by the parks maintenance department, and all details of Paypal transactions on Superintendent of Maintenance Joe Masters’ credit card.

“These documents show that the procedures need to be revised,” Newton said.

The Paypal invoice also listed a phone number for the company. But when called, the number goes to an automated message from magicJack, a telephone service provider.

Another invoice lists a different number for the company. A message left on the voicemail for that number was not immediately returned.

An email address also was listed for the company. Emails sent to the address were also not returned.

Invoices for the lights show that Josue Solis & Associates sold the park district one High Bay 120 watt LED light set for $475 on Dec. 12 through former Executive Director Garrett Peck’s park district credit card.

There isn’t yet any indication where that light is, or if the payment was returned.

A bigger order of eight lights totaling $3,800 was bought from Josue Solis & Associates through Paypal on Masters’ park district credit card Jan. 8.

Silosky said in her narrative that Commissioner Peter Steinys was able to stop the transaction about Jan. 17. But records show Josue Solis & Associates sent a full refund for that order of lights Jan. 16.

Another invoice was sent by the company to the park district for 16 lights for $7,600, but there is no official transaction according to the documents obtained by the request.

Phone calls to Silosky, Masters and Director of Communications Doug Booth were not immediately returned.