by: Robert Channick | Chicago Tribune

A federal grand jury accused Stephanie Pater of diverting real estate commissions meant for Tribune Co. to her own company, according to an indictment filed last week in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

A Tribune Co. spokesman declined to comment, and Pater could not be reached.

Pater joined Tribune Co. as director of real estate in January 2008, soon after billionaire real estate developer Sam Zell took the company private in a heavily leveraged $8.2 billion deal.