Thomas Vranas, co-owner of SUPES Academy, pleaded guilty Tuesday as part of the multimillion-dollar kickback case involving former Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett. 

Vranas pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. 

Vranas and Gary Solomon, also a SUPES co-owner, were indicted alongside Byrd-Bennett in the bribery scandal. As part of the scheme, former CPS CEO was supposed to receive kickbacks in exchange for steering $23 million in no-bid contracts to the two companies owned by Vranas and Solomon, SUPES and Synesi Associates. The co-owners had pleaded not guilty in the corruption case in October. 

Also in October, Byrd-Bennett pleaded guilty to one wire fraud charge as part of her plea agreement with prosecutors.

Byrd-Bennett, who faces a maximum of 7 1/2 years in prison, has not yet been sentenced.