Blagojevich Case Prosecutor: The Breadth of Alleged Corruption Staggering
Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff, John Harris, were arrested on Tuesday by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation on federal corruption charges alleging that they and others are engaging in ongoing criminal activity.
The allegations include conspiring to obtain personal financial benefits for Blagojevich by leveraging his sole authority to appoint a United States Senator; threatening to withhold substantial state assistance to the Tribune Company in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field to induce the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members sharply critical of Blagojevich. The allegations also include an attempt to obtain campaign contributions in exchange for official actions –- both historically and now in a push before a new state ethics law takes effect January 1, 2009.
Blagojevich, 51, and Harris, 46, both of Chicago, were each charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery. They were charged in a two-count criminal complaint that was sworn out on Sunday and unsealed today following their arrests, which occurred without incident, announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
A 76-page FBI affidavit alleges that Blagojevich was intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps during the last month conspiring to sell or trade Illinois’ US Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama for financial and other personal benefits for himself and his wife. At various times, in exchange for the Senate appointment, Blagojevich discussed obtaining:
A substantial salary for himself at a either a non-profit foundation or an organization affiliated with labor unions;
Placing his wife on paid corporate boards where he speculated she might garner as much as $150,000 a year;
Promises of campaign funds – including cash up front; and
A cabinet post or ambassadorship for himself.
Just last week, on December 4, Blagojevich allegedly told an advisor that he might “get some (money) up front, maybe†from Senate Candidate 5, if he named Senate Candidate 5 to the Senate seat, to insure that Senate Candidate 5 kept a promise about raising money for Blagojevich if he ran for re-election. In a recorded conversation on October 31, Blagojevich described an earlier approach by an associate of Senate Candidate 5 as follows: “We were approached ‘pay to play.’ That, you know, he’d raise 500 grand. An emissary came. Then the other guy would raise a million, if I made him (Senate Candidate 5) a Senator.â€
On November 7, Blagojevich said he needed to consider his family and that he is “financially†hurting while talking on the phone about the Senate seat with Harris and an advisor, the affidavit states. Harris allegedly said that they were considering what would help the “financial security†of the Blagojevich family and what will keep Blagojevich “politically viable.†Blagojevich stated, “I want to make money,†adding later that he is interested in making $250,000 to $300,000 a year, the complaint alleges.
On November 10, in a lengthy telephone call with numerous advisors that included discussion about Blagojevich obtaining a lucrative job with a union-affiliated organization in exchange for appointing a particular Senate Candidate whom he believed was favored by the President-elect and which is described in more detail below, Blagojevich and others discussed various ways Blagojevich could “monetize†the relationships he has made as governor to make money after leaving that office.
“The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering,†Mr. Fitzgerald said. “They allege that Blagojevich put a ‘for sale’ sign on the naming of a United States Senator; involved himself personally in pay-to-play schemes with the urgency of a salesman meeting his annual sales target; and corruptly used his office in an effort to trample editorial voices of criticism. The citizens of Illinois deserve public officials who act solely in the public’s interest, without putting a price tag on government appointments, contracts and decisions,†he added.
Mr. Grant said: “Many, including myself, thought that the recent conviction of former governor would usher in a new era of honesty and reform in Illinois politics. Clearly, the charges announced today reveal that the office of the Governor has become nothing more than a vehicle for self-enrichment, unrestricted by party affiliation and taking Illinois politics to a new low.â€
Mr. Fitzgerald and Mr. Grant thanked the Chicago offices of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General for assisting in the ongoing investigation. The probe is part of Operation Board Games, a five-year-old public corruption investigation of pay-to-play schemes, including insider-dealing, influence-peddling and kickbacks involving private interests and public duties.
Federal agents yesterday also executed search warrants at the offices of Friends of Blagojevich located at 4147 North Ravenswood, Suite 300, and at the Thompson Center office of a deputy governor.
Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and he’s a staff writer for the New Media Alliance (thenma.org). In addition, he’s the new editor for the House Conservatives Fund’s weblog. Kouri also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty.
He’s former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed “Crack City” by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He’s also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He’s a news writer for TheConservativeVoice.Com and PHXnews.com. He’s also a columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he’s syndicated by AXcessNews.Com. He’s appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc. His book Assume The Position is available at Amazon.Com. Kouri’s own website is located at http://jimkouri.us
Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and he's a staff writer for the New Media Alliance (thenma.org). In addition, he's the former editor for the House Conservatives Fund's weblog. Kouri also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty. He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He's a news writer for TheConservativeVoice.Com and PHXnews.com. He's also a columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he's syndicated by AXcessNews.Com. He's appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc. To subscribe to Kouri's newsletter write to COPmagazine@aol.com and write "Subscription" on the subject line. | More from Jim Kouri, CPP
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December 10th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Illinois is far from being the only state with widespread corruption; it’s only a matter of degree.
Every state in the country is running a kidnapping and extortion racket through their respective Family Court Systems in the purported “best interests of childrenâ€, (in pursuit of the almighty *matching federal dollar*) which is far worse, in my opinion, than selling a Senate Seat.
Who’s losing their children, their property, and their freedom, over the selling of a Senate Seat? Millions of people are having their lives destroyed by our out of control Family Court system and no one seems to notice the unconscionable death toll. It’s a far worse death toll than the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but no one seems to care.
It’s why it makes me want to vomit when I see a “support the troops†sticker on someone’s car. They support the troops, but turn their backs on millions of parents, many of whom in fact, are our troops.
• Gary S. was a Navy Seal who fought terrorists in Afghanistan after the September 11th attacks. While he was away, his son was whisked out of the country with the help of a California family court. This real American hero now hardly sees his child and is reportedly near bankruptcy due to legal fees and court-ordered support.
• National Guardsman Joe McNeilly lost custody of his child after serving in Iraq for 15 months. Before going oversees to protect his fellow Americans, he agreed to cede temporary full custody to his son’s mother. When he returned home from the battlefield, he was shocked to learn that the court punished him for his absence by permanently awarding full custody to the child’s mother.
• Lt. Scott Keenan, an intelligence officer in the Naval Reserves, was sent overseas for three weeks around September 11th. Because of his deployment, he was unable to exercise all of his allotted parenting time with his children. A New Jersey judge rewarded his sacrifices for his country with a slap in the face by permanently reducing his parenting time by 20%.