Word: blagojevich
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...last governor before Blagojevich to be charged with a felony was the last governor Illinois had before Blagojevich, George Ryan. Prior to taking office, the cigar-chomping wheeler-dealer served two terms as secretary of state, from 1991-1999. In 1994, a fatal truck accident outside Ryan's office inadvertently exposed a scheme to trade truck operators' licenses for political contributions. The subsequent investigation, called Operation Safe Road, took years to complete; when it was done, 79 people were charged, including Ryan. The former governor was found guilty on 18 felony counts, including racketeering conspiracy, mail fraud, tax fraud...
Lawyers didn't invent the insanity defense for guys like Rod Blagojevich, but it may soon come in handy. As recently as last month, the leather-jacket-wearing Illinois governor imagined himself as a potential candidate for President in 2016. Meantime, he said, he wouldn't mind getting a Cabinet post, an ambassadorship or even a high-paying corporate gig. Driving these fantasies was his statutory power to name a replacement for former Senator Barack Obama - a power that to Blagojevich seemed like money in the bank. "I've got this thing, and it's f______ golden," he told...
...Blagojevich, 52, was either delusional, stupid or some combination of both. The feds had been on his case for years, and he knew it. Early on the morning of Dec. 9, federal Marshals woke him up with a predawn phone call, then arrived at his front door and handcuffed him shortly thereafter. By the afternoon, he stood in a Chicago courtroom looking like a common criminal, his feathered hair out of place, his executive wardrobe replaced with a black-and-blue Nike tracksuit. He faces the prospect of 30 years in prison on charges of conspiring to commit mail...
...often the case in graphic novels, there was no time for the hero to lose. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald began wiretapping the governor in mid-October and by mid-November could hear that Obama's old seat was being auctioned to the highest bidder. Fitzgerald feared that the longer Blagojevich remained as governor, the more likely he would name someone to replace Obama in exchange for a bribe. "Sunlight is the best disinfectant, as Justice Brandeis said," explained Robert Litt, who served in the Justice Department under Bill Clinton. "By bringing this all out into the open, Fitzgerald is making...
...Blagojevich scandal will prove to be a distraction for Obama, a Chicago pol made good who was hoping to put old-fashioned Chicago politics in his rearview mirror. The criminal complaint produced no evidence that Obama or his aides have done anything wrong. Blagojevich was, in fact, recorded complaining that Obama's people were "not willing to give me anything except appreciation." Obama himself maintains that he never talked to Blagojevich about the Senate seat, and during the recent campaign, the two men kept their distance from each other...