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 2 of Illinois, and
Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of
the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Both men were expected to
appear later today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan in U.S.
District Court in Chicago.A 76-page FBI affidavit alleges that Blagojevich was intercepted
on court-authorized wiretaps during the last month conspiring to
sell or trade Illinois' U.S. 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.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2008/Dec/09/images/ads/current/k_of_c-bch101408.png)
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 claimed he was approached 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."
On November 7, while talking on the phone about the Senate seat
with Harris and an advisor, Blagojevich said he needed to consider
his family and that he is "financially" hurting, 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 a 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."
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 4 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 today 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 Deputy Governor A.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2008/Dec/09/images/ads/current/iga_sda112408.png)
Pay-to-Play Schemes
The charges include historical allegations that Blagojevich and
Harris schemed with others – including previously convicted
defendants Antoin Rezko, Stuart Levine, Ali Ata and others – since
becoming governor in 2002 to obtain and attempt to obtain financial
benefits for himself, his family and third parties, including his
campaign committee, Friends of Blagojevich, in exchange for
appointments to state boards and commissions, state employment,
state contracts and access to state funds. A portion of the
affidavit recounts the testimony of various witnesses at Rezko's
trial earlier this year.
The charges focus, however, on events since October when the
Government obtained information that Blagojevich and Fundraiser A,
who is chairman of Friends of Blagojevich, were accelerating
Blagojevich's allegedly corrupt fund-raising activities to
accumulate as much money as possible this year before a new state
ethics law would severely curtail Blagojevich's ability to raise
money from individuals and entities that have existing contracts
worth more than $50,000 with the State of Illinois. Agents learned
that Blagojevich was seeking approximately $2.5 million in campaign
contributions by the end of the year, principally from or through
individuals or entities – many of which have received state contacts
or appointments – identified on a list maintained by Friends of
Blagojevich, which the FBI has obtained.
The affidavit details multiple incidents involving efforts by
Blagojevich to obtain campaign contributions in connection with his
official actions as governor, including these three in early
October:
-
After an October 6 meeting with Harris and Individuals A
and B, during which Individual B sought state help with a business
venture, Blagojevich told Individual A to approach Individual B
about raising $100,000 for Friends of Blagojevich this year.
Individual A said he later learned that Blagojevich reached out
directly to Individual B to ask about holding a fund-raiser;
-
Also on
October 6, Blagojevich told Individual A that he expected Highway
Contractor 1 to raise $500,000 in contributions and that he was
willing to commit additional state money to a Tollway project –
beyond $1.8 billion that Blagojevich announced on October 15 – but
was waiting to see how much money the contractor raised for Friends
of Blagojevich; and
-
On October 8, Blagojevich told Individual A that
he wanted to obtain a $50,000 contribution from Hospital Executive
1, the chief executive officer of Children's Memorial Hospital in
Chicago, which had recently received a commitment of $8 million in
state funds. When the contribution was not forthcoming, Blagojevich
discussed with Deputy Governor A the feasibility of rescinding the
funding.
On October 21, the Government obtained a court order authorizing
the interception of conversations in both a personal office and a
conference room used by Blagojevich at the offices of Friends of
Blagojevich. The FBI began intercepting conversations in those rooms
on the morning of October 22. A second court order was obtained last
month allowing those interceptions to continue. On October 29, a
court order was signed authorizing the interception of conversations
on a hardline telephone used by Blagojevich at his home. That
wiretap was extended for 30 days on November 26, according to the
affidavit.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2008/Dec/09/images/ads/current/museum_sda112108.png)
Another alleged example of a pay-to-play scheme was captured in
separate telephone conversations that Blagojevich had with
Fundraiser A on November 13 and Lobbyist 1 on December 3. Lobbyist 1
was reporting to Blagojevich about his efforts to collect a
contribution from 6, Contributor 1 and related that he "got in his
face" to make it clear to Contributor 1 that a commitment to make a
campaign contribution had to be done now, before there could be some
skittishness over the timing of the contribution and Blagojevich
signing a bill that would benefit Contributor 1. Blagojevich
commented to Lobbyist 1 "good" and "good job." The bill in question,
which is awaiting Blagojevich's signature, is believed to be
legislation that directs a percentage of casino revenue to the horse
racing industry.
Sale of U.S. Senate Appointment
Regarding the Senate seat, the charges allege that Blagojevich,
Harris and others have engaged and are engaging in efforts to obtain
personal gain, including financial gain, to benefit Blagojevich and
his family through corruptly using Blagojevich's sole authority to
appoint a successor to the unexpired term of the President-elect's
former Senate seat, which he resigned effective November 16. The
affidavit details numerous conversations about the Senate seat
between November 3 and December 5. In these conversations,
Blagojevich repeatedly discussed the attributes of potential
candidates, including their abilities to benefit the people of
Illinois, and the financial and political benefits he and his wife
could receive if he appointed various of the possible candidates.
Throughout the intercepted conversations, Blagojevich also
allegedly spent significant time weighing the option of appointing
himself to the open Senate seat and expressed a variety of reasons
for doing so, including: frustration at being "stuck" as governor; a
belief that he will be able to obtain greater resources if he is
indicted as a sitting Senator as opposed to a sitting governor; a
desire to remake his image in consideration of a possible run for
President in 2016; avoiding impeachment by the Illinois legislature;
making corporate contacts that would be of value to him after
leaving public office; facilitating his wife's employment as a
lobbyist; and generating speaking fees should he decide to leave
public office.
In the earliest intercepted conversation about the Senate seat
described in the affidavit, Blagojevich told Deputy Governor A on
November 3 that if he is not going to get anything of value for the
open seat, then he will take it for himself: "if . . . they're not
going to offer anything of any value, then I might just take it."
Later that day, speaking to Advisor A, Blagojevich said: "I'm going
to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and
therefore I can drive a hard bargain." He added later that the seat
"is a [expletive] valuable thing, you just don't give it away for
nothing."
Over the next couple of days – Election Day and the day after –
Blagojevich was captured discussing with Deputy Governor A whether
he could obtain a cabinet position, such as Secretary of Health and
Human Services or the Department of Energy or various
ambassadorships. In a conversation with Harris on November 4,
Blagojevich analogized his situation to that of a sports agent
shopping a potential free agent to the highest bidder. The day after
the election, Harris allegedly suggested to Blagojevich that the
President-elect could make him the head of a private foundation.
[to top of second column] |
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Later on November 5, Blagojevich said to Advisor A, "I've got this
thing and its [expletive] golden, and, uh, uh, I'm just not giving
it up for [expletive] nothing. I'm not gonna do it. And, and I can
always use it. I can parachute me there," the affidavit states.
Two days later, in a three-way call with Harris and
Advisor B, a consultant in Washington, Blagojevich and the others
allegedly discussed the prospect of a three-way deal for the Senate
appointment involving an organization called "Change to Win," which
is affiliated with various unions including the Service Employees
International Union (SEIU).
On November 10, Blagojevich, his wife, Harris,
Governor General Counsel, Advisor B and other Washington-based
advisors participated at different times in a two-hour phone call in
which they allegedly discussed, among other things, a deal involving
the SEIU. Harris said they could work out a deal with the union and
the President-elect where SEIU could help the President-elect with
Blagojevich's appointment of Senate Candidate 1, while Blagojevich
would obtain a position as the National Director of the Change to
Win campaign and SEIU would get something favorable from the
President-elect in the future. Also during that call, Blagojevich
agreed it was unlikely that the President-elect would name him
Secretary of Health and Human Services or give him an ambassadorship
because of all of the negative publicity surrounding him.
In a conversation with Harris on November 11, the
charges state, Blagojevich said he knew that the President-elect
wanted Senate Candidate 1 for the open seat but "they're not willing
to give me anything except appreciation. [Expletive] them." Earlier
in that conversation, Blagojevich suggested starting a 501(c)
non-profit organization, which he could head and engage in political
activity and lobbying. In that conversation with Harris and other
discussions with him and others over the next couple of days,
Blagojevich suggested by name several well-known, wealthy
individuals who could be prevailed upon to seed such an organization
with $10-$15 million, and suggesting that he could take the
organization's reins when he is no longer governor, according to the
affidavit.
On November 12, Blagojevich spoke with SEIU Official
who was in Washington. This conversation occurred about a week after
Blagojevich had met with SEIU Official to discuss the Senate seat,
with the understanding that the union official was an emissary to
discuss Senate Candidate 1's interest in the Senate seat. During the
November 12 conversation, Blagojevich allegedly explained the
non-profit organization idea to SEIU Official and said that it could
help Senate Candidate 1. The union official agreed to "put that flag
up and see where it goes," although the official also had said he
wasn't certain if Senate Candidate 1 wanted the official to keep
pushing her candidacy. Senate Candidate 1 eventually removed herself
from consideration for the open seat.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2008/Dec/09/images/ads/current/ja_bch111308.png)
Also on November 12, in a conversation with Harris,
the complaint affidavit states that Blagojevich said his decision
about the open Senate seat will be based on three criteria in the
following order of importance: "our legal situation, our personal
situation, my political situation. This decision, like every other
one, needs to be based upon that. Legal. Personal. Political."
Harris said: "legal is the hardest one to satisfy." Blagojevich said
that his legal problems could be solved by naming himself to the
Senate seat.
As recently as December 4, in separate conversations
with Advisor B and Fundraiser A, Blagojevich said that he was
"elevating" Senate Candidate 5 on the list of candidates because,
among other reasons, if Blagojevich ran for re-election, Senate
Candidate 5 would "raise money" for him. Blagojevich said that he
might be able to cut a deal with Senate Candidate 5 that provided
Blagojevich with something "tangible up front." Noting that he was
going to meet with Senate Candidate 5 in the next few days,
Blagojevich told Fundraiser A to reach out to an intermediary
(Individual D), from whom Blagojevich is attempting to obtain
campaign contributions and who Blagojevich believes is close to
Senate Candidate 5. Blagojevich told Fundraiser A to tell Individual
D that Senate Candidate 5 was a very realistic candidate but
Blagojevich was getting a lot of pressure not to appoint Senate
Candidate 5, according to the affidavit.
Blagojevich allegedly told Fundraiser A to tell
Individual D that if Senate Candidate 5 is going to be chosen, "some
of this stuff's gotta start happening now . . . right now . . . and
we gotta see it." Blagojevich continued, "You gotta be careful how
you express that and assume everybody's listening, the whole world
is listening. You hear me?" Blagojevich further directed Fundraiser
A to talk to Individual D in person, not by phone, and to
communicate the "urgency" of the situation.
Blagojevich spoke to Fundraiser A again the next
day, December 5, and discussed that day's Chicago Tribune
front page article stating that Blagojevich had recently been
surreptitiously recorded as part of the ongoing criminal
investigation. Blagojevich instructed Fundraiser A to "undo your
[Individual D] thing," and Fundraiser A confirmed it would be
undone, the complaint alleges.
Also on December 5, Blagojevich and three others
allegedly discussed whether to move money out of the Friends of
Blagojevich campaign fund to avoid having the money frozen by
federal authorities and also considered the possibility of prepaying
the money to Blagojevich's criminal defense attorney with an
understanding that the attorney would donate the money back at a
later time if it was not needed. They also discussed opening a new
fund raising account named Citizens for Blagojevich with new
contributions.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2008/Dec/09/images/ads/current/actionrentals_sda112808.png)
Misuse of State Funding To Induce Firing of
Chicago Tribune Editorial Writers
According to the affidavit, intercepted phone calls
revealed that the Tribune Company, which owns the Chicago Tribune
and the Chicago Cubs, has explored the possibility of obtaining
assistance from the Illinois Finance Authority (IFA) relating to the
Tribune Company's efforts to sell the Cubs and the financing or sale
of Wrigley Field. In a November 6 phone call, Harris explained to
Blagojevich that the deal the Tribune Company was trying to get
through the IFA was basically a tax mitigation scheme in which the
IFA would own title to Wrigley Field and the Tribune would not have
to pay capital gains tax, which Harris estimated would save the
company approximately $100 million.
Intercepted calls allegedly show that Blagojevich
directed Harris to inform Tribune Owner and an associate, identified
as Tribune Financial Advisor, that state financial assistance would
be withheld unless members of the Chicago Tribune's editorial
board were fired, primarily because Blagojevich viewed them as
driving discussion of his possible impeachment. In a November 4
phone call, Blagojevich allegedly told Harris that he should say to
Tribune Financial Advisor, Cubs Chairman and Tribune Owner, "our
recommendation is fire all those [expletive] people, get 'em the
[expletive] out of there and get us some editorial support."
On November 6, the day of a Tribune editorial
critical of Blagojevich, Harris told Blagojevich that he told
Tribune Financial Advisor the previous day that things "look like
they could move ahead fine but, you know, there is a risk that all
of this is going to get derailed by your own editorial page." Harris
also told Blagojevich that he was meeting with Tribune Financial
Advisor on November 10.
In a November 11 intercepted call, Harris allegedly
told Blagojevich that Tribune Financial Advisor talked to Tribune
Owner and Tribune Owner "got the message and is very sensitive to
the issue." Harris told Blagojevich that according to Tribune
Financial Advisor, there would be "certain corporate reorganizations
and budget cuts coming and, reading between the lines, he's going
after that section." Blagojevich allegedly responded. "Oh. That's
fantastic." After further discussion, Blagojevich said, "Wow. Okay,
keep our fingers crossed. You're the man. Good job, John."
In a further conversation on November 21, Harris
told Blagojevich that he had singled out to Tribune Financial
Advisor the Tribune's deputy editorial page editor, John McCormick,
"as somebody who was the most biased and unfair." After hearing that
Tribune Financial Advisor had assured Harris that the Tribune would
be making changes affecting the editorial board, Blagojevich
allegedly had a series of conversations with Chicago Cubs
representatives regarding efforts to provide state financing for
Wrigley Field. On November 30, Blagojevich spoke with the president
of a Chicago-area sports consulting firm, who indicated that he was
working with the Cubs on matters involving Wrigley Field.
Blagojevich and Sports Consultant discussed the importance of
getting the IFA transaction approved at the agency's December or
January meeting because Blagojevich was contemplating leaving office
in early January and his IFA appointees would still be in place to
approve the deal, the charges allege.
The Government is being represented by Assistant
U.S. Attorneys Reid Schar, Carrie Hamilton and Christopher
Niewoehner.
If convicted, conspiracy to commit mail and wire
fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, while
solicitation of bribery carries a maximum of 10 years in prison, and
each count carries a maximum fine of $250,000. The Court, however,
would determine the appropriate sentence to be imposed under the
advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2008/Dec/09/images/ads/current/dominos_sda120308.png)
The public is reminded that a complaint contains
only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are
presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the
government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable
doubt.
[Text copied from file received]
Source: U.S.
Department of Justice, United States Attorney's Office, Northern
District of Illinois;
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/
pr/chicago/2008/pr1209_01.pdf
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