 During those days, he will scramble to get his financial affairs in
order and spend a final birthday and Christmas at home with his
wife, Patti, and their two young daughters before heading off to
prison to serve the sentence handed down Wednesday.The next time
Blagojevich gets to spend Christmas or his birthday with his
children -- 15-year-old Amy and 8-year-old Annie -- they will likely
be young adults. Blagojevich, whose 55th birthday is Saturday, won't
be eligible for early release for about 12 years, when he will be
around 67 years old.
"I've had a lot of clients who've had to start making
preparations the day after they were sentenced," said Gal Pissetzky,
a federal defense attorney based in Chicago. "But not a single one
of them has been able to prepare for saying goodbye to their
children."
Judge James Zagel sentenced Blagojevich on Wednesday on 18 counts
of corruption, including his June convictions on charges that he
tried to sell or trade an appointment to President Barack Obama's
U.S. Senate seat for campaign cash or a top job. The impeached
governor must report to prison on Feb. 16.
The Blagojeviches, who say his legal troubles also devastated
them financially, put their home up for sale after he was convicted
in June, and he would likely want to find a buyer before he heads
off to prison. They initially listed it for $1.07 million but
reportedly lowered the price recently by several thousand dollars.
To make sure his wife can make those and other financial
transactions on her own, Blagojevich will also want to make sure he
signs necessary papers to give her power of attorney, Pissetzky
said.
There's also the issue of an appeal, something Blagojevich and
his attorneys can finally focus on now that the judge has pronounced
the sentence.
Federal authorities must still make a final decision about where
Blagojevich will serve his time. Wherever it is, Blagojevich will be
largely cut off from the outside world. He will have to share a cell
with other inmates and work a menial job, possibly scrubbing toilets
or mopping floors, at just 12 cents an hour.
On Wednesday, the Rod Blagojevich who once challenged a
prosecutor to face him like a man, the glad-handing politician who
took to celebrity TV shows to profess his innocence, was nowhere to
be found. Frowning and pulling nervously at his tie, the disgraced
former governor did his best to display humility in hopes of
convincing Judge Zagel to hand him a lesser sentence.
He licked his lips nervously as he stepped up to address the
judge -- mouthing the words, "I love you," to his wife. Leaning into
a hefty oak podium, gripping its sides, the normally fast-talking
Blagojevich spoke slowly, sometimes pausing to search for the right
word.
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"My life is ruined," he told Zagel. Accentuating each word, he
added, "I have nobody to blame but myself. ... I am just so
incredibly sorry."
The two-term Democrat offered more than half a dozen apologies,
including to his former constituents across Illinois. But he
stopped, seemingly to gather his composure, when he said he also
owed an apology to his family.
"I have ruined their innocence," he said quietly.
It was not enough for Zagel, who proceeded to give Blagojevich
close to the 15 to 20 years prosecutors had sought.
"When it is the governor who goes bad," Zagel said, "the fabric
of Illinois is torn and disfigured and not easily repaired."
Blagojevich slumped forward in his chair, momentarily frozen as
the judge pronounced the sentence. Moments later, his wife, Patti,
fell into his arms; when he pulled back from their embrace, he
brushed tears from her cheek.
It took two trials for prosecutors to snare Blagojevich. His
first ended deadlocked, with jurors agreeing on just one of 24
counts -- that Blagojevich lied to the FBI. Jurors at his retrial
convicted him on 17 of 20 counts, including bribery and attempted
extortion.
Blagojevich responded to his Dec. 9, 2008, arrest with defiance,
proclaiming his innocence with a media blitz. He pursued the
spotlight after he was removed from office, appearing in reality TV
shows such as "Celebrity Apprentice."
But Blagojevich clearly dreaded the idea of prison time. Asked in
an interview before his retrial about whether he dwelled on that
prospect, he answered: "No. I don't let myself go there."
[Associated Press;
By MICHAEL TARM and DON BABWIN]
Associated Press writer Deanna Bellandi contributed to this report.
Michael Tarm can be reached at
http://twitter.com/mtarm. Don
Babwin can be reached at
http://twitter.com/dbabwin.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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