Ex-banker pleads guilty in Ill. hospital fraud

[February 26, 2009]  CHICAGO (AP) -- A politically connected former investment banker has admitted he told the CEO of a suburban Chicago hospital that she had to hire a contractor favored by disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

P. Nicholas Hurtgen did not say Wednesday that Blagojevich was involved in the scheme. But he says he told the hospital executive that it was "all about money" for political campaigns.

He says he told the hospital chief that not hiring the contractor would mean never getting permission to proceed with a major construction project.

Hurtgen pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to abetting mail fraud.

The 46-year-old banker is a key figure in the government's investigation of corruption on the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.