AT&T Illinois president pleads not guilty to corruption charge tied to
Madigan case
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 [October 22, 2022]
(The Center Square) – The
former AT&T Illinois president accused of trying to illegally influence
former House Speaker Michael Madigan pleaded not guilty Friday to
multiple charges.
Paul La Schiazza, 65, entered the plea one week after federal
prosecutors unsealed an indictment charging him with one count of
conspiracy and one count of corruptly awarding a public official.
According to prosecutors, AT&T Illinois admitted that in 2017 it
arranged for a Madigan associate to receive $22,500 in payments from the
company, but the associate performed no actual work.
“AT&T Illinois caused the payments to be made through an intermediary –
a lobbying firm that performed services for AT&T Illinois – to conceal
the true nature of the payments, which was to influence and reward
Madigan’s efforts as Speaker to assist the company with respect to
certain legislation,” the indictment alleges. “Although the members of
the conspiracy formulated a pretextual assignment for Madigan’s ally to
disguise why the ally was being paid, the ally performed no actual work
for AT&T Illinois and had no role in advancing the legislation, the
indictment states.”
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Former Illinois House Speaker Michael
Madigan
Image courtesy of BlueRoomStream
La Schiazza is charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of
corruptly giving something of value to reward a public official, and
three counts of using a facility in interstate commerce to promote
unlawful activity.
Madigan, who already faced 22 federal corruption counts in a case
prosecutors say was a nearly decade long criminal enterprise between
utility ComEd and Madigan and associates using official positions
for personal gain, was also charged with an additional count related
to the AT&T Illinois case.
Prosecutors charged Madigan last week with corruptly arranging
payments to be made to a political ally as part of an alleged
conspiracy involving Illinois Bell Telephone Company, which does
business as AT&T Illinois.
AT&T Illinois has agreed to pay a $23 million fine for trying to
sway Madigan.
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