December 22, 2007

Illinois gov. Rod Blagojevich now part of FBI's "pay-to-play" corruption investigation

From this:

Federal prosecutors for the first time brought their corruption investigation to the desk of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, making public Friday the allegations of two convicted insiders who say the governor offered them state business for their political backing.

In a 78-page court filing that identifies the governor only as "Public Official A," federal authorities detailed the accusations of the two former political operatives who have already pleaded guilty in a shakedown scheme and are cooperating with prosecutors.

Blagojevich told one of the men he "could award contracts, legal work and investment banking to help with fundraising," according to the filing.

The other insider, Stuart Levine, described a flight home from a New York trip during which he thanked Blagojevich for reappointing him to an influential and allegedly corrupt state hospital board.

"You stick with us and you will do very well for yourself," Blagojevich replied, according to the court document.

Levine did not have a direct conversation with Blagojevich about the board activities but he understood the governor "meant that Levine could make a lot of money working with Public Official A's administration," according to the filing.

Oddly enough, the Tribune appears to have pulled a background on Blago's woes that was excerpted here. I read the article on their site, but when I refreshed the page it was gone. In any case, another person involved in this issue is Antoin "Tony" Rezko, who's also linked to Obama. See the sidebar articles at the first link or this.

Previously:
FBI probes Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich; hiring kickback?
DOJ sues Illinois over statewide sanctuary policy (Blagojevich)
Rod Blagojevich, Luis Gutierrez, and the alleged FALN terrorist
Illinois House approves driver's licenses for illegal aliens
Will Rod Blagojevich pro-illegal immigration scheme violate law?
Illegal aliens march in Chicago, get support from Blago, Gutierrez, local media
Blagojevich-linked group agitating illegal aliens, calls for general strike
Blagojevich stands behind NOI member on Illinois hate crimes commission
Blagojevich gives illegal aliens better deal than veterans

Posted to Politics at December 22, 2007 08:03 PM