Posted on 04/17/2006 9:03:49 AM PDT by Petruchio
FoxNews
Guilty on all counts
L
Illinois politics, including Illinois Republican politics, makes a cesspool smell good by comparison.
Pretty sharp moderatin' - I had to load a java applet for the translation.
Former Gov. George Ryan was found guilty by a federal jury Monday of all 18 counts against him, ending a historic, marathon public corruption trial that started more than six months ago.
The six-man, six-woman jury reached one of the most awaited verdicts in recent history after 10 days of deliberations and after U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer reconstituted the panel, swapping two dismissed jurors with alternates.
Ryan's codefendant, Lawrence Warner, 67, a lobbyist and businessman. was also found guilty on all counts against him.
The courtroom was packed with family of the defendants, including Ryan's wife, Lura Lynn, his son and others. Also packed in were judges and lawyers, including U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and a son of Janet and Scott Willis. The couple lost six children in a fiery truck accident - the truck driver in that accident was tied to corruption under Ryan.
Ryan, 72, who served eight years as Illinois secretary of state and four years as governor, was accused of using his official position to steer state contracts to pals such as Warner. Ryan is also accused of lying to the FBI, misusing his campaign fund and filing false tax forms.
Prosecutors say Warner, 67, made $3 million in the time Ryan held state office. Warner made much of the money, they contended, after shaking down vendors for lobbying work and threatening to cut off their state contracts in some instances if they didn't pay him. He also made big money off of state leases that he won under Ryan in which Warner's financial interest was hidden.
The trial itself ended more than a month ago and the trial started with jury selection seven months ago.
2. Now, at least convicted felon Ryan and the convicted felon co-defendant won't be voting for Judy Baaaaah Tooooooopinkovna in November.
3. Now indict Tooooopinkovna, Kjellander, Blagojevich, Daley, et al. Keep the ball rolling! 3.
Ryan sat stone-faced as the verdict was read.
A racketeering conspiracy charge included in the 22-count indictment against Ryan and a lobbyist friend carried a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Ryan's sentencing was scheduled for Aug. 4.
Speaking after the verdict was read, defense attorney Daniel Webb promised to try to get the verdict overturned. If that did not happen, he said Ryan would appeal, citing "unusual developments" during jury deliberations.
"Much of that is under seal, but that seal will be lifted, and you all can make your judgment yourself about how unusual the developments have been during this jury deliberation," Webb said.
Ryan also made a brief statement, saying he was confident in his chances at an appeal.
"I believe this decision today is not in accordance with the kind of public service that I have provided to the people of Illinois over the last 40 years," Ryan said. "And needless to say, I am disappointed with the outcome."
The jury deliberated for 10 days before revealing on the 11th day it had reached its decision, ending the state's biggest political corruption trial in decades. The jury arrived at 9:30 a.m. Monday and apparently reached a decision in less than an hour.
Larry Warner, Ryan's co-defendant, and his attorney arrived around 11:10 a.m. Ryan arrived a short time later with his wife, Lura Lynn, and his attorney.
The charges against former Gov. George Ryan and lobbyist Lawrence Warner, in a 22-count indictment. Ryan was found guilty on all 18 counts against him. Warner was found guilty on all 12 counts against him:
Count 1, racketeering conspiracy: Ryan and Warner guilty.
Ryan and Warner conspired to defraud the people of Illinois by using Ryan's elected offices for personal gain. Ryan defrauded the state of honest services by funneling lobbying contracts and state leases to Warner and others, using and promoting state employees for political work and gutting the Secretary of State's internal investigation unit.
Counts 2 to 10, mail fraud:
Count 2: Both guilty
Count 3: Both guilty
Count 4:Both guilty
Count 5: Both guilty
Count 6: Both guilty
Count 7: Both guilty
Count 8: Both guilty
Count 9: Ryan guilty
Count 10: Ryan guilty
As part of the conspiracy, Warner and others, including lobbyists Donald Udstuen and Arthur "Ron" Swanson, used the mail to send and receive corrupt payments that benefited themselves and Ryan.
Counts 11 to 13, making false statements to the FBI:
Count 11: Ryan guilty
Count 12: Ryan guilty
Count 13: Ryan guilty
In three interviews with the FBI, Ryan lied to investigators. On Jan. 5, 2000, he said he paid for vacations at the Jamaican villa of businessman Harry Klein, when he knew Klein reimbursed him in cash. On Oct. 16, 2000, he said he never gave Warner advance knowledge about a state lease. On Feb. 5, 2001, he said he did not provide dinner theater owner Anthony De Santis with the names and addresses of family members to skirt campaign donation reporting rules.
Count 14, attempted extortion: Warner guilty.
Warner attempted to extort payments from Chicago-based American Decal Manufacturing, the firm that produced state license plate stickers. Warner, who made some $332,000 from ADM while Ryan was secretary of state, threatened to use his influence with Ryan to end the firm's monopoly on the contract.
Counts 15 and 16, money laundering:
Count 15: Warner guilty
Count 16: Warner guilty
Warner laundered some $45,000 in Ryan-ordered payments to Udstuen through American Management Resources, a firm owned by an Udstuen friend.
Count 17, structuring: Warner guilty.
Warner routinely withdrew cash in amounts under $10,000 to prevent triggering an automatic report to the Internal Revenue Service. As part of that pattern, he cashed personal checks for $9,000 and $5,000 on Aug. 4 and 5, 1997.
Count 18, impeding the IRS: Ryan guilty.
Ryan diverted money from his political fund, Citizens for Ryan, to himself and family members but failed to correctly report the funds to the IRS.
Counts 19 to 22, filing false tax returns:
Count 19: Ryan guilty
Count 20: Ryan guilty
Count 21: Ryan guilty
Count 22: Ryan guilty
Ryan knowingly filed false amended tax returns for 1995-1998.
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IIRC, this case was supposed to be "yet another example" of the ineptness of Patrick Fitzgerald, particularly based on the dismissal of a couple jurors after the trial proper had been concluded.
I'm happy to see Ryan convicted. News reports that the conviction will be appealed The grounds for that will be interesting too.
This coming from a low-life who ended all death row sentences just to suck up to oprah and such..what gall..hope he spends the rest of his life in jail..
Surprise, surprise.
Former IL Governor, George Ryan, is found guilty.
With the numbers of jurors dismissed, I thought a hung jury would occur.
Good riddance.
George Ryan gave Republicans a bad name, partly for his corruption, but also due to his RINO policies. That's why I don't support Judith Baar Topinka for Governor.
Odd.
This thread was pulled from breaking news. Yet, another thread started over two hours later remains in breaking news.
Thats funny.......thats the same thing Dan Proft said! :-)
AMEN!!
Oh sheesh...
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