Blagojevich wanted ‘good gig’ for Senate appointment, court filing shows [Rezko]

Chicago Tribune ^ | April 14, 2010 | Jeff Coen, John Chase and David Kidwell

[CutePuppy]

Months after winning the state's highest office, Rod Blagojevich and some of his closest advisers met to discuss how they could turn their political fortune into personal riches, with the new governor listening as Antoin "Tony" Rezko stood at a board and outlined the ideas, prosecutors alleged in a new court filing Wednesday.

Rezko, one of the governor's top fundraisers, was the alleged mastermind of some of the plans. Chris Kelly, the Blagojevich confidant who took his own life last fall, sometimes hopped up to add his two cents, prosecutors alleged.

Also there was Alonzo "Lon" Monk, then Blagojevich's chief of staff, who has since pleaded guilty to corruption charges and agreed to help the government, prosecutors said.

"Blagojevich mostly listened during the meeting, but was engaged," as the men talked about divvying up hundreds of thousands of dollars from state actions, according to the new filing.

.....

The 91-page document, released after the Chicago Tribune and other news media asked a federal judge to unseal it, accuses Blagojevich of running the state as a criminal racket almost from the start of his first term in 2003. It also paints Blagojevich as desperate for money and wanting to leave office — and in fact the state — by shortly before his arrest in December 2008.

"I'd like to get out, the (expletive) outta here," he once told a top aide as federal agents secretly recorded him.

While the document outlines allegations that are now well-known to the public, it sheds some new light on allegations that Blagojevich schemed to use his position to make money — including trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama.

.....

[CutePuppy]

Blagojevich's defense attorneys fought to keep the proffer under seal, arguing that prosecutors were unfairly excerpting hundreds of hours of recordings to make their client look guilty.

[OneLoyalAmerican]

Wonder when we’ll get to see the full transcripts? Rumor has it Andy Stern’s name comes up.

Gee, didn’t Andy resign from something the other day?

[CutePuppy]

If Stern's name is in this 91-page transcript, it's not in this article. But some other juicy stuff is:

Prosecutors allege that many of the plans hatched by the governor's insiders died once word broke in 2004 that the FBI had launched "Operation Board Games" — an investigation into behind-the-scenes shenanigans at state boards and commissions. But as investigators won a conviction against Rezko and closed in on some of the governor's other allies, they persuaded a judge to allow agents to tap the phones of the state's chief executive.

By fall 2008, federal agents were listening in as Blagojevich and others, including his brother, Robert, discussed what the government portrays as a brazen scheme to cash in on their power.....

In one conversation with John Harris, his then-chief of staff who was also indicted and is cooperating with the government, Blagojevich allegedly discussed going to work in Washington if he appointed Obama's preference for the Senate seat, his friend Valerie Jarrett. "The objective is to, to get a good gig over there," Blagojevich said.

During one recorded phone call in November 2008, Blagojevich told his wife she might be able to become national director of the labor organization Change to Win. ..... "I'd like a four-year contract for a million a year or somethin' ... or 750 or whatever. It'd have to be good. Obama's got excess money, he just gives them more money." .....

Thwarted in efforts to trade the Senate appointment for an Obama cabinet post, ambassadorship or a million-dollar job, Blagojevich turned his attention back to the ambitions of U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., the proffer says.

One recorded conversation has the former governor describing Jackson as the only one left who "wants it badly and desperately and he's the only one who's willing to, like, offer stuff."

It was one of a series of Dec. 4, 2008, calls in which Blagojevich described his disdain for Jackson, but his appreciation of the $1.5 million Jackson supporters had promised in campaign cash in exchange for appointing Jackson. Jackson has steadfastly denied any role in such a scheme, but a longtime ally, Raghuveer Nayak, is cooperating with federal authorities in the probe. .....

[OneLoyalAmerican]

BINGO!

Change to win

[HiTech RedNeck]

There must be something in the water in Springfield. Drives both Pubs and Rats, bats (though the Rats have a vast head start).

[CutePuppy]

There must be something in the water in Springfield.

Contagious pathogenic bacteria Cultura Corrupti.

[ChiMark]

WLS-AM radio gives Blago a two (2) hour program on the weekends.

Why would anyone listen to this fool is puzzling.

[CutePuppy]

One word - "celebrity".

Though there is absolutely nothing to celebrate about current crop of celebrities, many manage to extend their 15 minutes of "fame" into a full hour of infamy.

[ETL]

Justice Department Briefing on Blagojevich Investigation:
Patrick Fitzgerald, United States attorney general for the Northern District of Illinois [speaking to press]:
Published: December 9, 2008, New York Times

Excerpts from the transcript:

Fitzgerald: "In the governor's words -- governor's words, quote, 'Fire all those bleeping people. Get them the bleep out of there. And get us some editorial support', close quote. And the bleeps are not really bleeps."

(snip)

Fitzgerald: "A month or so ago a $1.8 billion tollway project was announced. While that tollway project was being announced, Governor Blagojevich was privately seeking to have a person benefiting from that contract raise $100,000 in contributions, and privately the government (sic) said, 'I could have made a larger announcement but wanted to see how they would perform by the end of the year. If they don't perform, bleep 'em.' That's a quote. And the word 'bleep' was not the word he used."

(snip)

Fitzgerald: "The governor's own words describing the Senate seat, quote, 'It's a bleeping valuable thing -- thing. You just don't give it away for nothing', close quote."

Fitzgerald: "Another quote, 'I've got this thing, and it's bleeping golden. And I'm just not giving it up for bleeping nothing. I'm not going to do it, and I can always use it; I can parachute me there,' quote. Those are his words, not our characterization, other than with regard to the bleep."

Fitzgerald: "The tapes reveal that Governor Blagojevich wanted a number of things in exchange for making the appointment to the Senate seat -- an appointment as secretary of health and human services or an ambassadorship, an appointment to a private foundation, a higher paying job for his wife or campaign contributions."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/us/politics/09text-illinois.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all
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Blago's wife...

"Mrs. Blago, the former Patti Mell, won the hearts of old-school thugs everywhere with her f-word-filled rants captured on FBI wiretaps, some of which were colorfully detailed in the criminal complaint against her hubby..." --Michelle Malkin, December 17, 2008

http://710knus.townhall.com/columnists/MichelleMalkin/2008/12/17/the_real_housewives_of_crook_county
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