Blagojevich prosecution delayed, US Justice Department Patrick Fitzgerald conspiracy, Tony Rezko fall guy, Rezko attorneys contact me

“The citizens of Illinois deserve public officials who act solely in the public’s interest, without putting a price tag on government appointments, contracts and decisions.”…Patrick Fitzgerald

“I was not going to wait until March or April or May to get it all nice and tidy”  “I think that would be irresponsible.””…Patrick Fitzgerald

“Governor Blagojevich has been arrested in the middle of what we can only describe as a political corruption crime spree. We acted to stop that crime spree.”…Patrick Fitzgerald

“I just think it’s very, very disturbing that we have these pay-to-play allegations going on for years.”…Patrick Fitzgerald

Tony Rezko, Rod Blagojevich and other Chicago corruption figures are scheduled for sentencing in a few days. The US Justice Department knew about corruption in the administration of Governor Blagojevich by at least the latter part of 2003. Here is what we know from US Justice Department and court records and media reports.

2002

From the Blagojevich arrest press release.

Pay-to-Play Schemes

“The charges include historical allegations that Blagojevich and Harris schemed with others – including previously convicted defendants Antoin Rezko, Stuart Levine, Ali Ata and others – since becoming governor in 2002 to obtain and attempt to obtain financial benefits for himself, his family and third parties, including his campaign committee, Friends of Blagojevich, in exchange for appointments to state boards and commissions, state employment, state contracts and access to state funds.”

2003

From the Washington Post December 22, 2008.

The wide-ranging public corruption probe that led to the arrest of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich got its first big break when a grandmother of six walked into a breakfast meeting with shakedown artists wearing an FBI wire.
Pamela Meyer Davis had been trying to win approval from a state health planning board for an expansion of Edward Hospital, the facility she runs in a Chicago suburb, but she realized that the only way to prevail was to retain a politically connected construction company and a specific investment house. Instead of succumbing to those demands, she went to the FBI and U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald in late 2003 and agreed to secretly record conversations about the project.

Her tapes led investigators down a twisted path of corruption that over five years has ensnared a collection of behind-the-scenes figures in Illinois government, including Joseph Cari Jr., a former Democratic National Committee member, and disgraced businessman Antoin “Tony” Rezko.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/21/AR2008122102334.html?wpisrc=newsletter

2004

• March – May 2004: FBI chart presented to the Rezko Trial jury on April 28, 2008, shows 257 calls from Rezko’s phones to Blagojevich’s chief of staff, Lon Monk, between March 2004 and May 2004
• June 7, 2004: Stuart Levine, a longtime Republican reappointed to the powerful Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, abruptly resigns on the eve of several important hospital expansion votes. The revelation is the first indication that the Blagojevich administration is under federal criminal investigation.
• June 27, 2004: The Chicago Tribune discloses that an official for one hospital seeking permission to expand was wearing a federal bug during meetings in an effort to expose extortion attempts by Levine and others for contributions to Blagojevich.
• July 2, 2004: Levine resigns from his seat on the board of the state Teachers’ Retirement System. It remains undisclosed that federal authorities had secretly taped Levine’s conversations.

Why wasn’t Rod Blagojevich indicted in 2005?

• May 9, 2005: Levine is indicted on corruption charges. Federal subpoenas are issued to numerous administration sources, including top Blagojevich fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko.
• May 20, 2005: The governor’s office acknowledges to the Tribune that Rezko has an ongoing eight-year professional relationship with Patricia Blagojevich’s home-based real estate brokerage, River Realty Inc.
• September 15, 2005: Prominent Democratic fundraiser Joseph Cari and a former lawyer for the state’s teacher’s pension board pleads guilty in an extortion scheme that steered state pension business to favored companies in exchange for campaign contributions to a high-ranking public official described in court documents only as “Public official A.”
• October 25, 2005: The Tribune discloses a federal grand jury investigation into the alleged political hiring practices of the Blagojevich administration, including the governor’s top hiring aide, Joseph Cini.

Or

2006

• August 5, 2006: The Chicago Tribune reports that Stuart Levine is cooperating with the federal investigation of state government.
• October 11, 2006: Stuart Levine pleads guilty. Levine is cooperating with the government. Patrick Fitzgerald: “This indictment describes a frenzy of corrupt scheming, particularly in April and May 2004, in which political insiders sought to manipulate the activities of two state boards to fleece investment firms and individuals. The defendants and their associates put the word out loud and clear: you have to pay to play in Illinois.”  http://www.justice.gov/usao/iln/pr/chicago/2006/pr1011_01.pdf

Or

2007

• January 16, 2007:”Judicial Watch filed an open records lawsuit against the office of Governor Rod Blagojevich (D-IL), who is under federal investigation on several fronts, including corrupt hiring practices. Judicial Watch’s lawsuit, filed on January 16, 2007 in the Cook County, Illinois Circuit Court, specifically seeks, among other documents, any and all grand jury subpoenas received by the Governor’s office or any state agencies under the Governor’s control. The subpoenas reportedly were issued by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s office.Governor Blagojevich’s office refuses to release the subpoenas, claiming they are exempt from public disclosure. In a letter to Judicial Watch dated December 7, 2006, Allison Benway, Legal Counsel for Governor Blagojevich stated, “This Office cannot confirm or deny the existence of the documents requested, and even if this Office were to have documents responsive to your request, such documents would be exempt from release…””  http://www.judicialwatch.org/blagojevich
•  March 9, 2007: Anita Mahajan, with business ties to Patti Blagojevich, received six felony charges.
• December 13, 2007: Blagojevich fundraiser Christopher Kelly is indicted on federal tax evasion charges.

Or prosecuted in spring of 2008 instead of Tony Rezko.

Rod Blagojevich was governor of Illinois and had been monitored since late 2003. Tony Rezko was a businessman and never called as a witness.

Despite the doubletalk coming from Patrick Fitzgerald about protecting the citizens of Illinois, Blagojevich was arrested after the 2008 election in December.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tjdEuVC1Pk]

Patrick Fitzgerald’s own words are damning.

“I was not going to wait until March or April or May to get it all nice and tidy”  “I think that would be irresponsible.””

“Governor Blagojevich has been arrested in the middle of what we can only describe as a political corruption crime spree. We acted to stop that crime spree.”.

“I just think it’s very, very disturbing that we have these pay-to-play allegations going on for years.”

And perhaps one more.

“We make no allegations that Obama was aware of any alleged scheming by Blagojevich.”

Rezko attorneys, contact me.