Rod Blagojevich has been under federal investigation since his election in 2002. The complaint focuses on his activities during 2008 because it appears that the feds wanted to prevent Blagojevich from using his power to appoint a Senator to replace Obama based on bribery, or as a way to improve his position should he be indicted.
The whole story has not been told; the criminal complaint is only the iceberg’s tip. The FBI agent filing the complaint:
Because this affidavit is submitted for the limited purpose of securing a criminal complaint and corresponding arrest warrants, I have not included each and every fact known to me concerning this investigation.
In addition to trying to “sell” the Senate seat, Blagojevich is accused of ...
…beginning no later than November 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH and JOHN HARRIS have corruptly solicited and demanded the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members responsible for editorials critical of ROD BLAGOJEVICH, intending to be influenced and rewarded in connection with State of Illinois financial assistance in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field.
Why did the Blagojevich team go into high gear this year?
As detailed below, in early October 2008, the government obtained information that ROD BLAGOJEVICH was accelerating his corrupt fund raising activities to accumulate as much money as possible before the implementation of ethics legislation on January 1, 2009, that would severely curtail ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s ability to raise money from individuals and entities conducting business with the State of Illinois.
The Rezko connection:
In or about 2000 or 2001, at a meeting with Ata, ROD BLAGOJEVICH who at the time was a member of the United States House of Representatives, told Ata that he was contemplating a run for higher office and asked for Ata’s support. Ata agreed to support him. Thereafter, Ata observed that Rezko was close to ROD BLAGOJEVICH and was very involved in fund raising for ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s campaign, including overseeing Ata’s own fund raising efforts on behalf of ROD BLAGOJEVICH.
19. In or about 2002, Ata had several conversations with Rezko regarding the possibility of a high level appointment for Ata in state government should ROD BLAGOJEVICH be elected. At Rezko’s direction, Ata put together a list of three state agencies to which he would be interested in being appointed, including the Capital Development Board.
Rezko was a principal fundraiser for ROD BLAGOJEVICH. 3 His criminal trial focused on allegations that Rezko and Stuart Levine, a member of the board of trustees of the Teachers Retirement System and the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, engaged in a scheme to defraud the State of Illinois of Levine’s honest services by demanding kickbacks, as well as political contributions to the campaign of ROD BLAGOJEVICH, in return for the exercise of Levine’s official influence. Relevant evidence presented at the Rezko trial is summarized below.
This is apparently the Rezko that Obama did not know.
The complaint provides several more instances of the Rezko Blagojevich connection for those who are interested.
There is some eyebrow-raising information about the Illinois State Planning Board which determines if a hospital can be built based on a “Certificate of Need.” We have these in Virginia and it is revealing how these boards can be used for corrupt purposes.
Blagojevich also used his ability to determine who got contracts to run the State’s pension money to enrich himself.
Part of the complaint involves the use of highway construction funds to obtain large campaign contributions:
According to Individual A, after Individual B left the meeting on October 6, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH told Individual A that he was going to make an upcoming announcement concerning a $1.8 billion project involving the Tollway Authority. ROD BLAGOJEVICH told Individual A that Lobbyist 1 was going to approach Highway Contractor 1 to ask for $500,000 for Friends of Blagojevich. ROD BLAGOJEVICH told Individual A that, “I could have made a larger announcement but wanted to see how they perform by the end of the year. If they don’t perform, fuck ‘em.” According to Individual A, he/she believed that ROD BLAGOJEVICH was telling Individual A that ROD BLAGOJEVICH expected Highway Contractor 1 to raise $500,000 in contributions to Friends of Blagojevich and that ROD BLAGOJEVICH is willing to commit additional state money to the Tollway project but is waiting to see how much money Highway Contractor 1 raises for Friends of Blagojevich.
This raises legitimate questions about the potential for widespread corruption in connection with the hundreds of billions of dollars that Obama plans to spend on infrastructure projects in the coming years.
Most of the discussion regarding the plan to sell the Illinois Senate seat to the highest bidder has focused on the process. What is equally interesting are the many possibilities for getting rich that are open to a well-connected politician – especially one that has the ear of a President.
In the case of Blagojevich these include an interest in getting an appointment to the Red Cross, becoming the head of a private foundation dependent on federal funding. Becoming the leader of a union organization. There was also talk of getting himself or his wife appointed to a number of corporate boards, which usually are well paid for very little work. Also of great interest was setting up a 501 (c) (4) organization with the aid of wealthy supporters of Obama like Warren Buffet as a way of creating a pool of money that Blagojevich would run for his personal benefit while advancing his political aspirations.
What the Blagojevich complaint illustrates graphically is the potential for graft on a widespread scale in government. The scale of that graft expands exponentially as government grows and dispenses hundreds of billions, even trillions, of dollars. There is a lesson here that should inform the public about the ways that corruption goes hand-in-hand with public pools of money.
Also, note the focus on ways of making money illegally via so-called non-profit organizations. The Blagojevich complaint opened my eyes. And I thought I was fairly sophisticated in such matters.
Thanks to Small Dead Animals for the link
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