‘Stunned’ Blagojevich found guilty on 17 counts

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Updated: October 28, 2011 12:37PM

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was found guilty Monday of 17 out of 20 federal corruption charges — including all charges tied to allegations that the Chicago Democrat tried to trade an appointment to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama.

“Patti and I are obviously very disappointed in the outcome,” Blagojevich, standing with his wife, Patti Blagojevich, told reporters after the verdict was announced. “I, frankly, am stunned.”

The former governor blew kisses to supporters as he got in an SUV to leave, to the sound of some boos directed his way by spectators who gathered outside the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in downtown Chicago.

The jury of 11 women and one man deliberated for nine days before finding Blagojevich guilty on all but three of the charges he faced at his second trial, adding another chapter to the state’s long history of wrongdoing by public officials.

“I think it sends a message,” the jury forewoman — a Naperville resident who is a retired director of music and liturgy at a church — said of the verdict.

A second juror said Blagojevich’s personality, on display when he testified in his own defense, made it harder to convict him.

“I think because he was personable, it made it hard to separate [that] from what we had to do as jurors,” that juror said.

The entire jury appeared, together, in a courtroom made available so they could talk with reporters. All spoke without identifying themselves, and the judge hasn’t released the jury list yet.

“It was very difficult,” another juror said. “Many times, we had to keep re-voting.”

That juror said that indecision was on a “mixture of all” the counts.

A fourth juror — who had laughed at many of Blagojevich’s jokes on the witness sand — said she tried to give him every benefit of the doubt but that the evidence was overwhelming.

“He proved himself guilty beyond any reasonable doubt,” that juror said. “He kept saying ‘Do it!’ ‘Push it!’ ‘Get it done!’ That’s where he crossed the line.”

U.S. District Judge James Zagel did not immediately set a date for sentencing. But he said Blagojevich can’t travel outside the northern district of Illinois without his permission.

Blagojevich’s brother — and onetime codefendant — Robert Blagojevich, said the guilty verdict is “life-altering” for not only the former governor but also for his wife and their two daughters.

“This is a Blagojevich family tragedy — for Patti, for their daughters, for us peripherally,” Rob Blagojevich said. “This is a major, life-altering verdict for my brother and his family.”

He had been tried along with his brother last summer. The jury in that first trial deadlocked on all his counts, and prosecutors eventually dropped their case against Robert Blagojevich.

With Monday’s conviction, Rod Blagojevich joins former Illinois governors George Ryan and Otto Kerner in being convicted of corruption tied to their public offices. Former Gov. Dan Walker was convicted of crimes for acts after he left office.

Blagojevich’s conviction — announced before a full courtroom that included U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and FBI Chicago Special Agent-in-Charge Robert Grant — means Illinois’ last two governors have been convicted of federal crimes.

He said Blagojevich was undone by evidence that was tough to refute —his own words, caught on secretly recorded tapes.

“A famous artist once said: Lady Justice is blind — but she has very sophisticated listening devices,” Grant said. “And that was certainly the case in this matter. If asked, I’m sure the jurors would tell you the recorded conversations of Gov. Blagojevich were a deciding factor in determining his guilt. In all my years of experience, there is no better evidence you can present to a jury than their own words, in their own voice, Gov. Blagojevich was caught in unguarded moments expressing his true desire, which was to personally profit from his public service.”

Fitzgerald referred to Ryan’s conviction five years ago as he thanked the jury, which he said “sent a loud and clear message that Gov. Blagojevich committed very serious crimes — shaking down a children’s hospital, trying to sell a Senate seat and demanding cash campaign contributions in advance before signing a bill.

“Five years ago, another jury sent a message that corruption was not tolerable in Illinois politics. Gov. Blagojevich did not get that message. I hope that message is heard this time.”

Fitzgerald bristled at the defense’s contention that Blagojevich had been engaging in politics as usual, rather than committing a crime, when “he tried to sell a Senate seat and shake people down.”

“That’s not politics as usual,” Fitzgerald said. “That’s a crime.”

Last summer, Blagojevich was convicted at his first trial of lying to the FBI, but that jury deadlocked on the 23 other charges he then faced. That charge alone could land him in prison for five years.

In all, Blagojevich faces a maximum prison sentence that adds up to 300 years, though legal experts predicted that Zagel will impose a sentence closer to 10 years.

Fitzgerald would not say how long of a sentence his office would seek but said the crimes the former governor was convicted of were “very serious.”

For Blagojevich’s retrial, prosecutors offered a streamlined case that included dropping three counts against Blagojevich. The former governor was the sole defendant in the retrial after prosecutors dropped all charges against the ex-governor’s brother, Robert Blagojevich, who originally faced trial with him.

Of the counts, 11 of them involved the alleged sale of Obama’s vacated Senate seat — nine wire fraud counts, as well as conspiracy to commit extortion, attempted extortion and conspiracy to solicit a bribe. Prosecutors broke down the case into five alleged shakedown schemes, including regarding the Senate seat and charged that he held up official acts on the Illinois Tollway, horse-racing legislation, a school grant and on Children’s Memorial Hospital while demanding campaign contributions.

The jury’s decision in this trial came after Blagojevich made his biggest legal gambit, deciding to take the witness stand in his own defense. Blagojevich did not testify during his first trial.

This time, Blagojevich was on the stand for parts of seven days. He repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and called himself an “effin’ jerk” for the foul language he used that was caught on secret FBI recordings. He also said he consulted with advisers and his lawyer when talking about who to appoint to the Senate seat and wasn’t making a deal to benefit himself. Blagojevich repeatedly testified he had made no final decision on who he would appoint to the Senate seat, but claimed he was close to crafting a deal involving the appointment of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to the Senate seat. He said he was arrested before the deal could happen.

In cross-examination, Assistant U.S. Attorney Reid Schar quickly worked to attack Blagojevich’s credibility, asking: “You are a convicted liar, correct?”

That was a turning point for many jurors.

“That scared us all to death,” one juror told reporters Monday, as others laughed and nodded in agreement. “We were so nervous after that little segment of the trial. We were unanimous on that. I think — because the trial up until then had not been very dramatic.”

It was during his cross-examination that Blagojevich admitted that a promised $1.5 million campaign contribution offered by supporters of U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. to name the Chicago Democrat to the Senate would have been “absolutely illegal.” But he wouldn’t agree that the offer was an attempted “bribe,’’ as Schar characterized it.

Blagojevich never got the proposed contribution.

But in her closing argument, Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Hamilton said it didn’t matter that the former governor was unsuccessful in getting something in exchange for the Senate seat appointment. The fact that he asked his brother to hold a meeting with the same Jackson supporter who had offered something was enough to find him guilty, she said. She also said Blagojevich broke the law when he asked a union leader and friend of then President-elect

Obama about a Cabinet position while considering top Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett for the Senate seat.

“The law protects people from being squeezed,” Hamilton said. “The harm is done when the ask is made because that’s the violation of the people’s trust.”

Blagojevich’s jury included 11 women and one man — a makeup that experts initially said would seem to favor Blagojevich, since many of the women in the last jury were hung on at least some of the counts. The sole male juror in the group is someone the defense had tried kicking off for cause.

“I figured he was possibly guilty, but that was just a guess,” the former Boston native, who works for a drug distribution company, said during jury questioning, though he said he could put that opinion aside.

One of the jurors this time is a teacher. Another once worked as a choral director at a parish with about 3,700 families. Another woman, who laughed at some of Blagojevich’s jokes while he testified, is a bartender and a self-proclaimed “weekend warrior” who loves photography. Another works as a nutritionist and said she moved to Chicago from California to follow her love.

Outside Blagojevich’s Ravenswood Manor home, some neighbors were relieved that the media circus will soon be departing. Others said the former governor is a good neighbor and they had no personal beef with him.

“My gut tell me he was probably doing a lot of inappropriate things and maybe starting believing in his own Hollywood version of life as governor a little too strongly,” said neighbor M.T. Cozzola, 48, a writer and filmmaker. “I’m sure he thought this is the way you do business. And he was horribly wrong.

“In the end, you’re just a dad and a husband, and you have to live with those choices you made. That’s a really tough place to be.”

Blagojevich and his wife arrived shortly before 3:30 p.m. at their North Side home. They were greeted by supporters shouting, “We love you, Governor!”

After hugging

“It’s so important to let the people know I fought hard for them. What’s really difficult is that some people might think I let them down . . . The sadness that I feel, the disappointment and the shock. Patti and I have to discuss this with our children, our little girls, and start planning for the future. And, of course, I want things to work out best for Patti.”

Contributing: Stefano Esposito, Chris Fusco