Blagojevich as governor/state photo

By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com

Imprisoned ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojovich, who is serving 14 years for corruption, is likely to be resentenced as as a result of a federal appellate court ruling on Tuesday, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

The paper reports that the court tossed five counts against Blagojevich. But the  court ruled the ex-politician could not be released from prison  while awaiting the resentencing.

In his first trial, he was convicted only of one count. The jury deadlocked on the other 23 counts. In a second trial, he was found guilty of 17 charges.

The paper writes:

 It’s interesting how soon we forget about public figures when they run afoul of the law. Sometimes years go by before we finally say, “Gee, whatever happened to Congressman so-and-so” and “I wonder when he’s getting out of prison.”

Well, ticklethewire.com was wondering the same. So we checked with the Bureau of Prisons to see when we might see some of the folks in public again. Here’s an update on their release dates.

Bernie Kerik/facebook

Bernie Kerik:  Kerik,  57, seemed to have it all.  The former New York City Police Commissioner was a post-9/11 hero. He had his boy Rudy Giuliani promoting him. And then the roof fell in. He was caught lying when being considered for head of Homeland Security under George W. Bush. And he was busted for receiving about $255,000 in renovations to his apartment from a company seeking contracts with the city. He was sentenced to four years in prison for eight felony counts. He’s serving out his sentence now in New York. Release date: 10-15-2013.

 Randall “Duke” Cunningham: Cunningham, 70, of California, was an influential Congressman who served from 1991 to 2005. His days as a player inside the Beltway ended when he resigned in November 2005 after copping a plea for taking at least $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors. He was sentenced to 8 years and four months. He’s currently serving out his sentence in Tucson. Release date: 6-4-2013.

William Jefferson

William Jefferson: Jefferson, 65, the New Orleans Congressman, served nine terms before he was finally defeated. He could have been Congressman for life had it not been for an FBI sting. He was hardly known outside his district, that is until he stuffed $90,000 in marked FBI bills in freezer at his home on Capitol Hill. The judge in Alexandria, Va. hit him hard with a 13 year sentence. He is currently serving his time in Beaumont, Tex. Release date: 8-30-2023

 

Blagojevich/file photo

Rod Blagojevich: You can only  hope that Blago, 55, has learned to control his chatter-box persona in prison. Some people may not be so tolerant of that in such closed-in quarters. Blago was convicted in his first trial on only 1 of 24 counts, and that was for lying to an FBI agent. But the feds wised up and simplified the case in the second trial and got convictions on 17 of 20 counts. The judge didn’t hold back. He sentenced Blagojevich to 14 years in prison. He’s currently serving in Littleton, Colo. Release date: 5-23-2024

Bernie Madoff: Madoff, 74, will go down in history as one of the biggest swindlers of his time. He’s currently serving his sentence at the Butner prison facility in North Carolina. He got whacked with a ridiculous, but appropriate sentence of 150 years.Release date: NEVER.

Ex. Gov George Ryan

George Ryan Sr: Ryan, 78, served as Illinois 39th governor from 1999 to 2003. He was convicted in 2006 of racketeering, fraud and other offenses involving favoritism and kickbacks for state contracts and property leases. He was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison. He is currently serving out his sentence in Terre Haute, Ind. Release date: 7-4-2013.

Monica Conyers/facebook

 Monica Conyers: Conyers, 48, the wife of Rep. John Conyers Jr., was a city council member in Detroit. She was considered rather abrasive and combative and was particularly good at creating divisiveness in a city that could hardly afford that. She was convicted of bribery and sentenced to more than three years in prison.  She’s currently serving her time in Alderson, W. Va.Release Date: 5-16-2013.

 It’s interesting how soon we forget about public figures when they run afoul of the law. Sometimes years go by before we finally say, “Gee, whatever happened to Congressman so-and-so” and “I wonder when he’s getting out of prison.”

Well, ticklethewire.com was wondering the same. So we checked with the Bureau of Prisons to see when we might see some of the folks in public again. Here’s an update on their release dates.

Bernie Kerik/facebook

Bernie Kerik:  Kerik,  57, seemed to have it all.  The former New York City Police Commissioner was a post-9/11 hero. He had his boy Rudy Giuliani promoting him. And then the roof fell in. He was caught lying when being considered for head of Homeland Security under George W. Bush. And he was busted for receiving about $255,000 in renovations to his apartment from a company seeking contracts with the city. He was sentenced to four years in prison for eight felony counts. He’s serving out his sentence now in New York. Release date: 10-15-2013.

 Randall “Duke” Cunningham: Cunningham, 70, of California, was an influential Congressman who served from 1991 to 2005. His days as a player inside the Beltway ended when he resigned in November 2005 after copping a plea for taking at least $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors. He was sentenced to 8 years and four months. He’s currently serving out his sentence in Tucson. Release date: 6-4-2013.

William Jefferson

William Jefferson: Jefferson, 65, the New Orleans Congressman, served nine terms before he was finally defeated. He could have been Congressman for life had it not been for an FBI sting. He was hardly known outside his district, that is until he stuffed $90,000 in marked FBI bills in freezer at his home on Capitol Hill. The judge in Alexandria, Va. hit him hard with a 13 year sentence. He is currently serving his time in Beaumont, Tex. Release date: 8-30-2023

Blagojevich/file photo

Rod Blagojevich: You can only  hope that Blago, 55, has learned to control his chatter-box persona in prison. Some people may not be so tolerant of that in such closed-in quarters. Blago was convicted in his first trial on only 1 of 24 counts, and that was for lying to an FBI agent. But the feds wised up and simplified the case in the second trial and got convictions on 17 of 20 counts. The judge didn’t hold back. He sentenced Blagojevich to 14 years in prison. He’s currently serving in Littleton, Colo. Release date: 5-23-2024

Bernie Madoff: Madoff, 74, will go down in history as one of the biggest swindlers of his time. He’s currently serving his sentence at the Butner prison facility in North Carolina. He got whacked with a ridiculous, but appropriate sentence of 150 years. Release date: NEVER.

Ex. Gov George Ryan

George Ryan Sr: Ryan, 78, served as Illinois 39th governor from 1999 to 2003. He was convicted in 2006 of racketeering, fraud and other offenses involving favoritism and kickbacks for state contracts and property leases. He was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison. He is currently serving out his sentence in Terre Haute, Ind. Release date: 7-4-2013.

Monica Conyers/facebook

Monica Conyers: Conyers, 48, the wife of Rep. John Conyers Jr., was a city council member in Detroit. She was considered rather abrasive and combative and was particularly good at creating divisiveness in a city that could hardly afford that. She was convicted of bribery and sentenced to more than three years in prison.  She’s currently serving her time in Alderson, W. Va. Release Date: 5-16-2013.

Patrick Fitzgerald/doj photo

Once in a while a U.S. Attorney comes along and makes a mark not only locally but nationally.

U.S. Patrick Fitzgerald of Chicago was one of those guys.

Fitzgerald resigned and left office last Friday, leaving behind a legacy that included prosecuting the ever-chatty ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Dick Cheney’s right hand guy Scooter Libby.

He left office, offering little reflection last week to the hungry media. He said he has no plans, but hopes to make a decision by Labor Day, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Among the U.S. Attorney’s, he was rock star. In the public’s eye, he was a modern-day Eliot Ness.

Was he perfect? No. But he inspired faith in the system and that the good guys had a strong hand to fight crime and corruption.

He was in Chicago for 11 years as prosecutor.

Whatever he does next — even if it’s going to law firm —  ultimately it would be hard to believe that the 51-year-old won’t end up back in public service, be it as a federal judge or FBI director or governor.

Count on it.

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• FBI Takes Over Fatal Shooting Case in Ohio
• Deadly ATF Raid Leads to Wrongful Death Suit

Steve Neavling

A former campaign fundraiser for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. was arrested Wednesday on charges he paid bribes and kickbacks related to his outpatient surgery centers, the Associated Press reports.

Raghuveer Nayak pleaded not guilty and was released on $10 million bond.

The FBI accuses him of bribing physicians for patient referrals and filing false federal income tax returns, according to the AP.

“Over the course of the scheme, Nayak paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to different physicians in exchange for the referrals that the physicians had made or would make to Nayak’s facilities,” according to the indictment. “As Nayak intended, the physicians materially deceived their patients by not disclosing to the patients that their physicians were being paid to make referrals to Nayak’s facilities.”

Gov. Blagojevich

Reid J. Schar, lead prosecutor in the Rod Blagojevich corruption retrial in 2011, may have cinched the convictions that sent Blago to prison with the question:

“Mr. Blagojevich, you are a convicted liar, correct?”

Now Schar, 40, is taking his show on the road. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Schar is leaving the U.S. attorney’s office for the private sector after 13 years of service, not all of them so glamorous as nailing the former governor.

Schar becomes partner at the Chicago law firm Jenner & Block next month, focusing on white-collar criminal defense and investigations.

The Sun-Times points out that there is change afoot in the Chicago’s U.S. attorney’s office, signaled by Patrick Fitzgerald also recently announcing his departure after 10 years.

To read more click here.

Ex-Gov on NBC's Celebrity Apprentice

Ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the guy who had an acute case of rambling on and on, may be a bit more careful now that he’s behind bars.

The Illinois governor, aka “Blago”, reported to prison Thursday morning at the Federal Correctional Institution Englewood in suburban Denver, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Now Blago will also be known as inmate No. 40892-424.

Earlier in the day, he left his Ravenswood Manor home in Chicago, the Sun-Times reported. Cameramen and photographers and reporters chronicled his departure as he left to serve 14 years for his high-profile public corruption conviction.

“I’m leaving with a heavy heart, a clear conscience and I have high, high hopes for the future,” said Blagojevich, according to the Sun-Times.

“Saying goodbye is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” Blagojevich said. “I’ll see you when I see you.”