Posted by chicagomedia.org on November 03, 2008 at 14:57:50:
Vrdolyak pleads guilty in kickback scheme
Former Chicago alderman and power broker Edward Vrdolyak pleaded guilty this morning to a kickback scheme involving the sale of a medical school building.
Jury selection was scheduled to begin today, but U.S. District Judge Milton Shadur sent the jury pool home.
Vrdolyak is not cooperating with prosecutors, according to his plea agreement.
As part of the deal, prosecutors agreed to recommend that Vrdolyak be sentenced to 41 months in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 9.
In a statement to reporters, Vrdolyak's lawyer, Michael Monico, said Vrdolyak had been discussing a possible guilty plea with his family for some time. "And on Saturday the government suggested a reduced charge," Monico said.
Vrdolyak had been indicted on mail and wire fraud, but prosecutors agreed to charge him with conspiracy, which carries a shorter prison term.
The Vrdolyak family is relieved to have this part of the legal process behind them, Monico said. "Nobody appreciates what being under indictment means to a family," He added. "It puts an immense amount of pain on the family."
The plea agreement states that the U.S. attorney's office would not file any charges against Vrdolyak in relation to accusations leveled against Springfield powerbroker William Cellini, who was indicted last week and accused of trying to extort a campaign contribution for Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Witness Stuart Levine testified during the trial of Blagojevich fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko that Vrdolyak was to have been the one to collect the contribution from the extortion target, Hollywood producer Thomas Rosenberg.
Rosenberg's firm, Capri Capital, was in line for a $220 million investment from the state's teachers' pension fund that Levine and others allegedly conspired to hold up unless Capri made a Blagojevich donation.
U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald said his office was pleased with today's outcome in the Vrdolyak case. "The notion in Chicago that there are certain people who cannot or will not be held accountable took a serious hit today," Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald said Vrdolyak is now a convicted felon who essentially admitted to being the bagman in the land deal involving Levine and the Chicago Medical School.
Asked what may have led Vrdolyak to plea, Fitzgerald said he believes that hours of tapes made by Levine for the government in the case were key to the prosecution. Judge Shadur had made recent rulings that would have allowed the jury to hear many of those conversations.
During the court hearing, Shadur asked Vrdolyak to explain in his own words to what he was pleading guilty.
Monico began to answer the question, but Shadur cut him off.
"You're not going to serve any time for this, Mr. Monico," the judge said in explaining why he wanted to hear from Vrdolyak personally.
Vrdolyak appeared to choose his words carefully in responding.
"I didn't know at the time they were going to be mailed," he said of certain documents that were part of the fraudulent deal. "But I was in fact hoping my client would get the deal."
(Jeff Coen, Chicago Tribune)