Wealthy campaign donor (Stuart Levine ) pleads guilty
Wealthy campaign donor pleads guilty
By Jeff Coen and Matt O’Connor
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
Published October 27, 2006, 2:57 PM CDT
Political insider Stuart Levine pleaded guilty this afternoon to one count each of mail fraud and money laundering stemming from his activities on two state regulatory boards.
The guilty plea in Chicago federal court by Levine, reappointed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich to the two state posts, could reverberate on the campaign trail a little more than a week before the election.
``How do you plead?'' U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve asked Levine.
``Guilty,'' said the 60-year-old lawyer-entrepreneur who has been cooperating with federal prosecutors for more than six months in an effort to reduce the number of years he will spend behind bars.
Under the agreement, Levine is facing a sentence of five years and seven months in prison for mail fraud and money laundering. Without the deal, Levine could have gone to prison for life.
Levine is accused of scheming to extort kickbacks from investment firms seeking to do business with the state while he was on the Illinois Teachers' Retirement System board. He also plotted to share in a $1 million kickback in his duties with the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, prosecutors charge.
Sources said Levine's plea agreement would closely track the 65-page indictment against himself and Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a Blagojevich confidant and fundraiser.
Levine "is anxious to complete the agreement and is looking forward to resolving this chapter," his lawyer, Jeffrey Steinback, said Thursday.
Among the allegations is that Levine used his post on the teachers board to hold up $220 million in business for an investment firm. Authorities said the firm was told either to pay a kickback or give $1.5 million in campaign contributions to the fund of an unnamed public official, an official sources have since identified as Blagojevich.
Blagojevich has sought to distance himself from Rezko since the indictment, saying that he was unaware of any illegal activity and that the one-time member of his inner circle had violated his trust.
The governor's Republican challenger, Judy Baar Topinka, has sought to use the corruption case to her advantage and has repeatedly referred to Levine's court date while on the campaign trail.
jcoen@tribune.com
mo'connor@tribune.com
By Jeff Coen and Matt O’Connor
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
Published October 27, 2006, 2:57 PM CDT
Political insider Stuart Levine pleaded guilty this afternoon to one count each of mail fraud and money laundering stemming from his activities on two state regulatory boards.
The guilty plea in Chicago federal court by Levine, reappointed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich to the two state posts, could reverberate on the campaign trail a little more than a week before the election.
``How do you plead?'' U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve asked Levine.
``Guilty,'' said the 60-year-old lawyer-entrepreneur who has been cooperating with federal prosecutors for more than six months in an effort to reduce the number of years he will spend behind bars.
Under the agreement, Levine is facing a sentence of five years and seven months in prison for mail fraud and money laundering. Without the deal, Levine could have gone to prison for life.
Levine is accused of scheming to extort kickbacks from investment firms seeking to do business with the state while he was on the Illinois Teachers' Retirement System board. He also plotted to share in a $1 million kickback in his duties with the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, prosecutors charge.
Sources said Levine's plea agreement would closely track the 65-page indictment against himself and Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a Blagojevich confidant and fundraiser.
Levine "is anxious to complete the agreement and is looking forward to resolving this chapter," his lawyer, Jeffrey Steinback, said Thursday.
Among the allegations is that Levine used his post on the teachers board to hold up $220 million in business for an investment firm. Authorities said the firm was told either to pay a kickback or give $1.5 million in campaign contributions to the fund of an unnamed public official, an official sources have since identified as Blagojevich.
Blagojevich has sought to distance himself from Rezko since the indictment, saying that he was unaware of any illegal activity and that the one-time member of his inner circle had violated his trust.
The governor's Republican challenger, Judy Baar Topinka, has sought to use the corruption case to her advantage and has repeatedly referred to Levine's court date while on the campaign trail.
jcoen@tribune.com
mo'connor@tribune.com
posted by Carlos T Mock @ 2:48 PM
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