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Subscribe to RSSFormer Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich left federal court a disgraced man, headed for 14 years in federal prison, convicted of 17 counts of bribery and attempted extortion. NBC's Ron Allen reports.
CHICAGO -- Rod Blagojevich, the ousted Illinois governor whose three-year battle against criminal charges became a spectacle, was sentenced to 14 years in prison Wednesday, a stiff penalty for the man convicted of trying to sell President Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat to raise campaign cash or land a high-paying job.
Judge James Zagel gave Blagojevich some credit for taking responsibility for his actions — which the former governor did in an address to the court earlier in the day — but said that didn't mitigate his crimes. Zagel also said Blagojevich did some good things for people as governor, but was more concerned about using his powers for himself.
"When it is the governor who goes bad, the fabric of Illinois is torn and disfigured and not easily repaired," Zagel said.
As the judge announced the sentence, which includes a $20,000 fine, Blagojevich hunched forward and his face appeared frozen. Minutes later, his wife, Patti Blagojevich, stood up and fell into her husband's arms. He pulled back to brush tears off her cheek and then rubbed her shoulders.
On his way out of the courthouse, Blagojevich spoke briefly to reporters, quoting from the poem "If" by Rudyard Kipling: "If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same."
"This is a time for me to be strong for my children and for (wife) Patti ... a time for Patti and me to explain to our kids what this means and where we go from here... See you soon," he said. He then left without answering any questions.
The twice-elected Democrat received by far the harshest sentence among the four Illinois governors sent to prison in the last four decades. He is the second in a row to go to prison; his Republican predecessor, George Ryan, currently is serving 6 1/2 years. The other two got three years or less.
Blagojevich, in a last plea for mercy, tried something he never had before: an apology. After years of insisting he was innocent, he told the judge he'd made "terrible mistakes" and acknowledged that he broke the law.
"I'm here convicted of crimes ... ," Blagojevich said, "and I am accepting of it, I acknowledge it and I of course am unbelievably sorry for it."
But Zagel gave him little leeway, telling him that he gave him credit for taking responsibility but that his apology didn't mitigate his crimes.
"Whatever good things you did for people as governor, and you did some, I am more concerned with the occasions when you wanted to use your powers when you wanted to do things that were only good for yourself."
Blagojevich's attorneys had said the sentence of 15 to 20 years prosecutors wanted was too harsh. The defense also presented heartfelt appeals from Blagojevich's family, including letters from his wife Patti and one of his two daughters that pleaded for mercy.
Former Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich is sentenced to 14 years in prison.
But the judge made it clear early in the hearing that he believed that Blagojevich had lied on the witness stand when he tried to explain his scheming for the Senate seat, and he did not believe defense suggestions that the former governor was duped by his advisers.
Read local coverage of Blagojevich sentencing from NBC Chicago
"Rod Blagojevich's staff did not march him down the path of corruption," Zagel said during his sentencing. "He marched them."
The 54-year-old was not taken immediately into custody. His surrender date was set for Feb. 16. In white-collar cases, convicted felons are usually given at least a few weeks to report to prison while federal authorities select a suitable facility. Blagojevich is expected to appeal his conviction, but it is unlikely to affect when he reports to prison.
Most of the prisons where Blagojevich could end up are outside Illinois. One is in Terre Haute, Indiana, where Ryan is serving his own sentence. In prison, he'll largely be cut off from the outside world. Visits by family are strictly limited, Blagojevich will have to share a cell with other inmates and he must work an eight-hour-a-day menial job — possibly scrubbing toilets or mopping floors — at just 12 cents an hour.
According to federal rules, felons must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence a judge imposes — meaning Blagojevich wouldn't be eligible for early release until he serves nearly 12 years.
Going into the sentencing, many legal experts said the governor — who became a national punch line while doing several reality TV appearances while his legal case unfolded — was likely to get around 10 years. A former Blagojevich fundraiser, Tony Rezko, recently was sentenced to 10 1/2 years, minus time served, and many were confident the governor would get more.
Prosecutors have said Blagojevich misused the power of his office "from the very moment he became governor." He was initially elected in 2002 on a platform of cleaning up Illinois politics in the midst of federal investigations that led to the prosecution and conviction of Ryan.
"Blagojevich engaged in extensive criminal conduct with and without Rezko, provided no cooperation, perjured himself for seven days on the witness stand, and has accepted no responsibility for his criminal conduct," prosecutors said. And they said Blagojevich, who campaigned as a reformer, was "acutely aware of the damage" Ryan had created.
Defense attorneys have said he has already paid a price in public ridicule and financial ruin, and propose a term of just a few years.
Blagojevich's sentencing came just days before his 55th birthday on Saturday, and nearly three years to the day of his arrest at dawn on Dec. 9, 2008, when the startled governor asked one federal agent, "Is this a joke?" In a state where corruption has been commonplace, images of Blagojevich being led away in handcuffs still came as a shock.
Blagojevich was impeached from the governor's office after being charged with racketeering, bribery, wire fraud and attempted extortion.
It took two trials for prosecutors to snare Blagojevich on sweeping corruption charges. His first ended deadlocked with jurors agreeing on just one of 24 counts — that Blagojevich lied to the FBI. Jurors at his retrial convicted him on 17 of 20 counts, including bribery and attempted extortion.
FBI wiretap evidence proved decisive. In the most notorious recording, Blagojevich is heard crowing that his chance to name someone to Obama's seat was "f---ing golden" and he wouldn't let it go "for f---ing nothing."
NBC Chicago contributed to this story.
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Blagojevich won't serve more than a year -- Obama will pardon him right after Election Day.
Yo- "kannin"- I would like to benefit from your cursory assumption by placing a wager against the pretense in your post. How much $ are you willing to put up? ;-)
I'd like to get in on that action. Whatever your bet with Kannin, I'll double it.
Won't happen Blago tried to drag Rahm and Obama into court in his defense a grievous sin.
He is now being punished and I doubt zer0 WILL PARDON HIM.
Well, it's about time!! All politicians and CEOs should be held accountable with higher standards for their actions and activities (even more so than just the everyday worker) when they are given so much power and money to handle the laws and directions for our Country. There should be no slapping of hands as done in Congress and no special Judicial treatment of the elite. Until this is done, it will be difficult at best for them to ever earn our respect, or to make any real progress.
Very, very true!
bye bye dummy...
hopefully imprisoning crooked politicians becomes fashionable. we're going to have to build another prison to house them all though....
and not a country club called a prison...a real prison
Blagojevich is being punished justly for his crimes, but his reckless arrogance and stupidity are the reason he was 'nailed.' One down and 97% of the remaining Washington Politicians to go!
Yep, this is only one thieving crook among many in our government houses! Let's line them up and shoot them, 14 years in prison is not enough!
Obviously Wall street excutives and bank CEOs are smarter than politicians.
That's why they are still on the street.
Blagojevich is merely the occasional, obligatory 'perp-walk' to suggest that those who break the 'rules' are justifiably chastised.
Now to actually drain the swamp.
Also, my God Illinois is corrupt! Was not Obama from there? Just saying.
Yo "time"- You've learned your mentors' lesson well. Suggesting guilt by remote association and/ or hearsay. How many times have we all heard from a certain cable 'news' program?: "Well some would say,..." This is "faux-news"!,..The antithesis of genuine reputable journalism. Devious propaganda for the terminally credulous. LOL
@EVRYDIHDABLZ
Ever heard of Tony Rezko?
I know how about doing some research and finding the ties Obama has with this convicted felon.
Just saying you don't have a clue.
His lawyers really suck. He got screwed. He's guilty , but he got screwed.
Now if we can only throw all the corrupt politicians from Illinois in jail.
Fourteen years for corruption is not enough...they need to give him an additional 20 for his terrible haircut.
He was found guilty, but come on. He gets 14 years when the Wall Street execs and corporate execs don't even get arrested. Something is wrong somewhere. Oops, I forgot, they give large amounts to politicians, ergo, all crimes are ignored.
They always say they are sorry after they are convicted. Up until that point he wasn't sorry, he was innocent, remember? Blago, your wife is rather hot. She is going to need comforting over this next decade. What's her phone number?
You'll be able to track her down,she'll be back doing out call until she finds another politician to marry.
Like Kannin said at #27, there's still hope Blago, If the President gets ousted in Nov. he will surely pardon you.
Hey y'all, lets start opening some closets. Everyone in politics, "NOW" this would be a great start.
What about ACORN and their pals who forged the countless signatures of dead AND living people in order to bless us with the magnificence of the Obama Administration? When do THEY go to jail? (-: Answer, never.
And what about Dick Cheney, whose former firm Haliburton got richer off of Iraq War and Hurricane Katrina related contracts. Just as irrelevant to this issue as you bringing up ACORN. Find a better place to grind your axe because it's not getting very sharp here.
Yo "watson"- I agree! However,.. while we're at it,.. lets indict the known perpetrators in Florida for the 1999 Presidential election scandal and the well documented election fraud in Ohio in 2004. Google> The truth about voter fraud.
Windy....Now, now. Halliburton paid Cheney 25 million dollars as he was heading for the Presidents office so he would start that useless war and Halliburton would get billions of dollars in contracts. And Bush the dupe was stupid enough to listen to him.
ACORN was found to have committed no voter fraud. In fact, less than a dozen verified cases were found nationwide, certainly not enough to affect an election. You might be thinking of voter registration, where homeless people were filling in forms to make extra money. Obviously those were not used to vote.
Want to attack the black panthers for scaring away white people now? *chuckle*
Poor Windy - Hardcore Socialist to the end! eh? (-: ... and the END is coming
Clotho - "ACORN was found to have committed no voter fraud" That's a BOLD faced LIE!
http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=344577
http://www.judicialwatch.org/news/2010/jun/judicial-watch-obtains-new-fbi-documents-regarding-acorn-voter-fraud-investigation
http://www.judicialwatch.org/files/documents/2010/FBI-acorn-06012010-excerpt-2.pdf
"In fact, less than a dozen verified cases were found nationwide, certainly not enough to affect an election" Clotho
Nice to see you contradict yourself. So, exactly HOW MANY cases DOES = Voter Fraud? You people are unbelievable, no wonder this country is in the worse mess its been in since the Great Depression, maybe worse b/c there are more amoral socialist as yourself running around spreading lies and mayhem - be careful what you wish for (-: What you get may not be what you expect!
Blago made other mistakes: 1. He involved Obama, 2. He involved Rahm, 3. he involved the Dnc. 4. he got caught. Every other Demonrat does the same thing! it is the Chicago way, and if Chicago is dirty so is Obama and Rahm and company. Rangle should be in prison, Geithner, Corzine, too. Just arrest the DNC and you got most of them.
Edwardo...Did you not even read the article. His predecesor, a fine upstanding member of the GOP, is already in jail for the corruption he handled while he was governor of Illinois. Try reading or have someone read it to you if you cant before running off at the mouth.
Why is it that some many think that corruption is the exclusive domain of one political party or the other?! The amount of energy and time spent in this forum should be directed toward nonpartisan, independent, objective media sources that will provide ample evidence of corruption on both sides. Our primary focus should be on the rampant Legalized Corruption that plagues our governmental institutions. E.g., The billions spent by financial elites to influence legislation and decision making in Washington, the "free-zone" for insider trading in the Congress and Senate, etc.. Meanwhile, many of us are unwittingly following the playbook of the 'powers that be' by sparing with divisive partisan political issues. As a result we are allowing these amoral, self-serving bastar_s to distract us from the reality that our government's priorities are not in *serving the American public. In fact the *job they were elected to perform,.. instead of obeying their avaricious corporate masters.
every hamlet and village is corrupt. even tiny towns in the bible belt are rife with nepotism, graft, and embezzlement. there is no shame in America. just blame another guy or your mother if you have to and do whatever feels good. Blago is just another stooge who thought no one was watching. They only catch the dumb ones.
I'm thinkin' he doesn't think it's all too funny now does he? But I wonder what luxury prison he'll be sentenced to? Will it be the one with tennis courts and jacuzzi's?
Blago shouldn't worry about having to "possibly" scrub floors and clean toilets. That's just "child" suitable work, according to Newt. After he's been in prison a while they could let him start a training program for children in inner city schools.
The BUM only admitted his crimes to try for a lesser sentence. His sentence would have been a lot shorter had he admitted guilt and asked forgiveness. He is an idiot. Put him in the cell next to his predecessor, another fine upstanding member of the political class.
Why are the rich banksters allowed to pay big fines without admitting guilt. I didnt do it but here is 100 million anyway. There are two judicial systems. One for the rich and one for everyone else.
Those aren't fines. They are settlements and they are for civil cases, not criminal cases (there are no "settlements" in criminal cases, per se, but there are plea bargains, and Blago opted not to take one). You should take a moment to read about the differences before making a comment like that.
and you dont think Osama Obama Hussein Binlie'n was in on any of this corruption when he had his hand in the cookie jar of Illinois? Yea right.
If Obama was corrupt, my friend, there are plenty of adversaries that would have found it by now. Temptation is there for all politicians. Some give in, some don't. This is not a partisan issue.
Oh he has had his hand in it you can believe that. Keeping it quiet is up to how much you spend for that to happen. No one that has been a part of politicsin that state has ever been clean. never. But thats not my problem I wouldnt live there if was the last place on earth and anyone with any sense wouldnt either. The economy is so poor and the tax's are so high from past and present political leaders from raping that state that there is nothing left. forget that.
As usual All American has nothing. No facts, no links. He listens to that drug addict Rush who is more worried about his next fix than about facts on his dittihead show.
The way the haters have been digging since 2008, if there was anything about President Obama to find, they would have found it. You can disagree with his politics, but it seems we do have an honest President.
Prove it. It's funny how YOU have the evidence but no one else, not even his political enemies, has it. Go ahead, prove it.
Tony rezko and Obama land deals yes corruption and pay offs.
Burning obama for corruption burns every other politician as well remember they are all in the good ol boy club.
For the public consumption enemies but behind close doors sharing drinks, cigars, page boys and hookers.
Way to harsh for the crime when are the Wall Street and big banking thieves going to jail ???????
14 years!? Gee if you rape or kill someone you get less than that. Ask Michael Jackson's doctor.
Poor Blago must be saying...."Why am I the only Democrat who ends up in a jail cell?
"I am just your typical Chicago Democrat changing the rules of the game , the Home of Political Thugs. We don't consider that breaking the law. "
LOL
Leona.. His predecesor, a fine upstanding member of the GOP, is already in jail for the corruption he handled while he was governor of Illinois ..They can put him right next to his predecessor or does the GOP have it own wing.
This jack@ss must've thought he was living in the Al Capone days...Good for him. He'll be biting pillows for a long time!
This story just distracts from the real problem facing Illinois. They are going broke the fastest in the country because of pension obligations which they keep borrowing more money to close the gap. They raised taxes and still have budget problems because heaven forbid they ever cut anything. Better ask for a bailout during Obama's final year.
Illinois is going broke because they have a systemic debt problem, not because of pension obligations. Illinois is over-dependent on property taxes, so it took a huge hit when property values declined. Otherwise, you have a bunch of legislators that take no leadership in making hard choices on either spending or revenue. The pension deficit comes from years of not paying into the pension fund for state workers. The legislature created this crisis. Blagoevich made it worse because he was out to lunch whenever budget debates took place, except for throwing in a few unfunded mandates.
That's cute blame the problem on property tax revenue in a downturn. Let's not blame the fact that the taxes have driven business out of the state. Why would people shop in Cook county with that sales tax? All these taxes and still a debt problem. I did a paper on this for college. Illinois is not the only one with pension problems, Oklahoma is right behind. Illinois runs out of money to meet pension obligations in 2017 with OK running out in 2018. They have borrowed over 7 billion dollars in that past decade to make up the shortfall. But this is what happens when democrats run your state for decades. I live in NY and Cuomo is trying to fix a little of it but he is meeting a lot of headwind from the unions. However, we have money in the fund to cover for the next 20 years. Illinois, the clock is ticking.
Cute, John? Add this to your term paper: "A new report released today by the Illinois Public Interest Research Group and others suggests that 68 of the Fortune 500 top corporations paid no state corporate income tax in at least one of the past three years. Two are from Illinois: Baxter International and Integrys Energy Group. Those companies surely will have explanations. But the fact is, most Illinois-based firms do not pay corporate income taxes in any given year." Big businesses aren't leaving Illinois because of unbearable tax rates--only Missouri has lower rates than Illinois among surrounding states--but because of frustration of working with local governments and the lack of qualified workers. For smaller businesses, you may have a point. By the way, your comment about Democrats running the state is as wrong as it is simple--you seem to forget that the three governors prior to Blagoevich were Republican.