Ex-Ill. Gov. Ryan Indicted on Corruption

[Jeff White]

Well I'm sure that Illinois must have the highest number of top state officials who have been convicted of corruption in the nation. I often wondered if his opposition to the death penalty was simply so he could get along better with his fellow cons when he got to prison. Now if we could just get Daley...

Ex-Ill. Gov. Ryan Indicted on Corruption
AP
53 minutes ago
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By MIKE ROBINSON, Associated Press Writer

CHICAGO - Former Gov. George Ryan was indicted Wednesday on federal charges of taking payoffs, gifts and vacations in return for government contracts and leases while he was Illinois secretary of state.

Ryan, 69, a Republican known worldwide as a leading critic of the death penalty, gradually became the focus of a corruption investigation that began even before his 1998 election as governor. The scandal was a factor in his 2001 decision not to seek a second term.

The investigation initially focused on bribes exchanged for licenses for unqualified truck drivers but was later expanded to a range of alleged bribery and other corruption in the Ryan era.

Ryan, who served as secretary of state from 1991 to 1999, has said he knew there was a culture of corruption in the secretary of state's office but was unaware of the specifics.

The indictment alleges Ryan received illegal cash payments and gifts, vacations and personal services. It says members of his family got cash loans and gifts totaling $167,000.

The 22-count indictment charges that Ryan himself directed payments totaling more than $300,000 to prominent lobbyist Donald Udstuen.

"The charged conduct by former Gov. Ryan reflects a disturbing violation of trust," U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald said in a statement. "Ryan is charged with betraying the citizens of Illinois for over a decade on state business, both large and small."

Ryan became the 66th person charged in the investigation; 59 people and his campaign committee have been convicted so far.

 

[Don Gwinn]

Here's hoping the reason it took so long is that the case is now airtight! You beat me to that one, Jeff.

 

[Russ]

Here's hoping they can pin something similar or worse on Gray Davis, recalled Gov of the PRK.

 

[Don Gwinn]

Apparently, the indictment being discussed at the press conference right now on the radio alleges that Ryan continued having money "laundered" out of his campaign for want of a better word, even AFTER he was questioned about it by the FBI!

The poor old sod really thought he was untouchable.

 

[Jeff White]

Don Gwinn said;

The poor old sod really thought he was untouchable.

He was untouchable, until Daley didn't need him any longer. It's amazing how you can run the state from Chicago City Hall when a governor from the opposition party is in Springfield...when you own the the federal prosecutor who is going to put the governor away. By my caluclations, we're actually almost to year six of the Daley administration....

Jeff

 

[Don Gwinn]

For shame, Jeff! Some reporter just asked Fitzgerald whether the timing was suspicious, and he came right out and said that "no one was holding us back." Must be true!

And now that we know he can consolidate the various Democrat bosses and run the Governor's office through Mell and Blagojevich, I'm not sure what's left. Guess if I moved across the river from Quincy I could still hunt in Pike County, right?

I'm guessing we'll now hear at least some gnashing of teeth from several directions that Ryan is only being indicted as a way to "get him" for opposing the death penalty.

Some reporter just asked whether they shouldn't have waited until after the holidays to enter the indictment.
Jeez, now they're asking whether Ryan should have been charged at all, since he is "only" alleged to have made $167,000 (which is "only" about seven times my yearly salary) while the companies that paid the bribes made millions.
Well, sure, that makes sense. If a sitting Governor takes bribes to make his cronies money, he should get away with it as long as they get their money's worth. :banghead:
Ah, there it is: the big question about whether this is all just a setup to "get" Ryan for opposing the death penalty. Of course, no one thought he was a crook before he did that, right?



I can't wait to see the footage of George Ryan being pulled out of a spider hole in Joliet!

 

[Jeff White]

I can't wait to see the footage of George Ryan being pulled out of a spider hole in Joliet!

It would be so nice for him to go to joliet, but he'll go to the Federal Prison Camp at Maxwell AFB, Ashland, KY (where Pete Rose went) or some other nice place.

Some reporter just asked whether they shouldn't have waited until after the holidays to enter the indictment.

Well I guess the reporter thought they shouldn't spoil to old crook's holiday :banghead: Same kind of thinking that is saying we're mistreating Saddam...As far as I'm concerned Ryan needs to be treated the same way every street criminal who's arrested is. I want to see him being booked on the news tonight

Jeff

 

[Langenator]

Ah, there it is: the big question about whether this is all just a setup to "get" Ryan for opposing the death penalty. Of course, no one thought he was a crook before he did that, right?

the focus of a corruption investigation that began even before his 1998 election as governor...Ryan became the 66th person charged in the investigation; 59 people and his campaign committee have been convicted so far.

So...in order to 'get' Ryan for opposing the death penalty, they start and investigation before he became governor-before he did any of his anti-death penalty weirdness. And to cover up the fact that they're after him, they indict 65 other people, 59 of whom have thus far been convicted by juries of their peers.

These reporters seem a wee bit paranoid to me.

 

[sctman800]

I allways said he was a crook or an idiot, because if he was innocent like he always said, then he would have to have been a complete itiot not to know what was going on in his office. Now if a procecuter would start investigating Daley, I will never believe he is any less of a crook than Ryan, so far just a little smarter. Jim.

 

[Frohickey]

When a republican is indicted, republicans abandon the politician.

When a Democrat is indicted, Democrats rally around the politician.

Weird

 

[Don Gwinn]

Don't know if that's entirely true of the Republican party, but yes, Republican voters in Illinois dropped him like a hot potato.

It's been an interesting week in Illinois, with this event following the death of Paul Simon. Simon was a flaming liberal, but he personified dignity, decency, fairness and integrity. All you heard when that happened was "I'm a Republican, but Senator Simon was a good man."

Now all you hear is "I'm a Republican, but I can't wait to see that SOB Ryan go to jail!"

 

[crawfordew]

Ex-gov Ryan also has blood on his hands. One of the people that bought a license by contributing to Ryan's campaign fund killed 6 children from one family in an accident in Wisconsin.
Gene

 

[El Tejon]

My cousin used to work with AUSA Collins at ND-Ill. who is heading up the project. Apparently exactly the type needed for this type of case, i.e. not the jovial type.

For giggles I looked up Ryan's potential sentence on the USSG matrix. Even at Category I, it invovles some serious hard time. If convicted, I would think Terre Haute may be more appropriate BoP placement.

Here's hoping that this prosecution will help (help, I said help) clean up Illinois' image. Like to visit, didn't like my stay.

 

[Quartus]

These reporters seem a wee bit paranoid to me.

Nah, just stupid.



IOW, normal reporters.

 

[lee n. field]

George Ryan hammered on the evils of guns relentlessly during his election campaign. Because of that I voted for the Democrat, for the first time in my adult life.

Take him away!

BTW, he wouldn't be the first Illinois governor to do time.

 

[Jeff White]

And he pleads not guilty...imagine that...

Ex-Illinois Gov. Ryan Pleads Innocent
AP
57 minutes ago
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By MAURA KELLY, Associated Press Writer

CHICAGO - Former Gov. George Ryan pleaded innocent Tuesday to federal corruption charges alleging he took payoffs, gifts and vacations while secretary of state and governor in return for letting associates profit off state contracts and leases.

Ryan's attorney, Dan Webb, entered the plea of not guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy, mail fraud, tax fraud, filing false tax returns and making false statements to agents investigating corruption. Ryan answered "I do" four times when the judge asked if he understood the charges.

The charges in the 22-count indictment announced last Wednesday against Ryan and lobbyist friend Larry Warner could send them to prison for years. Warner, who allegedly collected at least $3.1 million through his insider status with Ryan, pleaded innocent Friday.

Ryan was stern-faced and did not comment when he entered the courthouse with his wife, Lura Lynn. On his way out after the hearing, he wished reporters "Merry Christmas" but refused to answer questions.

He was freed on $4,500 bail, but did not have to post cash.

The indictment is the latest in the government's 5 1/2-year Operation Safe Road investigation of corruption under Ryan that began as an inquiry into bribes paid for drivers licenses.

Ryan, a Republican who served as secretary of state from 1991 to 1999 and governor from 1999 to January, has said he knew there was a culture of corruption in the secretary of state's office but was unaware of the specifics.

Ryan became the 66th person charged in the investigation and the fourth former Illinois governor to be indicted by a federal grand jury in as many decades.

Outside Illinois, Ryan is best known as an ardent critic of the way capital punishment is carried out. He declared a moratorium on executions in Illinois after it was discovered that 13 wrongfully convicted men had been sent to death row.

In January, just before leaving office, he cleared out Illinois' death row, pardoning four condemned prisoners and commuting the death sentences of 167 others to life in prison.

The scandal was a factor in his decision not to seek a second term, and his unpopularity was considered a major reason GOP candidates were routed statewide in 2002, including the election of a Democratic governor for the first time since 1972.

The attorneys spent much of Tuesday's hearing debating whether Ryan and Warner should be tried together, as federal prosecutors wish. Warner's attorney wants to go to trial in early 2004, but Webb said he would need up to 15 months to prepare Ryan's defense.

The judge said she would prefer not to split the cases but asked the attorneys to file written briefs on the issue. She scheduled another hearing for Jan. 16.

 

[rock jock]

When a republican is indicted, republicans abandon the politician.

When a Democrat is indicted, Democrats rally around the politician.

Weird

Not weird. Its because most Republicans actually believe that character is more important than politics. Look no further than Nixon himself, who was condemned as vociferiously by Republicans as Dems. Had he been impeached, he would have been convicted by both parties. Democrats, OTOH, have no conscience and believe that power in and of itself is their supreme goal. Witness the impeachment of Bill Clinton.

 

[Quartus]

Bingo, rock jock.

 

[Don Gwinn]

I hate to be cynical, but I have a hard time believing that anything will change. The voters were so fed up with George Ryan that they did what, exactly, to solve the problem of corruption?

That's right, they voted for whoever the Democrats put up, which means they voted for Dick Mell's son-in-law. No, I'm not being petty. Blagojevich is a Professional Son-In-Law. It ought to be on his office door:
Rod Blagojevich
Dick Mell's Son-In-Law
(and governor of illinois)

They totally ignored the fact that Blagojevich was in office only because of Mell's connections. They totally ignored the fact that Mell is perhaps the most corrupt Democrat party boss in Chicago behind Daley, and also second most powerful. They ignored the rather ominous signs that Mell and Daley have formed some kind of unholy alliance. The average voter in Illinois has no idea who Dick Mell is or that he has any connection to Blagojevich at all.
They ignored the fact that Blagojevich has participated in the political activities of anti-gun nonprofit organizations (namely the MMM and some more obscure) which are prohibited by federal law from those activities! I know I tried to bring these issues up to the Springfield newspaper and the local radio station, and no one cared. That's in the capital, mind you.

Besides, we've four Governors indicted in the last 40 years, and nothing has changed yet. Don't see how this will change anything.

Meanwhile, Blago's response to the issue is to introduce training to teach state workers not to accept bribes. I am not making this up. He wants to have classes, complete with a ten-question quiz at the end, so that the next time a state employee is offered $200 to give a CDL to an illegal immigrant who barely speaks English and doesn't know how to drive a truck or do a safety inspection, he'll know that's a bad idea. Apparently the problem was that state employees simply didn't know any better.

Blago was going to change everything, remember? No more business as usual!

My mom works for the DNR. She's basically the do-everything lady at Outdoor Illinois, their magazine. She has done literally every job except editor in chief and photographer at one time or another. Currently, she's in charge of all DNR printing, proofreads most of what goes out, does some writing and editing on the magazine, handles most of the layout.... you get the idea.

Last week she told us she "thought" she had a new boss.
"You think you have a new boss?" the whole family asked incredulously. "Wouldn't you know something like that for sure?"
"Well, no. See, she was a special intern, which usually means they're going to create a job for that person. It's a place to park them until they're officiallly hired, since there's no job. But those are usually lower jobs, and she has no experience, so we didn't think much of it. This week they opened that internship back up, but nobody said what she's going to be doing. Then today she really sounded a couple of times like she was telling me what to do, but I'm not totally sure. I'm not sure I want to know."

Sure enough, that's exactly what they did. Blago's people took this woman who knows nothing about magazines and made her some kind of "special intern" until they could make up a job for her (while they're proposing a hiring freeze, of course.) Then they essentially created a new layer of bureaucracy between mom and the director level so this woman could be a supervisor. Frankly, I suspect they put her in charge of mom because they know she'll have nothing to do. Mom has never been supervised by anyone but the editor for as long as I can remember and she's always been outstanding. This new woman will have no real reason to be there, which is no doubt the point, since the only real reason anyone has for being in the office is to work hard, and who wants to do that?

Mom started almost thirty years ago now in the mail room of the Governor's office under Dan Walker (another Illinois Gubernatorial Jailbird) and worked her way up from there. She never sold or bought Republican or Democrat fundraiser tickets, worked on campaigns, etc. so it took her a lot of years and excellence to move up in the world, and it burns me that someone else can be inserted over her head because of some political connection.

 

[Jeff White]

Don,
I can't think of a state more deserving of a massive federal corruption probe. For the most part part, party affiliation doesn't matter. Jobs are bought and sold for political contributions. It seems like both parties down to the township level are involved. I'm sure if someone ever came in to clean it up, they'd have to build a new prison somewhere to handle it all. Illinois corruption is Washington DC type corruption on a massive scale...

Jeff

 

[Sergeant Bob]

crawfordew

Ex-gov Ryan also has blood on his hands. One of the people that bought a license by contributing to Ryan's campaign fund killed 6 children from one family in an accident in Wisconsin.

Well, sort of. IIRC, the cause of the accident was that the rear door fell off of the semi trailer driven by the "licensee", not by his lack of driving ability.
The ability to perform a proper pre-trip safety inspection of the vehicle is one of the requirements in obtaining a Commercial Driver's License (CDL) but, there are plenty of people who did aquire their CDL's legitimately who do not perform proper pre-trip inspections, and basically rely on luck to keep the truck from falling apart.
The company who hires a driver is also responsible to make sure a driver is fully qualified (to include a skills test), but some are only interested in putting "meat in the seat".
When you drive, you probably notice their are a whole lot of idiots driving cars, who shouldn't be. Yet most of them have legitimate driver's licenses.
The "idiot percentage" is about the same for all walks of life, and that includes truck drivers (this is something I know alot about).
Should the Sec of State be held responsible for deaths caused by drivers (who lose parts off their trucks, drive unsafely) who did aquire a proper license yet are guilty of the same things as the driver in question?
That CDL is just a piece of paper, and does not a safe driver make.

Not trying to defend Ryan here, just trying to add a perspective. If the scumbag is guilty as charged, he should go to jail (along with the Governor of Chicago, Daley, and the Mayor of Illinois, Blagowhatever).

 

[Jonesy9]

Connecticut voters should take a hint from IL. Their Gov has been caught red handed doing the same things, but he's still in office. As the richest state in the union, the Repubs are letting him slide on his corruption. He did say that God told him not to take anymore bribes and he'll be good from now on though. oh joy!