Gov's campaign donor pleads guilty in kickback case
A millionaire businessman who funneled thousands of dollars into Gov. Rod Blagojevich's campaign fund pleaded guilty to using his position on two state boards in a plot to get payoffs and kickbacks.
But Stuart Levine's plea agreement with federal prosecutors contained no direct charge of wrongdoing on the part of the governor who is waging a re-election campaign while coping with a federal corruption investigation.
But the plea was guaranteed to furnish fresh fuel for the campaign.
(John J. Kim/Sun-Times)
''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. Without the deal, Levine could have gone to prison for life.
In the 58-page document Levine admitted that he joined with Blagojevich fundraiser Antoin ''Tony'' Rezko and others in a plot to force investment firms seeking business from the state Teachers Retirement System to pay millions of dollars in kickbacks through consultants.
He also admitted that he used his position as a member of the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board to pressure hospitals in an elaborate kickback scheme.