The gov, 'rabbi,' and 'pope'
Filing cites Blagojevich's close ties to GOP power brokers Cellini, Levine
Strange bedfellows: the governor, "the Rabbi" and "the Pope."
Federal prosecutors' filing in a state corruption case Friday focuses a new, unwelcome spotlight on Gov. Blagojevich's close relationship with two holdover power brokers from Republican administrations in Springfield: Stuart Levine and William Cellini.
(AP/STNG)
The government laid out 78 pages detailing how Cellini ("The Pope") and Levine ("The Rabbi") allegedly schemed with Blagojevich pals Tony Rezko and Chris Kelly to amass voting majorities on state boards to hand out state contracts to cronies who would give kickbacks to the co-schemers or big donations to Blagojevich.
The filing quotes Levine and attorney Joseph Cari -- both of whom have already pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges and are cooperating with prosecutors -- saying Blagojevich told them they could make money on his administration and should coordinate with Rezko and Kelly on the scheme.
Blagojevich and Cellini have not been charged with any crime. They are never mentioned by name in the filing, but sources tell the Sun-Times that "Public Official A" is Blagojevich and "Co-Schemer A" is Cellini. The other three major players in the alleged scheme -- Rezko, Levine and Kelly ("Co-Schemer B") -- have all been indicted.
Cellini, dubbed the "state capitol's quiet captain of clout" in a '96 Sun-Times profile, declined to be interviewed for this story. The filing quotes him on taped phone calls with Levine saying Rezko and Kelly had been "essentially hammerin' people for contracts, ah, contracts for fund-raising."
In another taped conversation, Cellini boasts to Levine that the two men have such control of the state Teacher Retirement System (TRS) board that a staffer calls Levine "The Rabbi," and Cellini "The Pope," the filing states. When those two men decreed a firm would get a major investment, it did, the filing says. And Cellini did not even have a formal role on the board. Levine, however, was a board member.
Starting as a Springfield alderman, Cellini worked his way up in Republican administrations, starting with Gov. Richard Ogilvie as a roads czar. His sister Janis was Gov. Jim Edgar's patronage chief and his wife, Julie, was named by Gov. Jim Thompson to head the state's Historic Preservation Agency. The Cellini family's investment firm, Commonwealth Realty, has been entrusted with investing $340 million in pension cash since Blagojevich took office.
Former state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka took heat for trying to settle a $15 million loan Cellini got from the state to build the Renaissance Hotel in Springfield for 25 cents on the dollar.
Despite being Republican power brokers, Cellini and Levine managed to ingratiate themselves with Blagojevich and, working with Rezko, to control whom Blagojevich appointed to state boards such as TRS, the filing says.
It does not reveal any taped Blagojevich conversations. It quotes Levine and Cari saying Blagojevich told them to talk to Rezko and Kelly about pay-to-play opportunities in his administration.
"You stick with us, and you will do very well for yourself," the filing quotes Blagojevich telling Levine.
Blagojevich told Cari that Rezko and Kelly coordinated fund-raising for his administration and that Blagojevich could award contracts, legal work and investment banking deals to those who help with fund-raising, according to the filing.