Cellini indicted by federal grand jury in state corruption probe
OPERATION BOARD GAMES | Feds charge political power broker William Cellini with conspiring to shake down a Hollywood producer for $1.5 million for a Blagojevich campaign fund and talking about getting U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald fired
William Cellini, one of the most powerful men in Illinois politics, was charged Thursday in what authorities said was a shakedown scheme involving Gov. Blagojevich's campaign fund, dealing another blow to the embattled governor.
The 73-year-old Springfield lobbyist and businessman is accused of working with convicted influence-peddler Tony Rezko and others to extort an investment firm into making a $1.5 million contribution to Blagojevich's campaign as a condition of getting state business.
(AP file)
The four-count federal indictment also alleges that Cellini "discussed the possibility" of getting U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald dumped from that post as a way to stop an investigation.
The grand jury that indicted Cellini is the same one investigating renovations of Blagojevich's North Side home, according to court documents. That work was done by a company run by Rezko, a former Blagojevich adviser and fund-raiser convicted in June of wide-ranging corruption involving state deals. He's now talking with prosecutors.
Sources said Rezko -- who hasn't finalized a deal for his cooperation -- provided information about the alleged extortion scheme.
Blagojevich has not been accused of any wrongdoing. Asked about the Cellini charges, Blagojevich spokesman Lucio Guerrero said, "The governor was not involved in the improper activities alleged in the indictment."
Cellini is a longtime Republican power broker and campaign fund-raiser for Republican and Democratic governors alike, including Blagojevich. Dubbed "the King of Clout" by a 1996 Chicago Sun-Times investigation, he was known as "the Pope" when it came to the sway he held with state pension investments, according to testimony at the Rezko trial.
In an investigation named Operation Board Games, Cellini is accused of conspiring with Rezko and Stuart Levine, then a state pension fund board member, to shake down Thomas Rosenberg, a Chicago businessman-turned-Hollywood producer of "Million Dollar Baby" who is a principal in Capri Capital, which was seeking to handle a $220 million investment for the pension board.
At the time, Cellini was working on behalf of Commonwealth Realty Advisors Inc., a real-estate asset firm that has gotten hundreds of millions of dollars of work from the state.
Prosecutors also accused Cellini of conspiring with Rezko in 2004 to get Fitzgerald dumped as a way to quash any investigation into their alleged wrongdoing -- allegations that surfaced at Rezko's trial.
Levine, a star witness against Rezko, testified that Cellini, Rezko and another Blagojevich adviser and fund-raiser, Chris Kelly, worked to shake down Rosenberg for campaign cash after learning Capri was set to land the $220 million deal. In Thursday's indictment, Kelly appears again as an unnamed and unindicted co-conspirator.
The alleged extortion attempt was first detailed by the Sun-Times in 2006.
Cellini was caught on secretly made tapes talking with Levine about the Rosenberg deal. In one tape played at Rezko's trial, Cellini was heard saying Blagojevich -- "the big guy" -- knew of the plot. In another, Cellini told Levine that Rosenberg had threatened to expose them. Prosecutors said Cellini and Levine backed off.
Rosenberg testified there was never any direct demand that he contribute to the Blagojevich campaign, but he said his $220 million deal was stalled after he refused to ante up.
"They made the consequences clear," Rosenberg testified.
While Rezko was convicted of other charges, the jury cleared him in the Rosenberg scheme. Cellini's lawyer, former U.S. Attorney Dan K. Webb, noted that Thursday and said Cellini "is completely innocent of these charges."
"A stronger version of these same allegations was presented to the Rezko jury, and the jury sent a strong message to the government -- a not guilty verdict," Webb said. "The Rezko jury returned a not guilty verdict because the allegations were not supported by any credible evidence."
Contributing: Chris Fusco, Maudlyne Ihejirika