Federal prosecutors this week charged Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich with a “political corruption crime spree’’ of jaw-dropping scope, including a brazen attempt to sell Barack Obama’s Senate seat. In a series of wiretapped conversations, prosecutors said, the second-term Democrat said he had “valuable” leverage over those who wanted the Senate job. “I’ve got this thing,” Blagojevich said, “and it’s f---ing golden, and I’m just not giving it up for f---ing nothing.” In another conversation about the Senate seat, he said, “I want to make money.” Blagojevich was arrested and released on $4,500 bail.
Prosecutors said Blagojevich solicited millions in political donations and bribes from people with state business, including executives from a hospital for children. He was also accused of pressuring the Chicago Tribune to fire editorial board members who had criticized him, telling the newspaper’s executives that he would withhold state help on the sale of Wrigley Field, which the Tribune Co. also owns.
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