After crime, punishment awaits ex-Gov. Blagojevich

By MICHAEL TARM and DON BABWIN
Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Rod Blagojevich was clearly the ringleader of the schemes for which he was convicted, and lied about his actions on the witness stand, a judge said Tuesday at the ousted Illinois governor's sentencing on charges that include trying to sell an appointment to President Barack Obama's former Senate seat.

In comments that could signal a lengthy prison sentence for Blagojevich, Judge James Zagel made it clear that he did not believe the suggestion made by defense attorneys that Blagojevich was duped by aides and advisers.

"There is no question from his tone of voice that he was demanding," Zagel said of Blagojevich's comments on phone conversations secretly recorded by the FBI. "His role as leader is clearly shown by his actions."

And in his first openly harsh assessment of Blagojevich's performance on the witness stand, Zagel said Blagojevich was lying when he testified that he planned to appoint the state's attorney general to Obama's seat in a legal political deal.

"I think this is untrue," he said. "I thought it was untrue when he said it and I think it is still untrue."

Blagojevich, who sat at a defense table in a dark pinstripe suit, was expected to address Zagel later in the day. Legal experts have said he needs to display some remorse. But the big unknown is whether the often cocksure ex-governor will beg for mercy or yet again protest his innocence.

Before proceedings began, Blagojevich stood, rubbing his hands and occasionally biting his lip. His wife Patti sat behind him on a spectators' bench. Their two daughters were not present.

The impeached state executive-turned-reality TV star has good reason to feel anxious at the two-day hearing. He faces the prospect of 10 or more years behind bars. If Zagel settles on a sentence of more than a decade, that would make it one of the stiffest penalties imposed for corruption in a state with a long history of crooked politics.

Prosecutors want the twice-elected governor sentenced to 15 to 20 years, arguing that he has not only shirked all responsibility for his crimes but repeatedly thumbed his nose at the U.S. justice system.

Blagojevich's attorneys have said he has already paid a price in public ridicule and financial ruin, and propose a term of just a few years. They have also taken an approach judges often frown upon at the sentencing stage: Continuing to insist their client is innocent.

Defense attorney Carolyn Gurland told the judge that it isn't true Blagojevich hasn't grasped the severity of his legal plight, but she seemed to stop short of saying he accepted responsibility, saying only "Mr. Blagojevich has faced up to the fact of his conviction."

But she also argued that the case was exceptional, saying the public wasn't harmed. Gurland said Zagel should take into account the fact that Blagojevich did not "receive a single penny" in ill-gotten gains mdash; unlike other cases in which politicians were convicted of public corruption.

"Rod Blagojevich received nothing," she said, adding that Blagojevich was doing what politicians do mdash; seeking campaign contributions, not "money stuffed into envelopes."

Both sides could finish their pitches to Zagel during Tuesday's hearing, which was moved to a large ceremonial courtroom to accommodate expected crowds. Among the attendees were more than a dozen jurors from both trials, including both foremen. Zagel says he'll wait until Wednesday to pronounce a sentence.

The 70-year-old judge must answer nuanced questions according to complex sentencing considerations, including whether any good Blagojevich accomplished as governor counterbalances the bad.

The first person to testify on Blagojevich's behalf was Dr. Deanna Monroe. The Chicago pediatrician praised the "All Kids" health insurance program that Blagojevich created, saying many children wouldn't be treated without it.

Also among those in attendance at court was Sister Susanne Kullowitch, 78, who said she believed Blagojevich deserved mercy, noting the good she said he had done as governor for the elderly.

"I was here to tell the governor I was praying for him," she said during a break. She said she went up to Blagojevich before proceedings began, and she said he responded, `Keep praying."

Blagojevich's sentencing comes just days before his 55th birthday and three years to the week of his Dec. 9, 2008, arrest. The jury deadlocked in his first trial, agreeing on just one of 24 counts mdash; that Blagojevich lied to the FBI. Jurors at his recent retrial convicted him on 17 of 20 counts, including bribery.

In describing the humiliation his family has faced, the defense cited Blagojevich's appearances on NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice," where he struggled to use a cell phone, and his wife, Patti, eating a tarantula on the reality show, "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!"

After sentencing, Zagel will likely give Blagojevich weeks before he must report to prison. Once there, the man heard scoffing on FBI wiretaps about earning a low six-figure salary would have to take a prison job mdash; possibly scrubbing toilets mdash; at just 12 cents an hour.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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