Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and wife Patti arrive at their home after appearing in federal court for the first day of his sentencing hearing in Chicago, Dec. 6, 2011. (AP)
(AP)
CHICAGO - After all his claims of innocence, ousted Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich let his lawyers make an admission Tuesday that he has so far avoided — that he is, in fact, guilty of public corruption.
Blagojevich will get a chance to do the same Wednesday, when he is scheduled to address the federal judge who will decide his sentence.
The former governor was clearly the ringleader of the corruption schemes for which he was convicted, including trying to sell or trade an appointment to President Barack Obama's former Senate seat, the judge said Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge James Zagel said he believed there was ample evidence the former governor wanted $1.5 million in campaign contributions for the Senate seat.
The judge's comments could signal a harsher sentence for Blagojevich.
Throughout the first day of his two-day sentencing hearing, the impeached executive-turned-reality TV star was somber, staring at the floor. His wife sobbed as a letter from their daughter was read begging the judge not to send him to prison. The former governor suddenly seemed to fight to maintain his composure, fidgeting with a pen, biting on his lip.
The hearing was a stark contrast to the circus atmosphere around his trials.
Prosecutors say the twice-elected governor 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.
On Tuesday, attorney Sheldon Sorosky told Zagel it was illegal for Blagojevich to ask for a job for himself in exchange for naming Obama's replacement in the Senate.
"There's no doubt this is a crime to do this in relation to the Senate seat, we accept that," he said. "I am just saying that does not call for a 15- to 20-year jail" term as prosecutors have requested.
Sorosky made the same argument when he talked about the other crimes: taking bribes from a racetrack executive and a hospital executive, as well as lying to the FBI.
Calling a defense suggestion "absurd" that Blagojevich was being manipulated by staffers and advisers, Zagel said that it was apparent from the secretly recorded tape recordings that Blagojevich relentlessly worked to use his authority to benefit himself.
"There is no question from his tone of voice that he was demanding," Zagel said.
Blagojevich 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.
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 — possibly scrubbing toilets — at just 12 cents an hour.
Via: CBSNews
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