There are two contradictory bits coming out over the last few weeks in regards to where an investigation of Blagojevich could be going.
First we had the news that Tony Rezko had his sentencing date set for January 6th. That was not seen as a good sign for the investigation because one usually waits until after a trial for the person who the person is testifying against so the government can guarantee you do what you say you will. If Rezko is moving for sentencing in January, there’s a good reason to think he’s not cooperating as much as the feds will like or negotiations broke down. For those of us who would like to get this over with sooner than later, not so good news.
However, last week and today brought two important pieces of news to the investigation. First, it was reported that John Wyma has been cooperating and that cooperation led to Blagojevich being taped–though it was clarified that Wyma was not wired. As many others have pointed out, John Wyma is a big deal because he is very close to the Governor. He has been in business with Patty Blagojevich, was Rod’s Chief of Staff when Rod was in Congress, Campaign Director for the Governor’s race in 2002, and a lobbyist.
Today we get news that Joseph Cari is having his sentencing moved back. Cari was a witness against Rezko
Cari, who has admitted guilt in a corruption case, is a former campaign fund-raiser for Vice President-elect Joe Biden, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton and Gov. Blagojevich. He was supposed to be sentenced months ago, after he testified against Tony Rezko, the former fund-raiser for Blagojevich and President-elect Barack Obama. But that was put off, and no new date has been set.
At Rezko’s trial, Cari testified that Blagojevich told him he planned to reward big campaign donors with state contracts. The governor has denied having that conversation.
Cari pleaded guilty more than three years ago to attempted extortion involving an investment company that wanted business from a state pension fund.
Part of these disclosures could be coincidental or they could have a specific purpose of pushing Rezko to cooperate. If Rezko understands the feds don’t need him as much as he thinks, he may realize he won’t get as good of a deal as we would like. If the entire case doesn’t rest on him, Rezko’s leverage is significantly reduced. That these two things came out almost immediately after Rezko had his sentencing date set could be by coincidence, but most leaks from the feds in Chicago of recent years aren’t random potentially suggesting a game of chicken with Rezko right now.
Either way, it’s bad news for Blagojevich. There is no one he can trust anymore and there are more witnesses who might bring home a conviction than just Rezko.
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