Another corrupt politician?
From the "tell me it isn't so file", another politician has been arrested, this time it's the Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, charged with conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and solicitation of bribery. His chief of staff, John Harris was also charged.
According to Reuters, "the charges related to Blagojevich's role in picking a U.S. Senate successor for President-elect Barack Obama and obtaining campaign contributions in exchange for official actions."
Associated Press further reports "Blagojevich also was charged with illegally threatening to withhold state assistance to Tribune Co., the owner of the Chicago Tribune, in the sale of Wrigley Field. In return for state assistance, Blagojevich allegedly wanted members of the paper's editorial board who had been critical of him fired."
And apparently, it gets even worse according to the AP article.
conspiring to sell or trade the vacant Senate seat for personal benefits for himself and his wife, Patti
getting a substantial salary for himself at a nonprofit foundation or an organization affiliated with labor unions
getting his wife placed on corporate boards where she might get $150,000 a year in director's fees
"I want to make money," the affidavit quotes him as saying in one conversation
an alleged $7 million scheme aimed at squeezing kickbacks out of companies seeking business from the state
investigating "serious allegations of endemic hiring fraud"
Blagojevich's chief fundraiser, Christopher G. Kelly, is due to stand trial early next year on charges of obstructing the Internal Revenue Service
WOW!
Even more bizarre:
"Blagojevich took the chief executive's office in 2003 as a reformer promising to clean up former Gov. George Ryan's mess.
Ryan, a Republican, is serving a 6-year prison sentence after being convicted on racketeering and fraud charges." (emphasis added)
And we're seemingly putting characters like this in charge of the economy. That's like having the fox guarding the henhouse.