Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 6, 2006 18:26:56 GMT -5
Ex-Ill. Gov. Gets 6 1/2 Years for Graft
Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan
Sentenced to 6 1/2 Years in Prison for Graft
Former Gov. George Ryan, who was acclaimed by capital punishment foes for
suspending executions in Illinois and emptying out death row, was
sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison Wednesday in the corruption scandal
that ended his political career.
"People of this state expected better, and I let them down," the
72-year-old Ryan said in court before hearing his sentence.
Federal prosecutors had asked for a sentence of eight to 10 years. Defense
attorneys told U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer that even a
sentence of 2 1/2 years would deprive Ryan of the last healthy years of
his life.
Ryan was convicted in April of racketeering conspiracy, fraud and other
offenses for taking payoffs from political insiders in exchange for state
business while he was Illinois secretary of state from 1991 to 1999 and
governor for 4 years after that. The verdict capped Illinois' biggest
political corruption trial in decades.
Prosecutors said that Ryan doled out big-money contracts and leases to his
longtime friend, businessman-lobbyist Larry Warner, and other insiders and
in received such things as Caribbean vacations and a golf bag in return.
Ryan also used state money and state workers for his campaigns, the
government alleged.
Defense attorneys pleaded for mercy, citing Ryan's advanced age, his
health problems he is plagued by high cholesterol and the intestinal
illnesses Crohn's disease, diverticulitis and the humiliation he has
already suffered.
"The public shaming that Ryan has endured combined with the impending loss
of his pension greatly lessens the need for the court to punish through
the sentencing process," Ryan's lawyers said in court papers. They said
Ryan "has been publicly and universally humiliated."
The scandal that led to Ryan's downfall began over a decade ago with a
fiery van crash in Wisconsin that killed 6 children. The 1994 wreck
exposed a scheme inside the Illinois secretary of state's office in which
truck drivers obtained licenses for bribes.
The probe expanded to other corruption under Ryan. Seventy-nine former
state officials, lobbyists, truck drivers and others have been charged. 75
have been convicted, including Ryan's longtime top aide, Scott Fawell, a
star witness at Ryan's trial.
In 2000, Ryan, as governor, declared a moratorium on executions in
Illinois after 13 death row inmates were found to have been wrongly
convicted. Then, days before he left office in 2003, he emptied out death
row, commuting the sentences of all 167 inmates to life in prison. He
declared that the state's criminal justice system was "haunted by the
demon of error."
Even as he faced scandal back home, Ryan accepted speaking invitations
across the country and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his
criticism of the death penalty.
With prosecutors closing in on him, Ryan decided not to run for
re-election in 2002. He was indicted after leaving office.
(source: Associated Press)
Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan
Sentenced to 6 1/2 Years in Prison for Graft
Former Gov. George Ryan, who was acclaimed by capital punishment foes for
suspending executions in Illinois and emptying out death row, was
sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison Wednesday in the corruption scandal
that ended his political career.
"People of this state expected better, and I let them down," the
72-year-old Ryan said in court before hearing his sentence.
Federal prosecutors had asked for a sentence of eight to 10 years. Defense
attorneys told U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer that even a
sentence of 2 1/2 years would deprive Ryan of the last healthy years of
his life.
Ryan was convicted in April of racketeering conspiracy, fraud and other
offenses for taking payoffs from political insiders in exchange for state
business while he was Illinois secretary of state from 1991 to 1999 and
governor for 4 years after that. The verdict capped Illinois' biggest
political corruption trial in decades.
Prosecutors said that Ryan doled out big-money contracts and leases to his
longtime friend, businessman-lobbyist Larry Warner, and other insiders and
in received such things as Caribbean vacations and a golf bag in return.
Ryan also used state money and state workers for his campaigns, the
government alleged.
Defense attorneys pleaded for mercy, citing Ryan's advanced age, his
health problems he is plagued by high cholesterol and the intestinal
illnesses Crohn's disease, diverticulitis and the humiliation he has
already suffered.
"The public shaming that Ryan has endured combined with the impending loss
of his pension greatly lessens the need for the court to punish through
the sentencing process," Ryan's lawyers said in court papers. They said
Ryan "has been publicly and universally humiliated."
The scandal that led to Ryan's downfall began over a decade ago with a
fiery van crash in Wisconsin that killed 6 children. The 1994 wreck
exposed a scheme inside the Illinois secretary of state's office in which
truck drivers obtained licenses for bribes.
The probe expanded to other corruption under Ryan. Seventy-nine former
state officials, lobbyists, truck drivers and others have been charged. 75
have been convicted, including Ryan's longtime top aide, Scott Fawell, a
star witness at Ryan's trial.
In 2000, Ryan, as governor, declared a moratorium on executions in
Illinois after 13 death row inmates were found to have been wrongly
convicted. Then, days before he left office in 2003, he emptied out death
row, commuting the sentences of all 167 inmates to life in prison. He
declared that the state's criminal justice system was "haunted by the
demon of error."
Even as he faced scandal back home, Ryan accepted speaking invitations
across the country and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his
criticism of the death penalty.
With prosecutors closing in on him, Ryan decided not to run for
re-election in 2002. He was indicted after leaving office.
(source: Associated Press)