Cellini: how to work the system - for decades

[the_archfiend]

I'm sure that William Cellini thought of himself as being much more than the smartest guy in the room. Seriously. Problem is, a Federal jury decided he was just that and then went on to agree with much of the goverrnment's case against him:

Cellini was accused of trying to shake down investment firm owner Thomas Rosenberg, the producer of the Oscar-winning movie “Million Dollar Baby,” for a campaign contribution to then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, in exchange for continued state pension business.

Prosecutors played secret FBI recordings of Cellini talking on the phone with (Stuart) Levine (more on him here), a serial conman who testified for parts of six days.

Prosecutors said Cellini’s motive was to please Blagojevich fundraisers Tony Rezko and Chris Kelly and thus, retain Cellini’s decades-long reach into the governor’s office. Prosecutors argued Cellini delivered an extortionate message to Rosenberg in May 2004 that his firm would lose Teachers’ Retirement System pension business if he didn’t donate to Blagojevich. Rosenberg testified he angrily balked at the request.

Unfortunately, he was far more of a cause of political corruption in Illinois than a mere symptom, as this Chicago Sun-Times piece from 1996 points out: 

(But most of all) Cellini has had clout with Illinois governors starting with Richard Ogilvie through James Thompson and now (former Governor Jim) Edgar. And those relationships have been mutually profitable: the Governors got cash for their campaigns and Cellini became a multimillionaire.

Cellini has clout. But money is the foundation of his far-reaching empire. Specifically, his ability to raise cash - primarily from road builders - while rarely giving any of his own money. Cellini raises hundreds of thousands of dollars, mainly for Republicans, primarily candidates for governor, but also for those seeking the White House like Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George Bush and Bob Dole.

Often referred to as a Downstate Republican powerbroker, Cellini has numerous business deals in Chicago and the suburbs, often working with businessmen allied with Democrats such as Mayor Daley.

It was that ability to grease the wheels of patronage - and seemingly do it for anyone regardless of their political affiliation - that was Cellini's strong suit. Until he started doing it on Blago's behalf, of course.

And Jim Edgar really might want to cut out the crocodile tears he's shedding on his former ally's behalf; he's not in office anymore, so they're not coming for him.