"ComEd Four" seek acquittal in Madigan case after Supreme Court ruling narrowing federal bribery laws
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Four former ComEd executives and lobbyists convicted of conspiring to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan are asking a federal judge to dismiss all charges against them, arguing the case was built "on a rotten foundation."
Last year, a jury convicted former ComEd lobbyist Michael McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, retired ComEd vice president John Hooker and former ComEd consultant Jay Doherty of scheming to arrange no-work contracts and high-paying jobs for Madigan's allies in exchange for the former speaker's help with favorable legislation in Springfield.
However, in June the nation's highest court issued a ruling that narrowed the scope for federal criminal anti-corruption laws, overturning the bribery conviction of former Portage, Indiana, Mayor James Snyder, ruling the federal bribery law does not make it a crime for state and local officials to accept "gratuities."
In the wake of that ruling, lawyers for the so-called "ComEd Four" are asking a federal judge to acquit them of all charges, dismiss the case, or grant them a new trial.
"From the outset of this case, the Government maintained that giving things of value to a powerful politician as a reward for past acts or to curry favor without a quid pro quo is criminal. On that foundation, the Government built an edifice of overlapping charges. But as with all structures, if the foundation is rotten, the structure will fall," the defense team wrote in a filing late Tuesday.
The ComEd Four defendants originally had been set for earlier this year, but those hearings were delayed indefinitely while the Snyder case was before the Supreme Court. Since then, the judge who oversaw their trial died in June, and the case has been reassigned to another judge.
In their motion to throw out the ComEd Four defendants' convictions, their attorneys said the entire case against them is "fatally flawed."
"The Government built its case on its invalid theories at every stage—from incorrectly telling the Grand Jury that rewarding an official's past actions is illegal, all the way through to its closing argument, when it told the jury that it should convict Defendants if it believed they gave things to Speaker Madigan simply to 'make him happy.' It accused Defendants of conspiring to commit acts that are not illegal. And it argued that Defendants falsified books and records and circumvented controls to conceal legal conduct," defense attorneys wrote.
Prosecutors have until Oct. 15 to respond to the defense team's motion.
Meantime, Madigan's own trial on racketeering charges – alongside McClain – is set to go to trial on Oct. 7, as both sides hammer out how to proceed in light of the Snyder ruling, though both prosecutors and Madigan's defense team have said they don't want the trial delayed any longer than it already has been.
Madigan and McClain are facing a federal indictment charging them with racketeering, conspiracy, bribery, and wire fraud, most of which carry up to 20 years in prison if they are convicted.
They are accused of a bribery scheme involving multiple businesses - including ComEd - in which the businesses paid Madigan's associates as a reward for their loyalty to Madigan. Federal prosecutors said Madigan used his various political positions as part of a long-term scheme to arrange for no-show jobs for his political workers, and personal benefits for himself.
Both have pleaded not guilty to all charges.