After a long weekend, a federal jury has returned Monday for a fourth day of deliberations in the “ComEd Four” trial .
The four defendants charged in the ComEd bribery scheme are, from left, consultant Jay Doherty, lobbyist and former ComEd executive John Hooker, retired lobbyist Michael McClain and former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore.
In the ComEd Four case, which is now in its 8th week, jurors are sifting through testimony from some 50 witnesses, dozens of wiretapped phone calls and other secret recordings, as well as thousands of emails and internal ComEd documents.The only communication from the jury Thursday came in the form of three notes asking for transcripts of the recordings and how much former McPier boss Juan Ochoa was paid while on the ComEd board.
The indictment alleged the four conspired to funnel $1.3 million in payments to ghost “subcontractors,” largely through Doherty’s company, who were actually Madigan’s cronies.The utility also hired a clout-heavy law firm run by political operative Victor Reyes, distributed numerous college internships within Madigan’s 13th Ward fiefdom, and blatantly backed former Ochoa, the friend of a Madigan ally, for an $80,000-a-year seat on the utility’s board of directors, the indictment alleged.
The indictment charges a total of nine counts, including a main bribery conspiracy count lodged against each of the four defendants. Other charges include circumventing internal business controls and the falsification of business records to allegedly hide the payments ComEd was making.Defense attorneys have argued over and over that the government is seeking to criminalize legal lobbying and job recommendations that are at the center of the state’s legitimate political system.
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