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Details exposed in Ryan filing Posted Wednesday, January 05, 2005
In laying out its version of the evidence, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's office attempted to put meat on the bones of its case against Ryan, buoyed by new testimony from imprisoned former political operative Scott Fawell, who had a father-son-like relationship with Ryan. While the latest court document doesn't contain as many new bombastic accusations as Ryan's December 2003 indictment, it does point to prosecutors having secured testimony from a steady stream of former secretary of state managers and employees, one of whom even kept a diary about contracts he said Ryan asked him to help fix for a friend. If Ryan and his legal team feel prosecutors can prove to a jury even part of what they allege in the 114-page filing, it's possible the former governor could strike a plea bargain before his trial begins March 14 rather than risk a guilty verdict and hefty prison term for racketeering conspiracy charges. One of Ryan's attorneys, Brad Lerman, did not indicate the former governor, who was a consummate deal maker in Springfield, was ready to bargain. "George Ryan vigorously denies the hearsay allegations and innuendo that make up the government's one-sided submission," said Lerman, who declined to comment on the specifics of the government's filing. "We are confident that the government's case will not withstand the scrutiny of a jury and we look forward to our day in court." A message left for Ryan at his Kankakee home was not returned. Returning favors? In essence, prosecutors say the buck stopped with Ryan as secretary of state, and in return for decisions he made that benefited friends, the bucks flowed back to Ryan. Most of that money is alleged to have come from lobbyist and Ryan confidant Lawrence Warner, who is scheduled to stand trial alongside the ex-governor. Prosecutors say Warner provided cash and other benefits to Ryan in return for the then-secretary of state's influence in steering contracts for license plate renewal stickers, digitally generated driver's licenses and a computer mainframe. Among other kickbacks, Warner helped Ryan's daughter, Lynda Fairman, with a flood problem costing $11,326, gave Ryan $1,040 in benefits related to a flood in Ryan's Chicago apartment, and paid $3,185 in wedding expenses for one of Ryan's daughters, prosecutors allege. The contract-steering allegations are one of the areas where Fawell's help to prosecutors is evident. Prosecutors allege Ryan and Fawell discussed Ryan's "desire" to keep his friends, like Warner, "happy," telling Fawell several times "Let's help Larry if we can" when Warner's clients tried to win contracts with the secretary of state's office. Fawell, serving a six-year sentence at a federal work camp in South Dakota, last year decided to cooperate with investigators to help his fiancee, Andrea Coutretsis, receive a lighter sentence in the scandal that has netted nearly 70 convictions. One of the more shocking revelations, prosecutors said, took place before a May 1992 press conference at which then-Cook County State's Attorney Jack O'Malley and Assistant State's Attorney Patrick Quinn (no relation to the lieutenant governor) were to unveil charges of license-selling at the secretary of state's office in south suburban Midlothian. "When Quinn and O'Malley talked to Ryan about opportunities to develop more secretary of state-related prosecutions, Ryan responded, ‘(expletive-deleted) you, Jack, these are my guys'"(referring to secretary of state employees), prosecutors contend in the filing. Neither O'Malley nor Quinn, now both appellate court justices, returned calls seeking comment Tuesday. Prosecutors also portrayed Ryan as directly intervening to make sure Warner's clients got their taxpayer-funded contracts. Vehicle Services Director James Covert, who kept a detailed diary of his job, told Ryan that Warner pressured him to alter state contracts to give advantages to his clients, providing Ryan with specific examples, prosecutors said. "Warner is your friend," Ryan told Covert in response, according to prosecutors, adding that Warner was "just a businessman trying to do business." In the lengthy document, prosecutors also reiterated many of their earlier allegations about the Ryan-run secretary of state's office, including the April 1994 case of a missing $2,600 at the Naperville driving facility investigators believe went to Ryan's campaign fund. Prosecutors said former Ryan Inspector General Dean Bauer, who already has served his prison sentence in the scandal, covered up that probe plus a March 1993 scandal involving $2,500 and fund-raising tickets found in a briefcase at the Libertyville driving facility. Attorneys for Ryan and Warner had lobbied U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer to keep the government documents under seal, arguing it would taint the jury pool. "It's a certainty that some potential jurors will read this," Lerman said to Pallmeyer on Monday. Pallmeyer kept the document under wraps for about two weeks, but ultimately ruled potential jury problems could be overcome through a vigorous screening process -- even though that would be more inconvenient to her and the lawyers. "I don't know that our inconvenience … is enough of a reason to seal information that would otherwise become public," she said Tuesday in issuing her ruling. • Daily Herald State Government Editor John Patterson contributed to this report. Ryan: Prosecutors lay out case involving state contracts, favors |
