(IL Gov) Ryan gets 6 1/2 years

[greatauntoftriplets]

Ryan gets 6 1/2 years

By Matt O’Connor
Tribune staff reporter
Published September 6, 2006, 3:33 PM CDT


Former Gov. George Ryan was sentenced to 6 ½ years in prison today for his historic conviction on racketeering conspiracy, mail fraud, obstruction and other charges.

Following a 5½-month trial, a federal jury convicted Ryan in April of steering state business to cronies in return for gifts, gutting corruption-fighting efforts to protect political fundraising and misusing state resources for political gain.

He was the third governor in Illinois history to be convicted of wrongdoing.

Lawyers for Ryan have vowed to appeal his conviction, focusing on U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer's decision to oust two jurors eight days into deliberations for concealing arrest records during jury selection months earlier. She added two alternates and ordered deliberations restarted.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/newsroom/chi-060906ryan,0,3972565.story?coll=chi-homepagepromo440-fea

[maddezmom]

1. excellent...another crook down

hope the appeal is thrown out

[grizmaster]

2. This was Fitzgerald's case, right?

[Monkeyman]

3. He did not do the trial

But happy days in IL today one more bites the dust

[greatauntoftriplets]

4. He was involved in it since it came under his purview....

The lead prosecutor during the trial was someone named Patrick Collins.

[Monkeyman]

5. Patrick is a good man and did not give up even when one of the jury

made comment that the trail was fixed

[WHAT]

6. that was my first thought...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Fitzgerald

Patrick Fitzgerald - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Soon after becoming US Attorney for Northern Illinois, Fitzgerald began an investigation of political appointees of Illinois Governor George Ryan ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Fitzgerald - 41k - Sep 5, 2006 - Cached - Similar pages

I hope someone pipes-in with more detailed info

[greatauntoftriplets]

9. Crain's Chicago Business article.

http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?rssFeed=news&id=21961

George Ryan sentenced to 6.5 years in prison


(AP) — Former Gov. George Ryan was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison Wednesday following his April conviction on racketeering and fraud charges in a corruption scandal that ended his political career in 2003 even as he gained international fame as a death penalty critic.

"People of this state expected better, and I let them down," Ryan said in a statement delivered to the courtroom before the sentencing.

Federal prosecutors had asked for a sentence of eight to 10 years. Defense attorneys argued to U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer that even a sentence of up to 30 months could deprive Ryan, 72, of the last healthy years of his life.

A jury deliberated for 10 days before convicting Ryan in April of racketeering conspiracy, mail fraud and other offenses while he was secretary of state from 1991 to 1999 and governor of Illinois for four years after that.

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

7. "like he had been hit in the knees with a sledgehammer"

The judge sentenced him to the low minimum end with 78 months - on Channel 2 they reported that she could have gone up to the maximum of, I think, 96 months. He also has to repay the state approximately $600,000.

WBBM reporter Mike Parker, who was in the courtroom during the sentencing, said that Ryan put in an emotional appeal "speaking from my heart" during which he said that, given his age and health, a lengthy incarceration would be a death sentence. Parker said Ryan's face was absolutely stunned when he heard the sentence - "like he had been hit in the knees with a sledgehammer."

During his appeal Ryan did not apologize for his crimes but said he had wronged the state of Illinois and its people. He thanked Jim Thompson's firm for providing millions of dollars of free legal services. Big Jim was there, and was seen wiping away tears. I hope all the IL GOP bigshots are crying today.

PS: Right before CBS broke in with the news, they ran a Judy Baar Topinka ad. "I'm Judy Baar Topinka, and I've been thinking." (Yeah, sistah, I'll bet you have.) She said Blajo's ads are so negative that not even her dogs like them - and showed a shot of her dogs running from the room. Oy veh. At the end she's sitting in the middle of a carefully integrated classroom of children, who are obliged to applaud her. Again, oy!

[greatauntoftriplets]

8. I read a description about the dogs running away commercial...

It sounds lame.

[Judi Lynn]

10. Former Ill. governor sentenced to 6 years

Former Ill. governor sentenced to 6 years
George Ryan, 72, convicted of racketeering conspiracy, fraud in April
Updated: 12 minutes ago

CHICAGO - 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 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 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 four years after that. The verdict capped Illinois' biggest political corruption trial in decades.
(snip/)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14703115/

[BOSSHOG]

11. What does the health of the defendant have to do with sentencing?

If a defendant thinks that might be an issue he/she should commit their crimes at an earlier age.

[Warpy]

14. Yeah, you'd think so, but this kind of corruption

has been going on for so long in so many states that these guys don't even realize they're doing anything wrong. Or they're good at lying to themselves, their last 10 predecessors got away with it and all that.

We had a similar scandal here in NM, the Democratic official inheriting a corrupt system from a GOP predecessor and not having the wits to realize that maybe bribes and kickbacks were illegal. Both are going through seemingly interminable trials.

White collar crime like that isn't thought to be worthy of a death sentence, and that's why his health is being considered. Personally, I'd prefer to see sentences meted out on the number of people hurt as well as on the degree of that hurt. Lay would never have seen life outside prison again. Skilling and Fastow should die there, too.

I doubt he'll do the full six years.

[BOSSHOG]

18. The dance goes on with Edwin Edwards of Louisiana

He's locked up and the argument is that poor Eddie will die before he completes his sentence. Relevance?? He's in his mid 70's and Edwards had justice done onto him. Sometimes crimes does not pay.

[Warpy]

12. Just goes to show a lot of people in office are mixed bags

and Nixon comes to mind as another example.

He's still a hero for what he did about the DP. He can pay off those feet of clay over the next six years.

[Monkeyman]

13. You should see the Replugs here pulling out their hair

Judy Barr will now get hit hard by Rod show her dancing and playing with Ryan.Rod send out a email with all the bad things Judy said about Ryan it was blank LOL

[mopinko]

30. no. ryan was covering up for john burge.

many of the men on death row were there because of tortured confessions. he stopped the executions to keep that foul stench under control. that time bomb for the state of illinois taxpayers is wending it's was through the courts. the pardoned men are in line for huge settlements.
he is a pure evil thug, and bushbot extraordinaire. no mix in that old bag. none.

[KT2000]

15. this makes me sad

what he did about the death sentence in Il was so brave
his speech announcing that decision was really memorable too

[MADem]

16. One thing that guy did that was a very good thing

was the moratorium on the death penalty. He took a load of heat for it, but he was right. He then commuted the sentences of the people on death row. The system there was just fraught with corruption, false testimony and so on. The victim's families were especially vociferous.

I dunno, I can't see how watching the state kill someone who killed someone mitigates the first killing somehow. Better to keep the person locked up to contemplate their crime.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/01/11/illinois.death.row/

[Monkeyman]

17. That was a political move guys

People here in Il know that

[MADem]

19. Political moves are what politicians do. It doesn't matter why he did it.

It only matters that he DID do it, AND it was the right thing to do.

[Monkeyman]

20. The Guy who killed my 20 mnt old baby was on death roll

You might say I am Bias.Ryan let people go that should of died like a cop killed who shot him im front of his kids and others

[MADem]

21. Like I said, the families were against it.

I still say that watching someone get "put to sleep" by the state isn't going to bring back the people they killed or provide any psychic release. Far better to keep them in onerous, high security lock up conditions, where every day of their life they are forced to contemplate their misdeeds.

I am sorry for your loss, but that jerk that tore your family apart won't somehow make it whole by being put out of his misery. Two wrongs can never make a right.

[Monkeyman]

22. I see you never had a child mudered you might fell like I do!

Thats why for the first time in court history they had nine officers in court. I would break him in half a 20 mnt old can not defend himself. Ryan is a jerk and hurt over 350 family members. He let some go free who killed a person. You might not like the death of a lowlife who kills a child but I want the guy dead

[fujiyama]

23. Did he let them "off"

or were they given life sentences?


I'm sorry for your loss. I think the morotorium was a good idea because the system was so frought with irregularities, but I still think those on death row should have served life sentences unless there was enough evidence to allow for a new trial.

[MADem]

26. Life sentences, I believe. NT

[anotherdrew]

27. a life sentence is worse than a swift nearly painless death

don't let the bastard get away, punish him here and now.

[MADem]

25. Why no, I haven't. But I don't think that would change my mind.

I oppose the death penalty. It's difficult to oppose it when the crime is especially heinous, but I oppose it even in those instances.

I'm sorry for your loss, but I don't think killing a killer solves anything. All it does is create another killer. If we keep on with the eye for an eye, then the whole world is blind.

We will simply have to differ on this matter.

I know I won't change your view, and you should know that you won't change mine, either.

[never cry wolf]

29. He did NOT let them GO

Instead of the death penalty they are serving life without parole. NONE were let go unless subsequently exonerated in court.

I knew Ryan was corrupt to the end before he took office. As SOS he was dirty and I could not believe the citizens in my state were so blind. I think he should have gotten 20 years but he did do ONE good thing in office. That commutation brought the whole death penalty issue into the national and corporate news.

I have heard so much BS about how he let murderers back onto the streets. He did NO such thing. They were all still incarcerated.

I am not personally a believer in the death penalty (except maybe serial child molesters/abusers.) Most of the industrialized world agrees with me but be that as it may. Ryan let no one on death row go free. period.

on edit: I wrote my reply without a full understanding of your post. I thought you were giving an anonymous example. I am sincerely sorry for your loss. I am a dad and cannot say I would not feel the same way. However, I am not sure of the percentage but if 10% on death row were found to have been judged guilty by fraud, deception or incompetence, is it not better to have 10 in jail for life than kill 9 guilty and one innocent?

[Critters2]

31. He didn't "let people go"

He commuted their sentences to life in prison. Hardly a pardon.

[Mind_your_head]

32. No, it wasn't a political move....

It was a very brave (and 'unpopular' move)....

[OregonDem]

24. Of course with all the repubs being thrown in jail they would want longer

sentences since they are all tough on crime, right? And they won't want the police to get warrants to search their houses (cause warrants only help the terrorists), or hire any of those horrible trial lawyers. Right? Maybe they wouldn't mind picking fruit since they believe prisioners should do that? Perhaps they wont mind be indefintely detained or tortured for a confession? Maybe they would like to stay in Guantanamo Bay since they believe the prisinors have it so easy there?

[Anakin Skywalker]

28. Bwahahahahahah!