In case you were wondering what happenned to that tough special prosecutor who nailed Scooter Libby's butt not to long ago, you need not fret. Patrick Fitzgerald, that "mediocre prosecutor" that President Bush and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales were thinking of firing, is back on the job in Chicago.
Earlier this afternoon, Fitzgerald, the US Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, announced the indictment of Chicago's former Commissioner of Streets & Sanitation, Alfred Sanchez, on nine counts of mail fraud. Sanchez was a key leader in Mayor Daley's political goon squad, the infamous Hispanic Democratic Organization (HDO), since it was formed nearly two decades ago. You can read the press release on the indicatment at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/...
Is this significant? You bet it is. (More below the fold.)
Sanchez, age 59 and in less than ideal health, faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted in the ongoing investigation into hiring practice abuses and assorted other misdeeds. While Sanchez has the presumption of innocence under our legal system, it should be noted that the only person in this investigation who has successfully avoided conviction did so by dying first.
I suspect that in order to have a chance to avoid dying in prison, Sanchez will have to flip and sing like Caruso on the only higher-ups available; Victor Reyes, the head of HDO... and Mayor richard M. Daley himself.
You can read the breaking story at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/...
As Secretary/Treasurer of the Illinois Committee for Honest Government, I am proud to have been part of the battle against HDO and its practices. Special thanks should go to our Legal Affairs Director, Frank B. Avila, who has been battling Sanchez, Reyes and HDO for more than a decade. Avila was often a lone voice in the wilderness for much of the past decade (residing in the heavily-Hispanic 25th Ward), speaking out against HDO, its members and a variety of unsavory activities.
By the time the YearlyKos convention is held here in Chicago in early August, we may well see additional charges brought up related to this investigation. We may also see some additional action against top officials in the administration of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Add to that a number of cases against various lower-profile elected or governmental officials (such as outgoing indicted Chicago Alderman Arenda Troutman), and you can clearly see that Patrick Fitzgerald will be a busy prosecutor in the months ahead. Rest assured, this will be a fun town for those who like political scandals to visit come YearlyKos time!
By the way, in yesterday's editon of the Chicago Sun-Times, columnist Carol Marin touted Fitzgerald as a worthy replacement for Attorney General Gonzales. You can read her column at: http://www.suntimes.com/...