#wire fraud

"Adams has consistently said he is cooperating with the investigations and has denied wrongdoing through the steady drumbeat of searches, seizures and departures of top members of his administration.

But as news of the indictment spread Wednesday night, he began to mount a defiant defense that he was being targeted by the federal government for his political views, adopting language similar to former President Donald Trump and other politicians accused of crimes."

"The indictment alleges illegal actions stretching back to 2014, from when he was Brooklyn Borough president.

“For nearly a decade, Adams sought and accepted improper valuable benefits, such as luxury international travel, including from wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official seeking to gain influence over him,” the indictment reads."

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Ex-Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan sentenced to 90 months, $2.5 million fine

Courtney Spinelli, Julian Crews, and Ethan Illers at WGN, AP:

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has been sentenced to 90 months (7.5 years) in prison, along with a $2.5 million fine, the statutory maximum.

Madigan’s stunning political collapse culminated Friday when the longest-serving legislative leader in U.S. history was sentenced on federal bribery, conspiracy and wire fraud convictions tied to a scheme to push legislation in exchange for jobs and contracts for his associates. The former Illinois House speaker was convicted in February on 10 of 23 counts in a remarkable corruption trial that lasted four months. The case churned through 60 witnesses and mountains of documents, photographs and taped conversations. Madigan, 83, appeared in U.S. District Court Friday in Chicago, where Judge John Robert Blakey determined his sentence. The former house speaker gave a statement in court Friday before learning of his sentence.

“I’m truly sorry for putting the people of Illinois through this. I did the best I could. I’m not perfect,” Madigan said. “When I look back on my life, being Speaker is not what I’m most proud of. I’m proudest of being a father and a grandfather.”

“Mr. Madigan was elected to serve the people of Illinois, but his actions demonstrated time and time again that his priority was his own personal interests and gain,” said FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Douglas DePodesta. “Thanks to the dedicated investigative and prosecutorial teams, he will now be held accountable for those criminal actions. The FBI remains dedicated to aggressively investigating corruption and fraud to ensure that the public has faith in our democratic institutions and elected leaders who are truly honest and fair.” Federal prosecutors sought a 12 1/2-year prison term. Madigan’s attorneys sought probation, contending the government’s sentence would “condemn an 83-year-old man to die behind bars for crimes that enriched him not one penny.”

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