Former state Rep. Edward Acevedo’s second day of testimony in the Michael Madigan corruption trial got testy Tuesday from the moment a prosecutor said “Good morning.”
“Good morning. Can you hear me?” Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu asked Acevedo, a former Chicago police officer and one of Madigan’s floor leaders in the House.
“Are you talking to me?” Acevedo asked.
“I am,” Bhachu shot back. “Did you bring your glasses today sir?”
“I did,” Acevedo said.
“Congratulations.”
By reminding Acevedo of his failure to bring his glasses to court on Monday — which drew the ire of the judge — Bhachu set the tone for what would be a rapid-fire series of questions about Acevedo’s memory and how his testimony in Madigan’s trial differed from what he told a federal grand jury under oath two years ago.
Acevedo, meanwhile, has been diagnosed with dementia and a brain tumor, and his testimony is sure to be framed by the defense as unreliable.
Acevedo, 61, a Chicago Democrat, is central to allegations that AT&T Illinois and Commonwealth Edison funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars in do-nothing consulting contracts to Acevedo and other Madigan loyalists in return for the speaker’s help with legislation in Springfield.
Prosecutors allege Acevedo, 61, was paid a total of $142,500 by AT&T and ComEd after retiring from the Illinois House in 2017, even though he was not expected to do much of anything for the money.
On Tuesday, Bhachu asked Acevedo whether he told the FBI in September 2019 that Madigan’s chief counsel, Heather Weir Vaught, had called him a few weeks earlier and asked if he had an attorney.
Acevedo told Bhachu he can’t remember who Weir Vaught is.
Bhachu also asked Acevedo about his grand jury testimony where he was asked if he provided any oral report to AT&T governmental affairs officer Stephen Selcke after they hired him in 2017. His answer then: “I don’t remember that.”
On Monday, however, he told the jury he had told Selcke “verbally” about the status of the Latino caucus in the Illinois General Assembly.
Bhachu also asked about another statement in the grand jury, where Acevedo said he talked to an AT&T lobbyist in person. About what? he was asked.
“I told you I talked to him about things that were happening in the Latino community,” Acevedo said in the grand jury. He also told the grand jury he talked to AT&T about donating to a scholarship fund for needy kids.
Bhachu finished by asking about Acevedo’s sons, Michael and Alex, who like Acevedo were each convicted of tax charges as part of the Madigan investigation.
And you were upset about that as well? Bhachu asked.
“Yes, any father would be,” Acevedo said.
Bhachu finished his line of questioning after only about 20 minutes.
On cross, Acevedo started to sniffle as he was asked about his dementia and other problems, saying it pained him to have trouble remembering his grandchildren’s names.
Acevedo testified on cross that he never asked anyone for a no-show job.
“Did AT&T ever offer you a no-show job?” asked Patrick Cotter, the attorney for Madigan’s co-defendant, Michael McClain.
“No,” Acevedo said.
Acevedo, who has myriad health issues, took the stand late in the day Monday, maneuvering with a walker right past Madigan at the defense table without appearing to look in the former speaker’s direction.
Prosecutors fought hard to get him in the courtroom. Acevedo initially invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to testify, but the U.S. attorney’s office secured a grant of immunity that compels him to take the stand. He cannot be prosecuted for anything he says under oath, as long as his testimony is truthful, according to the agreement.
Acevedo’s attorney Gabrielle Sansonetti then argued strenuously that Acevedo has been diagnosed with dementia and is not competent to testify reliably. After extensive hearings last week, including an in-chambers interview at Blakey questioned Acevedo himself, the judge determined that Acevedo could take the stand.
Acevedo, a Chicago Democrat, was expected to be one of the prosecution’s final witnesses against Madigan and McClain. Prosecutors could rest their case in chief as early as Tuesday afternoon.
Dressed in a green zip-up sweater, Acevedo answered questions directly Monday and mostly with one- or two-word answers. At one point when asked to look at his grand jury transcript, Acevedo said he couldn’t read it and had forgotten his glasses. He seemed to be squinting even after prosecutors enlarged the document on the screen.
He testified for less than half an hour before the trial recessed for the day, with direct examination set to resume Tuesday morning. Before Acevedo left the stand, U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey warned him and Sansonetti not to forget his glasses again or he could be held in contempt of court.
“I will buy him a pair of glasses and bring them, your honor,” Sansonetti said as she helped Acevedo navigate his walker to the courtroom door.
Acevedo’s testimony marks the first time he’s taken the witness stand in a Madigan-related trial, despite being a central figure in all of them, including a number of unflattering comments in emails and wiretaps accusing him of boorish behavior and excessive drinking.
He has not been charged in Madigan’s case, but he pleaded guilty to related tax charges and was sentenced in 2022 to six months in prison. His sons also were convicted of tax charges related to the money Acevedo took in through his consulting firm.
Toward the end of his testimony Monday, Acevedo was asked about his conviction and whether he harbored any animosity toward the government over it.
“You were upset by the fact you were charged by the government, weren’t you?” Bhachu asked.
Acevedo answered, “Yes.”
Acevedo testified that as he neared retirement, he asked McClain to ask Madigan for help getting work as a lobbyist, and met with the speaker about it on several occasions. He said Madigan assured him he’d help get him work with AT&T or ComEd.
“I was also asking anyone who would listen,” Acevedo said.
The jury has previously seen a series of emails between AT&T executives detailing the push to get Acevedo some money as he transitioned out of politics, an assignment largely handled by McClain, a lobbyist and the speaker’s longtime confidant.
The executives decided to add more money to the contract of one of their existing lobbyists, Tom Cullen, who agreed to act as a pass-through and pay Acevedo with the extra money he got from AT&T, according to testimony and evidence presented to the jury.
Cullen, a former top Madigan aide who went into lobbying, testified last week that when AT&T officials told Acevedo their offer was $2,500 per month, Acevedo “got mad.”
After their meeting broke without a resolution, Acevedo called Cullen in a lather. “He said to me that he was worth more money and AT&T was being cheap and he used a few choice words and told me it wasn’t a fair deal,” Cullen said.
What exactly did he say? asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker.
“He said ‘F––– AT&T, they can kiss my ass.’ ” Cullen testified.
On Monday, Acevedo told the jury he remembered meeting with Selcke and other representatives of AT&T in then-state Rep. Lou Lang’s office at the Capitol, and agreed that he was not satisfied with the $2,500-per-month offer.
“I told them my frustrations that other people were getting way higher wages than I was,” Acevedo testified.
Bhachu did not ask Acevedo about his purportedly vulgar comments to Cullen over the phone, only asking whether Acevedo ultimately accepted the terms.
“Yes sir, that I did,” Acevedo said.
Madigan, 82, of Chicago, who served for decades as speaker of the Illinois House and the head of the state Democratic Party, faces racketeering charges alleging he ran his state and political operations like a criminal enterprise.
Both Madigan and McClain, 77, a former ComEd contract lobbyist from downstate Quincy, have pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com