Lawyers for the ex-president of AT&T Illinois are seeking to bar key evidence in his upcoming bribery trial, arguing in a recent filing that prosecutors have failed to identify any conspiracy to “corruptly” influence then-House Speaker Michael Madigan to win passage of key legislation in Springfield.
Paul La Schiazza, 66, was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in October 2022 with conspiracy, federal program bribery, and using a facility in interstate commerce to promote unlawful activity. His trial is set to begin in September.
Earlier this month, prosecutors filed what is known as a Santiago proffer, detailing the statements of co-conspirators and other evidence they intend to use to prove that there was a scheme by La Schiazza and AT&T to secretly funnel money to a Madigan-connected ex-legislator to gain a competitive edge as the utility was seeking to pass a bill ending mandated landline service.
In their 13-page response filed Friday, lawyers for La Schiazza argued that the government’s proffer “is devoid of any evidence” showing La Schiazza or any other AT&T employee knew “that seeking to influence Mr. Madigan was forbidden,” as required by current Chicago-area case law.
“Doing something to develop or maintain a positive relationship with a politician or politically influential person is not a crime,” attorneys Tinos Diamantatos, Megan Braden, Alborz Hassani and John Dodds wrote. “Hiring a consultant recommended by a politician or politically influential person in order to build relationships or curry favor is not a crime.”
La Schiazza’s defense team also pointed out that the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule next month in a case out of northwest Indiana that could redraw the meaning of “corruptly” in the bribery statute, significantly raising the bar for what prosecutors have to prove.
La Schiazza’s filing asked U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman to reject the government’s proffer outright, or at least wait until after the Supreme Court’s decision to decide what can come into the trial.
The issue is expected to be argued at a final pretrial conference on Thursday.
Jury selection in La Schiazza’s case is scheduled to start Sept. 9, just a month before Madigan and his longtime confidant, Michael McClain, are set to go on trial at the same Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on sweeping racketeering conspiracy charges that include the AT&T scheme as well as similar allegations regarding utility giant Commonwealth Edison.
According to prosecutors, La Schiazza and others at AT&T agreed to pay $2,500 a month to former state Rep. Edward Acevedo, a onetime member of Madigan’s leadership team who’d recently left the General Assembly, at the same time the company was seeking passage of a bill known by the acronym COLR.
The payments to Acevedo — allegedly negotiated by McClain — were made via a lobbying contract between AT&T and Thomas Cullen, a former Madigan staffer and longtime political strategist aligned with the speaker, according to prosecutors. Acevedo who was a registered lobbyist at the time, did no actual work for AT&T in exchange for the payments, prosecutors alleged.
According to the prosecution’s Santiago proffer, shortly after the controversial bill passed in Springfield in 2017, La Schiazza received a request from a Madigan relative to sponsor a nonprofit event. He forwarded the request to a colleague in the legislative affairs department, writing “this will be endless,” according to the filing.
“I suspect the ‘thank you’ opportunities will be plentiful,’” the colleague allegedly emailed back.
“Yep,” La Schiazza allegedly responded. “We are on the friends and family plan now.”
In the same exchange, La Schiazza’s colleague highlighted “the connection between Madigan’s and McClain’s requests and AT&T’s legislative success.”
“There is a sensitivity in that office about us going away now that we got COLR,” the colleague wrote. “That is something to keep in mind in rest (of) 17 and in 18 regarding budget and profile with the Speaker’s office.”
La Schiazza allegedly responded he would “emphasize” that to the company’s leadership, “especially if we expect to pass a small cell bill,” a reference to another piece of legislation the company was seeking to pass in the coming months, according to prosecutors.
That fall, Madigan helped to advance the small cell bill during the veto session of the Illinois General Assembly, and in the spring of 2018, he helped defeat an amendment to the legislation that would have been harmful to AT&T’s interests, according to prosecutors.
In their response Friday, La Schiazza’s attorneys accused prosecutors of “a temporal bait and switch,” arguing there was no evidence that the company knew in advance that Acevedo would do no work for AT&T.
“In fact, the evidence shows that the alleged coconspirators hired Mr. Acevedo to perform a service that was genuinely valuable to AT&T,” the filing stated.
Madigan, 82, was the longest serving leader of any legislative chamber in the nation who held an ironclad grip on the state legislature as well as the Democratic Party and its political spoils. He was dethroned as speaker in early 2021 as the investigation swirled around him, and soon after resigned the House seat he’d held since 1971.
Madigan and McClain were charged in March 2022 in the original 22-count indictment alleging they conspired to participate in an array of bribery and extortion schemes from 2011 to 2019 that allegedly leveraged Madigan’s elected office and political power for personal gain
The indictment also accused Madigan of illegally soliciting business for his private property tax law firm during discussions to turn a state-owned parcel of land in Chinatown into a commercial development.
Madigan and McClain have pleaded not guilty. Their attorneys have accused prosecutors of trying to criminalize legal political actions such as job recommendations in a quest to bring down the once-powerful speaker.
McClain is also awaiting sentencing in his conviction for bribery conspiracy last year in the “ComEd Four” case against him and three other ComEd executives and lobbyists.
Both AT&T and ComEd entered into a deferred prosecution agreements with the U.S. attorney’s office, admitting their roles in the schemes to influence Madigan in exchange for prosecutors dropping criminal charges. ComEd also agreed to pay a record $200 million fine, while AT&T was fined $23 million.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
