Edward Vrdolyak - Federal Indictment and Conviction

Federal Indictment and Conviction

On May 10, 2007, Vrdolyak was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of bribery, mail fraud and wire fraud. Prosecutors later added additional wire fraud charges, and the final indictment included a total of eight counts. The case centered around property that was sold by the Chicago Medical School. The key witness against Vrdolyak was to be Stuart Levine, a partner in the alleged scheme. Prosecutors charged that Vrdolyak and Levine devised a scheme to use Levine's position on the school's board to steer the $15 million sale of a school building to Smithfield Properties - a developer with ties to Vrdolyak. It was alleged that the two arranged a $1.5 million kickback from Smithfield to Vrdolyak in return for Levine's support.

Levine, a close friend and political ally of Vrdolyak's, was indicted in 2005 for using his positions on the Illinois Teachers Retirement System board and the Illinois Health Facilities board to obtain kickbacks. Levine pleaded guilty in late 2006 and agreed to testify in several corruption cases as a condition of his plea agreement. Prosecutors dropped 22 felony charges in return for his cooperation. Prosecutors have indicated that Levine wore a recording device while discussing some of the alleged schemes. Political insiders expressed surprise at the idea that Vrdolyak would be caught on tape. A long-time power broker and target of investigations, the notoriously careful Vrdolyak has been quoted as saying that he "talk to everyone like they're wearing a wire, even my wife". Chicago alderman Bernard Stone noted that Vrdolyak was always careful about talking on the phone, once telling Stone to "always talk like the government was on the phone with you".

Vrdolyak initially pled not guilty to all charges. Vrdolyak's attorney, Michael Monico, questioned Levine's "credibility, reliability and truthfulness", noting that he agreed to testify under "immense pressure" from prosecutors. Levine also testified at the 2008 trial of Tony Rezko, another powerbroker in Illinois politics. He told the jury that he funneled payoffs for clients who wanted Chicago city contracts through Vrdolyak, including some alleged schemes for which Vrdolyak has not been charged. Monico called Levine's statements in regards to Vrdolyak "absolutely false" and said that he had never heard them before.

The trial was set for November 3, 2008. That day, however, an agreement was reached in which prosecutors dropped several of the charges and Vrdolyak pled guilty to a reduced charge of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. The plea agreement stated that Vrdolyak was not cooperating with other investigations, and prosecutors recommended a sentence of 41 months in prison. However, on February 26, 2009, United States District Judge Milton I. Shadur sentenced Vrdolyak to five years of probation, a $50,000 fine and 2,500 hours of community service. However, on January 29, 2010, a federal appeals court overturned the probation sentence on appeal by the prosecution and ordered a resentencing by a different judge. On October 15, 2010 Vrdolyak was sentenced to 10 months in prison. Vrdolyak served his sentence at the federal prison camp in Terre Haute, Indiana. He was released from prison on November 17, 2011.