Posted on 09/09/2011 10:05:28 AM PDT by KeyLargo
Why Illinois Should Invest Its Own Money
William Cellini, one of Springfield’s most enduring slimeballs, is finally about to get his day in federal court. According to the Springfield State Journal-Register:
The government has charged Cellini with conspiring to commit extortion with [Tony] Rezko, [Chris] Kelly and ex-TRS board member and Cellini ally Stuart Levine. Prosecutors said the four men conspired in the spring of 2004 to withhold $220 million in Teachers' Retirement System investment funds from a firm named Capri Capital unless Thomas Rosenberg, a principal in the firm, made a $1.5 million campaign contribution to Blagojevich or paid a $2 million fee to Rezko, Kelly and Levine.
Cellini, who had so much influence over the Teachers’ Retirement System he was called its “pope,” also steered pension money to his real estate firm, Commonwealth Realty.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcchicago.com ...
Christopher G. Kelly, one-time former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich chief fundraiser; John Harris, Blagojevich's former chief of staff, and Springfield lobbyist-millionaire William F. Cellini, who are charged along with Blagojevich in a federal racketeering indictment.
Democrats - Thieves, Thugs, Thralls and Thickheads
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