*** Very Important Update: The US Attorney’s office has issued a “correction” to the Levine guilty plea. In “Update 11″ below, Individual B should read “Individual E.” So, it’s not Kelly. ***

*** Take a look at Update 11 for some of the only new information to come out of this plea. It could bring this thing closer to the governor’s inner circle. ***

Sun-Times:

No bombshells against the governor are expected in today’s plea. However, Blagojevich might show up as an unnamed official who wasn’t necessarily tied to a criminal act, sources said. […]

Sources say much of the plea will revolve around the allegations previously revealed in Rezko’s indictment. It could also discuss a controversial deal tied to the sale of a Gold Coast property and former Chicago Ald. Edward R. Vrdolyak. The Sun-Times previously reported the feds are investigating Vrdolyak’s ties to that deal, and that Levine had provided to the feds potentially incriminating information on Vrdolyak.

Essentially a rehash of the Cari plea?

* Check here for the press release. It’s not there yet, but will likely be posted on that page as soon as it’s distributed, or shortly thereafter.

* Yes, I’m still alive. It shouldn’t be much longer now.

*** UPDATE *** AP: Millionaire campaign contributor Stuart Levine pleads guilty to two counts of mail fraud and money laundering.

*** UPDATE 2 *** Doesn’t appear to be much new in here yet, according to people who have read it. No names. $1.5 million to campaign fund mentioned (as with the Rezko indictment).

*** UPDATE 3 *** The Tribune’s story is now up, but it appears to have been written before the hearing.

*** UPDATE 4 *** From a reporter friend who has read the plea: “I can’t see anything new here…” But, Levine was originally “facing life and now he’s looking at 67 months.” In other words, he appears to be cooperating in a major way.

*** UPDATE 5 *** Download the plea right here. [pdf file]

*** UPDATE 6 *** “With respect to Count One, beginning no later than in and about the spring of 2003 and continuing through at least in or about July 2004, in the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, and elsewhere, Defendant, Antoin “Tony” Rezko (“Rezko”), Joseph Cari, Steven Loren, Jacob Kiferbaum, Individual A, and others known and unknown to the Grand Jury, devised and intended to devise, and participated in, a scheme and artifice to defraud the beneficiaries of the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois”

*** UPDATE 7 *** If Individual A is Bill Cellini and Individual B is Chris Kelly (as they allegedly were in the Rezko indictment), then this next part shows Cellini either had some significant pull within the Blagojevich administration or some good sources:

In about August 2003, Defendant was re-appointed to the Planning Board. Prior to that point, Defendant discussed his possible re-appointment with Individual A and, separately, with Individual B. Individual A said he’d get back to Defendant about
his request and later called Defendant and said that it would happen. A short time later, Defendant was at a meeting in Rezko’s office with Individual B and Individual B said that the board seat Defendant wanted had been taken care of. Defendant understood from these conversations that he would be re-appointed to the Planning Board.

About the time Defendant was re-appointed, Rezko and Defendant discussed Defendant’s appointment and Rezko said that he had suggested that Defendant be made the vice-chairman of the Planning Board and that Rezko expected to influence a certain number of votes on the Planning Board. In February 2004, the Planning Board elected Defendant as vice-chairman.

*** UPDATE 8 *** Reading these things can be maddening sometimes, but this is interesting. A “local public official.”

In or about the spring of 2003, Individual A indicated to Defendant that Rezko had complained to Individual A that a certain local public official, who Defendant knew had a relationship with and raised money for a certain public official, had been pushing Rezko and Individual B for money, which Defendant understood to mean that the local public official wanted to make money from the State of Illinois because of his assistance to the certain public official. Defendant offered to have Individual C share his finder’s fee with the local public official so that Defendant could gain favor with Rezko, and Individual A later indicated that Rezko wanted Individual C to split his finder’s fee with the local public official. Defendant then told Individual C that Individual C would have to split his finder’s fee from Investment Firm 1 with a local public official.

*** UPDATE 9 *** As before:

In or about April 2004, Rezko and Defendant agreed to use their influence and Defendant’s position at TRS to prevent Investment Firm 7 from getting its $220 million allocation unless Individual J agreed either to pay an approximately $2 million fee to a consultant chosen by Rezko and Defendant, or to arrange for approximately $1.5 million in political contributions to be made to a certain public official.

*** UPDATE 10 ***

Shortly before the Planning Board meeting on April 21, 2004, Defendant had several telephone conversations with another Planning Board member about Mercy and its application for a CON. That Planning Board member said he had his “marching orders” from Rezko and that Rezko wanted to help on Mercy’s application.

*** UPDATE 11 *** Was this in the Rezko indictment? It seems new to me and could be quite significant. As reported before, Individual B is alleged to be Chris Kelly ….[After checking the Rezko indictment, it does appear to be new info]:

In or about the Spring of 2004, Rezko, Individual B, and Defendant agreed to establish or obtain a company that they or their nominees would own and control. Rezko, Individual B, and Defendant further agreed that they would use their influence and Defendant’s position at TRS to ensure that TRS would make hundreds of millions of dollars of real estate investments with their company. Defendant, Rezko and Individual B expected to share the profits from the company. Defendant intentionally concealed from and failed to disclose to the TRS Board material facts relating to his plan to establish a real estate asset management company, including his arrangements with Rezko and Individual B.

*** UPDATE 12 *** From the Daily Herald this week:

Asked if he’ll stand by Kelly in the event of an indictment, Blagojevich said he wouldn’t answer, because “I don’t believe that will ever happen.”

*** UPDATE 13*** WARNING: I don’t want to see any idle speculation in comments about who the “local official” might be. Go somewhere else if you can’t contain yourself. Let the reporters do their jobs. Be patient. And, please, don’t call me with this stuff either. I’m kinda busy at the moment. One last thing: A legislator is almost definitely not a “local official.”

*** UPDATE 14 *** Statement from the governor’s campaign office:

Statement is attributable to Sheila Nix, Blagojevich campaign spokesperson:

After nearly one year of the Topinka campaign attacking the Governor and distorting the facts, today’s plea agreement makes clear that Governor Blagojevich had absolutely no knowledge of any of the wrongdoing perpetrated by Stuart Levine, a long-time supporter and contributor to both Judy Baar Topinka and Joe Birkett.

*** UPDATE 15 *** From Tony Peraica’s campaign:

“Two weeks and two days ago, Stroger Organization major donor Antoin ‘Tony’ Rezko was indicted by the U.S. Attorney on 24 counts stemming from a corrupt scheme with Stuart Levine to extort kickbacks from firms that wanted state business. Today, Stuart Levine gave up his fight, and pled guilty to the charges lodged against him. Now that Tony Rezko’s partner in this corrupt scheme has acknowledged his own guilt, it’s going to be hard for Mr. Rezko to defend himself. […]

“For too long, the residents of Chicago and Cook County have had to rely on U.S. Attorneys to fight corruption. That’s embarrassing. The good news is that every couple of years, voters have a chance at the polls to select for themselves elected leaders who can wage the war on corruption on their behalf. Tuesday November 7 offers the voters one such choice - they can choose me, someone committed to reform, or they can choose Todd Stroger, a man who willfully overlooks the corruption in his own inner circle.”

The Teachers Retirement System response is here.

*** UPDATE 16 *** “Yellow Dog Democrat” made this point in comments:

Those indicted and implicated are all friends, appointees, employees, major campaign contributors, or political allies of Governor Blagojevich.

In scientific terms, that’s a correlation of roughly 100%.

*** UPDATE 17 *** Archpundit:

I’d say that pretty much puts the lights out on the Topinka campaign unless she has some magic tactic she hasn’t used yet.

*** UPDATE 18 *** The Daily Herald published this handy guide after the Rezko indictment:

Individual:

> A William Cellini

> B Chris Kelly

> C Sheldon Pekin

> D Joel Aramanda

> E Robert Weinstein

> F unknown attorney from Downers Grove

> G Mike Winter

> H Myron Cherry

> I Unknown

> J Thomas Rosenberg

> Firm:

> 1 Glencoe

> 2 LLR

> 3 Stockwell

> 4 JER

> 5 Sterling

> 6 Unknown to TRS

> 7 Capri/Capital

Let’s close comments now and move it to another thread.