* Bloomberg…
The former president of AT&T Illinois has agreed to a deferred-prosecution deal, averting a second trial on charges he bribed powerful former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Paul La Schiazza’s first trial ended in September 2024 with a deadlocked jury, and he had been scheduled for a retrial in January.
Instead, he agreed to pay a $200,000 fine and keep his record clean for 12 months. If he complies, prosecutors will move to dismiss the indictment at the end of the deferral period.
* Capitol News Illinois’ Hannah Meisel…
* The Tribune…
The deferred-prosecution deal scuttles a retrial that had been set for January. It also comes on Madigan’s first full day in federal prison in West Virginia, where he’s serving a 7 ½-year sentence on other corruption counts. The jury in Madigan’s trial also deadlocked on the AT&T-related charge in the indictment.
La Schiazza, 68, was charged in October 2022 with conspiracy, federal program bribery and using a facility in interstate commerce to promote unlawful activity.
The charges alleged La Schiazza agreed in 2017 to pay $2,500 a month to Acevedo, Madigan’s onetime assistant majority leader, through the lobbying firm of longtime Madigan political aide Tom Cullen.
In exchange for the payments, the speaker helped shepherd AT&T’s bill ending mandated landline service through the General Assembly, giving La Schiazza a career notch on his belt and saving the telecommunications giant millions of dollars, according to prosecutors.
Thoughts?
- Three Dimensional Checkers - Tuesday, Oct 14, 25 @ 12:09 pm:
My only thought is it would be interesting if La Schiazza has any cooperation to trade, but it seems like maybe the new DOJ just wants to close this case.
- Sue - Tuesday, Oct 14, 25 @ 12:11 pm:
This is the equivalent of eating crow- The USA can claim they got a win
- Garfield Ridge Guy - Tuesday, Oct 14, 25 @ 12:25 pm:
Entering the agreement and declining to seek jail time is obviously a travesty, but it does not rank particularly highly compared to the DOJ’s other excesses lately.
- Felix - Tuesday, Oct 14, 25 @ 12:25 pm:
Wonder if a similar deal will be offered to another defendant who had a hung jury: Emil Jones. Maybe if he agrees to resign?
- Taco Man - Tuesday, Oct 14, 25 @ 12:48 pm:
As La Schiazza is shockingly saying: “reach out and touch (hug) someone” (the company’s 1980s slogan). This is compared to the other folks who are in or soon will be heading to hibernation…
- Just Me 2 - Tuesday, Oct 14, 25 @ 1:25 pm:
Trump’s DOJ doesn’t like the idea of prosecuting political corruption. That creates a standard they’re reluctant to follow: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-aide-homan-accepted-50000-bribery-sting-operation-sources-say-2025-09-21/
- :) - Tuesday, Oct 14, 25 @ 1:28 pm:
Glad to see the feds using their preferred tool for bribing again. /s. Shameless. This case should’ve been dropped.
- low level - Tuesday, Oct 14, 25 @ 1:54 pm:
DOJ wants to clear the decks so they can go after their “real” enemies. Yes, the case should have been dropped.
- Marcey Prop - Tuesday, Oct 14, 25 @ 1:55 pm:
@Sue—I completely agree. The feds don’t want to lose this case again.
- Frida’s Boss - Tuesday, Oct 14, 25 @ 2:13 pm:
Feds probably didn’t want to lose again and Schiazza proved badly would’ve paid more than $200k to go through another trial in lawyers fees.
- Juvenal - Tuesday, Oct 14, 25 @ 2:59 pm:
It is “suprisingly generous” if you think that La Sciazza was at the heart of what the Feds claimed in the Madigan trial was one of the worst corruption schemes in Illinois history.
In fact, if you believe the Feds case against Madigan, then what the Feds are offering La Sciazza is prosecutorial malpractice.
But if the Feds do not believe their own case, this is just a shakedown.
“We do not think we can convict you, but we want to save face, and we do have the power to make your life miserable, so we are going to make you an offer you cannot refuse.”
$200K is less than what La Sciazza has paid in legal bills, I am sure.
What he has to be careful about now is getting asked a lot of questions and tripped up by the Feds like Mapes.
- No. 90368-509 - Tuesday, Oct 14, 25 @ 4:52 pm:
Oh, he didn’t do anything wrong.