* Steve Warmbir…
An ex-powerful Springfield lobbyist and confidant of House Speaker Michael Madigan has been charged with bribery in a criminal case in Chicago, along with the former ComEd CEO, a top ComEd lobbyist and the ex-head of the City Club.
Named in the indictment are Michael McClain, Anne Pramaggiore, John Hooker and Jay Doherty.
More…
This post will be updated.
*** UPDATE *** The indictment is here.
The indictment says the defendants conspired to…
corruptly solicit and demand, and to accept and agree to accept from another person things of value, namely, jobs, contracts, and monetary payments associated with those jobs and contracts, for the benefit of Public Official A and his associates, intending that Public Offlcial A, an agent of the State of Illinois, be influenced and rewarded in connection with any business, transaction, and series of transactions of the State of Illinois involving things of value of $5,000 or more, namely, legislation affecting ComEd and its business, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 666(aX1)(B);
to corruptly give, offer, and agree to give things of valu6, nameiy, jobs, contracts, and monetary pa;rments associated with those jobs and contracts, for the benefit of Public Offlcia] A and his associates, with intent to influence and reward Public Official A, as an agent of the State of Illinois, in connection with any business, transaction, and series of transactions of the State of Illinois involving things of value of $5,000 or more, namely, legislation affecting ComEd and its business, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 666(a)(2); and
knowingly and willfully to circumvent a system of internal accounting controls and to falsify any book, record, and account of Exelon and ComEd, in violation of Title 15, United States Code, Sections 78m(bX5) and 78ff(a).
It was part of the consplvacy that, for the purpose of influeneing and rewarding Pubiic Official A in connection with his offrcial duties as Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, and to assist ComEd with respect to the passage of legislation favorable to ComEd and its business and the defeat of legislation unfavorabie to ComEd and its business, the conspirators (i) anranged for various associates of Public Official A, including Public Official A’s political allies and individuals who performed political work for Public Official A, to obtain jobs, contracts, and monetary payments associated with those jobs and contracts from ComEd and its affiliates, even in instances where such associates performed little or no work that they were purportedly hired to perform for ComEd; and (ii) created and caused the creation of false contracts, invoices and other books and records to disguise the true nature of certain of the payments and to circumvent internal controls.
* And then there are specific instances. Here are some headlines with a little context…
Hiring of Publie Official A’s Associates as Vendor “Subeontraetors” Who Performed Little or No Work for ComEd
Public Official A and McCLAIN sought to obtain from ComEd jobs, vendor contracts and subcontracts, as well as monetary payments for various associates of Public Official A, including Public Official A’s political allies and individuals who performed political work for Public Official A, such as ward precinct captains who worked within Public Offieial A’s district.
Retention of Law Firm A
[Appears to be Victor Reyes’ law firm which got its hours cut]
Thirteenth Ward Interns
It was further part of the conspiracy that potential Thirteenth Ward interas identified by McCLAIN did not need to compete against the general intern applicant pool, and instead, received more favorable treatment when it came to assessing their qualifications for a position within the ComEd Internship Program. … It was further part of the conspiracy that ComEd’s minimum academic requirements for intern candidates, such as a minimum required grade point average, were waived at times for certain Thirteenth Ward intern candidates who did not meet those requirements.
Apoointment to ComEd Board
Hiring of Other Individuals
It was further part of the conspiracy that, in order to conceal the nature and purpose of their conduct, conspirators often referred to Public Offlcial A as “our Friend,” or “a Friend of ours,” rather than using Public Official A’s true name.
* “Overt Acts”…
On or about each date set forth below, defendants caused payments to be made to [Jay D. Doherty & Associates] in the approximate amount set forth below, with a substantial portion of each payment intended for associates of Public Official A […]
On or about each date set forth below, defendant DOHERTY caused a check to be made to [the Alderman for the Thirteenth Ward from in or around 1994 until on or about Aprii 30, 2011] in the approximate amount set forth below, for payments totaling approximately $256,000 […]
On or about each date set forth below, defendant DOHERTY caused a check to be made to Individual 13W-2’s [13th Ward precinct captain] company in the approximate amount set forth below, for payments totaling approximately $325,000 […]
On or about each date set forth below, defendant DOHERTY caused a check to be made to Individual 13W-3 [13th Ward precinct captain] in the approximate amount set forth below, for payments totaling approximately $144,000 […]
On or about February 25, 2015,McCLAIN sent an email to Marquez, in which he wrote, “Our Friend’s ward? Summer interns? 10 jobs or 12 or what is the ceiling? Best, Mike.”
On or about April 2, 2015, in response to an email asking whether there was pressure to hire a prospective intern associated with the Thirteenth Ward, or whether the intern could simply be “fairly considered” for the ComEd Internship Program, Marquez wrote an email that said, “There is pressure to hire Hope she interviews well.”
On or about April 29, 2015, Marqaez forwarded an email to MeCLAIN, advising that a candidate McCLAIN had referred to ComEd for the ComEd Internship Program had been hired.
On or about January 20, 2076, McCLAIN wrote an email to PRAMAGGIORE and HOOKER that said the following: “I am sure you know how valuable [Lawyer A] is to our Friend,” and then went on to write, “I know the drill and so do you. If you do not get involve [sic] and resolve this issue of 850 hours for his law firm per year then he wilI go to our Friend. Our Friend will cail me and then I will call you. Is this a drill we must go through? For me, Hook and I am sure you I just do not understand why we have to spend valuable minutes on items like this when we know it will provoke a reaction from our Friend.”
On or about January 20,2016, PRAMAGGIORE wrote an email to McCLAIN, in response to the email referenced in paragraph 28(h) and responded, “Sorry. No one informed me. I am on this.”
On or about January 20, 2016, PRAMAGGIORE forwarded the email referenced in paragraph 28(h) to Marquez.
On or about January 20,2016, PRAMAGGIORE forwarded the email referenced in paragraph 28(h) to an employee in ComEd’s legal department.
On or about February 25, 2016, McCLAIN wrote an emaii to Marquez, in which McCLAIN advised that “the 13th Ward may not want these people in their column,” in reference to ComEd counting interns that returned to the ComEd Internship Program against the number of spaces allotted to individuals from the Thirteenth Ward.
On or about April 15,2016, McCLAIN wrote an email to ComEd’s project manager for FEJA with the subject heading, “[Lawyer A] law firm?!”
On or about May 22,2016, the project manager for FEJA wrote an email to a member of ComEd’s legal department that asked, in reference to Law Firm A, “Are we closed out on this topic?”
On or about May 24,2016, McCLAIN wrote an email to a member of ComEd’s legal department, HOOKER, and the project manager for FEJA, in which MeCLAIN proposed terms for the renewal of Law Firm A’s contract with ComEd.
On or about December 2, 20L6, McCLAIN wrote an email to a member of ComEd’s legal department, in which McCLAIN followed up on a prior email concerning Law Firm A, and asked “After you catch a couple of good nights [sic] sleep can we put this item to bed?”
On or about December 3,2016, PRAMAGGIORE sent an email to McCLAIN in which she assured McCLAIN that she would resolve outstanding issues relating to Law Firm A’s contract, by noting, “Fidel and I are meeting on Monday to make our list. This will be on it.”
In or around January 2017, in connection with the renewal of JDDA’s contract, PRAMAGGIORE signed a false and misleading document, known as a “Single Source Justification,” in support of the renewal of JDDA’s [Doherty’s] contract and caused it to be submitted to Exelon Business Services. This Single Source Justification form made it falsely appear that the large amount of money to be paid to JDDA under the contract was on account of, among other things, JDDA’s “unique insight & perspective to promote ComEd and its business matters to further develop, execute and manage its Government Relations presence” and did not indicate that a substantial amount of the fees that would be paid to JDDA was intended for third parties in an effort to influence and reward Public Official A.
On or about February 9, 2017, McCLAIN sent an email to Marquez’s assistant, in which McCLAIN wrote that it was his understanding that the Thirteenth Ward would be provided ten positions in the ComEd Internship Program: “[F]or as long as I can remember it has been ten interns??”
On or about February L2,2018, Marquez caused an email to be sent by his assistant to McCLAIN, in which the assistant wrote, “Confirmed with Fidel we will work to provide you 10 slots.”
On or about May 2,2018, McCLAIN placed a call to Public Official A, and advised Public Official A that PRAMAGGIORE was experiencing push-back to the appointment of Individual BM-1 to the ComEd board of directors, and had proposed finding a job that would pay Individual BM-1 the same amount of money as a board member. [Emphasis added because this seems to be new.]
On or about May 16, 2018, McCLAIN placed a telephone call to PRAMAGGIORE, during which call PRAMAGGIORE advised McCLAIN that (i) she had instructed Marquez to “hire” Individual2SW-1 after checking with DOHERTY; and (ii) she would, at Public Official A’s request, “keep pressing” to appoint Individual BM-1 to the ComEd board of directors.
On or about May 16, 2018, McCLAIN placed a telephone call to Marquez, during which McCLAIN explained why certain individuals were being paid indirectly through JDDA, by making reference to their utility to Public Official A’s political operation, and advised Marquez that Individual23W-1 should be paid $5,000 a month.
On or about June 29, 2018, DOHERTY caused an email to be sent to a ComEd employee, which made it falsely appear that the justification for an additional $5,000 a month sought underJDDA’s revised contract was because JDDA would assume an “expanded role with Cook County Board President’s office and Cook County Commissioners and Department Heads,” when in fact the additional $5,000 a month in compensation sought was intended for pa;rment to Individual 23W-1, who performed little or no work forJDDA or ComEd.
On or about September 7,2018, MeCLAIN and PRAMAGGIORE parbicipated in a telephone call, during which PRAMAGGIORE assured McCLAIN that PRAMAGGIORE was continuing to advocate for the appointment of Individual BM-1 to ComEd’s board of directors and explained “You take good care of me and so does our friend and I witl do the best that I can to, to take care of you.”
On or about December 6,2018, McCLAIN sent an email to Marquez and others at ComEd, in which McCLAIN advised, in reference to the ComEd Internship Program, “f am pretty sure the ‘ask’ will be to ‘put aside’ or’save’ ten summer jobs for the 13th Ward.”
On or about January 29, 20L9, HOOKER traveled to the Union League Club, in Chicago, Illinois for the purpose of meeting with Marquez to discuss the renewal of the JDDA contract.
On or about February 7,2019, McCLAIN traveled to a restaurant in Springfield, Illinois, for the purpose of meeting with Marquez to discuss the renewal of the JDDA contract.
On or about February 13,2019, DOHERTY met with Marquez in Chicago, Illinois, and discussed how to present information to ComEd’s chief executive officer concerning the renewal of the JDDA contract.
On or about February 18,2019, PRAMAGGIORE participated in a telephone call with Marquez, during which call, afber she was told that the subcontractors associated with DOHERTY just “collect a check” and that Marquez needed to brief the chief executive officer of ComEd coneerning the JDDA contract, PRAMAGGIORE advised Marquez not to make any changes to the contract, because “we do not want to get caught up in a, you know, disruptive battle where, you know, somebody gets their nose out of joint and we’re tryrng to move somebody off, and then we get forced to give ‘em a five-year contract because we’re in the middle of needing to get something done in Springfield.”
In or around March 2019, in connection with the renewal of JDDA’s contract, the defendants caused the preparation of a false and misleading document, known as a “Single Source Justification,” in support of the renewal of JDDA’s contract, and the submission of this form to Exelon Business Services. This Single Source Justification form made it falsely appear that the large amount of money to be paid to JDDA was because, among other things, “Consultant has specific knowledge that cannot be sources [sic] from another supplier/contractor,” and did not indicate that a substantial amount of the fees that would be paid to JDDA was intended for third parties in an effort to influence and reward Public Official A.
On or about March 5,2079,McCLAIN met with a ComEd executive and Marquezfor the purpose of explaining why the JDDA contract and the payments to Individual 13W-1, Individual 13W-2, and Individual 23W-1 should be continued for another year.
On or about March 17,2019, DOHERTY caused a representative from Exelon Business Services to execute a contract containing false representations and promises that the compensation paid to JDDA was in return for providing ComEd with advice on legislative issues, when in fact a significant portion of the compensation to be paid to JDDA was intended for Individual 13W-1, Individual 13W-2, and Individual 23W- 1 [former Ald. Zalewski], who in fact did little or no legitimate work for ComEd.
On or about April }I,?}L},PRAMAGGIORE advised McCLAIN by text message, “Just sent out Board approval to appoint [Individual BM-l] to ComEd Board.”
On or about April 26,2019, ComEd filed a notice with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission stating that Individual BM-1 had served as a director of ComEd since April2019.
All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 371and2.
* Count 2…
MICHAEL McCLAIN, and ANNE PRAMAGGIORE, defendants herein, corruptly offered and agreed to give a thing of value, and caused ComEd to offer and agree to give a thing of value, namely, a contract for Law Firm A and monetary payments associated with that contract, for the benefit of Public Offrcial A and his associate, Lawyer A, with intent to influence and reward Pubtic Official A, as an agent of the State of Illinois, in connection with any business, transaction, and series of transactions of the State of Illinois involving a thing of value of $5,000 or more, namely, legislation affecting ComEd and its business;
In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 666(a)(2) and2
* Count 3…
MICHAEL MCCLAIN, ANNE PRAMAGGIORE JOHN HOOKER, and
JAY DOHERTY, defendants herein, knowingly and willfully falsified and caused to be falsified certain ComEd and Exelon books, records, and accounts, so that those books, records, and accounts did not in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of ComEd’s and Exelon’s assets, namely, in connection with the renewal of
JDDA’s contract for 2077;
In violation of Title 15, United States Code, Sections 78m(bX5) and 78ff(a), and
Title L8, United States Code, Section 2.
* Count 4…
MICHAEL MCCLAIN, ANNE PRAMAGGIORE, JOHN HOOKER, and JAY DOHERTY, defendants herein, knowingly and willfuIly falsified and caused to be falsified certain ComEd and Exelon books, records, and accounts, so that those books, records, and accounts did not in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of ComEd’s and Exelon’s assets, namely, in eonnection with the renewal of JDDA’s contract for 2018;
In violation of Title 15, United States Code, Sections 78m(b)(5) and 78ff(a), and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2.
* Count 5…
MICHAEL McCLAIN, and ANNE PRAMAGGIORE, defendants herein, corruptly offered and agreed to give a thing of value, and caused ComEd and Exelon to offer and agree to give a thing of value, namely, a position on the ComEd board of directors and monetary payments associated with that position, for the benefit of Public Official A and his associate, Individual BM-1, with intent to influence and reward Public Official A, as an agent of the State of Illinois, in connection with any business, transaction, and series of transactions of the State of Illinois involving a thing of value of $5,000 or more, namely,legislation affecting ComEd and its business;
In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 666(aX2) and2.
* Count 6…
MICHAEL McCLAIN, and ANNE PRAMAGGIORE, defendants herein, corruptly offered and agreed to give a thing of value, and caused ComEd to offer and agree to give a thing of value, namely, payments of $5,000 a month, for the benefit of Public Official A and his associate, Individual 23W-1, with intent to influence and reward Public Offrcial A, as an agent of the State of Illinois, in connection with any business, transaction, and series of transactions of the State of Illinois involving a thing of value of $5,000 or more, namely,Iegislation affecting ComEd and its business;
In violation of Title 18, united states code, sections 666(aX2) and2.
* Count 7…
MICHAEL MCCLAIN, ANNE PRAMAGGIORE, JOHN HOOKER, and JAY DOHERTY, defendants herein, knowingiy and willfully falsified and caused to be falsified certain ComEd and Exelon books, records, and accounts, so that those books, records, and accounts did not in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of ComEd’s and Exelon’s assets, namely, in connection with the amendment of JDDA’s contract for 2018;
In violation of Title 15, United States Code, Sections 78m(b)(5) and 78ff(a), and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2.
* Count 8…
MICHAEL MCCLAIN, ANNE PRAMAGGIORE, JOHN HOOKER, and JAY DOHERTY, defendants herein, corruptly offered and agreed to give a thing of value, and caused ComEd to offer and agree to give a thing of value, namely, a new annual contract for JDDA and monetary payments associated with that contract, for the benefrt of Public Official A and his associates, Individuai 13W-1, Individual 13W-2, and Individual2SW-1, with intent to influence and reward Public Offlcial A, as an agent of the State of Illinois, in connection with any business, transaction, and series of transactions of the State of Illinois involving a thing of value of $5,000 or more, namely,legislation affecting ComEd and its business;
In violation of Title 18, united states code, sections 666(a)(2) and}.
* Count 9…
MICHAEL MCCLAIN, ANNE PRAMAGGIORE, JOHN HOOKER, and JAY DOHERTY, defendants herein, knowingly and willfully falsified and caused to be falsified certain ComEd and Exelon books, records, and accounts, so that those books, records, and accounts did not in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of ComEd’s and Exelon’s assets, namely, in connection with the renewal of JDDA’s contract for 2019;
In violation of Title 15, United States Code, Sections 78m(b)(5) and 78ff(a), and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2.
That’s all 9 counts.
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