BREAKING: A federal jury on Wednesday convicted the “ComEd Four” defendants of the lead charge alleging they conspired to bribe Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan to win his support for the utility’s legislative agenda in Springfield.
The four defendants charged in the ComEd bribery scheme are, from left, consultant Jay Doherty, lobbyist and former ComEd executive John Hooker, retired lobbyist Michael McClain and former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore.
There is no doubt Madigan himself has been paying close attention to the outcome of the trial — not only because his longtime friend McClain is among the defendants, but also since the ComEd bribery allegations make up a key portion of the separate racketeering charges brought against Madigan and McClain in March 2022.
The utility also hired a clouted law firm run by political operative Victor Reyes, distributed numerous college internships within Madigan’s 13th Ward fiefdom, and blatantly backed former McPier chief Juan Ochoa, the friend of a Madigan ally, for an $80,000-a-year seat on the utility’s board of directors, the indictment alleged.
They ripped the government’s star witness, former ComEd executive Fidel Marquez, as a liar and opportunist who was so terrified when FBI agents confronted him in January 2019 that he flipped without even consulting a lawyer and agreed to secretly record his friends. One call caught Madigan telling McClain to keep pushing for the appointment of Ochoa to ComEd’s board of directors despite internal company resistance, and a second call captured McClain relaying the message to Pramaggiore, who quickly responded, “OK, got it. I will keep pressing.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Jury reaches verdict in 'ComEd 4' trial surrounding ex-Illinois House Speaker Mike MadiganTuesday marked day five of deliberations in the trial.
Read more »
ComEd bribery trial: Jury reaches verdict in case involving ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael MadiganFederal jurors reportedly reached a verdict on Tuesday in the case against four former political power players who were labeled 'grand masters of corruption' for their alleged conspiracy to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan to benefit ComEd.
Read more »
‘ComEd Four’ jury begins fourth day of deliberations in bribery trial tied to MadiganAfter a long weekend, a federal jury has returned Monday for a fourth day of deliberations in the “ComEd Four” trial .
Read more »
‘ComEd Four’ jury deliberates for fourth day without a verdict in bribery trial tied to MadiganAfter a long weekend, a federal jury returned Monday for a fourth day of deliberations in the “ComEd Four” trial.
Read more »
Jury reaches verdict in ‘ComEd Four’ trialBREAKING: The jury has reached a verdict in the “ComEd Four” bribery trial centered on a group of former executives and lobbyists accused of conspiring to bribe then-House Speaker Michael Madigan to advance the utility’s legislative agenda in Springfield.
Read more »
Jurors Reach Verdict in ‘ComEd Four’ Bribery CaseEx-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd lobbyist Mike McClain, retired ComEd executive John Hooker and ex-City Club of Chicago president and former ComEd consultant Jay Doherty were each charged more than two years ago with bribery conspiracy, bribery and willfully falsifying the company’s books.
Read more »