The jury hearing the corruption case against former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan was told Thursday about the criminal charges leveled against ComEd and three people with close ties to the utility — despite protests from defense attorneys.
Federal prosecutors sought permission Thursday to ask former ComEd executive Fidel Marquez about the extent of his cooperation with the FBI. They did so as a result of his cross-examination Wednesday by attorneys for Madigan and longtime ally Michael McClain.
Madigan attorney Daniel Collins argued Thursday that there had been a “light” cross-examination of Marquez. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu countered that the defense attorneys’ questioning amounted to a “wholesale attack” on Marquez’s credibility.
U.S. District Judge John Blakey sided with the prosecutors. He said the questioning by defense attorneys had been “anything but a light cross-examination.”
So when Marquez took the witness stand Thursday for a sixth day of testimony, jurors quickly learned that his cooperation with the feds led to criminal charges against former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, ex-ComEd lobbyist John Hooker, onetime City Club President Jay Doherty, and ComEd itself.
They learned that Marquez testified against all three of those individuals — and that he was prepared to assist with the prosecution of ComEd.
Marquez did all of that for the feds while hoping to avoid prison. He pleaded guilty to a bribery conspiracy in 2020. His testimony in Madigan’s trial ended later Thursday.
Still, Blakey ruled that jurors would not hear how those prosecutions turned out. Pramaggiore, Hooker and Doherty were convicted, along with McClain, after a separate trial last year over an alleged bribery scheme at ComEd aimed at Madigan.
ComEd entered into a separate deal with prosecutors, agreed to assist in their investigation and ultimately saw the bribery charge filed against it dismissed.
While jurors may not have those details, they’ll now be aware as they consider Madigan’s case that criminal charges were leveled against some of the other individuals they’ve heard about. Defense attorneys had hoped to prevent that.
Ahead of the trial, defense attorneys formally moved to prevent the jury from hearing about the deal reached by ComEd, the convictions in the ComEd bribery trial, or references to similar trials in Chicago.
None of that has been presented to the jury, but the attorneys showed concern that “the jury may be led to believe that these other criminal trials make [Madigan and McClain] more likely to be culpable of the charges against them.”
The briefs also show that prosecutors said they wouldn’t elicit any such facts, though they warned they “may be relevant … if defendants open the door during the cross-examination of [ex-Ald. Danny] Solis or other witnesses such as [Fidel] Marquez.”
Solis also wore a wire for the FBI to avoid prison, and prosecutors say he could take the stand as early as next week.
Madigan and McClain are on trial for a racketeering conspiracy. Madigan is accused of leading a criminal enterprise designed to enhance his political power and enrich his allies, with McClain acting as his agent.
A key pillar of the case involves the alleged ComEd bribery conspiracy. Prosecutors say five Madigan allies were paid $1.3 million by ComEd over eight years, as subcontractors, so that Madigan would look favorably at its legislative agenda.
During his cross-examination Wednesday, Breen referred to Marquez recording “your four friends” — McClain, Pramaggiore, Hooker and Doherty.
But Bhachu asked Marquez on Thursday, “Who got you involved in the subcontractor arrangement?” Marquez said it was Pramaggiore and McClain.
“The folks that were identified as your ‘friends’ were the ones that got you involved in the subcontractor arrangement?” Bhachu asked.
“Yes,” Marquez replied.