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Partridge
04-17-2006, 02:04 PM
Jury Finds Former Ill. Gov. Ryan (R) Guilty
AP (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GOVERNORS_TRIAL?SITE=FLMYR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT)

Former Gov. George Ryan, who drew international praise when he commuted the sentences of everyone on Illinois' death row, was convicted of racketeering and fraud Monday in a corruption scandal that ended his political career in 2003. The 72-year-old Republican faces up to 20 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy, the most serious charge against him in the 22-count indictment.

The jury found Ryan guilty on all charges, including fraud, obstructing the Internal Revenue Service and lying to the FBI.

Co-defendant Larry Warner, a Chicago businessman and Ryan friend, was also convicted of racketeering conspiracy, as well as mail fraud, attempted extortion, illegally structuring bank withdrawals and money laundering.

http://hosted.ap.org/icons/spacer.gif AP_Tacoda_AMS_DDC_addPair("SECTION", "NATIONAL") AP_Tacoda_AMS_DDC("http://te.ap.org/tte/blank.gif", "1.0") http://te.ap.org/tte/blank.gif?0.03817285920332969&snippet_version=1.3.a&referrer=&page=http%3A//hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GOVERNORS_TRIAL%3FSITE%3DFLMYR%26SECTION%3DHOME%26 TEMPLATE%3DDEFAULT&timezone=-60&clist_TID=3frniml11dd842&var_SECTION=NATIONAL http://hosted.ap.org/icons/spacer.gif http://hosted.ap.org/icons/spacer.gif Ryan was accused of steering big-money state contracts and leases, including a $25 million IBM computer deal, to his friends and political insiders while he was secretary of state in the 1990s and then as governor starting in 1999.

In return for help, he was rewarded with annual winter vacations in Jamaica, stays in Cancun and Palm Springs and gifts ranging from a golf bag to $145,000 in loans to his brother's business, prosecutors said.

Warner, 67, was one of those beneficiaries and raked in $3 million from Ryan-era deals, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald - who during the trial was also leading the federal investigation into the leak of CIA officer Valerie Plame's identity.

U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer summoned attorneys to her courtroom Monday for the verdict to be read.The jury's decision ends the state's biggest political corruption trial in decades, and draws a conclusion on the long career of a politician who gained international fame as a death penalty critic but left office in 2003 amid a widespread corruption scandal.

The charges stemmed from an eight-year investigation of corruption, starting at the drivers licensing bureau and eventually reaching the governor's office.

Ryan was indicted about a year after he left office. Warner allegedly made $3 million from Ryan-era deals.

Neither man took the stand during their trial, but both repeatedly said nothing they did was illegal.