US: After nearly six months of testimony and five weeks of jury deliberations, former Illinois governor George Ryan was convicted on all counts yesterday in a sweeping federal corruption case.
The jury found Ryan (72) guilty of accepting tens of thousands of dollars in cash and gifts for himself and his family in exchange for doling out millions of dollars' worth of state business and lucrative contracts to friends and associates.
The crimes occurred from 1991 to early 2003, when Ryan was Illinois's secretary of state and governor.
Ryan, who sat stoically as the verdict was read, could receive a maximum penalty of 95 years in prison and $4.5 million in fines when he is sentenced in August.
"The decision today is not in accordance with the kind of public service I've given to the people of Illinois for over 40 years," said Ryan, who plans to appeal.
In a state where racketeering cases long have been part of the political landscape, Ryan's conviction marked the latest success by US attorney general Patrick J Fitzgerald. Some here have started calling him the modern-day Eliot Ness.
The case served as a reminder of past political shenanigans in the state capital of Springfield, where facing federal charges has at times seemed an occupational hazard. Five of Illinois's last nine governors have been convicted of, tried for or stained by charges of criminal activity.
After former Illinois secretary of state Paul Powell died in 1970, investigators found nearly half a million dollars in cash and cheques - from unsuspecting drivers paying for their licence plates - crammed into shoe boxes inside his hotel room.
Tales of busted politicians have become such a part of the cultural landscape that a tourist guide published in the 1990s said: "Visitors are almost guaranteed one or two criminal indictments of public officials during even a short stay."
The case against Ryan, which initially examined allegations of bribes paid for drivers' licences, was sparked after an unqualified trucker was involved in a crash that killed six children.
Dubbed "Operation Safe Road", the investigation has led to 79 indictments and 75 convictions so far.
The verdict comes at a key time in Illinois politics. The state Republican Party is busy trying to shed its connections to the Ryan scandal before the autumn elections. At the same time, federal prosecutors are investigating the state's Democratic powerhouses: governor Rod Blagojevich and the administration of Chicago mayor Richard M Daley.
Last week, federal prosecutors outlined their belief in a court filing that Daley's aides had erased computer files and shredded documents to hide that city hall jobs and promotions had been given to applicants with union or political ties - regardless of whether they were qualified. The case against the aides is set to go to trial next month.
"The machine that runs this city may not be as blatant as it was in the past," said James Wagner, president of the Chicago Crime Commission, "but like organised crime, it's very much alive."