Rezko Attorneys To Get Tapes From Blagojevich Trial
UPDATED 12/2/10 - 1:06 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) - A federal judge has given prosecutors permission to hand over secret FBI wiretap recordings to attorneys for Tony Rezko, a former fundraiser for ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
At a hearing in Blagojevich's corruption case Thursday, prosecutors said Rezko's attorneys have requested some of the tapes from the former governor's trial as Rezko prepares for his own sentencing hearing in January.
U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel granted the prosecution's request to turn over the tapes to Rezko's lawyers, although prosecutors did not specify which tapes had been requested.
A jury convicted Rezko in 2008 of squeezing kickbacks from people seeking state business. Rezko has cooperated with prosecutors on Blagojevich's case since then and agreed to delay his sentencing during that time.
Meantime, prosecutors said they are finalizing a jury questionnaire for Blagojevich's second trial, slated to begin on April 20. Jurors convicted Blagojevich on just the one of 24 counts against him in August after a two-and-a-half month trial. That count involved lying to the FBI.
LISTEN: Newsradio 780's John Cody Reports
Podcast
Among the charges jurors disagreed on was that Blagojevich tried to sell or trade an appointment to President Barack Obama's old U.S. Senate seat for a top job or campaign cash.
Zagel scheduled a Feb. 22 status hearing to discuss the jury questionnaire and any defense motions that might be filed by then. Blagojevich's attorneys said they planned to file new motions before trial and Zagel said those motions should be filed by Feb. 10.
The judge also set an Aug. 22 trial date for Springfield businessman Bill Cellini, who originally was a co-defendant of Blagojevich's. Cellini was granted a separate trial in 2009 after another co-defendant, fundraiser Chris Kelly, died.
Cellini is accused of attempting to squeeze a sizable campaign contribution for Blagojevich out of Hollywood producer Thomas Rosenberg, who owned a money management company that was expecting to get a $220 million investment from a state teachers' pension fund.
(TM and © Copyright 2010 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS Radio and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
