CHICAGO (AP) — Imprisoned former Illinois Gov. George Ryan is seeking to have elements of his conviction thrown out based on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that sharply curtailed an anti-fraud law employed by prosecutors nationwide to convict politicians and executives.
The Illinois Republican becomes that latest public figure to challenge convictions based on the disputed provision, joining former newspaper magnate Conrad Black and the former CEO of disgraced energy giant Enron, Jeffrey Skilling.
In a filing with the U.S. District Court in Chicago late Tuesday, attorneys for Ryan cited the high court’s June decision focusing on Skilling’s case. The justices voted to keep the so-called honest services law in force, even as they joined unanimously in weakening it.
“Under the standard established by Skilling, Ryan’s conviction and sentence are unlawful,” the filing said.
Ryan’s attorneys, Dan Webb and former Gov. Jim Thompson, did not immediately respond to messages Wednesday.
At his tumultuous six-month trial in 2006, Ryan was convicted of racketeering, conspiracy, tax fraud and making false statements to the FBI when he was secretary of state and later governor from 1999 to 2003.
Not all the charges Ryan was convicted of, including lying to the FBI, are tied to honest services laws, which bar public officials from denying taxpayers their honest services. The filing only seeks to have convictions linked to such laws overturned.
Honest services laws have been criticized by defense lawyers as far too vague and a last resort of prosecutors in corruption cases that lack the evidence to prove that money is changing hands. But watchdogs consider it key to fighting white-collar and public fraud.
Ryan, 76, is serving a 6 1/2-year sentence at a federal prison at Terre Haute, Ind., and he was expected to be released in July 2013. The filing asks that he be released on bond pending a ruling on Tuesday’s motion.
At his trial, prosecutors presented evidence that thousands of dollars in bribes paid in exchange for commercial driver’s licenses ended up in Ryan’s campaign fund. They also claimed that when state investigators from the office of the Secretary of State’s inspector general began to look into the payoffs and the campaign fund, Ryan had his aides dismantle the inspector general’s office.
Ryan also used state employees and taxpayer money to operate his campaigns while steering lucrative state contracts to cronies who showered him with gifts, prosecutors claimed. Ryan’s attorneys maintained that he had violated no laws.
The Supreme Court’s honest-services ruling also came up at the recent trial of Ryan’s successor as governor. Defense attorneys for former Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich cited it in their bid for a mistrial. But Judge James Zagel rejected that, saying the high court’s decision had no major impact on Blagojevich’s case.
Blagojevich’s trial ended last month with a conviction on just one out of 24 counts — lying to the FBI. He is expected to be retried on the remaining charges early next year. He is appealing the one conviction and has pleaded not guilty to the other counts, including scheming to sell or trade President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat and to racketeering.
