Remember former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich? You know, the guy who got caught trying to sell the senate seat of Barack Obama after he was elected president? Well it looks like old Blago is headed up to the big house for a very long time!
On Monday, Blagojevich was found guilty of 17 out of 20 counts, including wire fraud, attempted extortion, bribery, extortion conspiracy and bribery conspiracy. He was acquitted on one count of bribery, and the jury deadlocked on two counts of attempted extortion.
The frequently cock-sure Blagojevich was so confident he would be able to talk his way out of a conviction, that when the guilty verdicts were read, he turned to his attorney and said “What happened”?
Immediately following the trial, a stunned Blagojevich spoke to the media. “Well, among the many lessons I’ve learned from this whole experience is to try to speak a little bit less, so I’m going to keep my remarks kind of short,” Blagojevich said, adding that the couple wanted “to get home to our little girls and talk to them and explain things to them and then try to sort things out.”
Blagojevich will likely spend at least the next 10-15 years in jail. Ironically, he is the second consecutive Democratic governor of Illinois to be convicted of a crime and sent to jail.
