:Operation Board Games
{{Short description|Federal fraud investigation}}
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Operation Board Games is a federal fraud investigation initiated by United States Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald in December 2003, in order to investigate suspected fraud and extortion activity by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. The investigation's name is a reference to two governing bodies in Illinois: one board controlling the Teacher's Pension System, and the second being the Health Facilities Planning Board.
History
In summer 2006, Fitzgerald indicated that he was investigating allegations of "endemic hiring fraud" in state agencies under Blagojevich's control as part of the federal Operation Board Games probe.{{cite news|last=Long|first=Ray|date=October 25, 2006|work=Chicago Tribune|title=Pulling No Punches Rod Blagojevich was no student—of boxing or school—but he's learned the tough lessons of politics |page=1|access-date=18 December 2008|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0610250087oct25,0,6285635.story|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129121355/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0610250087oct25,0,6285635.story|archive-date=29 January 2009}} The effort was characterized at that time as locating "a number of credible witnesses" but Blagojevich was not accused of any unlawful activities. The May 2007 indictment of Chicago attorney Edward Vrdolyak for his "alleged involvement in a kickback scheme concerning the sale of a Chicago Gold Coast neighborhood building was another piece of the "Operation Board Games" investigation.{{cite journal|last=Rooney|first=John Flynn|date=May 10, 2007|journal=Chicago Daily Law Bulletin|volume=153|issue=93|title=Feds Indict Vrdolyak in Real Estate Scheme|pages=1}}
A total of fifteen individuals have also been indicted in the course of the investigation.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1865781,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081212174535/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1865781,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 12, 2008|title=Governor Gone Wild: The Blagojevich's Scandal|access-date=2008-12-13|date=2008-12-11|publisher=Time Inc.|magazine=Time|author=Scherer, Michael}} The thirteenth indictment, of William F. Cellini, Sr., which is seemingly the last one before Blagojevich and Harris, occurred in October 2008:{{cite web|url=http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/whitecollarcrime_blog/2008/11/a-press-release.html|title=Operation Board Games — Another Indictment in Illinois|access-date=2008-12-14|date=2008-11-05|work=White Collar Crime Prof Blog|author=Podgor, Ellen S.}}
{{quote|A longtime political insider in Springfield was indicted today on federal corruption charges for allegedly conspiring with two Chicago businessmen and others to obtain political contributions for a certain public official by shaking down an investment firm that was seeking a $220 million allocation from the state Teachers Retirement System (TRS.)|Randall Samborn, U.S. Department of Justice|October 30, 2008 Press Release{{cite press release|url=http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/pr/chicago/2008/pr1030_01.pdf|title=WILLIAM F. CELLINI, SR., INDICTED FOR ALLEGED ROLE IN DEFRAUDING TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM WITH REZKO, LEVINE AND OTHERS|access-date=2008-12-14|date=2008-10-30|author=Samborn, Randall}}{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}}}
The focus of the investigation was on Blagojevich, which led to the Rod Blagojevich corruption charges.
{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/169172|title=Corruption in the Land of Lincoln: These should be heady days in Springfield, but state politicians have been jolted by unseemly accusations |access-date=2008-12-13|date=2008-11-15|publisher=Newsweek, Inc.|work=Newsweek|author=Isikoff, Michael}} Blagojevich was convicted on 17 of 20 counts on June 27, 2011.{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2011/06/27/blagojevich-on-guilty-verdict-i-frankly-am-stunned/|title=Blagojevich on guilty verdict: 'I, frankly, am stunned'|date=June 27, 2011|access-date=June 29, 2011|newspaper=Chicago Tribune}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090114200413/http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/pr/chicago/2006/pr1011_01.pdf Businessman and Political Fundraiser Antoin Rezko Indicted in Two Fraud Cases, Including Scheme to Extort Millions of Dollars from Firms Seeking Teachers' Pension Fund Investments]
{{US federal public corruption law}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Board Games, Operation}}
Category:2008 in American politics
Category:Federal Bureau of Investigation operations
Category:Political corruption investigations in the United States