From the Breaking News Center:
Blagojevich’s former chiefs of staff who is expected to be a key witness
in his corruption trial entered a new guilty plea in federal court this
morning.
Alonzo "Lon" Monk, 51, originally pleaded guilty in
October and agreed to testify. Today, he pleaded guilty to a superceding
indictment that was filed in the case in February.
The new
indictment was designed to head off any issues if the Supreme Court
strikes down or limits the "honest services" fraud law. Monk’s plea was
necessary before Blagojevich’s trial, set for June 3.
Monk is expected to testify that
Blagojevich and three of his closest friends – including Monk – schemed
from the outset of his administration to enrich themselves by
leveraging the powers of Blagojevich’s office.
Monk is expected
to tell the jury how the four — a group that also included key
fundraisers Christopher Kelly and Antoin "Tony" Rezko — planned to
bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions they
could split up when Blagojevich left office.
Monk’s origninal
plea was to a single count of mail fraud in exchange for two years in
prison. Prosecutors dropped that count Friday and had Monk plead to one
count of conspiracy to solicit a bribe.
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