Embarking on the most important campaign of his life, a defiant former Gov. George Ryan said Tuesday he was “absolutely not guilty” of federal corruption charges, then dug in for a lengthy court battle.
“I’m not going to give up. I’m going to fight. I’m going to fight hard,” Ryan told reporters after he pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court to an 18-count indictment alleging he received illegal payoffs and steered lucrative contracts to friends who peddled their influence on his behalf.
“I will not plea bargain,” Ryan said. “I’ll go to trial and establish my innocence.”
In a news conference after the arraignment, Ryan’s lawyer, former U.S. Atty. Dan Webb, said the indictment against Ryan was based on a string of “innocent acts that are nothing more than the fabric of what goes on in Illinois politics and Illinois government.”
Webb said Ryan committed no crimes, and that prosecutors have been unable to find even one witness who will testify that he pocketed corrupt payments or bribes during his 4-year tenure as governor and 8 years as secretary of state.
“That’s a huge defect in the government’s case,” Webb said, “and one which I’m confident will be the basis for a `not guilty’ determination by a jury.”
A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office said it would not reply to comments by Webb or Ryan.
Webb said his defense strategy will allow jurors to “come to know the man” through “acts of courage” the former governor displayed in office, such as withstanding political pressure as he emptied the state’s Death Row because of a broken capital punishment system.
“It’s not all the government getting to introduce just what they consider the bad things that someone’s done in their life,” Webb said. “I think the jury’s entitled to hear some of the good things that he’s done.”
Ryan has served the public with integrity for more than three decades, Webb said.
“I hope the jury, because of who he is, combined with the evidence, will realize that a man of his character would not commit these crimes,” Webb said.
5 1/2-year investigation
Ryan was indicted last week, the highest-ranking public official in the 5 1/2-year federal investigation dubbed Operation Safe Road. Initially launched as a probe of truck drivers’ licenses being exchanged for bribes, the investigation rapidly expanded to encompass political corruption.
So far, 58 people have been convicted in the probe. Federal agents said the investigation is continuing.
The indictment accuses Ryan of corruption spanning more than a decade and alleges he and his family received illegal cash payments, gifts and vacations from friends and cronies in return for steering them state business.
At the center of the allegations is Ryan’s relationship with co-defendant Lawrence Warner, a key member of Ryan’s “kitchen cabinet” of advisers, who is alleged to have pocketed about $3 million.
The indictment also charges that Ryan awarded more than 90 low-digit license plates to campaign contributors, scuttled internal investigations into his campaign’s improper political fundraising practices and repeatedly lied to federal agents.
But Webb said Ryan had so few personal assets that he wasn’t sure how the former governor would pay his fee. Webb said he expected Ryan to hold fundraisers to build a legal defense fund, which the former governor previously established.
“If George Ryan had done the things the government alleges in this indictment, you would see a man of some financial means today,” Webb told reporters. “In fact, the truth is, George Ryan is a man who today lives upon a pension and Social Security payments, lives from month-to-month to make ends meet.”
Webb called Ryan a “friend” and added, “if he can’t pay my legal bills, I’ll live with that.”
45% boost in pension
Because of his long career in state government, Ryan will get a 45 percent increase in his current state pension beginning next month. The $57,000 boost will bring his annual pension to $185,727. If he is convicted of a felony, he could lose his pension.
Ryan arrived at the Dirksen Federal Building amid a crush of media, camera flashes and lights illuminating him as he walked through a metal detector.
In court, he spoke only briefly, answering “I do, your honor” several times when U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer asked if he understood his rights.
With his wife, Lura Lynn, sitting in the front row of the 21st-floor courtroom, the former governor entered a plea of “not guilty” to the counts against him, including charges of racketeering conspiracy, mail fraud, income tax fraud, filing false statements and lying to federal agents.
After the hearing, Ryan signed a $4,500 personal recognizance bond, shook hands with well-wishers, then walked to an elevator, telling reporters “Merry Christmas to all of you.” Moments later, Ryan was fingerprinted and had his mug shot taken.
Later, at Webb’s office, he read from a prepared statement.
Making his first extended remarks on a federal investigation that clouded his term as governor, Ryan said he had worked to be “faithful” to the voters of Illinois who elected him to offices ranging from legislator, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and, then, chief executive.
“I would not dishonor that trust by the kind of conduct the government has alleged,” Ryan said.
Throughout the investigation, Ryan has denied any personal knowledge of wrongdoing in the secretary of state’s office but said he believed a culture of corruption existed in the office.
The scandal tarnished Ryan’s image with voters to the point that he declined to seek a second term as governor. He said he is fighting the charges to clear his name.
“I want to respond to the almost six years, to the abuse of my family and my friends that I have endured as the federal government has torn apart my personal life with the intrusive and overbearing investigation,” Ryan said.
His attorney insisted the government has “exaggerated” and “misinterpreted” things Ryan has done–actions that are part of everyday life in politics.
Webb said those actions were a “marriage between campaign activities and government functions,” and “something that has gone on not just in Illinois, but across the country.”
Webb said Ryan did not cover up anything during the federal investigation.
Allegations that Ryan’s family reaped almost $167,000 in benefits from Ryan confidants who made illicit profits are also untrue, the attorney said.
“It doesn’t happen to be illegal if someone decides to make a loan to one of George Ryan’s children,” Webb said. If someone wants to loan them money in a good-faith transaction, with no strings attached, he said, “that is not a crime.”
Defense asks time to prepare
In court, Webb told Judge Pallmeyer it could take him 15 months to prepare his case, but prosecutors want to try Ryan and Warner in the same trial, at a much earlier date.
Pallmeyer will rule Jan. 16 if the two cases should be combined into one trial.
Whenever the trial starts, it will last a while. Both the government and Webb said they would take about three months each to present their cases.
“It will be one of the longest trials that I can ever remember taking place in Chicago,” Webb said at the news conference. “And I’m confident that he’ll be found not guilty.”
