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Our embattled governor wasted no time in hiring an attorney with the necessary experience of defending a client in court who has already been tried and convicted by public opinion. A graduate of Northwestern Law, Ed Genson is a Chicago native. He uses a motorized scooter or a cane due to a neurological disorder that affects how he walks. Genson has built a quite a reputation around himself over the years. Notably, he has defended the following high profile clients:
- R. Kelly, found not guilty of 14 child pornography-related counts
- Conrad Black, former Sun-Times publisher, found guilty of three counts of mail and wire fraud and one count of obstruction of justice.
- Mel Reynolds, ex-congressman, had sex with an underage campaign volunteer, found guilty of 12 counts including sexual assault, obstruction of justice and solicitation of child pornography.
- Larry Warner, George Ryan’s co-defendant, and Scott Fawell, Ryan’s top aide. Both are in prison for their involvement with Ryan.
Genson has also defended a number of suspects with connections to the mob, and he said in 2003, “"I have no aversion to organized crime." His first mob client was Jimmy "the Bomber" Catuara in 1970. Of the Blagojevich case, at a press conference Monday, Genson said, "He's not stepping aside. He hasn’t done anything wrong."
"I think this is another one of those cases where the press has taken control," Genson said, "The case is not what it seems. And when it comes to pass you'll see that it's not what it seems and you'll find that he's not guilty."
Genson has been depicted as a formidable opponent for any prosecutor to face. He has been called a barracuda by the NWI Times, wily and pugnacious by ABC, and the Devils’ advocate in a profile in Chicago Magazine from March 2005.
ABC7 speculates that the defense would involve arguing the difference between what he said and what he did. The prosecution would have to come up with proof that he followed through on the things he threatened. With a resume like that, Blagojevich will definitely have someone on his side to put up a good fight. Although, even if he somehow gets himself out of this mess, when it's all said and done Blago will certainly have more troubles. Surely, he won't be elected by anyone ever again.
And remember how he needed all that money for $500,000 worth of legal fees? Well, Genson charges about $700 per hour. Blagojevich plans to pay for legal services with his campaign money, which apparently is legal, according to ProPublica:
State law does not prevent the Democratic governor from tapping his campaign committee's funds to pay legal bills, even though he stands accused of illegally soliciting and obtaining some of the funds in exchange for official actions.
AP Photo/M. Spencer Green
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So he's 1-3 in high-profile cases. I like the state's chances.
He's 0-3 in case involving high-profile cases with powerful defendants in government or business. R. Kelly's the only one who walked, and I suspect that had more to do with the client than the case.
I do too, Moldyorange. He may have been "depicted" as a formidable opponent for prosecutors, but it doesn't seem like he's all that great a lawyer.
I think it's time Chicagoist started the Rod Blagojevich resignation pool. Or perhaps a pool to guess what sort of prison sentence he's going to get.
I completely forgot about Mel Reynolds. Those were some really good phone transcripts.
Mel Reynolds Reaches Out to Touch Someone
Whoa!
Those phone transcripts!
How old was Mel Reynolds when this happened,and how old was the underage girl?
This case is about as good as the case they had against R. Kelly from what I've seen.
I give him 40/60 chance of not guilty on the counts put forth in the complaint.
@Ingrid:
The girl, Beverly Heard, was a 16-year-old campaign volunteer when the affair started in '92 (he was 40 at the time). When the story broke, he denied the charges and said they were racially motivated. Then the transcripts were released.
Reynolds was eventually convicted on 12 counts of sexual assault, obstruction of justice and child pornography. Later he was convicted on another 15 counts of bank fraud and lying to SEC investigators.
Ah, Mel Reynolds. What a peach. I remember him on WLS when I was a wee kiddie. Head like a peanut, undone by a hard-on.
Y'know he ran against JJJ in 2004? Got slaughtered, but the utter temerity of the guy is worth noting.
Ah, Mel Reynolds. What a peach. I remember him on WLS when I was a wee kiddie. Head like a peanut, undone by a hard-on.
Y'know he ran against JJJ in 2004? Got slaughtered, but the utter temerity of the guy is worth noting.
"I was definitely gonna stick my dick in you."
That's how you get the girl's hearts.
And let's not forget about the threesomes with Mel and the girl. Ah, what a time...
Then there was Mel's attempt to garner sympathy right before a particular heated election, when he claimed someone shot at him while he was sitting inside his campaign office. He walked about with a band-aid on his forehead for weeks. Believe it or not, he was supposed to be something of an Obama for his day, an Ivy League educated politician with Chicago neighborhod and community activist roots. But then the money and power got too good...
By all acounts, Genson's a pretty damn good defense attorney. Remember, it's not won/loss that makes a good defense attorney... one can only do so much with guilty clients... sentencing is a *huge* factor as well.
If you go back and look at all his cases over the years, I'd be willing to bet he's won a few, but more importantly, I'd bet he's shaved a helluva lot of prison time off those he "lost".
Garry Meier used to love tossing of the Mel line "Did I win the lotto?"
A line he spoke when his 16 year old "girlfriend" told him she could set up a 3-some with a catholic schoolgirl of 15 years.
Breath-taking in it's awfulness.
Mel Reynolds was a total creep, but the only reason he was convicted on the state charges was that the scumbag of a judge threw the victim into jail over the weekend for contempt as she didn't want to testify against Reynolds.
No matter how much of a sleaze Reynolds was & is, victims should never be thrown in jail if they refuse to testify.
The case was fixed & the judge was part of that fix.
As juror number 13 on the R Kelly trial, I can tell you that Genson openly uses his disability for pity - and he uses people's lack of understanding against them. During the trial his goal was to confuse the jurors enough that he created a false reasonable doubt. He appeals to the less informed and if you ever catch him on tv, watch the way he stops people from making points by interrupting and creating a joke out of it. He's definitely a good lawyer but a very crooked man.