Blago Brothers Headed For Arraignment
By Marcus Gilmer in News on Apr 14, 2009 3:20PM
It's like the old Goofus & Gallant cartoons, except in this case, both are Goofus. Yes, the Blago Brothers are scheduled to be arraigned in a very short time - 11 a.m. - at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse downtown. Brothers Rod and Rob - only one of them an ex-governor - will face the music today and both are expected to plead not guilty on a variety of corruption, racketeering and fraud charges. The brothers will be arraigned by U.S. District Judge James Zagel who - appropriately - also presided over the recent Family Secrets mob trial. And expect a madhouse at the courthouse as, unless Zagel determines there is a risk to Blago's safety, the ex-gov will have to take the walk of shame through the front door and lobby of the courthouse like everyone else.
Of course, Blago has bigger problems to deal with, such as who in the hell will be heading up his legal team? Chicago Breaking News explains:
Who ultimately leads Blagojevich's defense remains uncertain. The former governor has lost two high-profile attorneys, partners Edward Genson and Terence Gillespie. Genson bowed out during Blagojevich's media blitz this year, saying his client wasn't listening to him. Gillespie said he left because of a conflict of interest after prosecutors unexpectedly added Blagojevich to Cellini's pending indictment. Gillespie had a prior agreement to represent Cellini.
Genson, as you may remember, successfully defended R&B superstar R. Kelly in his recent child pornography trial.
More arraignments are to come in the case. On Thursday, William Cellini, former Blago chief of staff John Harris, and fundraiser Christopher Kelly will be arraigned, and another of Blago's former chiefs of staff, Len Monk, is scheduled to be arraigned on April 24. Both Harris and Monk have been cooperating with the feds.
If you're on the Twitter that all the kids are talking about these days, you can follow the Sun-Times' Natasha Korecki and the Tribune's Jeff Coen for constant updates from the courthouse.