Fawell Takes Backseat To Dead Kids

By Amy Hart in News on Oct 19, 2005 3:59PM

Did we miss something? Scott Fawell is the key witness in the prosecution’s case AGAINST George Ryan, right?

Fawell hasn’t yet offered the prosecution a smoking gun against Ryan. Don’t get us wrong, Ryan hasn’t come off looking like the innocent victim of an overzealous prosecution, but we were expecting a little something more than learning he enjoyed gambling, taking free trips, and getting money. So far the trial has seemed more like a Scott Fawell psych evaluation more than anything else.

Did Fawell’s superior acting skills fool the prosecution into thinking he would sell out his former boss and idol?

Now Fawell is being questioned by the defense. Under cross examination yesterday, the former Ryan crony testified that the former Illinois Secretary of State was not really part of Fawell’s efforts to award low license plate numbers to friends and contributors of Ryan. However, Fawell did make it clear that he enjoyed the power of deciding who would receive the plates.

Yawn.

This follows Fawell’s testimony on Monday that a $28.5 million contract with IBM to purchase a computer system for the Secretary of State’s office was done because it was necessary and made good business sense, rather than because it was of benefit to Ryan lobbyist and co-defendant Larry Warner.

Yawn.

Don’t count the prosecution out yet, as they will try to introduce evidence regarding the 1994 car crash that killed six kids and started the license for bribes investigation. The last thing the defense wants is for jurors to make a connection between dead children and Ryan, but Assistant US Attorney Patrick Collins is arguing that the defense's questioning of Fawell has opened the door to bring up the tragedy.