Blago Witness Arrested for Shoplifting

By Prescott Carlson in News on Nov 6, 2010 4:00PM

A witness at former governor Rod Blagojevich's trial earlier this year has been arrested and accused of shoplifting from a Home Depot on Chicago's Northwest Side.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Friday afternoon Rajinder Bedi, 58, was allegedly seen by employees at the home improvement mecca concealing items valued at $166, enough to land him with a felony retail theft charge (the threshold is $150) with a maximum punishment of 1 to 3 years in jail.

Bedi, a former state employee, was first brought into the public eye in April of 2009, when he claimed to have met with Blagojevich's brother Robert as an intermediary for Raghuveer Nayak, who was promising to help with fundraising for Blago in return for appointing Jesse Jackson, Jr., to the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the election of President Barack Obama. Bedi testified about the meeting at the Blagojevich trial.