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* Bloomberg…
The former president of AT&T Illinois has agreed to a deferred-prosecution deal, averting a second trial on charges he bribed powerful former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Paul La Schiazza’s first trial ended in September 2024 with a deadlocked jury, and he had been scheduled for a retrial in January.
Instead, he agreed to pay a $200,000 fine and keep his record clean for 12 months. If he complies, prosecutors will move to dismiss the indictment at the end of the deferral period.
* Capitol News Illinois’ Hannah Meisel…
The DPA has been executed and approved by US District Judge Robert Gettleman, who told La Schiazza via videoconference just now: “This is a very generous agreement, I have to say. I think it’s surprisingly generous.”
La Schiazza must pay $200k and stay out of trouble for a year. https://t.co/Obzr91eBEc— Hannah Meisel (@hannahmeisel) October 14, 2025
* The Tribune…
The deferred-prosecution deal scuttles a retrial that had been set for January. It also comes on Madigan’s first full day in federal prison in West Virginia, where he’s serving a 7 ½-year sentence on other corruption counts. The jury in Madigan’s trial also deadlocked on the AT&T-related charge in the indictment.
La Schiazza, 68, was charged in October 2022 with conspiracy, federal program bribery and using a facility in interstate commerce to promote unlawful activity.
The charges alleged La Schiazza agreed in 2017 to pay $2,500 a month to Acevedo, Madigan’s onetime assistant majority leader, through the lobbying firm of longtime Madigan political aide Tom Cullen.
In exchange for the payments, the speaker helped shepherd AT&T’s bill ending mandated landline service through the General Assembly, giving La Schiazza a career notch on his belt and saving the telecommunications giant millions of dollars, according to prosecutors.
Thoughts?
posted by Isabel Miller
Tuesday, Oct 14, 25 @ 11:47 am
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My only thought is it would be interesting if La Schiazza has any cooperation to trade, but it seems like maybe the new DOJ just wants to close this case.
Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Tuesday, Oct 14, 25 @ 12:09 pm
This is the equivalent of eating crow- The USA can claim they got a win
Comment by Sue Tuesday, Oct 14, 25 @ 12:11 pm
Entering the agreement and declining to seek jail time is obviously a travesty, but it does not rank particularly highly compared to the DOJ’s other excesses lately.
Comment by Garfield Ridge Guy Tuesday, Oct 14, 25 @ 12:25 pm
Wonder if a similar deal will be offered to another defendant who had a hung jury: Emil Jones. Maybe if he agrees to resign?
Comment by Felix Tuesday, Oct 14, 25 @ 12:25 pm
As La Schiazza is shockingly saying: “reach out and touch (hug) someone” (the company’s 1980s slogan). This is compared to the other folks who are in or soon will be heading to hibernation…
Comment by Taco Man Tuesday, Oct 14, 25 @ 12:48 pm
Trump’s DOJ doesn’t like the idea of prosecuting political corruption. That creates a standard they’re reluctant to follow: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-aide-homan-accepted-50000-bribery-sting-operation-sources-say-2025-09-21/
Comment by Just Me 2 Tuesday, Oct 14, 25 @ 1:25 pm
Glad to see the feds using their preferred tool for bribing again. /s. Shameless. This case should’ve been dropped.
Comment by :) Tuesday, Oct 14, 25 @ 1:28 pm
DOJ wants to clear the decks so they can go after their “real” enemies. Yes, the case should have been dropped.
Comment by low level Tuesday, Oct 14, 25 @ 1:54 pm
@Sue—I completely agree. The feds don’t want to lose this case again.
Comment by Marcey Prop Tuesday, Oct 14, 25 @ 1:55 pm
Feds probably didn’t want to lose again and Schiazza proved badly would’ve paid more than $200k to go through another trial in lawyers fees.
Comment by Frida’s Boss Tuesday, Oct 14, 25 @ 2:13 pm