From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Feds: Ryan knew of shredded papers
December 19, 2002

BY STEVE WARMBIR AND TIM NOVAK STAFF REPORTERS

Two months before he was elected governor, George Ryan knew his aides were destroying campaign documents to stop the feds from seizing them in their broadening corruption investigation, prosecutors alleged Wednesday.

Ryan also covered up five free stays in the luxurious Jamaican home of a crony who got a sweetheart state deal from Ryan, prosecutors said in a 76-page document.

The bombshell court filing is the first time Ryan is accused by name of potential criminal acts, although he has not been charged.

Prosecutors describe the most vivid scenario yet of the culture of corruption allegedly festering under Ryan's reign as secretary of state between 1991 and 1999.

"There are two sides to every story, two sides to allegations leveled by individuals claiming to recollect conversations and actions from several years ago,'' Ryan said in a statement.

He did not comment on the ongoing investigation, but added: "My conscience is clear, and in every public office I have held, I have respected the public trust."

Among the players in the alleged schemes spelled out Wednesday were Ryan's onetime right-hand man, Scott Fawell; Fawell's girlfriend, Andrea Coutretsis Prokos, and a host of Ryan supporters who would later play key roles in his administration, including his chief of staff, Robert Newtson, who is accused of shredding documents.

Also, state Sen. Dave Sullivan (R-Park Ridge), who worked for Ryan at the secretary of state's office, did large amounts of campaign work on state time, the feds allege, but he complained about the situation to campaign officials.

Fawell is accused of being the ringleader, whether doling out raises to state workers for their campaign work or tracking the favors he gave on a "master list," according to the document released as part of Fawell's trial, which begins Jan. 8.

The Ryan campaign saved money by having state workers do political work on the public's dime, feds allege.

When one staffer complained to Fawell of a big salary increase for a politically connected worker, Fawell allegedly replied, "What do I care, it's not my checkbook."

To protect Ryan politically while secretary of state, Fawell gutted the inspector general's office as it was probing misdeeds linked to the high-pressure fund-raising tactics of state employees.

Fawell told Ryan in a December 1994 memo about the inspector general's office that they needed to get "someone in there who won't screw our friends, won't ask about FR [fund-raising] tickets . . . and get the investigators to no longer free-lance as they see fit."

In a follow-up memo, Fawell indicates he and Ryan decided to effectively gut the office.

That's only one instance where the feds put Ryan in a meeting or a position to make a decision regarding potentially illegal acts. Publicly, Ryan has expressed surprise about such activities.

In 1995, Ryan, Fawell and another campaign aide, Richard Juliano, met to discuss endorsing Phil Gramm for president of the United States. As they discussed a budget to present to the Gramm national campaign, Ryan suggested a "consulting" line item, "so that people can make some money" for the campaign effort. More than $30,000 was funneled through a company to Fawell, Juliano and "certain members of Ryan's family," the feds allege. The Sun-Times has reported Ryan's daughter Lynda Fairman received some money and has been granted immunity.

In a separate court document filed Wednesday, the feds allege that close Ryan friend Larry Warner, accused of accepting kickbacks for his influence peddling with the state, gave money and perks to "SOS Official A," and the official's family. SOS Official A has been identified as Ryan.

In another instance, in 1992, Fawell and other secretary of state officials decided to help the campaign of the husband of Ryan's niece, Bruce Clark, in his run for state lawmaker in Kankakee. In a meeting Ryan, Fawell and others attended, it was suggested that one state worker be moved off the state payroll because he was doing so much campaign work.

Fawell rejected that idea, and prosecutors do not report Ryan's reaction, if any. The worker remained on the state payroll.

Ryan also took care of his political friends, the feds suggest.

In 1996, Ryan took the lead in having a secretary of state office moved to a South Holland building owned by his friend, Republican businessman Harry Klein, prosecutors allege. Klein got a sweetheart lease with the state.

Before and after that deal, Ryan and Fawell and their wives traveled annually to Klein's Jamaican home and stayed there free.

To conceal these gifts, Ryan and Fawell separately wrote checks to Klein, supposedly for the lodging, but Klein paid them back in cash for the same amounts at the end of each trip, the feds allege.

Ryan also allegedly met with former state lawmaker Roger "The Hog" Stanley, who wanted a state job for a short time to boost his pension. Stanley got it.

In September 1998, as the feds closed in, Fawell worried that secretary of state employees would have campaign-related material in their work areas and told secretary of state employee William Mack to destroy the stuff before any raids happened.

A short time after Mack talked to Fawell, Mack saw him meet with Ryan. Fawell then returned and reiterated that campaign documents needed to be destroyed.

Mack allegedly heard Fawell then tell Ryan, "Hey George, I told Bill to go around and tell people to get stuff out of their offices."

There was so much shredding that Mack and his group made quite a mess around the shredder and had to sweep and vacuum to erase any trace of the crime.

Documents allegedly barbecued, shredded

It's like a slapstick comedy.

Fearing the FBI would burst in and seize documents that might incriminate Gov. Ryan, Andrea Coutretsis Prokos, the mistress of Ryan's campaign manager, Scott Fawell, and her then-husband engaged in several bumbling efforts to destroy boxes stashed in the basement of their Hawthorn Woods home, according to court records the feds filed Wednesday. Here's the account:

"On or about Oct. 30, 1999, Dean [Prokos] and Andrea gathered the boxes of documents and transported them to the nearby home of Ernie and Frances Katris, Dean's sister and brother-in-law. ... When they went down to the basement, Andrea began to look through the boxes and identify specific documents she wanted destroyed first. Andrea indicated to Ernie that the boxes included employee and hiring records of individuals hired by George Ryan. Andrea also said that the documents contained records relating to campaign contributors. Andrea told Ernie that the information contained in the documents could get people who worked for the campaign in serious trouble, and that the information could lead up to the top, and specifically mentioned George Ryan. Three of the participants (including Andrea) decided to try to shred the documents in Ernie's shredder that he kept in his basement office.... Andrea rejected further use of the shredder. ... Andrea indicated she wanted to use a crisscross shredder, which Ernie did not have. The three ... agreed to burn the documents in the Katris' barbeque grill.

"However ... their actions created a lot of smoke, with ashes blowing all around the yard and creating attention. As a result, the three mutually decided to cease their burning efforts and, rather, to store temporarily the boxes in the Katris' basement. Before they completed their activities for the day, they came upon a computer Zip drive and related disk.... Andrea said that they should take a hammer to it.... Dean wanted to keep the disk as a form of protection.... Andrea said that no one should ever see the contents of the disk and that she would never 'roll over' on these people. ... As sort of a compromise, they agreed that Ernie would hang on to the disk....

"Andrea asked Ernie to take a portion of the remaining boxes out with the garbage each week. Andrea cautioned Ernie not to dump out too much during any one week, so as not to draw attention.''