From the Chicago Tribune

Tearful Fawell says 'love for Andrea' prompting him to help feds
By Mike Robinson
Associated Press Writer
Published October 28, 2004
Former Gov. George Ryan's right-hand man wiped away tears Thursday as he told a federal judge he doesn't want to testify against his former boss but will help prosecutors in order to keep the woman he loves out of prison.
"My love for Andrea outweighs my disdain for this system," Scott Fawell testified in U.S. District Court as his fiancee, Andrea Coutretsis, smiled at him.
Fawell was called as a witness at an unusual hearing to determine whether Coutretsis should get a break when she is sentenced for lying before a grand jury about corruption in the Illinois secretary of state's office under Ryan.
She pleaded guilty last December under an agreement with prosecutors that she would get a year in prison in return for her cooperation in the 61/2-year Operation Safe Road investigation of drivers license bribery and political corruption in the Ryan era.
Prosecutors now want Judge James F. Holderman to cut the sentence to six months in return for her successful efforts to get Fawell to cooperate in various corruption cases, including racketeering charges against Ryan and lobbyist Larry Warner. Fawell is now expected to be a key witness if Ryan and Warner go to trial, expected no later than March.
Prosecutors say Fawell, currently serving a 61/2-year racketeering sentence involving his own activity in the secretary of state's office, has provided information that will help them in three to five criminal investigations currently under way.
"George Ryan and Larry Warner are friends of mine," Fawell testified. "I don't relish testifying against George Ryan, Larry Warner or anybody else."
But Fawell, 47, made it plain that he would do so if it would help his 34-year-old fiancee stay out of federal prison and avoid losing custody of her two children.
"I understand you love her very much," Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Levine said.
"Absolutely," Fawell said.
"And it's that love for her that has motivated you to take this stand?"
"Yes, and her well being and the well being of the children," Fawell said.
Fawell had to stop his testimony and compose himself, wiping tears from his eyes with a white handkerchief and blowing his nose as he tried to explain why he didn't believe that Coutretsis deserved to be sent to prison.
"All she really tried to do ..." he said and then halted, momentarily unable to go on. Regaining his composure, he said prosecutors had "the noose around my neck" when Coutretsis was called before the grand jury to testify in the investigation.
He said she lied to avoid providing more evidence against him.
"All she did was try not to tighten the noose," Fawell said.
Fawell and Coutretsis exchanged smiles in court and at one point he raised his pinky finger and waved to her with it from the witness stand.
Earlier, Coutretsis took the stand and gave the court a glimpse into their long-distance relationship. She said she visits him at the federal prison in Yankton, S.D., twice a month and they talk by phone for about 15 minutes every day.
While federal prosecutors are eager to chop Coutretsis' sentence in half, the deal allows Coutretsis attorney Cynthia Giachetti to argue in favor of probation and no prison time, which would allow her to stay with her children without interruption.
Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune