From the Tribune: 
 
Friend let cash flow to many campaigns 
 
By Rudolph Bush and Matt O'Connor, Tribune staff reporters. Tribune staff reporter Ray Gibson contributed to this report 
Published October 6, 2005 
 
 In May 1995, when George Ryan decided to fly to Orlando and catch a Chicago Bulls playoff game, Richard Parrillo's private jet was waiting. 
 
 Seven years later, when a federal investigation was drawing ever closer to then-Gov. Ryan, Parrillo was there again, starting a legal defense fund that has collected nearly $500,000. 
 
 And through Ryan's campaign for governor, Parrillo, 66, and his family have been there with tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions. 
 
 In only the second day of testimony in Ryan's racketeering trial, Parrillo's name and face surfaced when prosecutors showed jurors a picture from that May 1995 trip. Their star witness, Scott Fawell, described the shot as "six grown men at Disney World." 
 
 Among the six were Ryan, his friend and co-defendant Lawrence Warner, Fawell, who was then his top aide, and Parrillo. 
 
 It was, prosecutors suggested, another example of the intersection of big money, friendship and politics that allowed Ryan to live large when he was secretary of state and governor. 
 
 Federal prosecutors attempted to question Parrillo about the trip, but he declined to be interviewed, Assistant U.S. Atty. Patrick Collins said in court Monday. 
 
 Sources confirmed that Parrillo, who has not been charged with a crime, has retained defense attorney Edward Genson, who represents Warner and represented Fawell when he was convicted in a related 2003 case. 
 
 Parrillo, president of United Automobile Insurance Group and a member of the founding family of Westmont-based Safeway Insurance, has amassed a vast fortune. 
 
 Parrillo, who did not respond to an interview request, has spread his wealth generously among political candidates, according to public documents and interviews. But to Ryan, he is more than a donor. He is a close personal friend, said Ryan's attorney, Dan Webb. 
 
 Many others in politics have enjoyed his friendship as well. 
 
 "Dickie Parrillo is only interested in helping friends and helping people," said Ed Vrdolyak, who received Parrillo's financial assistance during his 1986 campaign for mayor. 
 
 "He is one of those guys, hardworking entrepreneurs, who has been very, very successful," Vrdolyak said. 
 
 Not everyone agrees, including Donald Parrillo, his brother and a former Chicago alderman in the 1st Ward. For years, Donald Parrillo has been locked in a bitter business feud and has filed federal lawsuits against his brothers Richard, William and Robert. 
 
 "I've known a lot of gangsters who like to pretend they're legitimate businessmen. Dickie is the only legitimate businessman I know who likes to pretend he's a gangster," Donald Parrillo said. 
 
 Donald Parrillo said that although his brother liked to act tough and show off, he was never violent. 
 
 The Parrillo brothers' past is steeped in Chicago's history. Their father, William Parrillo, was the son of Italian immigrants who worked his way through law school and made a fortune defending gangsters, most prominently Al Capone. 
 
 Donald Parrillo recounted how he was elected alderman in 1964 after a dramatic request that he run from Outfit chief Sam "Momo" Giancana at the gravesite of William Parrillo. 
 
 Giancana had known Donald Parrillo as a boy and trusted him, the former alderman said. He stressed, however, that the mob never bought him off. 
 
 By that time the family had become immensely wealthy. As young men, Donald and his brother William formed Safeway and opened National Republic Bank. When Richard was in college, they brought him into the business, Donald Parrillo said. 
  
 Richard Parrillo in 1989 incorporated United Auto in Florida as a subsidiary of Safeway. 
 
 By 1997, he had cut ties with the old company, which is still operated by his brother William. 
 
 His ties within Ryan's circle remained strong, however. In August 1997, Richard Parrillo and Warner co-hosted a fundraiser for Ryan, a Republican, at Parrillo's Lincoln Park home, Assistant U.S. Atty. Zachary Fardon said in court Monday. 
 
 But Parrillo's largesse knows no party or state lines. He has given tens of thousands of dollars to Mayor Richard Daley and Gov. Rod Blagojevich, according to campaign records. 
 
 Blagojevich spokesman Pete Giangreco said he doesn't know why Parrillo has given the governor's campaign at least $55,000. 
 
 "The governor really doesn't have any relationship with this guy," he said, adding Parrillo has not contributed since 2002. 
 
 Parrillo also has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to legislative and judicial candidates in Florida. 
 
 The donations have led to criticism there that Parrillo has used his wealth to influence the regulation of his business. 
 
 His insurance company, however, has been subjected to inquiries by state regulators. 
 
 In December 2003, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation issued a "market conduct" report that examined United Auto's assertion that 95 percent of the claims filed with the company were fraudulent. The report found "concerns with the validity of the assertion and the attendant delays in paying claims." 
 
 In past interviews, Parrillo has denied that he ever donated money to politicians or judges to garner favor. But his brother Donald said that the family's political donations "have always been about business." 
 
 "Nobody kicks in to a politician, big money, because they believe in good government," he said. 
 
 At the heart of the prosecution's case against Ryan and Warner is the influence of money and friendship in politics. 
 
 Prosecutors charge that Warner was given inside access to contracts and leases when Ryan was secretary of state from 1991 to 1999. 
 
 Assistant U.S. Atty. Collins alleged in court that it was Warner who arranged for Richard Parrillo to fly Ryan and his friends to Orlando. 
 
 In return for that and other favors, Ryan gave Warner the keys to state business, prosecutors allege. 
 
 Warner's attorney Marvin Bloom strenuously objected to the allegation Warner arranged for the flight. He argued Ryan could have asked Parrillo to loan him the jet without any intervention from Warner. 
 
 But Assistant U.S. Atty. Fardon argued before U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer that around the same time Parrillo flew the group to Orlando, Warner was cutting three sweetheart deals with the secretary of state's office. 
 
 "There is Larry Warner and George Ryan and Richie Parrillo down in Orlando attending a Bulls game. ... It is what the case is cumulatively about judge," he said.