From the Sun-Times:
Ryan, co-defendant pay up on fines
Ex-gov, Warner convicted of racketeering
March 28, 2007
BY NATASHA KORECKI Federal Courts Reporter
Even as former Gov. George Ryan pursues an appeal of his conviction on corruption
charges, he and co-defendant Lawrence Warner have begun to pay up.
Warner, a businessman, recently paid the government $1.7 million, an amount the
two were ordered to forfeit after a jury convicted them in a wide-ranging racketeering
conspiracy trial last April.
Ryan has paid $20,000 in court fees and Warner is also about to pay another $75,000
fine after a land sale has gone through, according to prosecutors.
If the appeal is successful and the convictions are overturned, the money will
be held in an escrow account until a retrial is through, Assistant U.S. Attorney
Patrick Collins said.
Up to appeals court
Among the charges against Ryan was that he steered state government leases and
contracts to friends such as Warner, then took gifts and perks in return. Warner
made millions of dollars from the state during Ryan's tenure.
Ryan and Warner's fate is now up to the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which
heard arguments on the case Feb. 20.