Philip 'told 3 baldfaced lies'
March 7, 2003

BY STEVE WARMBIR FEDERAL COURTS REPORTER

A day after a federal prosecutor grilled former state Senate President James "Pate" Philip in court, the prosecutor said the politician "told three baldfaced lies."

The comments from Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Collins came Thursday as attorneys discussed whether they would introduce to the jury a transcript of a secretly recorded conversation between Philip and a government witness in the political corruption trial of Scott Fawell.

The attorneys for Fawell, who had been a key aide to then-Secretary of State George Ryan, had called Philip to testify Wednesday to try to shred the credibility of government witness Larry Hall.

Hall, the former best friend of Fawell, had tied Fawell and Philip to dirty deeds. Philip has not been charged and has denied any wrongdoing.

In one instance, prosecutors say, Hall secretly tape-recorded a conversation with Philip in 2000 when Hall talked about Philip helping get a government job for Hall's sister. In the same conversation, Hall talked about raising money for Philip, and he later contributed $1,400 to his campaign.

Philip denied on the stand, at least three times, that he ever had such a conversation with Hall.

Collins saw the three denials as three lies.

"Mr. Philip told three baldfaced lies yesterday, and we have the proof in the tape," Collins said Thursday.

The transcripts have not been made public.

Collins declined to comment on whether Philip would be charged with perjury.

Philip's attorney, Steven Molo, reiterated Thursday that his client testified truthfully.

Collins' comments vied for attention Thursday with the start of the prosecution's closing arguments in the Fawell trial. Jurors will hear the defense side Monday before deliberating.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel Levin described Fawell as the driver behind a vast political steamroller--the George Ryan political apparatus--that squashed everything in its path.

Levin described a corrupt environment presided over by Fawell, in which government services were often provided for a price. And when the feds closed in, Fawell oversaw shredding parties from Chicago to Springfield to destroy documents that could help in an investigation.

Jurors frequently heard testimony about top secretary of state executives having offices behind the glass doors on the fifth floor at the James R. Thompson Center, a fact Levin was happy to magnify.

Fawell "might as well have hung up a 'for sale' sign on those famous glass doors we have heard so much about," Levin said.

"We serve for money," he suggested as a motto for Ryan's secretary of state office.

Fawell oversaw a political machine that put pressure on state workers to volunteer for Ryan's political campaigns and sell fund-raising tickets--and then lied about it to a federal grand jury, prosecutors say.

They also charge he kept a master list of political favors granted, to know just who owed what.

"In other words, you pay politically, for what we've done for you governmentally," Levin said.

"If it was worth something to someone, Mr. Fawell stood ready to sell it to someone for a political contribution."

Meanwhile on Thursday, Gov. Blagojevich named a replacement for Fawell as executive director of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, the agency that runs Navy Pier and McCormick Place.

The governor chose Leticia Peralta-Davis, a 44-year-old founder of a debt-financing firm, Davis Financial Inc. Her salary will be set by the McPier board.

Contributing: Dave McKinney