While allegations that Gov. Rod Blagojevich tried to sell a Senate seat have grabbed the headlines, the complaint filed against him contained a nugget that might have once been front-page news: One-time confidant Antoin "Tony" Rezko has given federal authorities damaging information about the governor.
The government isn't satisfied Rezko is giving a complete version of events, an FBI affidavit filed in the case said, "but in broad terms Rezko's account incriminates Rod Blagojevich in a pay-to-play criminal scheme."
Before the disclosures of stunning undercover recordings of the governor this week, Rezko's cooperation seemed to be the best route for prosecutors to get an insider's view of corruption in the administration.
But as prosecutors secretly recorded the governor in the last two months, negotiations with Rezko seemed to take a back seat. Then he recently asked a judge to schedule his sentencing date, possibly signaling that he would not cooperate with investigators in the federal probe.
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