Sorich talks to grand jury- Convicted insider granted immunity
Sorich talks to grand jury- Convicted insider granted immunity
By Rudolph Bush and Dan Mihalopoulos
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
Published August 25, 2006
Mayor Richard Daley's former patronage chief, convicted last month of rigging city jobs and promotions, testified recently before a federal grand jury investigating political hiring at City Hall.
Robert Sorich, who was described at trial as the "quarterback" of a broad scheme to dole out jobs to pro-Daley political workers, testified after receiving immunity from prosecution for any statements he made to the grand jury, defense attorney Thomas Anthony Durkin said Thursday.
Durkin would not say what Sorich was asked or what he said. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office declined comment on the matter.
Following Sorich's conviction July 6, along with three other former Daley administration officials, federal prosecutors had said the investigation was continuing and told the public to "stay tuned."
In a court filing, prosecutors alleged there was evidence at trial that former top Daley aides Timothy Degnan, Victor Reyes and John Doerrer and other city officials "may have knowingly participated in a fraudulent hiring scheme."
Sorich worked in Daley's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs between 1993 and his arrest in July 2005. Degnan, Reyes and Doerrer, all directors of the office, each supervised Sorich at one point. Even as prosecutors have described Intergovernmental Affairs as the hub of the long-running hiring fraud, they have not charged Degnan, Reyes and Doerrer with crimes.
Sorich had refused to cooperate with federal investigators prior to his trial on mail fraud charges, but witnesses can be compelled to testify when given immunity.
The federal government has not offered Sorich any potential reduction in his sentence as a result of his grand-jury testimony, Durkin said.
"He was subpoenaed, given immunity and will answer any questions posed to him by the grand jury truthfully," Durkin said Thursday. "I don't believe it's appropriate to comment on what he was asked about."
Sorich, 43, is from the Daley family's power base in the Bridgeport neighborhood and has long-standing ties to the 11th Ward Democratic Organization, led by the mayor's brother John.
Degnan and John Daley, a Cook County commissioner, were among the crowd Saturday night at a fundraiser to help Sorich pay his legal bills. The mayor has said he sees nothing wrong with holding the fundraiser.
At the center of the investigation is patronage, the generations-old machine political tactic of rewarding loyal campaign workers with public jobs.
The exchange of jobs for political loyalty was supposed to have ended at City Hall decades ago, but Daley administration officials falsified job test scores and conducted sham interviews to get around court restrictions on patronage, according to testimony at Sorich's trial. In effect, prosecutors said, city officials filled taxpayer-funded jobs to enhance the mayor's political power.
During the trial, Durkin sought to portray Sorich as a low-level figure in the Daley administration who merely followed orders and engaged in practices established long before he became an aide in Intergovernmental Affairs.
Prosecutors acknowledged that Sorich did not devise the hiring scheme, and Assistant U.S. Atty. Philip Guentert used his closing statement in the trial to warn others who have not yet been charged for their involvement in the "corrupt clout machine."
"For those who are out there and are responsible for this scheme, there's another day," he said. "City Hall is chockfull of the schemers."
Testimony in the trial frequently referred to the involvement in city hiring of Sorich's former bosses in Intergovernmental Affairs as well as Al Sanchez, a key leader of the pro-Daley Hispanic Democratic Organization who was the mayor's Streets and Sanitation commissioner from 1999 until 2005.
A former city computer technician told jurors that Degnan directed him to create a program to track job seekers by political affiliation shortly after Daley was elected mayor in 1989.
A retired city official testified that Reyes ordered the promotion of a worker who was not good at his job but was an effective campaign worker for HDO, which Reyes leads.
And federal authorities have said that Reyes "continued to exercise substantial influence" in personnel matters even after leaving City Hall in 2000. Authorities made the allegation in their request for a search warrant used to carry out a midnight raid of city offices in April 2005.
HDO is the most powerful of the political groups that have emerged since the mayor was first elected. A Tribune investigation in July 2005 found that HDO had more of its members on the city payroll than any other organization. About 500 city workers registered voters for HDO, according to city records.
Reyes has denied wrongdoing. His lawyer, Thomas Breen, declined to comment Thursday.
Sanchez's lawyer, Daniel Pierce, also declined to comment. Lawyers for Doerrer and Degnan could not be reached.
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rrbush@tribune.com
dmihalopoulos@tribune.com
By Rudolph Bush and Dan Mihalopoulos
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
Published August 25, 2006
Mayor Richard Daley's former patronage chief, convicted last month of rigging city jobs and promotions, testified recently before a federal grand jury investigating political hiring at City Hall.
Robert Sorich, who was described at trial as the "quarterback" of a broad scheme to dole out jobs to pro-Daley political workers, testified after receiving immunity from prosecution for any statements he made to the grand jury, defense attorney Thomas Anthony Durkin said Thursday.
Durkin would not say what Sorich was asked or what he said. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office declined comment on the matter.
Following Sorich's conviction July 6, along with three other former Daley administration officials, federal prosecutors had said the investigation was continuing and told the public to "stay tuned."
In a court filing, prosecutors alleged there was evidence at trial that former top Daley aides Timothy Degnan, Victor Reyes and John Doerrer and other city officials "may have knowingly participated in a fraudulent hiring scheme."
Sorich worked in Daley's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs between 1993 and his arrest in July 2005. Degnan, Reyes and Doerrer, all directors of the office, each supervised Sorich at one point. Even as prosecutors have described Intergovernmental Affairs as the hub of the long-running hiring fraud, they have not charged Degnan, Reyes and Doerrer with crimes.
Sorich had refused to cooperate with federal investigators prior to his trial on mail fraud charges, but witnesses can be compelled to testify when given immunity.
The federal government has not offered Sorich any potential reduction in his sentence as a result of his grand-jury testimony, Durkin said.
"He was subpoenaed, given immunity and will answer any questions posed to him by the grand jury truthfully," Durkin said Thursday. "I don't believe it's appropriate to comment on what he was asked about."
Sorich, 43, is from the Daley family's power base in the Bridgeport neighborhood and has long-standing ties to the 11th Ward Democratic Organization, led by the mayor's brother John.
Degnan and John Daley, a Cook County commissioner, were among the crowd Saturday night at a fundraiser to help Sorich pay his legal bills. The mayor has said he sees nothing wrong with holding the fundraiser.
At the center of the investigation is patronage, the generations-old machine political tactic of rewarding loyal campaign workers with public jobs.
The exchange of jobs for political loyalty was supposed to have ended at City Hall decades ago, but Daley administration officials falsified job test scores and conducted sham interviews to get around court restrictions on patronage, according to testimony at Sorich's trial. In effect, prosecutors said, city officials filled taxpayer-funded jobs to enhance the mayor's political power.
During the trial, Durkin sought to portray Sorich as a low-level figure in the Daley administration who merely followed orders and engaged in practices established long before he became an aide in Intergovernmental Affairs.
Prosecutors acknowledged that Sorich did not devise the hiring scheme, and Assistant U.S. Atty. Philip Guentert used his closing statement in the trial to warn others who have not yet been charged for their involvement in the "corrupt clout machine."
"For those who are out there and are responsible for this scheme, there's another day," he said. "City Hall is chockfull of the schemers."
Testimony in the trial frequently referred to the involvement in city hiring of Sorich's former bosses in Intergovernmental Affairs as well as Al Sanchez, a key leader of the pro-Daley Hispanic Democratic Organization who was the mayor's Streets and Sanitation commissioner from 1999 until 2005.
A former city computer technician told jurors that Degnan directed him to create a program to track job seekers by political affiliation shortly after Daley was elected mayor in 1989.
A retired city official testified that Reyes ordered the promotion of a worker who was not good at his job but was an effective campaign worker for HDO, which Reyes leads.
And federal authorities have said that Reyes "continued to exercise substantial influence" in personnel matters even after leaving City Hall in 2000. Authorities made the allegation in their request for a search warrant used to carry out a midnight raid of city offices in April 2005.
HDO is the most powerful of the political groups that have emerged since the mayor was first elected. A Tribune investigation in July 2005 found that HDO had more of its members on the city payroll than any other organization. About 500 city workers registered voters for HDO, according to city records.
Reyes has denied wrongdoing. His lawyer, Thomas Breen, declined to comment Thursday.
Sanchez's lawyer, Daniel Pierce, also declined to comment. Lawyers for Doerrer and Degnan could not be reached.
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rrbush@tribune.com
dmihalopoulos@tribune.com
posted by Carlos T Mock at 7:46 AM
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