The US government has provided more detail on how a former AT&T executive allegedly bribed a powerful state lawmaker’s ally in order to obtain legislation favorable to AT&T’s business.
Former AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza is set to go on trial in September 2024 after being indicted on charges of conspiracy to unlawfully influence then-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. AT&T itself agreed to pay a $23 million fine in October 2022 in connection with the alleged illegal influence campaign and said it was “committed to ensuring that this never happens again.”
US government prosecutors offered a preview of their case against La Schiazza in a filing on Friday in US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. A contract lobbyist hired by AT&T “is expected to testify that AT&T successfully passed two major pieces of legislation after the company started making payments to Individual FR-1.”
The Madigan ally referred to in the court document as “Individual FR-1” is former state Rep. Edward Acevedo, a Chicago Tribune article notes. Acevedo, who was Madigan’s assistant majority leader in the Illinois House before retiring in 2017, was sentenced to six months in prison for tax evasion in 2022. Madigan left his House speaker post in 2021.
SO many companies have pulled so much shady sh*t in our time that it’s the safe bet to point at literally any large company in the states and know with certainty they’re up to no fucking good.
One of my favorites is the Harley Davidson story. The short SHORT version is
HD: “Oh no, foreign companys are making better bikes for less, we’re gonna diiiieeee!”
Reagan: "Aww poow baby. Here. I’ll put a 10X increase on all foreign motorcycles. "
HD: “Thank you daddy!” starts building foreign factories almost immediately afterThat’s called “lobbying”
