ILLINOIS – A US federal judge told ousted Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich to forget about starring in a reality TV show in the Costa Rican jungle and focus instead on the corruption charges that could send him to prison for years.
Mr Blagojevich (52), has pleaded not guilty to racketeering, fraud and other charges that allege he schemed to sell or trade President Barack Obama’s former US Senate seat and plotted to use the muscle of the governor’s office to pressure companies for campaign funds.
Mr Blagojevich had hoped to earn money to support his family by heading to Costa Rica in June to be on NBC's I'm a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here! while lawyers in Chicago worked on his case.
But US district judge James Zagel said his time would be better spent helping his lawyers cope with the mound of documentary evidence which prosecutors will soon turn over to the defence.
“I don’t think this defendant fully understands and I don’t think he could understand . . . the position he finds himself in,” Mr Zagel said in denying the impeached former governor permission to leave the country.
After the hearing, Mr Blagojevich insisted he’s “going to play a very big role” in his defence. “I’m fully aware of what the allegations are and I know what the truth is concerning me and I know that I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong,” he said.
In another bleak moment for the defence, assistant US attorney Reid Schar told the court he expects former Blagojevich chiefs of staff John Harris and Alonzo Monk to soon agree to plead guilty to related charges and testify for the prosecution if Mr Blagojevich stands trial.
Mr Schar said Mr Blagojevich could be looking at 25 to 30 years behind bars under sentencing guidelines if he is convicted. He said there was no way to predict what Mr Blagojevich might do if allowed to go south of the border.