Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Some 'Splainin' to do in Chicago

By Lee Cary & Marty Watters

On February 27, a Chicagoland website, Illinois PayToPlay, cited the star witness in the Operation Gambit trials of the early '90s, Robert Cooley, as a primary source for the news that Daniel Frawley says he gave $400,000 in cash to Tony Rezko, who then passed it on to Barack Obama. 

In case you missed Cooley's story, James Peterson, writing for Andrew Breitbart's Big Journalism, noted that "[i]n the mid-1980's, Chicago Outfit Lawyer Robert Cooley voluntarily went undercover for the FBI as part of an investigation called Operation Gambat. Cooley wore a wire on, among others, [Alderman Ed] Burke's good friend and made-man, Alderman Fred Roti. The Chief Judge of Cook County's Chancery Court and an Assistant Senate Majority Leader of the Illinois State Senate were also targeted. Cooley's work eventually led to the only judge in U.S. history being convicted of fixing a murder trial." 

Cooley is a Chicago legend.

As the star witness for the prosecution back then, Cooley's credibility was validated by 26 convictions.  Now, Cooley is back on the Chicago scene along with news that leaves a number of current, and former, Chicagoans with some splainin' to do.  Among the short list are these persons of interest.

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