Oct 10, 2006 9:47 pm US/Central
Ryan Aide Spared Prison, Gets 4 Years' Probation
Aide Cooperated In Trials Of Ryan, Chief Of Staff
(STNG)
Richard Juliano had hoped his cooperation and testimony against former Gov. George Ryan and Ryan's ex-chief of staff Scott Fawell would save him from prison time, and on Tuesday he found out it did.
U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer sentenced Juliano to four years on probation, of which three months must be spent in a work release program, according to U.S. Attorney's office spokesman Randall Samborn. In addition, Pallmeyer ordered Juliano to complete 350 hours of community service and to pay a $10,000 fine.
Juliano was Fawell's right-hand man working in both the secretary of state's office and as Ryan's deputy campaign manager, often at the same time. He pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud in April 2002 and admitted he helped divert as much as $800,000 in state resources and employees to the governor's campaign so Ryan could have more campaign funds to spend on advertising.
In addition, Juliano admitted Fawell gave him a $5,000-a-month-job in the secretary of state's office, but ordered he work on Ryan's 1998 campaign for governor along with other state employees. When employees became concerned about performing campaign work on state time, Juliano and Fawell covered it up by falsifying records, according to the plea.
Juliano also admitted working on other campaigns, including the presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) in 1995, through which Fawell had arranged for himself, Juliano and one of Ryan's daughters to share in about $30,000 in payments for consulting work that was not provided. Juliano said he performed some consulting work for the campaign on state time.
Juliano was facing five years in prison, but he agreed to cooperate against Fawell and later Ryan in the hopes that he would be spared from serving a prison sentence. Juliano testified in the racketeering trials for Fawell and then Ryan, both of which concluded with guilty verdicts for counts of racketeering and fraud.
Ryan was sentenced earlier this year to 6 1/2 years in prison, while Fawell has been serving a 78-month term at a prison facility in Yankton, S.D.
Juliano, a former Park Ridge resident, moved to the Washington D.C. area where he was a White House liaison to the U.S. Department of Transportation, but he resigned from his position shortly before he pleaded guilty to the mail fraud charge.
(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2006. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
