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AT&T agreed to pay a $23 million fine “to resolve a federal criminal investigation into alleged misconduct involving the company to unlawfully influence former Illinois Speaker of the House Michael J. Madigan” , according to a press release from the Department of Justice today.
“The AT&T Illinois investigation is resolved with a deferred prosecution agreement in which the company admitted it had made arrangements for payments to an ally of Madigan to influence and reward Madigan’s efforts to help AT&T Illinois over the company’s sought legislation. .” the announcement said. AT&T “admitted that in 2017 it arranged for an ally of Madigan to indirectly receive $22,500 in payments from the company.”
AT&T “made no effort to ensure work was done” in return for the payment, the Justice Department said, adding that AT&T acknowledged that the payment was made “in exchange for Madigan’s vote and influence on an account.” The bill ended AT&T’s obligation to provide landline telephone service to all residents of the state.
AT&T allegedly used a lobbying company as an intermediary to make the payment and disguise its true purpose. The office of U.S. Attorney John Lausch has filed a criminal complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, accusing AT&T Illinois of using an interstate facility to promote misconduct under the law. Former AT&T Illinois president Paul La Schiazza was indicted on five charges as a result of the same investigation.
“In 2017, La Schiazza colluded with former chairman Michael J. Madigan, Madigan’s close friend, Michael McClain, and others to corruptly arrange for $22,500 to be paid to a Madigan ally… Madigan’s ally to disguise why the ally was being paid, the ally was not doing any real work for AT&T Illinois and playing no part in advancing legislation,” the Justice Department said.
Madigan and McClain were previously charged with extortion and bribery. A new replacement indictment adds an AT&T-related conspiracy charge. Madigan, a Democrat, served as Speaker of the House for nearly two years between 1983 and 2021 before resigning. The original “22 count indictment accuses Madigan of running a criminal enterprise for nearly a decade with the aim of increasing Madigan’s political power and financial well-being while generating revenue for his political allies and associates,” the ministry said. of Justice in March.
AT&T pushed bill to end landline obligation
AT&T’s payment was intended to influence a 2017 vote on Carrier of Last Resort (COLR) legislation that “ends[d] AT&T Illinois’ precious obligation to provide landline telephone services to all Illinois residents,” the deferred prosecution agreement states. The law was passed by the legislature and vetoed by the governor, but both chambers of the legislature voted to to override the veto.
Under the agreement with AT&T, “The government will delay prosecuting the charges for two years and then seek to dismiss them if AT&T Illinois complies with certain conditions, including continuing to cooperate with any investigation into the misconduct identified in the information.” is alleged”, the Justice Department said and continued:
In addition to the fine and continued collaboration with the government, AT&T Illinois’ obligations under the agreement include implementing a new compliance and ethics program and providing annual reports to the government regarding program recovery and implementation. If AT&T Illinois fails to comply with all of its obligations under the agreement during the two-year term, the US Attorney’s Office may initiate prosecution of the charged offense.
AT&T must pay the $23 million fine to the Crime Victims Fund within 30 days. “We hold ourselves and our contractors to the highest ethical standards. We are committed to making sure this never happens again,” AT&T said in a statement to media organizations.
