'Safe Road' figure sentenced in bid-rigging probe

From the Chicago Tribune

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'Safe Road' figure sentenced in bid-rigging probe
By Matt O'Connor
Tribune staff reporter
Published September 8, 2005, 9:09 PM CDT
Saying she regretted ever getting involved in "the world of politics and political favors," a former trusted lieutenant to one of the state's most powerful lobbyists was spared prison Thursday for lying to investigators in the Operation Safe Road probe.
Julie Starsiak, a longtime close aide to lobbyist Al Ronan, was placed on probation for 5 years and ordered to complete 200 hours of community service by U.S. District Judge Blanche Manning.
Ronan hasn't been charged with wrongdoing, but his lobbying firm, Ronan Potts LLC, pleaded guilty to rigging a bid so a client won a contract to oversee a huge expansion at McCormick Place.
In court Thursday, though, Starsiak's lawyer, Chris Gair, implicated Ronan in the wrongdoing, saying that Ronan directed Starsiak to divulge confidential details of the sealed bids to the Ronan client.
"It's just nonsense," Ronan's lawyer, Edward Genson, responded later to the accusation.
In pleading guilty last year to making false statements, Starsiak admitted she lied to authorities on several occasions by trying to shift blame in part to Ronan, even though she had been given immunity from prosecution if she told the truth.
Gair told the judge that Starsiak had been cooperating with authorities for almost two years, revealing "what she knows about political corruption in this state."
Starsiak had been a close aide to Ronan for more than two decades, including while he was a state legislator.
Starsiak's assistance led Alexandra Coutretsis to cooperate, which in turn resulted in her fiance, Scott Fawell, cooperating, Gair said. Fawell, who once headed the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which operates McCormick Place, is expected to be the star witness against former Gov. George Ryan at his upcoming trial. Coutretsis was a top aide to Fawell at McPier.
In addition, Starsiak revealed corruption in "another public entity," Gair said.
Assistant U.S. Atty. Scott Levine called Starsiak's cooperation valuable and confirmed her help resulted in the opening of an investigation that "is bearing fruit."
Gair said Starsiak's assistance has come at a price, ostracizing her from former colleagues in the political realm and leaving her unemployed and penniless.
"There's nothing worse you can be in Chicago than a cooperator," Gair told the judge. "She's lost everything."
Starsiak, 57, of Chicago was so choked with emotion when she read from a prepared statement that her words were barely understandable at times.
Starsiak expressed remorse for ever becoming involved in politics.
"I used to be proud that from my humble background I had become professionally and in some cases even personally acquainted with the most wealthy and powerful people in the state," she said. "Perhaps I was naïve in thinking that associating with important people... I automatically assumed legitimacy and integrity."
Starsiak said her volunteer efforts for several charitable organizations "makes all the glamor of the world of business and politics seem unimportant by comparison."
Manning could have sentenced Starsiak to up to 21 months in prison, but she imposed probation, citing the "absolute toll" the case had taken on her.
"I don't think any more punishment is going to do anything more in a positive way," the judge said.
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mo'connor@tribune.com