From the Sun-Times:

State Police reopen Blagojevich fund-raiser probe

November 10, 2007
BY CHRIS FUSCO AND DAVE MCKINNEY Staff Reporters
State Police said Friday they've reopened an investigation into whether a fund-raiser for Gov. Blagojevich might have illegally solicited a $25,000 contribution for the governor's campaign fund.
Lt. Scott Compton, a State Police spokesman, confirmed the matter "is now considered an ongoing investigation" after being closed some time ago. Compton declined to elaborate about what prompted the decision to reopen the probe or when that decision was made.

The investigation is based on a police report filed by North Side pharmacy owner Jatin Patel in 2005. That summer, Patel was notified by state officials that his pharmacy allegedly received more than $1.5 million in Medicaid-related overpayments — an accusation Patel has disputed.

In a recent interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, Patel said he was contacted by Blagojevich fund-raiser Harish Bhatt shortly after being notified about the Medicaid issue. Bhatt knew details about his pharmacy's plight, Patel said, and encouraged Patel to donate money to the governor's campaign fund so his pharmacy would be treated "fairly" by the Blagojevich administration.

Campaign records show Patel's company, Sarj USA Inc., gave $25,000 to the governor's campaign fund June 27, 2005.

But Patel canceled the check within a few weeks, records show, and filed the police report. Patel said he took those actions because he suspected the solicitation might be inappropriate and wanted to document it. He also said he thought Bhatt was acting without the knowledge of the governor or anybody on his staff.

An attorney for Bhatt indicated in a statement that Patel's allegations are "absolutely false" and "defamatory."

Doug Scofield, a Blagojevich campaign spokesman, said that if Bhatt made such statements, they were not at the governor's behest. "That would never be condoned or encouraged in any way," Scofield said.