(The Center Square) – “ComEd 4” trial defense attorney Patrick Cotter sought to flip the script late Thursday as the third week of testimony in the wide-ranging federal corruption probe came to an end, accusing the government of engaging in some of the same ruthless tactics they have used to define former House Speaker Mike Madigan early in the proceedings.
With prosecution star witness Fidel Marquez still on the stand for a fourth consecutive day at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse, Cotter peppered Marquez with questions designed to leave jurors wondering if federal agents coerced him into being a government witness.
“Was there any fear and intimidation in the back seat of that FBI car?” Cotter asked Marquez about an early-morning moment in 2019 when federal agents confronted him at his mother’s house, eventually placing him in the backseat of a patrol car that he didn’t leave before signing on to become a government witness and agreeing to secretly wear a wire when he spoke with most anyone with ties to the utility giant.
Cotter is representing longtime Madigan associate and former lobbyist Michael McClain in the high-stakes proceedings where former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, ex-ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and former City Club of Chicago head Jay Doherty are also facing charges that include being part of a pay-for-play scheme to steer jobs, cash and other perks to Madigan loyalists in exchange for the state’s most powerful lawmaker pushing legislation in Springfield that aligned with the company’s vision.
All four of the defendants have pleaded not guilty, while Madigan and McClain are slated to go to trial early next spring in a widening corruption case that includes elements of the ComEd scandal.
On Thursday, Cotter made it a point of stressing that the 61-year-old Marquez could have faced life in prison if convicted in connection with the plot, but prosecutors now plan to recommend that he serve no jail time in light of his cooperation.
“So the government offered something you wanted – not to die in prison – and you offered something they wanted, your testimony,” he said, adding “that wasn’t a bribe was it?”
Marquez is slated to be back on the stand when the proceedings resume on Monday.
