Federal prosecutors are seeking a 15-month prison sentence for Jay Doherty, the former president of the City Club civic organization convicted for his role in a lengthy plot to illegally influence then-Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan.
The feds made their recommendation in a 32-page memo filed Tuesday night. In it, they argued that Doherty was crucial to the plan to funnel money to allies of Madigan’s, because Doherty understood the reasons behind it and served as the primary intermediary.
“In short, Doherty played a critical role in helping his longtime client engage in a bribery scheme that spanned eight years, with full knowledge of the reason for the sham payments,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker wrote.
Doherty is the last of the four ComEd defendants set to face sentencing before U.S. District Judge Manish Shah. So far, the judge has given an 18-month prison sentence to former top ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and two years behind bars to ex-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore.
Longtime Madigan friend and confidant Michael McClain is set to be sentenced Thursday. Doherty’s sentencing is Aug. 5. His defense attorney had not filed a memo on his behalf as of Wednesday morning.
Streicker argued Tuesday that Doherty was the least culpable of the four. However, she also wrote that the 15 months recommended for Doherty “is significantly less than what the government otherwise would have recommended for Doherty absent the sentences already imposed upon Doherty’s codefendants.”
McClain, Pramaggiore and Hooker used Doherty’s consulting firm as one of several go-betweens to funnel $1.3 million to five Madigan allies over eight years, with the hope that Madigan would look more kindly at ComEd’s legislative agenda.
Madigan was convicted earlier this year, in part for his role in the ComEd conspiracy. Last month, U.S. District Judge John Blakey sentenced him to 7 ½ years in prison.
Madigan’s allies did hardly any work for ComEd. Doherty said as much during a secretly recorded Feb. 13, 2019, conversation he had with then-ComEd executive Fidel Marquez. By then, the FBI had convinced Marquez to wear a wire in a bid to avoid prison.
A new CEO had also taken the helm at ComEd — Joseph Dominguez, who had once served as a federal prosecutor in Philadelphia.
Marquez said he had to explain the situation with Madigan’s allies to Dominguez, and he asked Doherty, “Do they do anything? Or, what do they do? What do you have ‘em doing?”
“Not much, to answer the question,” Doherty told him. “Not much.”
Doherty continued his explanation, asking Marquez, “Your money comes from Springfield. ComEd money, right? I mean, for the most part.”
“My bottom line advice would be, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ with those guys,” Doherty said. “I don’t think, you know, you’ve been around the game and, you know, again, Madigan doesn’t ask. I never, ever once had a conversation with Mike about these people. But I know that, I have every reason to believe, that McClain has.”
Doherty told Marquez that “they keep their mouth shut. … Do they do anything for me on a day-to-day basis? No.”
Finally, in an apparent reference to Dominguez, Doherty said, “That may be tough for a guy from out of this town to swallow or whatever, but man, I don’t think I’d change it. I, I know I wouldn’t change it.”
Meanwhile, Hooker and McClain painted Doherty as the potential fall-guy in the conspiracy. During a Feb. 11, 2019, phone call recorded by the FBI, McClain told Hooker that “we don’t have to worry about whether” a Madigan ally was doing any work for ComEd.
“That’s up to Jay Doherty to prove that,” McClain said.
“That’s right,” Hooker confirmed.