Audio Transcript

Mollie Halpern: Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich reports to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on March 15 to begin his prison term on 18 felony counts of corruption.

Daniel W. Cain: Corruption is a priority for the FBI.

Halpern: I’m Mollie Halpern of the FBI, and this is Gotcha. The former governor’s close associate, John Wyma, came forward with information that Blagojevich was trading state official actions for campaign contributions. The FBI used court-authorized microphones and wiretaps to gather evidence against Blagojevich. Case agent Daniel Cain listened in on the criminal conversations…

Cain: They were talking about Blagojevich using his power as governor to appoint a U.S. senator to the seat vacated by President-Elect Barack Obama in exchange for benefits for himself.

Halpern: The Blagojevich investigation involved FBI special agents as well as many of the FBI’s law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Blagojevich received a 14-year sentence—the longest ever imposed on a former governor in the Northern District of Illinois.

This is the FBI’s closed case of the week.