- Former Illinois Rep. William “Sam” McCann pleaded guilty to nine felonies, including wire fraud, money laundering and tax evasion, abruptly ending his federal corruption trial Thursday.
- The guilty plea came after McCann fired his public defender and reversed the decision on the third day of the court trial.
- McCann’s lawyer asked for his release, but the judge rejected that idea and gave him the option of making an unconditional public statement.
Former Illinois congressman and gubernatorial candidate William “Sam” McCann suddenly pleaded guilty Thursday to nine felony counts of wire fraud, money laundering and tax evasion for misappropriating up to $550,000 in campaign contributions. A federal corruption trial was canceled.
McCann, who fired his public defender and broke off plea negotiations last fall, made the reversal on the third day of his trial before U.S. District Judge Colleen Lawless. His newest attorney, Jason Vincent of Springfield, asked to have him released from custody as part of the deal, but Lawless rejected the idea, leaving his only option to make an unconditional public statement. he told McCann.
Seven counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. There are three cases of tax evasion. But Lawless’s complex set of recommended guidelines, which set his June 20 sentencing date, will likely result in a much shorter sentence.
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“Are you pleading guilty because you’re actually guilty?” Lawless asked. “Yes, sir,” replied McCann, 54, wearing a gray and black striped jumpsuit from the nearby county jail where he was being held.
Former Republican Illinois State Senator Sam McCann speaks at the state Capitol on March 5, 2018 in Springfield, Illinois. On Thursday, McCann suddenly pleaded guilty in federal court to nine counts of wire fraud, money laundering and tax evasion. (Erin Brown/Chicago Sun-Times, Associated Press, File)
Lawless set a hearing for Friday on McCann’s request for release, not only because McCann violated his probation when he left the state last week to be hospitalized after complaining of chest pains, but also because the government It is certain to invite opposition. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Bass told Lawless that as further evidence of McCann’s unreliability, McCann posted this week alleging a government conspiracy against him involving “an ungodly mass of lies.” He said he would introduce some bizarre social media videos.
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McCann, who served in the state Senate from 2011 to 2019, formed the Illinois Conservative Party in preparation for the 2018 gubernatorial race. The 2021 criminal indictment outlines a number of schemes in which McCann used donations from the election commission to buy cars, pay off overdue loans and pay off two mortgages. , the credit will be applied to his card bills and to fund family vacations, entertainment, and other purchases.
He raised more than $3 million from Local 150 of the International Federation of Driving Engineers alone as compensation for his unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign. Despite being questioned four times in the summer of 2018 by FBI and IRS agents on suspicion of improper spending, he spent the remaining $340,000 in campaign funds on his personal expenses the year after the election.
McCann’s trial was postponed multiple times. On the day the case was supposed to begin last November, McCann fired his public defender and announced he would represent himself, telling reporters afterward that “God understood this.” Proceedings were reset for Feb. 5, but McCann did not attend, and he sent an email over the weekend saying he was in a St. Louis-area hospital.
Lawless, who returned to court on February 12, grilled McCann when he said he was “medically and psychologically” unable to go to trial and had ceded control of the defense to Vincent. did.
At that point, McCann told the judge that the incident occurred after he was released from the hospital on Feb. 7, including driving 55 miles from his home to Springfield last Friday to surrender to avoid probation guidelines. He said he doesn’t remember much of it. The pickup truck he was driving matched the description of the vehicle the indictment says he used $60,000 in campaign funds to partially purchase.
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The video was posted on Instagram Tuesday while McCann was in jail. McCann, who was driving a truck-like vehicle, told viewers he was innocent of the charges. He claimed that an “Orwellian” government tried to pursue him for failing to cooperate with other investigations, and claimed that McCann’s relationship with then-House of Commons Speaker Michael Madigan was “unholy” for “election fraud”. He brought up extravagant stories about the investigation into the “Alliance.”
“I didn’t play ball. They came back to me and said, ‘Okay, I’ll leave it to you,'” McCann said in the video. “And if you just tell us what we want to hear, we’ll stop digging. And I’m like, ‘No, I’m not going to tell you what you want to hear. I’m going to tell you the truth.’ said.”
So federal agents continued their investigation and were able to turn “everything I’ve ever touched” into a “conspiracy for evil,” McCann said.
