(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The former federal prosecutor who secured a conviction against former Illinois governor George Ryan says jurors who considered Ed Burke’s fate were likely swayed by incriminating tapes authorities played at trial.
Jurors convicted Burke on Thursday after hearing evidence that included taped conversations between the powerful Chicago alderman and a government informant.
“The prosecutors, I think, tried to keep it pretty simple by just playing these tapes,” former assistant U.S. attorney Patrick Collins, now with the law firm of King & Spalding, told WBBM Newsradio.
“I do think it was the words of Mr. Burke on these tapes that kept it simple for the jury because criminal cases are all about intent. All that prosecutors really had to say was, ‘Listen to the words and you know what Mr. Burke intended.’”
Burke was accused of using his position on the Chicago City Council to steer business to his private law firm.
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