A former ComEd executive pleaded guilty to corruption charges Tuesday, helping the feds nab their first conviction in an ongoing criminal probe into a political bribery scheme that has implicated Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Fidel Marquez also has agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors, which could help him avoid prison time.
Marquez was among those implicated earlier this summer when federal prosecutors first filed a bribery charge against ComEd, alleging it sent $1.3 million to Madigan’s associates while hoping to land Madigan’s support for key legislation.
But earlier this month, prosecutors filed a separate document charging Marquez with a bribery conspiracy. They specifically pointed to a $37,500 payment Marquez made to an unnamed company in 2018, “a substantial portion of which was intended for” Madigan’s associates.
No other individuals have been criminally charged as part of the case. That includes Madigan, who has denied wrongdoing and is identified in documents not by name but as “Public Official A,” who could “serve as a very powerful and persuasive force to move legislation forward.”
The allegations have now become the focus of a special legislative committee in Springfield that was set to meet just one hour after Marquez’s scheduled court appearance Tuesday.
An attorney for ComEd has entered a formal “not guilty” plea in the company’s criminal case, but the utility admitted to much of the conduct in a three-year deferred-prosecution agreement. If ComEd abides by its terms, the bribery charge filed in July eventually will be dismissed.
ComEd is also expected to pay a $200 million fine — believed to be the largest criminal fine ever in Chicago’s federal court.
Marquez, 58, served as ComEd’s senior vice president of governmental and external affairs from March 2012 to September 2019. In a divorce proceeding earlier this year, Marquez testified that, “mid-September 2019, I was informed that I would be retiring.” He later added, “It wasn’t subject to further discussion.”
ComEd first acknowledged it had received a grand jury subpoena from federal prosecutors a few months earlier. In October 2019, it disclosed a second subpoena as well as a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation. Anne Pramaggiore also retired as senior executive vice president and CEO of ComEd’s parent company, Exelon, in October 2019.
Though Marquez was not named in ComEd’s deferred-prosecution agreement, the Chicago Sun-Times has identified him as one of the key players in the document. It said a Madigan ally — identified by the Sun-Times as Mike McClain — told Marquez in May 2018 why ComEd was funneling money through a consulting company to pay some of Madigan’s associates.
McClain allegedly explained that one of them was “one of the top three precinct captains” who also “trains people how to go door to door … so just to give you an idea how important the guy is.”
That comment came two months before prosecutors say Marquez made the $37,500 payment meant for Madigan’s associates. A consultant also allegedly told Marquez the next year that ComEd should not tamper with the arrangement because “your money comes from Springfield.”
A federal prosecutor said in court Tuesday the plan to funnel money to Madigan associates began before Marquez assumed role as senior vice president at ComEd. The prosecutor said Marquez agreed to move Madigan associates between companies and facilitate payments to them in an effort to influence Madigan, leading to that $37,500 payment.
Though U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland said sentencing guidelines would call for decades in prison for Marquez, the maximum sentence for the crime Marquez pleaded guilty to is five years in prison.
However, his agreement to help the feds could lead to prosecutors asking a judge to give him probation.
