By AP/KWMU
Chicago – Former Illinois Governor George Ryan's closest political advisor, Scott Fawell, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of mail fraud in a deal with federal prosecutors. They agreed to drop five other fraud charges against him.
Fawell also agreed to cooperate in the government's ongoing corruption investigation, which has reached as high as the former governor.
Fawell is already serving a six-and-a-half-year racketeering sentence, and he's been under pressure from prosecutors who want information about Ryan. Fawell has said he knows nothing.
Under the deal, which still requires a judge's approval, Fawell won't be sentenced until after Ryan's racketeering trial. That's expected to start next year.
Fawell would get a maximum sentence of three-and-a-half years to run concurrent with the sentence he's already serving.