Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was scheduled to be sentenced on October 6th for multiple corruption charges. A federal judge delayed the sentencing today and did not set a new date.
U.S. District Judge James Zagel posted a three sentence notice today, saying that the sentencing date has been “stricken until further order by the court.”
In the same notice, Zagel also denied all motions filed by Blagojevich. After Blagojevich was found guilty in June , he asked for his convictions to be overturned and that a third trial be held. Zagel did not give a reason for why the sentencing date was postponed, but NPR reports that Judge Zagel may have decided to delay the sentencing because of the trial of William Cellini.
Cellini, who occasionally worked as a fundraiser for Blagojevich, is being charged for trying to shake down a Hollywood producer to raise money for the disgraced governor. Cellini’s trial is the last major trial which has stemmed from the federal investigation into Blagojevich.
When Blagojevich’s sentencing date does come around, he could receive up to 300 years in prison. Of course, Blago will likely get much less than that. Most legal experts are predicting that Rod Blagojevich will be sentenced to around 10 years.
Do you think Judge Zagel made the right choice by delaying the sentencing of Rod Blagojevich? Hasn’t this circus been going on long enough?
