Powerbroker William Cellini Suffers Heart Attack

William Cellini, the longtime Illinois powerbroker convicted of conspiring to shake down a Hollywood producer for a contribution to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's campaign, is recovering from a heart attack he suffered earlier this week.

A family spokesman says Cellini, who faces a 30-year prison sentence, was released Wednesday from Springfield's Memorial Medical Center, where he suffered the heart attack Monday during a medical procedure.

A stress test and an angioplasty showed two blockages in an artery leading from the heart.

After the major blockage was treated with the insertion of a stent, a clot formed or was dislodged and caused another blockage, precipitating the heart attack. After the clot was controlled, another stent was placed in Cellini's heart.

The 77-year-old Cellini had been experiencing fatigue and difficulty breathing in recent months, said spokesman Richard Ciccone. Cellini has been ordered to rest, will begin a rehabilitation program and undergo more testing. He has been under a cardiologist's care since 1996 when he also suffered a heart attack.

A federal jury convicted Cellini last November of conspiring to shake down the Oscar-winning producer of "Million Dollar Baby" for a contribution to imprisoned former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's campaign.

Last week, U.S. District Judge James Zagel denied Cellini's motion to throw out the verdicts and order a retrial.

Zagel rejected defense claims that prosecutors improperly tried to exclude African-Americans as jurors. The judge says there's no evidence prosecutors tried to do that.

Cellini's sentencing is expected to be later this year, though Zagel hasn't yet fixed a date.

Cellini, a Springfield Republican, was once known as the King of Clout in Illinois for the influence he wielded in the corridors of state power.

Copyright Associated Press

Copyright Associated Press

Related Topics Rod Blagojevich, William Cellini, Heart Attack

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