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AT&T to pay $23M fine for bribing powerful lawmaker’s ally in exchange for vote

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2022/10/att-to-pay-23m-fine-for-bribing-powerful-lawmakers-ally-in-exchange-for-vote

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AT&T to pay $23M fine for bribing powerful lawmaker’s ally in exchange for vote | Ars Technica

« Madigan,» a Department of Justice press release said today. ««The investigation of AT&T Illinois is being resolved with a deferred prosecution agreement under which the company admitted it arranged for payments to be made to an ally of Madigan to influence and reward Madigan's efforts to assist AT&T Illinois with respect to legislation sought by the company,» the announcement said. « AT&T «admitted that in 2017 it arranged for an ally of Madigan to indirectly receive $22,500 in payments from the company». «AT&T allegedly used a lobbying firm as an intermediary to make the payment and disguise its true purpose.

« Former AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza was indicted on five charges as a result of the same investigation. «Madigan and McClain were previously indicted on racketeering and bribery charges. « Madigan, a Democrat, was House speaker for all but two years between 1983 and 2021, before resigning. « The original «22-count indictment accuses Madigan of leading for nearly a decade a criminal enterprise whose purpose was to enhance Madigan's political power and financial well-being while also generating income for his political allies and associates,» the Justice Department said in March.

AT&T pushed bill to end landline obligation

AT&T's payment was designed to influence a 2017 vote on Carrier of Last Resort legislation that «terminate AT&T Illinois' costly obligation to provide landline telephone services to all Illinois residents,» the deferred prosecution agreement says. In addition to the monetary penalty and its continued cooperation with the government, AT&T Illinois's obligations under the agreement include implementing a new compliance and ethics program and providing annual reports to the government regarding remediation and implementation of the program. If AT&T Illinois fails to completely fulfill each of its obligations under the agreement during the two-year term, the US Attorney's Office can initiate prosecution of the charged offense.

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