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Illinois' New Eliot Ness Bags Another Scalp

From twin towers to Valerie Plame, Fitzgerald is relentless

By Jason Farago, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 10, 2008 8:12 AM CST

(Newser) – With the arrest of Rod Blagojevich, federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald notched up his second indictment against an Illinois governor in five years. But it's just another scalp for the US attorney who's brought down everyone from World Trade Center bomber Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman to media mogul Conrad Black, not to mention Scooter Libby. "People see him as the only ally we have against political corruption," one activist told the New York Times.

Fitzgerald was born in Brooklyn and only moved to Chicago in 2001 when he was appointed federal prosecutor for northern Illinois—an area rich with targets for investigation. A longtime bachelor who often slept in his office, he married a local Head Start teacher earlier this year. And while Democrats have long coveted the possibility of appointing an attorney for Cook County, odds are that the Republican appointee will stay on.

[Images (4)]

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Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald leaves federal court in Washington, Tuesday, June 5, 2007, after former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was sentenced in the CIA leak investigation. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald talks about the criminal complaint against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges during a news conference in Chicago, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2008. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Patrick Fitzgerald speaks to reporters at the federal building in Chicago, Friday, July 13, 2007, following the convictions of former media mogul Conrad Black and three other co-defendants. (AP Photo/Jerry Lai)

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Patrick Fitzgerald announces the arrest and indictment of Rod Blagojevich at a press conference in Chicago. (shanklinmike)

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Illinois' New Eliot Ness Bags Another Scalp