Uh-oh…
A high-ranking official in Gov. Blagojevich’s office spent nearly two years in a federal prison for refusing to aid a government terrorism probe into a series of bombings in Chicago and New York City.
Steven Guerra, Blagojevich’s $120,000-a-year deputy chief of staff for community services, was identified by federal prosecutors as a member of the Puerto Rican separatist group, FALN, which was behind a wave of violence and killings in the 1970s and early 1980s.
In 1983, Guerra, now 53, was among five people convicted in New York of contempt of court for refusing to testify before a federal grand jury investigating the group. The felony conviction resulted in a three-year prison sentence for Guerra, who was released in 1986 after serving 23 months.
Federal prosecutors labeled Guerra and his four co-defendants “a danger to the community,” and said they advocated armed violence, kidnappings, hijackings and prison breaks in the name of a “free” Puerto Rico.
But, he did do his time behind bars, and as the governor’s spokesperson told the Sun-Times…
“If there was really evidence that he had been involved in criminal activity, undoubtedly the federal government would have aggressively pursued charges. Instead, he was charged with refusing to testify before a grand jury. He served his sentence,” she said. “And he’s had an excellent record in the social services community for nearly 20 years since then.”
There were a lot of very ugly allegations made against him by an informer that he wasn’t given an opportunity to rebut. Maybe they’re true, maybe not.
He claimed he had no info about the FALN before he was whistled in to testify. The government believed otherwise and had him sent to prison. His refusal to talk essentially made him the equivalant of a terrorist enabler in the government’s eyes.
We need some questions answered.
Has Guerra solemnly renounced all violence and taken a vow to oppose any and all FALN-related activities? How does he respond to the allegations made by the government’s informer, who is now in the witness protection program? Does he believe now that he should have testified back then, or would he do the same thing over again?
I also wonder if Gov. Blagojevich has ever asked this guy if he’s renounced his past. If Guerra has not completely broken with his former beliefs and Blagojevich hasn’t even bothered to ask him about it, then we have a very serious problem here indeed. Frankly, having somebody like this working in the governor’s office doesn’t sit well with me even if he has broken all ties to terrorists. But we need more answers first.
If the governor and Guerra stay mum, I believe we need a full legislative investigation of this matter. And not a sideshow hearing, either. What’s required here is a sober, fact-finding investigation, with full subpoena power, to get to the bottom of this troubling issue.
Both Guerra and Blagojevich have some explaining to do. Now.
*** UPDATE *** You can find the appellate decision that upheld Guerra’s conviction here.
*** UPDATE 2 *** The Sun-Times has Guerra’s sentencing memorandum posted online. Download it here.
It’s a big file, so I’ve broken it down into a few smaller items…
* In this part, the FBI claims it has “received information from a person who was spoken to by a person actually present” (kind of a stretch) that Guerra said at a meeting, “The right of our country to its independence, was not to be discussed with words, but with bullets. For believing this, we came to be branded as terrorists.”
* Here’s most of the dirt the feds claimed it had on Guerra, provided by a single informer who is now in the witness protection program.
* The government claims in this section that Geurra and his cohorts’ silence has “given the FALN a free hand to engage in terrorist bombings with no questions asked and with impunity — which is exactly what they intended.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** From Abby Ottenhoff…
I talked to Steven about the questions you posed. Below is my response based on his answers…
Not only does he renounce violence and criminal activities by FALN, but he has never been involved with the organization. The only suggestion that he was involved or had knowledge of the group came from hearsay statements made by a convicted felon. If there was any factual basis to those claims, the federal government would certainly have pressed charges. There were no facts and there were no charges.
He served his sentence for not cooperating, and he doesn’t regret his decision to follow his conscience.
*** UPDATE 4 *** From U.S. Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez…
“For more than twenty years, Steven has worked hard to ensure that our community has access to quality healthcare and good schools. He has done excellent work at numerous community based organizations in Chicago, and has been an effective and exemplary employee of the State of Illinois. I know that Steven will continue to build on his strong track record of public service.
“Nearly a quarter-of-a-century ago, Steven made what he considered a principled decision, and he paid a heavy price for that decision. He was never charged with involvement in any criminal activity, and, in the subsequent years, he has worked tirelessly and selflessly to build and better our community. I have known Steven for a long time. He is a good man who cares about making our state a better place to live.”
*** UPDATE 5 *** From CBS2…
State Rep. Greg Harris, vice-chair of the Homeland Security House Committee, is calling for an investigation.
“I’m not an attorney,” Harris said. ”I want to be very sure of the legal grounds upon which we stand, but there’s clearly enough here for cause for concern and for us to pursue it in some depth.”
And click on this photo for the Sun-Times’ Saturday follow-up…
