Feds say crucial witness against Michael Madigan gave false answer while trying to buy gun

A crucial witness in the investigation that led to the indictment of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan gave a false answer about the criminal charge hanging over his head as he tried to buy a gun earlier this month, federal prosecutors disclosed Friday.

Fidel Marquez did not succeed in purchasing the firearm, and no new criminal charges appear to have been filed against him. He has also previously been allowed to possess firearms while awaiting sentencing on the bribery conspiracy charge he pleaded guilty to in 2020.

However, prosecutors have asked U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland for a hearing in early April so they can fill her in on “additional information” they’ve gathered. They’ve also asked her to “admonish” Marquez — in other words, give him a warning.

Marquez’s defense attorney did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

Prosecutors confirmed earlier this week that Marquez, a former ComEd executive, is expected to testify at Madigan’s trial, set for Oct. 8. He spent an entire week on the stand during last year’s ComEd bribery trial, in which four political insiders were convicted of a nearly decade-long conspiracy to bribe Madigan to benefit ComEd.

In a written status report Friday, prosecutors wrote that Marquez tried to purchase a firearm outside Illinois on March 8. They said he answered “no” when asked on a form if he was “under indictment or information in any court for a felony.” He also allegedly answered “no” when asked if he had “ever been convicted in any court … of a felony.”

Marquez was charged with bribery conspiracy for his role in the ComEd scheme in a document known as an information on Sept. 4, 2020. He pleaded guilty later that month.

The case was flagged when he tried to buy the gun this month, and the transaction did not go through, prosecutors say.

The feds also noted Friday that, when Marquez was first charged, it was known that he possessed two firearms. The conditions of release that were then set by a judge did not prohibit gun possession.

The FBI approached Marquez on Jan. 16, 2019, shared various recordings with him and convinced him to wear a wire on his colleagues. The recordings he made were used last year to help convict longtime Madigan confidant Michael McClain, ex-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and onetime City Club President Jay Doherty.

For example, in a secretly recorded phone call between Pramaggiore and Marquez on Feb. 18, 2019 — after Pramaggiore moved on from her job as ComEd’s CEO — Marquez told Pramaggiore that a group of Madigan-tied subcontractors “pretty much collect a check” and explained that messing with it could mean things go “bad for us in Springfield.”

Pramaggiore suggested he tell her successor that “it’s probably a good time to make a switch” but suggested he wait until after the end of the legislative session because they did not want someone to get “their nose out of joint.” Marquez testified last year that he believed she meant Madigan.

Meanwhile, Marquez’s cross-examination turned out to be one of the trial’s most dramatic moments. McClain, Pramaggiore, Hooker and Doherty watched as McClain’s defense attorney grilled him about his decision to work for the feds — and possibly avoid prison.

“You decided to become their worker,” Patrick Cotter demanded. “And make calls when they wanted to make calls, and go to meetings and tell lies they wanted you to tell.”

Marquez could be in for a similar experience when he takes the stand in Madigan’s trial. Prosecutors have promised to recommend no prison time for Marquez in exchange for his “full and truthful cooperation.”

But he’s not expected to be sentenced until that cooperation is complete.