Federal appeals court orders Thompson released from prison
(Published Friday, April 6, 2007 10:29:20 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By Ryan J. Foley Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. - A former state worker whose fraud conviction became a political football in last fall's race for Wisconsin governor won her freedom Thursday when a federal appeals court acquitted her on the spot and ordered her released from prison.
After oral arguments Thursday, the three-judge panel of the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago vacated Georgia Thompson's conviction and ordered her immediate release from the Illinois prison she entered in November.
Gov. Jim Doyle praised the decision, calling it an "extraordinary action" in a criminal case.
"This conviction was a terrible injustice," he said. "Georgia Thompson is an innocent woman who was imprisoned for more than four months just for doing her job."
Thompson, a former purchasing supervisor for the Department of Administration, was convicted by a jury last summer on fraud charges alleging she steered a travel contract to a company whose chief executive donated to Doyle's re-election campaign.
In arguments Thursday, the appeals judges called the charges against Thompson unfounded.
"It strikes me that your evidence is beyond thin," Judge Diane Wood told prosecutors. "I'm not sure what your actual theory in this case is."
Acting on the appeals panel's order, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa in Milwaukee - the same judge who refused Thompson's request to remain free pending the outcome of her appeal - ordered her released on her own recognizance and said she could move back to Wisconsin.
The appeals court did not immediately issue a formal ruling explaining its decision.
An acquittal will be stayed for 14 days to allow prosecutors to appeal if they wish, but a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic in Milwaukee called an appeal unlikely.
Tammy Jones, spokeswoman for the prison in Pekin, Ill., said Thompson was released Thursday afternoon.
Thompson's lawyer, Stephen Hurley, said prosecutors charged Thompson with conduct that did not constitute a crime.
"It cost Georgia her job, her life savings, her home and her liberty, and it cost Georgia her good name," Hurley said.
He noted prosecutors asked for a lengthy prison sentence because Thompson did not accept responsibility.
"Today, the government ought to accept responsibility for the consequences of its acts," he said.
Thompson did not plan to make any statement, Hurley said Thursday night.
Republicans last fall cited the case in television ads to question the ethics of Doyle, who wound up defeating Republican Mark Green. But the governor said he never met Thompson and neither he nor his aides pressured her.
Doyle on Thursday denounced "sensationalized media reports and partisan political attacks" directed at him and Thompson. He said the state would look into paying her legal fees and that she can have her job back if she desires.
"Can you imagine the horror of this? She's doing her job and then she gets caught up in all this," he said. "Millions and millions of dollars were spent by my political opponents trying to make this woman appear to be a terrible criminal."
The Democratic governor declined to criticize Biskupic, who was appointed by President Bush, for bringing the charges, but he said no one did anything wrong.
Prosecutors said Thompson rigged the bidding process to ensure a contract to book travel for state employees went to Adelman Travel Group.
The Glendale firm's CEO gave the maximum $10,000 to Doyle before and after winning the contract, and a board member gave an additional $10,000. Prosecutors tried to paint a cozy relationship between Doyle's administration and Adelman that led to pressure on Thompson.
Thompson was accused of using her position on a seven-member committee that evaluated proposals for the contract worth up to $750,000 to book travel for state employees to ensure Adelman won.
Other committee members testified they believed Omega World Travel was the winner after an initial evaluation showed the firm ahead of Adelman by 21 points on a 1,200-point scale.
They said Thompson told them Adelman needed to get the contract for unspecified political reasons and she pushed for a tiebreaker that ended with Adelman winning.
Thompson maintained her innocence and said she was unaware of the company's political ties.
Her lawyers argued the case was based on speculation and lacked evidence that she was pressured to favor Adelman or that she personally benefited.
After she was convicted in June, Randa sentenced her to 18 months in prison, which until Thursday would have kept her behind bars until March 2008.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Jacobs, a spokeswoman for Biskupic, said an appeal was unlikely based on the court's skeptical questioning but said she could not say for certain until she sees its decision.
She defended the decision to go after Thompson, who colleagues called a model civil servant.
"We convinced a grand jury to issue the indictment, we convinced a jury of 12 of her guilt, we had convinced Judge Randa of her guilt, but we did not convince the appeals court," she said. "We respect the appeals court's decision and commend the work her lawyers did on appeal."
Prosecutors said she acted to make her bosses look good and to increase her own job security. But her lawyers said she had job protections as a civil servant and wasn't political.
Thompson testified that the tiebreaker, known as a best-and-final offer, is a routine step to drive down costs and Adelman had the lowest bid in the end.
During oral arguments Thursday, Hurley said the charges of misapplication of funds and honest services fraud were beyond a stretch.
"The bottom line is there is nothing in the indictment that charges that she even knew about the political contributions and certainly nothing in the evidence," he said.
Appellate Judges Wood, Frank Easterbook and William Bauer seemed to agree.
Wood said the prosecution's case was built on Doyle's receiving donations and speaking at the company's anniversary party, which she called typical political behavior.
She called the evidence "a pretty thin set of facts to show some tight political relationship between Governor Doyle and the people who owned Adelman Travel."
"Am I missing something here?" she asked.
Shortly after the hearing, they announced their decision.
Summary APPEAL ACQUITTAL: A federal appeals court in Chicago heard oral arguments Thursday and then acquitted former state purchasing supervisor Georgia Thompson on charges that she illegally steered a state contract to a company whose CEO donated to Gov. Jim Doyle's re-election campaign.
BACKGROUND: The case became a political football in last fall's election campaign when it was used by Doyle's opponents to allege ethical lapses in the Democratic governor's administration.
WHAT'S NEXT: Doyle says Thompson, freed from prison Thursday, can have her old job back if she wants it and may also be entitled to back pay and legal fees.
