The feds’ star witness, Fidel Marquez, speaks at the trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan in Chicago.

CHICAGO — As the chief lobbyist for electric utility Commonwealth Edison, Fidel Marquez played a broad role that allowed him to manage “about 130 to 135 people.” But in June 2013, after more than a year on the job, Marquez received an email about a man he was supposed to supervise but had never heard of.

Marquez’s immediate supervisor, ComEd CEO Ann Pramaggiore, forwarded an email from the utility’s chief contract lobbyist Mike McClain asking him to switch a man named Ed Moody from his longtime lobbying contract to an “outsider.”

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Marquez then forwarded the letter back to McClain, asking, “Can you give me a hint?”

In a subsequent conversation, McClain told Marquez that Moody was “someone who was important to Mike Madigan,” the longtime speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, and that he had been paying Moody for a time under his lobbying contract with ComEd.

In fact, Moody was one of Madigan’s top poll workers in his 13th Democratic District on Chicago’s Southwest Side, Madigan’s political power base. And its multi-year subcontracting agreement with ComEd was one of several that were central to federal prosecutors’ theory that the utility bribed the powerful House speaker with jobs and contracts for his political allies in exchange for favorable legislation in Springfield.

Jurors already convicted McClain, Pramaggiore and two other former ComEd lobbyists last year for their roles in bribing Madigan, and Marquez became the star witness against his former colleagues in the ComEd Four case.

Marquez was charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and entered into a plea agreement saying he would cooperate with the government.

He agreed to record defendant McClain and others.

And on Tuesday, Marquez returned as a witness in the trial of Madigan and McClain, who face bribery and racketeering charges in a case outside ComEd involving a similar alleged scheme involving AT.&T and managing the business of Madigan’s private real estate law firm.

During Marquez’s testimony, which could last through the end of the week, jurors will see several videotaped encounters he had with his colleagues while he was wearing an FBI wire in the winter and spring of 2019. his cell phone was tapped when agents approached him early one morning in January that year. Jurors will also hear many calls resulting from wiretapping.

But on Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu focused on Marquez’s conversation with McClain in June 2013 and his actions after that.

McClain’s email about Moody said he could be moved to a contract with fellow contracts lobbyist Jay Doherty, who has lobbied Chicago and Cook County officials on behalf of ComEd for years. In a conversation with Marquez, McClain explained that Doherty had been similarly paying Madigan’s political allies under his lobbying contract for a time—which was also news to Marquez.

“You were senior vice president of government and external affairs at the time. Is it your job to know who gets paid to lobby?” asked Bhachu.

“Yes,” Marquez replied.

Live updates on the Mike Madigan case: Star witness testifies in trial of former Illinois House speaker

“Did you know up to this point that they were being paid under the JDDA contract?” Bhachu asked, using the acronym for Doherty’s firm, J.D. Doherty and Associates.

“No,” Marquez said.

Among Doherty’s two other subcontractors that Marquez was unaware of was former 13th District Ald. Frank Olivo and another of Madigan’s loyal precinct boss, Ray Nice.

Marquez on Tuesday said McClain told him that Nice was one of the “top three precinct captains” in the 13th District, and that Olivo, whom he had known years earlier when Marquez was lobbying the Chicago City Council, was a “political ally Mike Madigan.”

“Did he (McClain) tell you what kind of work he did for the company?” Bhachu asked Marquez and he said no.

After speaking with McClain, Marquez said he told Pramaggiora that he had been told everything on the matter and that he would move Moody from McClain’s contract to Doherty’s. But when he asked whether he should then lower McClain’s monthly rate to reflect that he was no longer carrying Moody, Marquez said Pramaggiore advised him to leave it “intact.”

“Has she ever expressed confusion about a request made to her?” asked Bhachu.

“No,” Marquez said.

Marquez then called Doherty about moving Moody to his contract, and on Tuesday he confirmed to Bhach that he had not given “any direction” to Doherty regarding the work that Moody – or Olivo or Nice – should perform on ComEd’s behalf.

“I didn’t expect them to do any work for ComEd because they were being paid for a service to Mike Madigan,” Marquez said when Bhachu asked him why.

Marquez also said ComEd leaders, including himself, agreed to the contracts to appease Madigan “so he would be more positive about ComEd’s legislative agenda.”

Beginning in 2011, Olivo was paid $4,000 a month and Nice $5,000. When Moody entered into his own subcontracting agreement in 2012, he was paid $4,500 a month.

Marquez said no when Bhachu asked if he expected Olivo or Nice to “do any work” for ComEd in exchange for their annual stipends of $48,000 and $60,000, respectively, and confirmed that he would never asked them to do some work for ComEd. utility.

“Was there ever any discussion about giving them a job?” asked Bhachu.

“No,” he replied.

Between 2011 and 2019, including two other Madigan allies who would eventually be added to other contracts, federal authorities allege ComEd paid more than $1.3 million for contractors who did “little to no work.”

Marquez acknowledged that turning a blind eye to underperforming contractors is a prerequisite for improving ComEd’s historically troubled relationship with Madigan. But he also said he took steps to head off potential ethics issues in late 2016 when Moody was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Moody was moved from Doherty’s contract to another lobbyist.

“There could be a case where Jay Doherty would have to lobby for Ed Moody to get paid on his contract,” Marquez said. “So that would create a clear conflict.”

Earlier Tuesday, jurors heard additional testimony from another longtime precinct supervisor, Madigan, who painted a picture of 30 years of door-to-door volunteer work he performed on behalf of the 13th District Speaker’s organization.

Joe Lullo, who retired after decades as a precinct captain in 2019 around the same time he left the Chicago Police Department, told jurors that at one point he was one of about 80 precinct commanders, each of which he was responsible for visiting several hundred houses regularly.

Lullo said he would knock on doors and ask if residents needed any city services, including “tree removal, tree trimming, curb repair, sidewalk repair, potholes… rodent control,” and sometimes just decide for himself problems. He made his rounds on weekends, weekends, and vacations.

And during election season, Lullo visited those same homes to ask residents to vote for Madigan and other Democrats endorsed by the speaker, leaving them with a palm card he called a “sample ballot” – a common political practice in Chicago and beyond.

Bhachu asked how Lullo convinced these residents to vote the way he wanted.

“My services throughout the year,” Lullo replied.

The longtime precinct captain also received help from Madigan during his decades of service in the 13th Precinct, including a recommendation that allowed him to move from working at the Cook County Jail to a more lucrative position with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office in the early 1990s.

A few years later, when he became a Chicago police officer, Madigan and Olivo called Lullo and told him he had been given an assignment to a special CPD unit that included “flexible hours, days off and days off,” Lullo said.

Lullo also testified that during his 30 years, he became acquainted with other site supervisors; some of them would be invited to Springfield every other year to attend the Illinois House commencement ceremony, sitting in the speaker’s box as one of Madigan’s guests.

Lullo confirmed that Moody and his twin brother Fred were among the most valuable precinct commanders in the 13th District, but also agreed with Madigan attorney Tom Breen’s assertion that they were both “braggarts.”

—Did you talk to them from time to time? – asked Brin.

“I tried not to,” Lullo said, drawing laughter from the courtroom, including from Madigan.

Bhachu tried to use Lullo’s dislike of the Moody brothers to undermine his previous testimony that he trusted Madigan’s political judgment so much that he didn’t feel the need to do his own research on the candidates the speaker endorsed.

– Do you trust his judgment? Bhachu asked after having just asked a series of questions about Madigan’s wisdom in appointing Moodys site captains.

“I trust Mr. Madigan,” Lullo responded.

The trial could last three months.

Report on the topic: How we got here

Opening statements begin in former House Speaker Mike Madigan’s corruption trial
Jury selection begins this week in the corruption trial against former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan.
ComEd to pay $200 million for federal bribery investigation; Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan implicated
House Speaker Michael Madigan polls the Democratic caucus on whether he should resign
House Select Committee Investigates Bribery Allegations against Michael Madigan Resulting from ComEd Investigation
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan Continues to Lose Support Amid ComEd Investigation Fallout
Mike Madigan resigns as chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party
Former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan indicted on bribery and racketeering charges
Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan faces charges of racketeering, bribery and more.
Mike Madigan has been charged with crimes commonly associated with the Chicago Mafia.
Michael Madigan indicted: Former House Speaker pleads not guilty in federal corruption case
Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan pleads not guilty to all charges in federal case
All defendants found guilty on all charges in ComEd 4 trial surrounding ex-Speaker Mike Madigan
The jury found Tim Mapes, Mike Madigan’s confidant, guilty of making false statements.
Lawyers for former Speaker Mike Madigan are asking the judge to dismiss 14 counts of the indictment, citing a recent SCOTUS decision.

ABC News contributed to this report.

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