Judge tells key witness in Madigan probe he handed ‘beautiful piece of ammunition’ to defense team by lying on gun application
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Former ComEd executive Fidel Marquez, a key witness in the upcoming racketeering trial of ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan, says he was just trying to buy a handgun last month to shoot rattlesnakes threatening his home in the Arizona desert when he inadvertently made false statements about his criminal status on federal paperwork.
While Marquez will not face any charges as a result of those falsehoods, a federal judge in Chicago on Friday bluntly told Marquez he’s essentially “given a really beautiful piece of ammunition to Madigan’s lawyers.”
“The thing that you have is your credibility — that’s it,” U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland told Marquez during a brief status hearing. “And you have now handed a gift to Madigan’s defense attorneys. It is a first year law student’s dream, basically, to do a cross-examination like this.”
Rowland said it’s easy to see the points Madigan’s high-powered legal team will try to score: “‘So you lie to get what you want? You wanted a gun that day, and you said what you had to say to get that gun?'”
“That’s the seriousness of this,” Rowland said.
Marquez, who currently lives in a sprawling, $1.5 million home outside Tucson, pleaded guilty to bribery conspiracy in September 2020 and testified during the “ComEd Four” trial last year about secret recordings he made during the FBI investigation. He could have faced years behind bars, but prosecutors have said they will ask for probation when Marquez is ultimately sentenced.
Lawyers for the ComEd four made Marquez’s credibility a front-and-center issue, and information that he lied on the federal application could certainly be fodder for the defense at Madigan’s trial in October.
The issue was revealed in a filing last month, where prosecutors said when Marquez attempted to purchase a gun from a retailer on March 8, he allegedly responded “no” on a questionnaire asking if he was “under indictment” … or part of any “information in any court for a felony.”
Marquez also responded “no” to another question asking if he’d ever been convicted of a felony, according to the filing. The mandatory review process flagged Marquez’s bribery case in Chicago and his attempt to purchase the gun was denied, prosecutors said.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago was notified of the issue several days later. On March 22, prosecutors asked for an in-person hearing so that they could provide additional information to the court and the judge could “admonish the defendant accordingly.”
Marquez, 62, ComEd’s onetime vice president of governmental affairs, was charged during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Friday’s hearing marked the only time he’s physically appeared in court on his own case.
He appeared dressed in a gray suit and dark-rimmed glasses and spoke only once during the 15-minute hearing, murmuring, “I understand” as the judge began her remarks about his credibility.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu told Rowland that prosecutors were aware at Marquez’s arraignment and guilty plea hearing in September 2020, which was held by telephone, that he already possessed two “long guns” his house, and he was allowed to keep them while free on bond.
Marquez’s lawyer, Chris Niewoehner, said Marquez used those guns for skeet shooting and hunting.
Last year, however, Marquez began noticing an uptick in rattlesnake activity near his home, which is situated at the edge of a desert nature preserve, Niewoehner said.
“There were more than ever, to the point where rattlesnakes were literally outside his front door or outside his garage where he exits,” Niewoehner said.
With that on his mind, Marquez “happened to go to a pawn store to buy some power tools” and saw a handgun for sale that he thought would be better for dealing with the snakes than the “snake stick” he’d already purchased, Niewoehner said.
The questionnaire he filled out was on a computer screen at the store. In ticking through the series of questions, Marquez was confused by the question of whether he was under indictment, which he is not, and mistakenly glossed over following language about facing any other felony charges, Niewoehner said.
“He checked the wrong box,” Niewoehner said. “Mr. Marquez appreciates very fully the mistake he made, and we are confident he will not make that mistake in the future.”
Bhachu told the judge that authorities in Arizona declined to pursue any criminal charges against Marquez.
In her remarks, Rowland said she’s sure that Marquez will be well-prepared to answer questions about the gun flap on cross-examination. But she also noted the seriousness of the conspiracy Marquez admitted participating in and the huge ramifications it’s had across Illinois.
“It is impossible to calculate impact it has on the voters and their trust in government,” Rowland said.
Marquez memorably testified in the “ComEd Four” case in March 2023 about his decision to cooperate after being confronted by the FBI at his mother’s house four years earlier.
He wound up providing crucial evidence of a scheme to steer $1.3 million in payments from ComEd to Madigan-approved subcontractors who did little or no work in a bid to win the speaker’s influence over the utility’s legislative agenda in Springfield.
The jury convicted Michael McClain, a former ComEd lobbyist and Madigan’s longtime confidant, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, John Hooker, a former ComEd executive and lobbyist, and Jay Doherty, a former ComEd contract lobbyist who served for years as president of the City Club civic organization. All four are awaiting sentencing.
McClain, meanwhile, is also facing trial with Madigan in October on the separate racketeering indictment. They have both pleaded not guilty.
