All In The Family: Maine Mother & Son Charged in Massive Drug Bust

Jurors Begin Deliberations In Trial Of Former AT&T Chief Accused Of Bribing Michael Madigan

The former head of AT&T Illinois bribed then-state House Speaker Michael J. Madigan to land the "white whale" that the utility and its top executive "had desperately wanted for the better part of a decade," a federal prosecutor told jurors Tuesday.

But a defense attorney for former AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza insisted, "This was no bribe."

Now, a jury of eight women and four men is tasked with deciding whether La Schiazza entered into a corrupt deal at the Illinois State Capitol in 2017. The panel began deliberating Tuesday after hearing three hours of closing arguments in La Schiazza's bribery trial.

The jury took up the case around 2:40 p.M. And left the courthouse for the day at 4:10 p.M. It is expected to resume deliberations at 9 a.M. Wednesday.

Prosecutors say La Schiazza bribed Madigan by steering $22,500 over nine months to former state Rep. Edward "Eddie" Acevedo, a Madigan ally and fellow Southwest Side Democrat, while AT&T Illinois was trying to pass legislation it believed was worth millions to its bottom line.

Madigan faces his own separate indictment, including charges related to the AT&T allegations, and is set for trial Oct. 8.

Defense attorney Tinos Diamantatos mocked the prosecutors' case in his closing argument Tuesday, referring to the feds' "dark and stormy night" interpretation of evidence and at one point calling his client "Mr. Unethical Bribester." The reality, he said, is that there is no evidence that La Schiazza exchanged Acevedo's money for AT&T's legislative success.

"That's the critical piece in this case, and that's what's missing," Diamantatos said.

But assistant U.S. Attorneys Sushma Raju and Timothy Chapman said that very exchange is revealed in emails La Schiazza sent weeks after AT&T Illinois' bill became law — and after Madigan's son reached out asking for a donation to a nonprofit.

La Schiazza griped to a colleague at the time that such requests "will be endless" and "we are on the friends and family plan now."

"That's the Madigan friends and family plan," Raju insisted Tuesday. She called the emails an "after-the-fact discussion of what [La Schiazza] did and why he did it."

"It's not building goodwill," Raju said. "It's not just kissing up to Madigan. These are acknowledgments that [La Schiazza] and AT&T were of the mindset that they needed to bribe Madigan" to move their bill forward.

Jurors heard from more than a dozen witnesses over four days of testimony. No one at AT&T Illinois was particularly interested in hiring Acevedo after his retirement from the Legislature in 2017, jurors were told.

However, that attitude changed with a request from longtime lobbyist Michael McClain, according to trial testimony.

The request came at a time when AT&T Illinois sought to secure a key legislative victory that had eluded it for years. The utility hoped to finally end its costly obligation to provide landline phone service to all Illinois residents.

It was known as its Carrier of Last Resort, or COLR, obligation.

Meanwhile, La Schiazza saw Madigan as all-powerful in Springfield. Emails showed that he referred to the speaker as "King Madigan" and complained that "the system is rigged."

McClain was widely seen as Madigan's emissary at the Capitol. And after McClain reached out seeking a job for the recently retired Acevedo, La Schiazza asked his team to "move quickly."

AT&T Illinois funneled the payments to Acevedo through a firm belonging to lobbyist Tom Cullen. A separate AT&T lobbyist, Stephen Selcke, said he suggested such an arrangement because Republicans had promised to vote against AT&T if it hired Acevedo.

The COLR bill became law around July 1, 2017, with Madigan's support. The request from Madigan's son, Andrew Madigan, came less than two weeks later.

Diamantatos questioned Tuesday whether Madigan even knew about the job for Acevedo. And he noted that, at one point, La Schiazza wrote in an email he wanted to make sure AT&T had "legal approval to engage [Acevedo] this way."

The defense attorney also insisted that, to agree with prosecutors, jurors would have to believe that Madigan ignored political considerations and changed his position on a bill because of a nine-month, $22,500 contract for Acevedo.

However, Chapman stressed to jurors that a bribe doesn't need to be successful to be criminal. And he said AT&T Illinois' lobbying team was "far too savvy" to hire Acevedo if it would alienate Republicans and endanger its bill.

The only way Acevedo's hiring made sense, Chapman said, is if it was "100% linked to COLR."

Beluga Whale Alleged To Be A Russian 'Spy' May Have Been Killed By Gunshot Wounds, Animal Rights Groups Say

The death of a beloved white beluga whale in Norway might turn into an assassination investigation after some animal rights groups are alleging he was shot.

The whale, called Hvaldimir (a combination of the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin) gained public attention in the country in 2019 when he was spotted wearing a custom harness that included camera mounts, which caused some people to believe that the Russian military had trained him.

OneWhale, a non-profit organization "committed to protecting Hvaldimir and relocating him to a wild population of belugas," announced the whale's death in an Instagram post on Wednesday, Aug. 4.

"Our beloved Hvaldimir was shot to death," text over a reel of photos of the whale read. "There are no words for this heinous crime. We will not allow it to be covered up."

"Hvaldimir, the Beloved 'Spy' Whale, Shot to Death in Norway. OneWhale and NOAH seek criminal investigation, filing a police report to the Sandnes Police District and the Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime," the caption of the reel began.

"This action was taken based on compelling evidence that the whale was killed by gunshot wounds. Several veterinarians, biologists, and ballistics experts have reviewed evidence of Hvaldimir's injuries, determining that the whale's death was the result of a criminal act."

The reel contained photographs of what appeared to be holes in a lifeless whale's body, surrounded by blood.

PEOPLE has reached out to Southwestern Police District (SPD) in Norway for comment on the matter.

The SPD confirmed to CNN on Wednesday, Sept. 4 that it had received a request to investigate Hvaldimir's death but hadn't yet determined if it would open an inquiry.

Southwestern Police District Superintendent Victor Fenne-jensen declined to comment on whether the SPD had looked into the rumors that Hvaldimir was a trained Russian spy.

n this photo taken in April 2019 a beluga whale found in Arctic Norway swims next to a vessel.

Jorgen Ree Wiig, Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries via AP

"I don't think we've had a case like this before," he told the news outlet, adding that the whale was "kind of a celebrity."

An organization called Marine Mind said in a Facebook post it found the whale on Aug. 31 but wanted to "refrain from speculation" about Hvaldimir's death until the Veterinary Institute released its findings about it.

"The Veterinary Institute has not yet released the results from its investigations. When we found Hvaldimir on Saturday, it was not possible to immediately determine the cause of death, and therefore it is important to refrain from speculation until the institute has completed its work. Until then, we hope people stick to the established facts," the statement began.

"We do not wish to contribute to public speculation, but we are directly assisting with what we can offer to those working to determine the cause of Hvaldimir's death. Until the cause of death is established by those responsible for the investigation, temporary assumptions will not be useful for anything other than publicity," it concluded.

Per the Associated Press (AP) The Norwegian public broadcaster NRK reported that Hvaldimir's carcass was found floating in Risavika Bay in southern Norway on Aug. 31 by a father and son on a fishing trip. The dead whale was lifted out of the water with a crane.

Sebastian Strand, a marine biologist who examined Hvaldimir after he was lifted out of the water told NPK (via the AP): "Unfortunately, we found Hvaldimir floating in the sea. He has passed away but it's not immediately clear what the cause of death is."

Strand added that there were no major external injuries visible on the carcass, per the AP.

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Before his death, OneWhale and NOAH had been working together to get him to a safer area in Northern Norway and had reportedly obtained permits from the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries.

In 2019, Jorgen Ree Wiig, a marine biologist at Norway's Directorate of Fisheries, told CNN that Hvaldimir's harness appeared to be custom and had "mounts for GoPro cameras on each side of it."

The harness clips also reportedly read "Equipment St. Petersburg," which fueled rumors that Hvaldimir was trained to be a spy by the Russian navy, CNN said.

Beluga Whale Accused Of Being A Russian Spy Feared Shot To Death

Hvaldimir the white beluga whale appears to be smiling in this picture. The animal was found dead ... [+] over the weekend.

One Whale

Animal rights advocates have filed a police report in Norway seeking a criminal investigation into the death of Hvaldimir, the beluga whale famously suspected of spying for Russia after being spotted wearing a harness fitted with a camera mount and a buckle labeled "Equipment St. Petersburg." The animal was found dead off the Norwegian coast on Saturday, devastating conservationists and fans worldwide who'd followed his unusual story and grown attached to his playful spirit.

While the local veterinary institute conducting the autopsy has yet to reveal definitive results, preliminary findings indicate the whale died by gunshot, according to the two organizations that filed the police report: nonprofit One Whale and Norwegian animal rights organization NOAH.

"The injuries on the whale are alarming and of a nature that cannot rule out a criminal act—it is shocking," Siri Martinsen, a veterinarian and leader of NOAH, said in a statement shared via email on Wednesday. "Given the suspicion of a criminal act, it is crucial that the police are involved quickly. Hvaldimir was significant to many, and all facts must be brought to light regarding his death."

Veterinarians, biologists and ballistics experts have reviewed close-up photos of Hvaldimir's injuries, the statement says, and "their assessments strongly suggest that the whale's death was the result of a criminal act, prompting the need for immediate police involvement."

One Whale and NOAH submitted their report to the Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime and the Sandnes Police District, which said in a statement it will now evaluate the filing to determine whether there is "reasonable reason to initiate an investigation." Martinsen clarified in a subsequent email that the organizations submitted the report based on two Norwegian laws, the Nature Diversity Act and Animal Welfare Act.

"When I saw his body and the multiple injuries, I immediately knew he had been killed by gunshots," Regina Haug, founder of One Whale, said in the statement. "I even saw a bullet lodged in his body. There is no question that this kind, gentle animal was senselessly murdered. We will pursue justice for Hvaldimir and hope that someone comes forward with information about his killing."

One Whale has made it its mission to safeguard Hvaldimir and relocate him to a wild population of fellow belugas since he was first spotted in Northern Norway in 2019 and removed from his harness. In 2021, the whale sustained a serious wound, possibly the result of a boat or fishing equipment.

In a video statement posted to Instagram and Facebook on Saturday, Haug noted that at the time of his death, Hvaldimir was in heavily trafficked waters just outside of Stavanger, Norway, "so we expect it was not a natural death."

The white beluga whale first made global headlines after fishermen saw him swimming in northern Norway in the strange getup that led to unconfirmed speculation the Russian military had trained the whale as an underwater spy. Hvaldimir's nickname combines "hval," the Norwegian word for whale, with Vladimir, for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Marine Mind, a Norway-based conservation nonprofit that followed the whale's movements for years, found his lifeless body floating near the southwestern town of Risavika over the weekend after getting word of a sighting by locals. The organization saw Hvaldimir and his compelling backstory as an opportunity to educate the public about the plight of marine mammals. Like One Whale, it has worked to protect the animal over the years by tracking his whereabouts and attempting to redirect him to safer waters.

ForbesBeluga Whale Charged With Spying For Russia Found Dead Off Norway CoastBy Leslie Katz

Hvaldimir is estimated to have died between the ages of 14 and 17, relatively young for beluga whales, which can live to be 60. Marine Mind is grief-stricken, its founder Sebastian Strand said over text message on Wednesday. Still, the organization is not ready to offer public conjecture on the cause of death.

"While certain marks can be compelling, we cannot see it as conclusive evidence until the institute and professionals doing the investigation give their assessment," Strand said. "Because we cannot speak conclusively, we have refrained from sharing our speculations."

Beluga whales, which can grow to be more than 20 feet long, primarily live in the Arctic Ocean and its adjoining seas. The World Wildlife Foundation categorizes them as a near threatened species, meaning they may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Hvaldimir could often be seen approaching boats, even tossing a rugby ball back and forth with passengers in one video.

"Over the past five years, he touched the lives of tens of thousands, bringing people together in awe of the wonders of nature," Marine Mind said in a Facebook post following the celebrity whale's passing. "His presence taught us about the importance of ocean conservation, and in doing so, he also taught us more about ourselves."

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