Recordings of deceased senator should be barred from upcoming corruption trial, attorney says
State Sen. Emil Jones III’s attorney says the recorded statements of his deceased onetime colleague, Martin Sandoval, should be barred from Jones’ upcoming trial because there will be no opportunity to cross-examine him.
Defense attorney Victor Henderson filed the motion Tuesday, ahead of a Friday pretrial conference in Jones’ criminal case. Jones, who remains in the Illinois Senate two and a half years after being charged with bribery, faces trial April 7.
Jones is accused of agreeing to limit a study of traffic enforcement systems only to Chicago in exchange for $5,000 and money for an associate. The payments were allegedly offered by a red-light camera executive who expressed fear that a broader study could damage his business.
Jones is also accused of lying to the FBI.
The executive, Omar Maani, struck a so-called deferred-prosecution agreement with the feds in 2020 and confirmed that he’d been cooperating with them. He’s now expected to testify if Jones’ case goes to trial as planned.
Sandoval pleaded guilty to bribery in January 2020 and also formalized his cooperation with federal investigators. However, Sandoval died in December 2020. Henderson wrote in his five-page motion Tuesday that “allowing testimonial statements into evidence without the ability to cross-examine the speaker [violates] a defendant’s Sixth Amendment Rights.”
Henderson specifically pointed to recordings from March 22, 2019, April 3, 2019, and April 11, 2019. He wrote that they “characterize (or mischaracterize) conversations [Sandoval] allegedly had with Senator Jones and/or contain Sandoval’s impression of Senator Jones’ thoughts and feelings with respect to red light camera legislation and meeting with Maani.”
Prosecutors have said they have recordings of conversations between Sandoval and Maani on each of those dates.
“Maani will be a witness and will have the ability to testify to the fact that Sandoval helped arrange the meetings between him and Senator Jones,” Henderson wrote.
Separately, Henderson also asked U.S. District Judge Andrea Wood to force prosecutors to let her inspect handwritten notes of interviews that Jones had with the FBI. Some of those interviews were recorded, Henderson wrote, but others were not.
“Notably, a report of an interview that the FBI chose not to record states that Senator Jones made certain statements, which the Senator adamantly denies,” Henderson wrote.
New details about the feds’ case against Jones came to light just last month, involving a set of conversations from 2019 between Jones and Maani at Steak 48.
During one meal in July 2019, prosecutors say Maani asked how much money he could raise for Jones. The senator allegedly told him, “You can raise me five grand. That’d be good.” Jones also allegedly asked about a job for his associate.
Later in the conversation, Jones allegedly promised to “protect” Maani.
The next month, at the same steakhouse, Jones allegedly recommended that his associate be paid $15 an hour, and Maani confirmed he would pay the person based on 20 hours worked per week.
Jones allegedly suggested that Maani sponsor an event for Jones in a bid to disguise the $5,000 payment. Prosecutors say Jones told Maani he was not as worried about the $5,000 as he was with the job for Jones’ associate.
Maani allegedly said he would help the associate “100%.” The feds say he then added, “And like I said before, if you could just help me out with the, ah, the study, to make it to Chicago.”
“You’re good,” Jones allegedly responded, later adding, “Ah, if I do file that bill, it will only be for Chicago.”
Jones is the son of former Illinois Senate President Emil Jones Jr., who led the state Senate from 2003 until 2009.