Former state Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala, once one of the most powerful men in state government, was found guilty today of two felony counts.
Although he answered "Guilty, your honor," when asked by Dane County Circuit Judge David Flanagan for his pleas on counts of misconduct in public office and campaign funding violations, Chvala at times appeared reluctant to go through with the plea deal, which called off his trial set for next week and instead left him facing sentencing in coming months.
He will not go to prison but could go to jail under the plea agreements.
After the plea deal was announced by Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney David Feiss, the judge began asking Chvala the routine questions put to all defendants, even those with law degrees, who enter guilty pleas.
When Flanagan asked him if he wanted to enter guilty pleas or have a trial, Chvala responded, "I want to have a trial, judge, but I'm pleading guilty to these crimes and I know I can't have a trial." Later in the colloquy Chvala said that while he may have broken the law he did not intend to do so.
Chvala agreed to plead to the two felonies while Feiss and fellow prosecutor Assistant District Attorney Kurt Benkley agreed to drop 17 other felonies with which Chvala was charged, including the most serious charges against him, those of extorting money from lobbyists in exchange for helping their bills and amendments through the legislative process.
In addition the sides will recommend at a future sentencing date that Chvala be put on two years' probation and the prosecutors will argue he be sent to jail for six months as a condition of that probation. Defense attorneys James Olson and Bruce Davey are free to argue for less, or no time in jail.
Chvala, a Madison Democrat who as the powerful Senate majority leader was head of the Senate Democratic Caucus staff, pleaded guilty to directing Julie Laundrie, who worked on the staff, to work on partisan election campaigns while on state time and using state resources. He also pleaded guilty to making illegal campaign contributions to the senate campaign of Mark Meyer of La Crosse.
The rest of the 17 counts were dismissed, with some of them being considered "read-ins," which attorneys can mention at sentencing. In the written agreement, signed by Chvala as well as the lawyers on both sides, the former senator expressly admits that he was guilty of the two counts.
The two sides agree not to ask for Flanagan to order a pre-sentence investigation in the matter.
Flanagan, as he did in a private meeting with lawyers on Monday, emphasized that he did not have to follow the terms of the sentencing recommendation, but he also said if he made a substantial departure from the plea deal that he would allow Chvala to withdraw his guilty pleas and proceed to trial.
When he sentences Chvala, most likely in December, Flanagan could impose the maximum sentence of five years in prison on the two counts. When he pointed that out, Olson asked whether Flanagan would consider choosing prison rather than jail as "substantial" departure and allow Chvala to withdraw today's guilty pleas.
Flanagan said that would be a substantial departure, but also added that increasing the jail time from six to nine months or a year would not be considered a substantial enough change to allow for a change in the pleas.
By entering the pleas today, Chvala cancelled a planned five-week trial set to begin with final jury selection next Monday.
The initial complaint filed against him in October of 2002 alleged he extorted money from lobbyists, used state-paid staff to do partisan political campaign work, and set up so-called independent campaign organizations through which he would funnel money from lobbyists to specific Democratic Senate campaigns.
In the plea agreement he did not concede to any of the extortion charges, and continues to deny them.
Still, in reaching the plea deal and signing the agreement, Chvala is admitting guilt to some of the allegations contained in the massive criminal complaint filed in October 2002, allegations which he has continually denied and continually insisted were the result of a political vendetta against him.
Convictions on the felony counts are considered likely to mean Chvala will also lose his license to practice law after a review by the Office of Lawyer Regulation. The written agreement is silent on that matter.
Chvala was accompanied to court today by his wife, Barb Worcester, his parents, and his sister, Mary Pat, a Madison police officer.
Also joining Chvala in court was veteran criminal attorney Richard Cates, a former federal prosecutor who has provided counsel to Chvala's legal team.
Chvala remained silent as he emerged from the courtroom into a crowd of reporters that peppered him with questions, shielding his mother as she walked with him.
No. 1 Dem: Chvala helped win back control of the Senate from Republicans in a special election in 1996, then became majority leader until he was charged just before the 2002 elections. Many political observers say the criminal charges against Chvala and the allegations of his campaign role in several hotly contested Senate seats cost Democrats their majority in the Senate.
But during his tenure as leader, Chvala was the most powerful Democrat in state government. Facing an Assembly and a governor's office that were both controlled by Republicans, Chvala pushed through a prescription drug plan for senior citizens, smaller class sizes for at-risk students, and tax cuts for middle-income families.
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