Blago Guilty: Will he go Joe Valachi?

Unholy threesome?

Pat Fitzgerald is embarrassed again with the conviction of Rod Blagojevich on one count of lying to the federal government-something most people think should be legal in the first place.

The Obama Administration utilized the nation's most ruthless, vindictive and flamboyant prosecutor to nail Blagojevich, just as Rahm personally told Blagovich it would, and destroyed a governor's life with a massive 24 count federal indictment.  Instead of the crime spree Fitzgerald alleged the government proved only that Blagojevich told the FBI that he did not track campaign contributions when he arguably did such tracking.

Much like Fitzgerald's even more outrageous prosecution of Scooter Libby, Fitzgerald's prosecution of Blagojevich became the criminal version of mere champerty and a ridiculous waste of taxpayer money.  Don't forget, long before the conversation between Fitzgerald's agents and Libby occurred, Fitzgerald knew that the substantive crime of disclosing Valerie Plame's confidential CIA role never happened.

Two of the biggest words in the Queen's own are now in play: What next?

Fitzgerald says he is going back to re-try the twenty three substantive counts he failed to prove the first time he got to fire at Blago (just an aside, there's room for legal reform here if any Republican wanted to claim it).  Such an approach does not leave Blagojevich many options.  How will Blago respond?

If Blago's done in Illinois politics, and even Blago surely knows that he is, how then does he find redemption?  The perfect model is provided by another mid level mobster, Joe Valachi.  Think of the dirtiest of dirt little Rodney has on Chicago pols like Rahm "the Impaler" and Mayor Richard "the Deuce" Daley?   If Blago sings he can provide both the operatic overture and the fat lady for the operatic production of the crime spree known as "Chicago Style".