Page 47 - Tim Mapes News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

"Mr. Madigan ran his organization, as close as I can compare it to, almost the head of a mafia family," Former FBI Special Agent Brendan O’Leary said.

In his heyday, Tim Mapes, diminutive but domineering, was feared in Springfield. He threatened staffers’ jobs and screamed orders on the House floor in his capacity as powerhouse Democrat Michael Madigan’s trusted lieutenant. Formal investigations all but called Mapes’ conduct dictatorial. But you’d never guess that by looking at Mapes last week, sitting meekly and respectfully between his two ...

Agent Brendan O’Leary told jurors that Michael Madigan depended on “his tight inner-circle,” which is why the FBI was so interested in hearing what Madigan’s longtime chief of staff, Tim Mapes, would say in front of a grand jury.

Former State Rep. Bob Rita told jurors that Mapes had nearly as much power in Springfield as Madigan.

Brendan O'Leary spent more than two decades working for the FBI -- most of it in Chicago, and most of it investigating public corruption.But when it came to Illinois' famously reclusive former House Speaker Michael Madigan, O'Leary told a jury Thursday he was "different from any other politician I've seen." His testimony came during the perjury trial of Madigan's longtime chief of staff, Tim Mapes.