Jurors hearing the trial of a longtime Illinois powerbroker on Thursday listened to secretly-recorded FBI wiretaps describing backroom deals to squeeze a movie producer for a political contribution.
The wiretap recordings played Thursday morning are from witness Stuart Levine's phone. Levine is on the stand for the second day.
Prosecutors are seeking to prove William Cellini tried to extort Thomas Rosenberg, the producer of "Million Dollar Baby," for a $1.5 million campaign donation to Rod Blagojevich.
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Cellini denies conspiring with Levine and others to squeeze the executive by threatening to withhold state pension funds from his investment company.
Levine sat on the Teachers' Retirement System board controlling that money. He talks in 2004 on the wiretaps, which are the first FBI wiretap recordings played at Cellini's trial so far.
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