Blagojevich prosecutor leaves for private practice

Another leading government attorney who helped prosecute former Gov. Rod Blagojevich is leaving the U.S. Attorney’s office in Chicago to become a private defense attorney.

In 12 years as a prosecutor, Chris Niewoehner played key roles in convicting onetime political insiders for corruption, including Tony Rezko and William Cellini.

He and his fellow assistant U.S. attorneys convicted Blagojevich of 18 corruption counts over two trials. Blagojevich recently began serving a 14-year prison sentence.

Niewoehner was among several younger lawyers former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald relied on to handle high-profile cases. Another was Reid Schar, who also recently left to join a law firm.

Niewoehner begins work soon on white-color cases from the Chicago office of Steptoe & Johnson. The law firm announced Niewoehner’s hiring Thursday.