Former Blago chief of staff postpones guilty plea

An attorney accused of scheming with former Gov. Rod Blagojevich to use the governor's office as a vehicle for making money postponed Monday his plan to plead guilty to federal corruption charges.

Alonzo Monk, 50, Blagojevich's law school roommate and first chief of staff in the governor's office, is now set to plead guilty at an Aug. 11 hearing.

Monk attorney Michael J. Shepard of San Francisco declined to comment on the reason for the delay. Other attorneys in the case said there was no reason to suspect the snag was anything that couldn't be ironed out.

The one-time chief of staff has been cooperating with federal prosecutors in hopes of getting a lighter sentence. Plea negotiations can be complicated and delays are common.

Monk is charged with one count of wire fraud for scheming to pressure a racetrack executive for a $100,000 campaign contribution in exchange for the prompt signing by Blagojevich of racetrack legislation.

Monk, often known by his nickname "Lon," became a racetrack lobbyist after leaving the governor's office.

The indictment also says Monk schemed with Blagojevich, convicted influence peddler Tony Rezko and others to use the governor's office to squeeze individuals wanting to do business with the state for payoffs.

It says that between the spring of 2004 and 2006, Rezko made a number of $10,000 cash gifts to Monk to pay for such items as a car and home improvements. It says the total was between $70,000 and $90,000.