First FBI wiretaps played at Cellini trial

CHICAGO — The first FBI wiretap recorded conversations have been played at the last trial stemming from a federal investigation of ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

The recordings played Thursday morning are from wiretaps on government star witness Stuart Levine's phone. Levine is on the stand for the second day. Prosecutors are seeking to prove William Cellini tried to extort the producer of “Million Dollar Baby” for a $1.5 million Blagojevich campaign donation.

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 about replacing an uncooperative executive director of the system's board with someone close to Cellini.