Nayak re-emerges as key figure in Blagojevich case

Raghuveer Nayak of Oak Brook emerged as a key figure in the Blagojevich corruption trial in the testimony of co-defendant Robert Blagojevich.

Robert Blagojevich testified that, at a fundraising meeting at the India House restaurant in Schaumburg on Halloween 2008, Nayak offered to raise up to $6 million for Blagojevich if he appointed Jesse Jackson Jr. to the U.S. Senate seat soon to be vacated by Barack Obama.

Robert Blagojevich said he initially nixed and dismissed the idea "loud and clear," but that he passed these overtures on to his brother as "field observation," adding, "I was passing information on to Rod for his information."

Initially both scoffed at the idea. "He dismissed it, and I dismissed it, and we moved on because it was so outrageous," Robert Blagojevich said.

Yet, after various other plots fell through on the Senate appointment, it re-emerged in a Dec. 4 phone call between the brothers in which Rod said he was "elevating" Jackson in his estimation and that he was looking for something "tangible upfront" from Nayak.

Robert Blagojevich went on to arrange a meeting with Nayak the following day, but hastily called it off following news reports that revealed the Blagojeviches were being taped by federal investigators. A fundraiser a day later in Elmhurst turned out to be a disappointment, according to Robert Blagojevich, and within days Rod had been arrested and charged with corruption. The deal, if deal there was, was never consummated.

Robert Blagojevich characterized Nayak as "a likable exaggerator" and "an amusing gentleman," which made U.S. Attorney Chris Niewoehner scoff at how he could say that about someone who had offered him a $6 million bribe. "I didn't hold that against him," Robert Blagojevich said. He dismissed the group of Indian fundraisers as "naive" and "clumsy" in "our system," and said that fellow fundraiser Babu Patel had warned him about Nayak and Rajinder Bedi, saying, "Those guys have to keep their big mouths shut."

Nayak, who owns a North Side Chicago outpatient clinic, has not been called to testify by the prosecution or the defense and has not been charged with any crime.