Reporting with Natasha Korecki
To the prosecution, he's the ultimate insider; to the defense, he's the ultimate backstabber.
Rod Blagojevich's former close friend and chief of staff Lon Monk has stepped up to testify in Blagojevich's retrial, and the prosecution is diving into allegations about fundraising and shakedowns in the then-governor's administration.
Monk walked into the courtroom without looking at Blagojevich. Jurors might recognize Monk from opening statements, when prosecutors flashed a photo of the two friends together on the day of Blagojevich's wedding. Monk was part of the wedding party.
Today the relationship looks a lot different. As Monk talks, Blagojevich fiddles with his ring, stealing glances at Monk before staring right back down at the table. Prosecutors have already dived into allegations involving a shakedown of new Mayor Rahm Emanuel when he was a congressman and is moving onto Monk and Blagojevich's contact with Tony Rezko, a current inmate convicted of corruption, and Christopher Kelly, a one-time fundraiser and insider who killed himself in 2009 after pleading guilty to fraud charges.
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