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Lon Monk's guilty plea Tuesday ramps up the pressure on Rod Blagojevich.
From the Sun-Times today: Blagojevich has repeatedly sought to distance himself from Tony Rezko, essentially claiming that Rezko duped him. Monk's plea not only puts the two in the same room, but it also alleges that Blagojevich gave both Rezko and Kelly free rein over his administration. Monk "understood that Blagojevich and [Monk] would use their power and authority in state government as needed to assist whatever plans Rezko and Kelly put in place to make money," the plea states.

From the Chicago Tribune: Pulling back the curtain on how Blagojevich and his cohorts allegedly went about their plan, Monk's plea suggests a possible pattern of political crimes that took place well before Blagojevich allegedly offered the Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama to the highest bidder. As part of his deal, Monk told prosecutors that he, Blagojevich and key fundraisers Antoin "Tony" Rezko and Christopher Kelly repeatedly met about how the four of them could secretly make money through state deals, offering the most specific account yet of how the alleged conspiracy in the case formed.

From AP: The plea is guaranteed to be a blow to Blagojevich, who is scheduled to stand trial starting June 3 on corruption charges that included allegedly trying to sell or trade the U.S. Senate seat President Barack Obama held.

A lawyer for ex-governor Rod Blagojevich deemed a slew of allegations leveled by onetime top aide Lon Monk: "one-thousand percent false."
In a plea deal made public today, Monk, 51, said there was an ongoing agreement among Blagojevich and his closest advisers that involved making hundreds of thousands of dollars off state business deals.
The money would be split four ways, according to Monk. The alleged recipients: Blagojevich, the now-deceased fund-raiser Christopher Kelly, convicted businessman Tony Rezko and Monk.
"That is completely false. One-thousand percent false," Sheldon Sorosky told the Sun-Times. "Blagojevich never participated in any deal or conference where he'd receive a kickback from any investments or any money that Rezko and Kelly made -- from the state or otherwise."

One of the biggest players in Rod Blagojevich's criminal saga pleaded guilty in federal court today and agreed to turn himself in to jail by next week.
Christopher Kelly, a longtime friend, adviser and fund-raiser to the ex-governor, pleaded guilty to a kickback scheme involving contracts at O'Hare Airport and his roofing company, BCI Commercial Roofing, Inc.
By doing so, he evades a trial that was scheduled to begin tomorrow.
Kelly told the judge he pleaded guilty after enduring "a great deal of pressure."
"I'm doing it knowing the ramifications of my actions," said Kelly, whose plea deal calls for a 57-month sentence, almost five years, to run after he serves three years in a separate tax fraud case.
Kelly will voluntarily surrender to the federal lock-up on Sept. 18. He will also pay a $450,000 in forfeiture.
There was no talk of Kelly cooperating against Blagojevich, despite the government taking the rare move and charging Kelly three times in two years.
Kelly still faces trial on racketeering and extortion charges with the former governor next June.
Wearing a blue dress shirt in court, Kelly stood with his hands folded before him and, as Assistant U.S. Attorney Reid Schar read the charges aloud in court, Kelly looked up at the ceiling or down at the floor.
Upon swearing in Kelly, U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle asked the Burr Ridge man to speak up.
"Is there a reason why you're whispering?" Norgle asked.
Schar said as part of the kickback scheme, Kelly used criminally-derived profits to pay off personal debts, including to convicted businessman Tony Rezko, as well as gambling debts.
"Is that what happened and is that what you did?" Norgle asked.
"Yes," Kelly replied.
Kelly still faces trial on charges with the ex-governor -- his third indictment. Kelly pleaded guilty in a separate tax scheme earlier this year.
The plea deal was finalized at the last minute, with Kelly initialing portions of it outside the courtroom minutes before court. At one point, Norgle recessed because Kelly said he hadn't read the whole document.
Kelly and his lawyer, Michael Monico, left the courthouse without comment.

Steve Rhodes tells us that former national Democratic fund-raiser Joe Cari is now blogging -- and on Twitter. His blog page is entitled "Josephcari.com On politics and Economics." The court recently allowed Cari, who pleaded guilty to extortion in 2005, to travel to Lebanon to act as a guest lecturer. He has not yet been sentenced.
Cari figured prominently in the early stages of the Blagojevich investigation, back when the ex-governor was still referred to as "Public Official A."
Cari was one of the first to cite a conversation with Blagojevich that alleged the governor was open to "pay to play" in his administration.
Cari testified at the trial of Tony Rezko that Blagojevich once told him his plan for a prominent political career involved raising political cash from across the country, and reward big contributors with state contracts. Blagojevich denied the conversation.

Dr. Robert Weinstein, who was the behind-the-scenes deal-maker with key government witness Stuart Levine, is scheduled to plead guilty tomorrow, according to court records.
Weinstein is a long-time friend and confidante of Levine, who testified for 15 days in the trial of onetime gubernatorial fund-raiser Tony Rezko. Levine said he used Weinstein as a conduit to hide money.
Weinstein didn't testify at Rezko's two-month trial, but he and
Levine's conversations about illicit state schemes -- covertly caught on tape -- were played to jurors in the case.
Weinstein was charged last year in a scheme that raided the Chicago Medical School and North Shore Supporting Organization, a charity, of millions of dollars.
Weinstein, who has homes in Northbrook and Delray Beach, Fla., is
accused of siphoning $6 million from NSO with Levine and diverting
money from a development project at 2020 W. Ogden, according to charges.
On Friday, prosecutors charged Weinstein in a superseding information, which usually precedes a guilty plea. His court docket indicates a guilty plea is set for 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Levine and Weinstein were trustees of the medical school and NSO.
The medical school is now known as Rosalind Franklin University of
Medicine and Science in North Chicago.
Levine and Weinstein misused their trustee positions and pocketed
money belonging to the organizations, prosecutors charged. Levine
has pleaded guilty and has been cooperating with the government
since 2006.