Payroll taxes, also should Creamer judge have recused himself from case?

Well, I think he should've done just that. But before I get to that, my last two posts on Robert Creamer focused on the check-kiting. He also pleaded guilty to not promptly paying $50,000 in payroll taxes of Illinois Public Action Council employees to the government.

Oops! Creamer is of course married to liberal Congresswoman Jan Schakowksy. As you'll read here on her political blog, Schakowsky is a vehement opponent of the Bush tax cuts.

Yet her husband took his time in paying that beloved tax revenue to the government.

Schakowsky, although she was not implicated in this scheme, was on the IPAC board of directors while this financial funny business was taking place.

Randall Sherman, a frequent commenter on the Illinoize blog, brought this issue up this morning on that blog. Why didn't Judge James Moran, who sentenced Creamer yesterday, recuse himself from the case?

From the Chicago Tribune, free registration may be required:

Creamer's ties to the Democratic community are so deep that Moran considered recusing himself from the case. The judge, a former Democratic state representative from Evanston (my note, that's where Creamer and Schakowsky live), said he had a potential conflict of interest because his son-in-law, political consultant Peter Giangreco, had worked with Creamer and Schakowsky and had sat on the board of one of Creamer's organizations.

However, neither defense attorneys nor prosecutors voiced concerns about Moran's connections to Creamer.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Joseph Ferguson said Wednesday that he was disappointed in the sentence and that prosecutors would consider whether to appeal.

Technorati tags: Robert Creamer Peter Giangreco Jan Schakowsky Evanston crime Illinois