Feds: Blagojevich, Wife Patti Dropped $400K on Clothes

(July 2) -- Rod Blagojevich may have been freaking out about his family's finances and how to pay for his daughter's college tuition, as federal wiretaps played at his corruption trial indicate. But that didn't stop him and his wife from dropping more than $400,000 on tailored suits, furs and other clothes while he was Illinois governor, court records show.

A federal agent presented documents in a Chicago courtroom Thursday detailing six years of lavish spending, The Associated Press reported, including several instances when Blagojevich spent more than $10,000 a day on suits. On one occasion, according to the documents, he spent more than $1,300 on ties alone.

Rod Blagojevich and his wife spent more than $400,000 on tailored suits, furs and other clothes while he was Illinois governor, court records show.

M. Spencer Green, AP

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, left, and his wife Patti enter federal court on June 4. Their spending habits are under question.

Internal Revenue agent Shari Schindler testified that the Blagojeviches had racked up more than $200,000 in consumer debt by the time the governor was arrested in December 2008, the AP reported. "Sometimes they used credit cards to pay for other credit cards," Schindler said, in testimony that was seen as an attempt by the prosecution to show that Blagojevich had a practical motive for his alleged misdeeds.

Blagojevich has pleaded not guilty to charges that he tried to get a high-paying job in exchange for filling the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama, and that he solicited bribes.

On the FBI wiretaps played for jurors Thursday, an agitated Blagojevich is heard complaining loudly about money problems. "Amy is going to college in six years, and we can't afford it. I feel like I'm f------ my children," he screams at one point, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

In another exchange, according to the AP, Blagojevich tells his advisers, "We're struggling here. ... I've got to figure out a way to take some of the financial stress off my family."

But according to tax returns, credit card payments and other documents presented in court, Blagojevich and his wife, Patti, spent more on clothing while he was governor than they did on their mortgage, food and tuition payments for their daughters' private schools, the Chicago Tribune reported, including more than $205,000 at one Chicago store, Oxxford, which is famous for its custom-tailored suits.

The corruption trial has adjourned for the July 4 holiday. The Sun-Times reported that on his way out of the courtroom Thursday, Blagojevich's brother and fellow defendant, Robert, quipped, "For the record, I buy my ties on sale."