Blagojevich-Linked Figure Gets 27 Month Prison Sentence

A piece of unfinished business from the decade-long investigation of Illinois' imprisoned ex-governor, Rod Blagojevich, was done in federal court in Chicago.

Building contractor Jacob Kiferbaum pleaded guilty to attempted extortion and was sentenced Wednesday to 27 months. The 61-year-old has admitted he and others with links to Blagojevich threatened to deny state permission for a suburban hospital's expansion unless it hired Kiferbaum's firm. Prior to the sentencing a tearful Kiferbaum apologized to the court and his family.

In a letter to his sentencing judge, the son of Holocaust survivors claimed he became consumed by "a world of ... rich, powerful and influential people,'' and lost his "moral compass.''

A 2003 investigation into the scheme triggered a series of investigations that eventually toppled dozens of powerbrokers, including Blagojevich.