Shoplifting allegation on Indian ex- journalist

By siliconindia   |   Wednesday, 17 November 2010, 05:59 IST
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Illinois: Rajinder Bedi, who formerly worked at the Indian Reporter newspaper in Chicago, has been indicted of shoplifting, according to newspaper reports. Bedi, a fundraiser for Rod Blagojevich and a witness at the disgraced Illinois governor's trial, faces misdemeanor retail theft charges for allegedly stealing $166 in merchandise from the Home Depot in North Lincoln according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The 58-year-old was released on $10,000 bond on according to the report. A former managing director of the state's Office of Trade and Investment in the Blagojevich administration, Bedi was a witness for the prosecution at the former governor's trial. He testified under immunity in July, the Sun-Times said. Bedi admitted being at a 2008 meeting with Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and a major Jackson fundraiser, Raghuveer Nayak, where Nayak promised to raise $1 million for Blagojevich if the then-governor appointed Jackson to the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama after he was elected president, prosecutors said. According to the Sun-Times, the arrest will likely undermine Bedi's credibility as a witness should he be called to testify at Blagojevich's retrial.