By KATHLEEN FOODY and TODD RICHMOND

CHICAGO (AP) — One of Chicago’s most infamous gang leaders asked Gov. JB Pritzker for clemency Wednesday after winning a pardon from President Donald Trump earlier this spring, arguing that he had been “lost in an enduring pattern of criminality” but he’s grown into a different person in the decades since he’s been in prison.

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Larry Hoover, once a key leader of the Gangster Disciples, was sentenced to up to 200 years in Illinois state prison in 1973 in connection with a murder. He was sentenced decades later to life in federal prison for running a criminal enterprise behind bars. Hoover has still left his mark even from prison, launching a jail-inspired fashion line, starting a political action committee and inspiring rap lyrics.

Trump commuted Hoover’s federal sentence in May and he was moved from a federal “supermax” prison in Colorado to a nearby Colorado state facility to continue serving his state sentence.

His attorneys sent a request to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board to hold a hearing on whether Hoover deserves clemency in the state case. The board makes recommendations to Pritzker, who makes the final decision on clemency. They argued in the filing that Hoover is now 74 years old, has had three heart attacks doing hard labor at the Colorado state prison and has no desire to commit any more crimes.

Hoover promises ‘zero chance’ he would re-offend

Hoover wrote in a letter included with the request that he takes responsibility for his crimes, saying he wasted his talents on “destructive and self-defeating endeavors” that hurt almost everyone around him.

“I was lost in an enduring pattern of criminality those many years ago,” he wrote.

He said he’s no longer the person he was when he entered prison after spending 25 years in “a front row seat to the passing by of the World” and he has renounced all ties to any criminal organization, including the Gangster Disciples. He said he suffers from a range of age-related ailments and just wants to be home with his family and grandchildren.

“There is zero chance I would re-offend,” he wrote. “I know there are some that will probably remain unconvinced and choose to believe I’m beyond redemption. I hope to prove them wrong, or at a minimum, to allay their concerns eventually.”

Request comes as Pritzker, Trump spar over immigration

A spokesperson for Pritzker referred questions Wednesday to the prisoner review board. The Associated Press left a message with the board’s clemency unit seeking comment.

The second-term Democratic governor has not publicly indicated what he will do. In May, Pritzker met with members of Hoover’s family in Springfield where they discussed the clemency process.

“A recommendation is made by the prisoner review board to me that includes that entire record, and I review the entire record when that happens,” Pritzker told reporters the day after the meeting.

Hoover’s request comes as Pritzker’s frustrations with Trump mount. The governor has long been one of Trump’s loudest critics and tensions between them have been growing sharper as the president escalates a crackdown on Chicago immigrants. Trump’s administration last week asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the deployment of National Guard troops in the Chicago area.

Hoover founded one of the Windy City’s most notorious gangs

Hoover was a founder of the Gangster Disciples more than 50 years ago. To this day, the Gangster Disciples remain one of Chicago’s most notorious street gangs. Federal prosecutors maintain the gang generated around $100 million in drug sales annually during the height of Hoover’s leadership.

FILE – This image obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times shows Larry Hoover. (Chicago Sun-Times via AP, File)

Hoover was convicted of murder in 1973 after prosecutors accused him of ordering a gang member killed. He was sentenced to 150 to 200 years in state prison. According to prosecutors, he continued to run the gang from behind bars for more than 20 years, expanding it to more than two dozen states. A federal jury in 1997 found him guilty of dozens of crimes, including engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise. He got six life sentences.

Fashion, politics and rap

In the 1990s, Hoover launched his “Ghetto Prisoner” fashion line, telling The Associated Press in 1995 that he hoped the clothing would help people come together. He also formed a political action committee that his supporters contend inspired thousands to protest outside Chicago City Hall.

He still became a central figure in the rap world. Rick Ross’ 2010 single “B.M.F.” paid tribute to Hoover’s power and influence. Rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, and Drake, have pushed for Hoover’s release, with West pleading Hoover’s case to Trump during an Oval Office meeting in 2018. Drake and Ye headlined a “Free Larry Hoover” benefit concert in Los Angeles in 2021.

Associated Press reporter Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed to this report.

Two leaders of a now-shuttered St. Paul addiction treatment center have admitted their roles in a multiyear Medicaid fraud scheme that netted millions of taxpayer dollars.

Heather Lynn Heim, former chief executive officer at Evergreen Recovery Inc., and Shantel Rene Magadanz, the one-time chief financial officer, pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

A grand jury in December indicted Heim, 47, of St. Paul, Magadanz, 35, of Stacy, and Evergreen owner and operator Shawn Grygo, 37, of Forest Lake.

Prosecutors say the trio used the outpatient drug and alcohol treatment center along Energy Park Drive to overbill DHS and UCare for services that were not provided. The overbilling scheme included adding client names to counselor logs after the fact, and other falsification of back-dated records.

Evergreen also allegedly billed for treatment services clients were required to attend as a condition of remaining in free housing.

Evergreen employees who raised concerns were either silenced, shut down or lied to regarding the lawfulness of Evergreen’s practices, prosecutors say.

Heim and Magadanz were each associated with at least $5.6 million in fraud loss, according to plea agreement documents. They face between 21 and 27 months in prison at their sentencings, which have not been scheduled.

Grygo has pleaded not guilty to wire fraud and money laundering. A trial date has not been set.

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By MIKE SCHNEIDER

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A federal lawsuit that temporarily had interrupted operations at an immigration detention in the Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” was paused Wednesday by an appellate court because of the government shutdown.

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Earlier this month, U.S. government attorneys had asked the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals to stay proceedings in the case because funding for the Justice Department, as well as the Department of Homeland Security which is a defendant, had expired because of the government shutdown.

They requested the pause until appropriations were restored by Congress.

The appellate court on Wednesday granted the request. While the facility was built and operated by the state of Florida and its private contractors, federal officials have approved reimbursing the state for $608 million.

Attorneys for the environmental groups that had sued the federal and state governments over environmental concerns about the facility said that the administration of President Donald Trump had been litigating hundreds of cases around the country during the shutdown.

“Apparently, the government has sufficient money and manpower to operate a detention center in the heart of the Everglades to detain foreign born workers, but not enough to file a brief in court to justify its conduct, which the trial court held unlawful,” said Paul Schwiep, one of the attorneys.

Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity, along with the Miccosukee Tribe, sued federal and state agencies this summer, alleging they didn’t follow federal law requiring an environmental review for the detention center in the middle of sensitive wetlands.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams agreed and ordered in August that the facility needed to wind down operations within two months. However, that injunction was put on hold in early September when the appellate court panel in Atlanta issued a stay, pending the outcome of an appeal, allowing the facility to stay open for the time being.

An opening appellate brief from the federal government had been due on Friday.

Two other lawsuits challenging operations at the Everglades detention center are proceeding in federal court in Florida.

Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social

As Carson Wentz stood at the podium on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium, the Vikings’ quarterback shook his head as he went over some of his mistakes that cost Minnesota in the 28-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

He was then asked how he planned to get his body ready to compete roughly 96 hours later when the Vikings traveled to play the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday at SoFi Stadium.

“It’s a great question,” Wentz said. “The recovery starts immediately.”

As he continued with his answer, Wentz voiced his displeasure with such a quick turnaround, making it clear that he doesn’t believe the NFL should ask players to play games roughly 96 hours apart.

The idea of the NFL having a primetime game on Thursday initially debuted in November 2006 as a way to increase eyeballs leading up to the playoffs. The coverage expanded in September 2012 to make it more or less a regular occurrence.

Though most players across the NFL would rather do away with it completely, they all seem to understand they don’t have a choice in the matter.

“It is what it is,” Wentz said. “It’s part of the business.”

As soon as Wentz stepped down from the podium on Sunday, he went to ice his body in trainer’s room, particularly the injured left shoulder that has been bothering him for the better part of a month. The next 72 hours were a blur for Wentz as he dove headfirst into the game plan on Monday, participated in a pair of walkthroughs on Tuesday and boarded a flight on Wednesday.

To fully understand how condensed that schedule actually is, it’s important to know the routine players go through between games.

If the Vikings are operating under normal circumstances, for example, they will have players come in on Monday before giving them off on Tuesday to recharge their batteries. There will then be a lighter practice on Wednesday, a more intense practice on Thursday, a walkthrough on Friday, and a flight on Saturday if the Vikings are traveling for the upcoming game.

The quick turnaround on a short week is a total departure from how the Vikings are used to preparing.

“It’s a little bit difficult,” receiver Justin Jefferson said. “We really can’t recover as much as we want to.”

As a way to mitigate some of the stress, head coach Kevin O’Connell decided not to have any practices at full speed. He opted for walkthroughs instead to keep the Vikings as fresh as they can when they play the Chargers.

“We know it’s going to be here before we know it,” O’Connell said. “We’re doing everything we can to turn over our players.”

That included resources available at U.S. Bank Stadium and TCO Performance Center alike. Whether it was basic treatment like time in hot tub or cold tub, or more advanced treatment like deep tissue massages, the players had the tools they needed to get themselves feeling good again.

“We’re blessed to have the facilities we do,” O’Connell said. “We had guys immediately from the time I broke down the team starting to do something.”

After initially being listed as a limited participant on Monday as he worked through some soreness, Wentz was able to be a full participant on Tuesday when he talked to reporters. He was asked at the time how his body was feeling and noted that he still had 48 hours before kickoff.

“I’m feeling fine,” Wentz said. “We’re using every minute we have to recover and get ourselves physically and mentally ready to go.”

The process of the Vikings getting themselves ready will continue until kickoff against the Chargers. It’s a grind both physically and mentally for everybody to get themselves turned over in time.

“We’re not the only ones doing it,” Wentz said. “Obviously they have a short week too.”

That doesn’t make it any easier.

“I don’t think anybody goes from playing on Sunday to playing on Thursday and actually feels good,” Wentz said. “It’s more, ‘How good can I get myself feeling?’”

Briefly

The final injury report for the Vikings did a good job showing the effects of the short week as left tackle Christian Darrisaw (knee) and right tackle Brian O’Neill (knee) were both listed as questionable despite being able to finish the game against the Eagles. The other players that were questionable included quarterback J.J. McCarthy (ankle), running back Aaron Jones (hamstring), and running back Zavier Scott (wrist). The only players ruled out were fullback C.J. Ham (hand) and edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel (neck).

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