Chicago ? A prominent fundraiser for Sen. Barack Obama and Gov. Rod Blagojevich was convicted of fraud, money laundering and bribery Wednesday after a trial that exposed a corrupt culture of payoffs and campaign finance abuses plaguing Illinois politics.

Antoin “Tony” Rezko, 52, who according to witnesses wielded wide powers within the Blagojevich administration and now faces a stiff prison sentence, was immediately taken into custody following the verdict.

U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald told reporters the verdict represented “an antidote to the poison of corruption” that testimony alleged included the fixing of state boards that controlled a $40 billion pension fund and made major decisions about hospital construction.