Blagojevich case shatters into mistrial

But two jurors said the panel was deadlocked 11-1 in favor of convicting Blagojevich on more serious charges. One of those jurors said those counts included trying to auction off the Senate seat.

Juror Erik Sarnello of Itasca, Ill., said one woman on the jury “just didn’t see what we all saw.’’ The 21-year-old Sarnello said the counts involving the Senate seat were “the most obvious.’’

Other jurors tried to persuade the holdout to reconsider, but “at a certain point, there was no changing,’’ he said.

That so many jurors were convinced of Blagojevich’s guilt bodes well for prosecutors, said Joel Levin, a former federal prosecutor in Chicago who won a conviction of former Illinois governor George Ryan on corruption charges.

“At the end of the day it signals very strongly they will get a conviction next time,’’ Levin said. “It sounds like the case was lost in jury selection.’’

Blagojevich showed no emotion as the verdict was read. Before jurors came in, he sat with his hands folded, looking down and picking nervously at his fingernails. He and his lawyer said they would appeal the conviction.

The verdict came on the 14th day of deliberations, ending an 11-week trial during which a foul-mouthed Blagojevich was heard on secret FBI wiretap tapes saying the power to name a senator was “golden’’ and that he wasn’t going to give it up “for [expletive] nothing.’’

The count on which Blagojevich was convicted included accusations that he lied to federal agents when he said he did not track campaign contributions. But the jury did not convict him on his related assertion that he kept a “firewall’’ between political campaigns and government work. The count carries a sentence of up to five years in prison. Some of the more serious charges, such as racketeering, carried up to a 20-year penalty.

Blagojevich said that he was a victim of persecution by the federal government. He told reporters that he wants the “people of Illinois to know that I did not lie to the FBI.’’