Lone holdout juror spared former governor

A LONE holdout juror was all that saved former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich from being convicted on corruption-related charges, the jury foreman said yesterday, as prosecutors vowed to retry the case.

James Matsumoto said the 12-member jury he headed was just a hair’s breadth from convicting Blagojevich on many of the charges against him, including corruption for his alleged attempt to barter the US Senate seat vacated by president-elect Barack Obama in 2008.

“There was 11 to one for a few of the counts,” Matsumoto told NBC television.