Sam Zell owner/murderer of the Tribune Co. was interviewed by the feds and hired defense attorney, Anton Valukas in regards to the Rob Blagojevich investigation. Todd Lighty and Robert Becker report:

Tribune Co. also acknowledged state records, recently obtained by the Chicago Tribune, that show Zell making a phone call and giving a gift to Blagojevich.

According to records of Blagojevich's telephone logs, Zell placed a call to the governor Dec. 8, the day before the arrest.

Zell? A gift? We've heard of such things before:

Waxword/TheWrap has learned that every New Year, Zell sends 675 custom-made bronze statues to his friends with his business predictions. In 2002 it was a naked man turning a wheel to the musical theme, "Get Over It." In 2004 it was "This Land," featuring the arm of the Statue of Liberty grasping her torch aloft. But on the eve of the millennium in 1999, it was a buck naked man standing on a stack of Wall Street Journals (photo, below), predicting a catastrophic collapse of overvalued assets under the title, "The Emperor Has No Clothes." A switch at the back of the statue sets off Zell's raspy whine:

You'd just expect a sexier gift from a freakin' mogul.

Speaking of sexy - we take this opportunity to admit our secret crush on federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. He's so smart and he's a runner and he's awesome. Flutter.