rod blagojevich closed down this landfill which dick mell was a part owner of. that this was for environmental issues. tapper: what did he want you to do? leave it alone, and i had learned that it was operating in violation of the environmental laws. i had knowledge of that. uh, ultimately, i decided i had a duty, that i had to shut it down, and then he made some accusations that really unleashed the furies. dick mell called a press conference and basically accused rod blagojevich of selling board and commission seats within state government. reporter: mell has had a falling out with his son-in-law, the governor. this is a family at war. ♪ so your father-in-law, dick mell, accused chris kelly of selling political favors for campaign contributions of $25,000 to $50,000 at a time. tell me about where were you when you heard that he was leveling this accusation. i remember vividly. it was early january of 2005, and this was the consequence of me shutting down his landfill. the very next day, he called a press conference, and he was clever enough to accuse chris kel

and if politicians or the public feel the same way he does, then another rod blagojevich is just around the corner. i didn't break a law, cross the line, or take a penny, okay? but i never said i wasn't a [bleep] idiot. [laughter] thank you very much. thank you very much. thank you very much. thank you very much! -awesome. thank you so much. -yeah, thanks. appreciate it. really enjoyed it. you're all right. i wish you the best. we'll see how it ends up and who cares. that's true. find out-- what are you gonna do, throw me back in prison? -no, but i mean, like, -you can't hurt me, man. tapper: for a country that bills itself as the world's oldest democracy, we sure do love a strongman, and from teddy roosevelt all the way up to our reality tv president, nowhere produces more of them than the empire state. and i get it. in an age where congress' approval rating hovers somewhere around sewer rats, we wanna vote for the politician who can finally just get things done. that was eliot spitzer to a "t." but when new yorkers sent the sheriff of wall street to the governor's mansion, we all lear