He was previously the chairman of the NYSE-listed Argosy Gaming Company, was the treasurer of the Sangamon County Republican Party, and has held several public offices within the state of Illinois.

With his business partner Larry Haddad, he co-founded the New Frontier Companies,[8] a full service real estate development firm, and in addition, Cellini became executive director of the Illinois Asphalt Pavement Association.

[9] Cellini remained politically active in the private sector serving as Treasurer of the Sangamon County Republican Central Committee in Springfield.

In the mid-1970s, he was appointed by the President of the United States to serve on the National Highway Safety Advisory Committee and in 1976 at the age of 41, Cellini was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in Kansas City, Missouri where from the floor of the convention hall he seconded the nomination of Gerald R. Ford for President by giving a brief speech he wrote on the back of a campaign sign.

In 1990, Cellini and group of ten entrepreneurs created Metro Entertainment and Tourism to obtain the first casino license in Illinois.

After an extensive government vetting and qualifying process, Cellini became the co-founder of Argosy Gaming Company in 1999, a New York Stock Exchange traded entity.

The firm was a highly successful real-estate investment company focused on asset management of commercial real estate.

CRA earned double-digit returns for teachers' system over a period of 17 years and grew to manage approximately $2 billion in gross assets before its closure in 2009.

"They have made a ton of money for us," TRS executive director Jon Bauman told The State Journal-Register at the time.

[13] In October 2008, Cellini was indicted on charges of conspiring with convicted fundraiser Tony Rezko to obtain money in exchange for campaign contributions to a public official who at the time was believed to be Illinois' Governor Rod Blagojevich.

The indictment described a plan that involved campaign contribution money from the Chicago investment firm Capri Capital through the cooperation of one of its owner, Thomas Rosenberg.

[14] In a separate trial, Tony Rezko was acquitted of similar charges related to an extortion plot involving Rosenberg and Capri Capital.

[15] Cellini's attorney Dan Webb released a statement saying that his client, "is completely innocent of these charges, and he will fight this case because he has done absolutely nothing wrong.

Bill has lived an exemplary life as a successful businessman and devoted husband and father, and he will not allow his reputation to be damaged by these unfair and unjust charges.

[16] In October 2011 in Chicago, prosecution and defense brought forth their cases in a Federal Court presided over by Judge James Zagel.

Described by both sides as having committed crimes including drug use and dealing, Levine had not yet served a single day in prison presumably due to his cooperation with the authorities.

[17] While under questioning by the Assistant U.S. Attorney, Levine gave mostly monotone answers about his past malfeasance while on the board of the Illinois Teachers' Retirement System - TRS.

[21] After the conviction, Dan Webb filed a motion for a mistrial based on the premise a juror showed bias towards the legal system by concealing several felony records during pre-trial questioning.

On January 24, 2012, Judge Zagel denied the mistrial request claiming the juror showed no legal evidence of bias.

[24] Following sentencing, the Jacksonville Journal-Courier exclaimed, "If this conviction is a travesty of the system...if Cellini is caught in a net that was cast one person too wide, it would be a shame for him to not know how the story ends.