Jury Finds Tony Rezko Guilty On 16 Of 24 Charges

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Jury Finds Tony Rezko Guilty On 16 Of 24 Charges
Topic Started: Jun 4 2008, 04:14 PM (384 Views)
Baldo	Jun 4 2008, 04:14 PM Post #1
Posts: 8,571 Group: Tier2 Member #45 Joined: Apr 28, 2008	http://cbs2chicago.com/local/rezko.trial.verdict.2.740375.html A jury has found political fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko guilty on 16 of 24 charges in his corruption trial. U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve will read the verdict 3:45 p.m. at the Dirksen Federal Building. Jurors sent St. Eve a note Monday saying they could not "decide on one count." The note seemed to suggest the jury had reached verdicts on 23 of the 24 counts against Rezko, but it didn't say that specifically. St. Eve called jurors to the courtroom and told them to listen carefully to each other and make an effort to reach a unanimous verdict. She then sent them to continue deliberations, which began May 13. The 52-year-old Rezko is accused of scheming to get kickbacks from companies wanting state contracts. He has pleaded not guilty, and defense attorneys say the government didn't prove its case. CBS 2's Mike Parker will have more on this developing story after the verdict is read.



Kerri P.	Jun 4 2008, 05:55 PM Post #2
Posts: 4,937 Group: Tier1 Member #131 Joined: Apr 28, 2008	http://www.wral.com/news/national_world/national/story/2992191/ Jury: Rezko guilty of 16 counts in corruption case Posted: Today at 5:04 p.m. Updated: 1 minute ago CHICAGO — A prominent fundraiser for Sen. Barack Obama and Gov. Rod Blagojevich was convicted Wednesday of fraud and money laundering after a high-profile federal trial provided an unusually detailed glimpse of the pay-to-play politics that has made Illinois infamous. Antoin "Tony" Rezko showed no emotion as the jury found him guilty of 16 of 24 counts, including scheming to get kickbacks from money management firms seeking state business and a contractor who wanted to build a hospital in northern Illinois. He was acquitted of charges that included attempted extortion. The nine-week trial included explosive testimony about drug-fueled parties involving the government's star witness and allegations that the governor discussed a state job for a donor after the donor handed over a $25,000 check for Blagojevich's campaign. Testimony barely touched on the relationship between Obama and Rezko, who has known the Democratic presidential candidate since he entered politics and was involved in a 2005 real estate deal with him. Most of the focus was on shakedowns prosecutors said Rezko arranged when he was a top adviser to Blagojevich. snip... Edited by Kerri P., Jun 4 2008, 05:56 PM.



Tidbits	Jun 4 2008, 10:47 PM Post #3
Posts: 5,242 Group: Tier1 Member #141 Joined: Apr 28, 2008	His behavior now can greatly affect his sentence. The US Attorney can state that he cooperated, or not. Activities other than the convicted actions can affect his guideline range and sentence. He can have big incentives to talk about what he did, and who he did it with. A governor and a couple of Senators may not sleep so well tonight. Others too. Many others, perhaps.



Tidbits	Jun 4 2008, 10:52 PM Post #4
Posts: 5,242 Group: Tier1 Member #141 Joined: Apr 28, 2008	Various videos on this page.



Tidbits	Jun 4 2008, 11:01 PM Post #5
Posts: 5,242 Group: Tier1 Member #141 Joined: Apr 28, 2008	Rezko chose to start serving his sentence. Maybe that is safer, with less chance of a hit man?



Tidbits	Jun 4 2008, 11:03 PM Post #6
Posts: 5,242 Group: Tier1 Member #141 Joined: Apr 28, 2008	He has another criminal trial to come, over a $10,000,000 Pizza fraud.



Tidbits	Jun 4 2008, 11:07 PM Post #7
Posts: 5,242 Group: Tier1 Member #141 Joined: Apr 28, 2008	The list of people who might turn states evidence on lots of other people is long. Really long.



Tidbits	Jun 4 2008, 11:55 PM Post #8
Posts: 5,242 Group: Tier1 Member #141 Joined: Apr 28, 2008	http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/844634,obamasun031508.article Quote: To Barack Obama, Tony Rezko was more than a fund-raiser. He was a friend. Rezko helped bankroll Obama in five election runs — for the state Senate, U.S. House and U.S. Senate. The savvy businessman with the North Shore mansion could bring in as much as $70,000 from political donors in one night. In the heat of a campaign, Obama said he sometimes talked strategy with Rezko daily. Then, during political down-times, Rezko was his lunch or breakfast companion, more concerned about Obama, his wife and daughters than with posing for snapshots with the senator as he rose from political obscurity to Democratic presidential hopeful. On one occasion, Obama recalled, they wiled away time with their wives at Rezko’s Lake Geneva estate. Quote: The senator disclosed that Rezko had raised far more campaign cash for him than previously known. He said he was “saddened” by his friend’s troubles but would be “disappointed” if Rezko ends up convicted. For the first time, Obama said he was disturbed that Rezko had allowed low-income housing Rezko developed to fall apart. And he said that, although he had made a mistake in buying a piece of property from Rezko, “Does it speak to a trend of mine? No.” Quote: Is Rezko still a friend? “Yes,” Obama said, “with the caveat that, obviously, if it turns out the allegations are true, then he’s not who I thought he was. And I’d be very disappointed with that.” Quote: Obama acknowledged that Rezko had raised $250,000 for him — about $100,000 more than had previously been disclosed and about five times more than Obama conveyed during a November 2006 question-and-answer exchange with the Sun-Times. Obama also defended signing a 1998 letter urging the state to fund a low-income housing project developed by Rezko and Obama’s former boss, Allison Davis — both of whom were clients of Obama’s law firm as well as campaign contributors. Obama said he didn’t remember writing the “form letter” until the Sun-Times asked about it last June. This was not one of the Rezko developments that fell into disrepair. The senator began the unusual session with Sun-Times reporters and editors by recounting his relationship with Rezko, which he said began when Rezko and two of his partners tried to recruit him out of law school for a job at Rezko’s development firm, Rezmar. He said he met with them in Chicago for about 45 minutes. Quote: Obama picked Rezko for the campaign finance committee for his 2004 U.S. Senate run. Around that same time, Rezko had begun walking away from affordable-housing projects he was building with government funds, leaving some in squalor — including some buildings in Obama’s own Illinois Senate district. Obama said he knew nothing of those problems. The interview transcript. http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/844597,transcript031508.article Edited by Tidbits, Jun 5 2008, 12:05 AM.



Tidbits	Jun 5 2008, 12:22 AM Post #9
Posts: 5,242 Group: Tier1 Member #141 Joined: Apr 28, 2008	http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/06/04/obama-saddened-by-rezko-verdict/ Quote: Obama: “I’m saddened by today’s verdict. This isn’t the Tony Rezko I knew, but now he has been convicted by a jury on multiple charges that once again shine a spotlight on the need for reform. I encourage the General Assembly to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent these kinds of abuses in the future.”



Baldo	Jun 5 2008, 01:01 AM Post #10
Posts: 8,571 Group: Tier2 Member #45 Joined: Apr 28, 2008	Tidbits Jun 5 2008, 12:22 AM http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/06/04/obama-saddened-by-rezko-verdict/ Quote: Obama: “I’m saddened by today’s verdict. This isn’t the Tony Rezko I knew, but now he has been convicted by a jury on multiple charges that once again shine a spotlight on the need for reform. I encourage the General Assembly to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent these kinds of abuses in the future.” This isn’t the Tony Rezko I knew This isn’t the Rev Wright I knew This isn’t the Father Pfeger I knew This isn’t the Trinity Church I knew Rezko's conviction is an interesting development. I wonder what US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has in mind? The one thing you can say he goes after Republicans and Democrats. Rezko had 30 taxpayer-supported buildings in Chicago which fell into disrepair Obama worked for Davis, Miner & Barnhill law firm and they handled Rezko account. Rezko lives next door to Obama and sold him the land. As a state senator, Barack Obama wrote letters to city and state officials supporting his political patron Tony Rezko's successful bid to get more than $14 million from taxpayers to build apartments for senior citizens. The deal included $855,000 in development fees for Rezko and his partner, Allison S. Davis, Obama's former boss, according to records from the project, which was four blocks outside Obama's state Senate district. The deal included $855,000 in development fees for Rezko and his partner, Allison S. Davis, Obama's former boss, according to records from the project, which was four blocks outside Obama's state Senate district. Obama's letters, written nearly nine years ago, for the first time show the Democratic presidential hopeful did a political favor for Rezko -- a longtime friend, campaign fund-raiser and client of the law firm where Obama worked -- who was indicted last fall on federal charges that accuse him of demanding kickbacks from companies seeking state business under Gov. Blagojevich. http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/425305,CST-NWS-obama13.article



Baldo	Jun 5 2008, 01:10 AM Post #11
Posts: 8,571 Group: Tier2 Member #45 Joined: Apr 28, 2008	http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-fundraisertrial-o,0,1619099.story Rezko scandal already casting shadow over presidential race By MIKE ROBINSON \| AP Legal Affairs Writer 9:04 PM CDT, June 4, 2008 CHICAGO - A corruption scandal involving a fundraiser who bankrolled the campaigns of Sen. Barack Obama and Gov. Rod Blagojevich is guaranteed to take on fresh life as the nation heads into a hard-fought presidential election. Chicago businessman Antoin "Tony" Rezko, 52, was convicted Wednesday of fraud, money laundering and aiding and abetting bribery in a plot to squeeze illegal payoffs out of firms hoping to do business with the state. Republican spin doctors are already capitalizing on Rezko's ties to Obama -- the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. "Today's verdict and Obama's friendship with Rezko raises serious questions about whether he has the judgment to serve as president," Republican national chairman Robert M. "Mike" Duncan said in a statement. And Blagojevich's political survival is in doubt. State lawmakers are already talking about impeachment and a primary fight is likely in 2010. Rezko's $8 million bond was revoked and he was taken into federal custody after the verdict in the two-month trial that exposed a corrupt culture of payoffs and campaign finance abuses plaguing Illinois politics. U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald said the verdict represented "an antidote to the poison of corruption" that trial testimony alleged included the fixing of state boards that controlled a $40 billion pension fund and made major decisions about million-dollar hospital construction. He expressed hope it would have an effect on Illinois politicians. "If morals don't get to them, I hope the fear of going to jail does," Fitzgerald told reporters. The trial included explosive testimony about all-night drug parties involving the government's star witness and allegations that Blagojevich personally discussed a state job for a campaign contributor. Rezko's conviction also intensifies the spotlight on his relationship with Obama. They have known each other for decades and Obama calculates that Rezko has raised $250,000 for his Senate and legislative campaigns. snipped



Tidbits	Jun 5 2008, 01:38 AM Post #12
Posts: 5,242 Group: Tier1 Member #141 Joined: Apr 28, 2008	Quote: Rezko lives next door to Obama and sold him the land. Not quite. Obama wanted to buy a house that was for sale as a package with the lot next door. Obama bought the house. Rezko bought the lot. Rezko then sold part of the lot to Obama. Rezko owns the rest of the vacant lot. This is from memory. It might be Mrs. Rezko. There was some time between the purchase and sale. A photo makes it clearer. I don't have a link handy. The lot is a big deal.



Tidbits	Jun 5 2008, 01:41 AM Post #13
Posts: 5,242 Group: Tier1 Member #141 Joined: Apr 28, 2008	Quote: This isn’t the Tony Rezko I knew This isn’t the Rev Wright I knew This isn’t the Father Pfeger I knew This isn’t the Trinity Church I knew Ayers Mrs. Ayers Some day perhaps Rev. Moss and Rev. Meek will have to make the list. And maybe some more criminal politicians. Chicago has them aplenty. And perhaps a Palestinian activist or two. The fall campaign is a day old.



Tidbits	Jun 5 2008, 01:46 AM Post #14
Posts: 5,242 Group: Tier1 Member #141 Joined: Apr 28, 2008	This is off topic, but Obama said something about his girls' school. It sounded like the "lab" school. Maybe a U. of Chicago school? Does anyone know? I am wondering if his children attend public schools, elitist schools, or...? I can't imagine that the Obamas would send there children to a private school, thus my question. Hopefully they attend their assigned public school and my concern will be replaced with faith I can believe in.



Tidbits	Jun 5 2008, 02:24 AM Post #15
Posts: 5,242 Group: Tier1 Member #141 Joined: Apr 28, 2008	Tidbits Jun 5 2008, 01:41 AM Quote: This isn’t the Tony Rezko I knew This isn’t the Rev Wright I knew This isn’t the Father Pfeger I knew This isn’t the Trinity Church I knew Ayers Mrs. Ayers Some day perhaps Rev. Moss and Rev. Meek will have to make the list. And maybe some more criminal politicians. Chicago has them aplenty. And perhaps a Palestinian activist or two. The fall campaign is a day old. This isn't the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad I knew. http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/7792.htm



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