Recently a RezkoWatch site has sprung up, presumably to help Hillary, with crossposts at the Daily Kos.
As the Rezko trial ramps up, the Sun Times ran a story yesterday, "Decoding Rezko", a two page spread. More today: "The Witness List", Insiders to testify on Rezko's clout": (No mention of "unnamed political candidate" in this piece):
Tony Rezko goes on trial March 3 in a complicated corruption case that centers on allegations of influence-peddling in Gov. Blagojevich’s administration.
The case, which has drawn national attention because of Rezko’s long ties to Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama, centers on a string of alleged kickback schemes. Some of the people involved, prosecutors say, wanted a cut of the billions of dollars invested by the state Teachers’ Retirement System, the pension plan for all public schoolteachers outside Chicago. [snip]
The case has drawn national attention because of Rezko’s fund-raising ties to Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama, who was involved in a real estate transaction with Rezko’s wife at a time in 2006 when Rezko was widely known to be under federal investigation. [snip]
Rezko, 52, of Wilmette was jailed last month after prosecutors said he received a $3.5 million payment from an Iraqi-born billionaire and was taking other steps that made it appear he might flee the country.
What about this Iraqi-born billionaire? (And how did he get his billions? How did anyone make money in Iraq before the war?) Another story here:
Gov. Rod Blagojevich's chief fundraiser has arranged to get a loan from the same Iraqi billionaire whose $3.5 million payment got another member of the governor's inner circle thrown in jail.
Christopher Kelly, head of Blagojevich's campaign fund in both of his races for governor and now under federal indictment, pledged all of his shares in a Nevada land partnership as collateral in exchange for the loan, according to state records reviewed by The Associated Press.
The loan came from General Mediterranean Holdings, a company based in Luxembourg and headed by Nadhmi Auchi, a London-based Iraqi who is currently appealing a fraud conviction in France.
''I don't want to comment,'' Kelly's defense attorney, Michael D. Monico, said after conferring with the south suburban roofing contractor.
Antoin ''Tony'' Rezko, a major campaign fundraiser for Blagojevich and Sen. Barack Obama who is facing a federal fraud trial next month, was jailed Jan. 28 after prosecutors said a $3.5 million payment from Auchi showed he had access to overseas money that could enable him to flee.
Seamy stuff. And who is Nadhmi Auchi?
Auchi was listed on the last Forbes magazine list as the 279th richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $3.1 billion. He owns a portion of a 62-acre tract just south of downtown Chicago in which Rezko also is a shareholder.
Auchi, who visited Chicago in 2004 and posed for a photograph with Blagojevich, was barred from entering the country in 2005, federal prosecutors say.
They said in recently filed court papers that Rezko wrote to the State Department in November 2005 to request that Auchi be allowed to enter the United States ''and, it appears, asked certain Illinois government officials to do the same.''
Alasdair Pepper, a London attorney representing Auchi, said the magnate's fraud conviction in France is currently on appeal and ''he absolutely denies that he had anything to do with any fraud.''
Auchi has been accused of no wrongdoing in connection with his dealings with Rezko and Kelly. There was no indication that the loan to Kelly was in any way improper.
General Mediterranean is a holding company with assets around the world. The $3.5 million to Rezko was wired from an account in Beirut, Lebanon, to a Chicago bank in April 2007, according to prosecutors. They said it was disbursed within a week.
More background and questions from The Swamp last month. And today in the Trib. Also here.
Salon Feb. 1st starting the ball rolling on the next phase. "How Close were Barack Obama and Tony Rezko?":
CHICAGO -- During his rise through Illinois politics, it was inevitable that Barack Obama would encounter a suckerfish like Tony Rezko. Illinois has more governmental bodies than any other state -- over 500 in Cook County alone -- and therefore, more opportunities for operators. [snip]
Obama's dealings with his hinky friend have never led him afoul of the law, but they show that, despite his high-minded politics, he was no purer -- or no savvier -- than Illinois' biggest hacks in his weakness for a generous contributor. He wouldn't even say no when Rezko cooked up a deal to help the newly elected senator buy a gracious Georgian-revival home.
Rezko, after all, built part of his fortune by exploiting the black community that Obama had served in the state Senate, and by milking government programs meant to benefit black-owned businesses. But Obama took Rezko's money even after the businessman was sued by the city of Chicago for failing to heat his low-income apartments, and even after Rezko was caught using a black business partner to obtain a minority set-aside for a fast-food franchise at O'Hare Airport.
Now Rezko is wearing an orange jumpsuit. And Obama may spend the rest of the presidential campaign wearing the jacket for his friendship with the fixer.
MSNBC's First Read picks it up. Seattle Times with another piece here by an AP writer. From my earlier post:
Look, the Dems are incestuous (and glitzy socialist in name only socialites) with their "affordable" housing slumlord scams, government subsidies to politically-connected developers who then turn around and donate to their campaigns and their personal real estate. (Sometimes they push eminent domain, but usually they don't need to.) The real estate guys get the upfront fees and the buildings fall apart, leaving tenants living in squalor.And this one, "Obama Haunted by Sleaze".
UPDATE: WaPo's The Trail Feb. 5th, Super Tuesday, "The Obama Clock".
Related posts: Obama Girl GOTV Not, Obama Worship and Other Stories, Chicago's Subway Series, Obama Most Liberal, You Gotta See This, Mr. Rezko and Mr. Obama
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