Takes the money and runs.Giannoulias is out with an ad accusing Rep. Mark Kirk of being a pathological liar. Kirk did serve in Iraq, just not in Desert Storm per se. His resume was sloppy, more sound bite than specifics, but the gist of it is true. And going after his near-drowning experience is ridiculous. But Alexi? An outright liar. Some might say pathological. No wonder he's ducking debates (see below--a forum on Israel). (And Alexi, if I were you I wouldn't talk about selling DC to the highest bidder--you wanted that bleepin golden seat too. Some folks are not too happy with you. Don't you love that photo.). His latest lie (oh yeah, he brags about his private sector experience--a real poster boy for Main St.) From the Kirk campaign:
Giannoulias Lies to “Morning Joe” on Loans to Mobsters
Scarborough: Did you guys give loans to organized crime?
Giannoulias: No.
Scarborough: Is that a no?
Giannoulias: Yes that’s correct.
Giannoulias Lies about Loans to Mobsters: This morning, in a flat-out lie, Alexi Giannoulias told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that Broadway Bank never made loans to organized crime figures. Watch the video.What about the $40 million for Michael “Jaws” Giorango?
Between 1999 and 2005, Broadway Bank extended at least 5 separate loans and lines of credit to Michael Giorango personally, and at least 9 additional loans and lines of credit to ventures he co-owned with Demitri Stavropoulos, totaling $39,980,000. Loans and lines of credit extended to Giorango and his companies while Alexi Giannoulias was Vice President and Chief Loan Officer of Broadway Bank total $26,080,000.
Michael Giorango pled guilty in 1989 of "helping direct a south suburban bookmaking ring that used threats of bombings, beatings and robbery to collect unpaid debts."(Loans to crime figure haunt state treasurer hopeful, Chicago Tribune, March 15, 2006)
He was convicted again in 1991 for "additional gambling and tax violations stemming from his role in a separate bookmaking operation overseen by Chicago Heights gambling boss Dominic Barbaro." (Loans to crime figure haunt state treasurer hopeful, Chicago Tribune, March 15, 2006)
In 2004 Giorango was convicted of promoting a nationwide prostitution ring called "The Circuit" and he allowed the prostitutes to work out of his Lorraine Hotel in Miami, which Broadway Bank financed. (Boulis kin, 2 felons own Martha's site, Miami Herald, June 18, 2006)
A company owned by Giorango and Demitri Stavropoulos, 1201 South Western LLC, to which Broadway Bank loaned more than $15 million, made short-term, “hard money” real estate loans. ($20 million in loans to felons, Chicago Tribune, April 2, 2010) The average interest rate for these loans was 1% per week. (Suits awaken old ghosts for Giannoulias, Crain’s Chicago Business, July 13, 2009)
Recipient Amount Date Michael Giorango $1,100,000.00 8/27/1999 Michael Giorango $900,000.00 9/24/1999 Michael Giorango $300,000.00 12/5/2000 2601 Associates $5,000,000.00 5/31/2001 Michael Giorango $6,000,000.00 11/2/2001 Michael Giorango $600,000.00 5/28/2002 2601 Associates $400,000.00 9/19/2002 1201 S Western LLC $1,360,000.00 9/1/2004 1201 S Western LLC $4,400,000.00 12/21/2004 1201 S Western LLC $6,120,000.00 12/31/2004 Sun & Ocean Properties $5,800,000.00 3/31/2005 2601 Associates $1,000,000.00 4/20/2005 Highland Park Real Estate Dev. Corp $3,600,000.00 7/1/2005 1201 S Western LLC $3,400,000.00 9/26/2005 What about the $31 million for Demitri Stavropoulos?
Between 2001 and 2005, Broadway Bank extended a least 9 loans and lines of credit to ventures Stavropoulos co-owned with his partner, Michael “Jaws” Giorango, totaling $31,080,000. Loans and lines of credit extended to Stavropoulos and his companies while Alexi Giannoulias was Vice President and Chief Loan Officer of Broadway Bank total $26,080,000.
Demitri Stavropoulos was convicted in 2004 of running a multistate gambling ring. He was also convicted in 1994 of explosives possession charges. (Loans cast pall over candidate, Chicago Tribune, April 9, 2006)
Stavropoulos was also arrested in 1993 in a gambling raid. He was charged with syndicated gambling and obstruction of justice. (POLICE ARREST 3 IN GAMBLING RAID, Chicago Tribune, October 18, 1993)
A company owned by Stavropoulos and Michael Giorango, 1201 South Western LLC, to which Broadway Bank loaned more than $15 million, made short-term, “hard money” real estate loans. ($20 million in loans to felons, Chicago Tribune, April 2, 2010) The average interest rate for these loans was 1% per week. (Suits awaken old ghosts for Giannoulias, Crain’s Chicago Business, July 13, 2009)
Recipient Amount Date 2601 Associates $5,000,000.00 5/31/2001 2601 Associates $400,000.00 9/19/2002 1201 S Western LLC $1,360,000.00 9/1/2004 1201 S Western LLC $4,400,000.00 12/21/2004 1201 S Western LLC $6,120,000.00 12/31/2004 Sun & Ocean Properties $5,800,000.00 (7) 3/31/2005 2601 Associates $1,000,000.00 4/20/2005 Highland Park Real Estate Dev. Corp $3,600,000.00 (8) 7/1/2005 1201 S Western LLC $3,400,000.00 9/26/2005 What about the $25 million for Boris "Half Dollar" Stratievsky?
Between 2002 and 2005, Broadway Bank extended $25,137,045 in loans and lines of credit to the Stratievskys. More than $23 million of those loans were made while Alexi Giannoulias was Vice President and Chief Loan Officer of Broadway Bank.
Boris Stratievsky and his father, Lev "Dollar" Stratievsky emigrated from Ukraine in 1978. The father and son team were money launderers for clients in Moscow, including, according to court testimony, a member of the Russian Duma. (The Face of the New Mafia, Chicago Sun Times, February 24, 2008) The Stratievskys were arrested in an FBI sting in 2005 after Boris laundered $80,000 for what he thought was a Ukrainian drug trafficker (in reality an FBI informant). (Millionaire pleads guilty, Chicago Sun Times, May 15, 2008) Lev Stratievsky died in prison in 2006. Boris pled guilty to money laundering in 2008 and is currently in federal prison.
Stratievsky was described by his late father as a "professor of money laundering" and as "the face of the new Mafia" by the Chicago Sun Times. (The Face of the New Mafia, Chicago Sun Times, February 24, 2008)
Recipient Amount Date Arbor Fullerton Corp $1,900,000 4/1/2002 2400 South LLC $6,120,000 1/15/2003 Arbor III Inc $6,000,000 9/30/2004 Arbor III Inc $6,117,045 1/28/2005 Arbor ACQ Inc $5,000,000 2/18/2005
Giannoulias Dodges Simple Question about Bank Loan to Nadhmi AuchiAlexi Giannoulias. Democrat. He just can't tell the truth.
Watch Alexi on Fox Chicago last nightReporter: “Is it true or not true about the bank loaning money to him?”
Giannoulias: “Come on, again, that’s political smokescreens, trying to link me to Saddam Hussein. It’s a Washington, DC guilt by association game.”
But Broadway Bank did loan money to Nadhmi Auchi: “On Feb. 14, 2006, newly obtained records show, the bank made a $22.75 million loan to a company called Riverside District Development LLC, whose owners, it turns out, included Rezko… Rezko's lawyers said his main partner in Riverside was General Mediterranean Holding, a Luxembourg company controlled by Iraq-born billionaire Nadhmi Auchi.” (Chicago Sun-Times, 8/2/10)
Get the Facts about Nadhmi Auchi:
- In 1996, Belgium's Ambassador to Luxembourg claimed that the Banque Continentale du Luxembourg, which was jointly controlled by Auchi and BNP Paribas until 1994, had handled the personal bank accounts of Saddam Hussein. (“Iraqi-Born Billionaire Has Stake in Bank That Holds Oil-for-Food Funds,” New York Times, April 30, 2003)
- In 1993, Pierfrancesco Battaglia, an Italian banker, swore in a statement that Auchi had bribed members of the Hussein government in order to secure the rights to build an oil pipeline from Iraq to Saudi Arabia. (“Iraqi-Born Billionaire Has Stake in Bank That Holds Oil-for-Food Funds,” New York Times, April 30, 2003) For this service, Auchi was paid "millions of dollars" in commissions, according to Battaglia. (“A tycoon, a Minister and Interpol,” The Observer, May 27, 2001) Battaglia called Auchi "one of the most important intermediaries in the affairs of Middle Eastern countries." (“Iraqi-Born Billionaire Has Big Stake in Bank That Holds Baghdad's Oil-for-Food Funds,” New York Times, April 30, 2003)
- In 1980, Auchi was the middleman in a billion dollar sale of Italian naval warships to Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Auchi received a $23 million commission on the sale. (“A tycoon, a Minister and Interpol,” The Observer, May 27, 2001)
- Auchi is barred from entering the United States and is deemed an undesirable alien by the State Department. (“Miracle in Philadelphia?,” New York Sun, April 16, 2008) Rezko attempted to intercede on Auchi's behalf in November of 2005. According to federal prosecutors, "Rezko directly appealed to the State Department and, it appears, asked certain Illinois government officials to do the same." (“Mysterious London-based billionaire in the background at political fundraiser Tony Rezko's trial,” Associated Press, April 14, 2008) He was ultimately unsuccessful. (“Obama's name in Rezko trial,” Sun Times, April 15, 2008)
- In 2003, Nadhmi Auchi was convicted in France on counts of fraud and bribery in connection to the Elf Aquitane scandal. Executives of Elf-Aquitane, a French state-owned oil company, were found to have looted the company for hundreds of millions of dollars. (“Elf trial reveals moral vacuum,” BBC News, April 24, 2003)
Kirk Expresses Disappointment in Giannoulias Decision to Withdraw from Israel Policy Candidate Forum
No response from Giannoulias on Kirk proposal for seven debates and forums;
First debate set for August 21st in Ottawa – same date and location as first Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858
Northbrook, Ill. – Congressman Mark Kirk today expressed his disappointment in Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias’ decision to withdraw from a candidate forum focused on the U.S.-Israel relationship scheduled for August 22nd in Northbrook. The statement comes two weeks after Kirk proposed seven debates and forums for the U.S. Senate campaign beginning August 21st in Ottawa, Illinois – the date and location of the first of seven Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858. Giannoulias has not responded.
“As Iran continues its pursuit of nuclear weapons and terrorists threaten Israel from Gaza and Lebanon, our next U.S. Senator should not be afraid to stand up for our strongest democratic ally in the Middle East,” Congressman Kirk said. “Treasurer Giannoulias’ decision to back out of the campaign’s premier pro-Israel forum is disappointing and concerning. Voters deserve a thoughtful series of debates and forums to discuss the complex economic and foreign policy challenges before us. I would hope Treasurer Giannoulias agrees.”
The release announcing Giannoulias’ decision to withdraw from the Israel policy forum appears below.
In addition to a foreign policy debate on August 21st in Ottawa and an economic policy debate on October 15th in Alton – the dates and locations of the first and last Lincoln-Douglas debates – the Kirk campaign’s proposal includes:
August 21: A foreign policy focused debate in Ottawa, Illinois hosted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs (and potentially the Ottawa Times).
August 22: A Middle East policy candidate forum in Northbrook, Illinois hosted by To Protect Our Heritage and several local synagogues.
August 25: An agriculture and jobs candidate forum in Bloomington, Illinois hosted by the Illinois Farm Bureau.
September 2: A wide-ranging debate in Springfield, Illinois (proposed hosts: WICS-TV, the Citizens Club of Springfield and the University of Illinois-Springfield).
October 15: An economic policy focused debate in Alton, Illinois (proposed host: KTVI Fox St. Louis).
October 19: A wide-ranging debate in Chicago, Illinois hosted by the League of Women Voters and ABC 7.
October 21: A wide-ranging debate in Carbondale, Illinois hosted by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, WSIU-TV and the Southern Illinoisan.
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Contact: Peggy ShapiroFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Cell Phone: 224.392.3264August 9, 2010
Email: proheritagepac@aol.com
GIANNOULIAS BACKS OUT OF CANDIDATES’ FORUM ON ISRAEL
TO PROTECT OUR HERITAGE and sixteen other Jewish organizations will hold a candidates’ forum on the topic of ISRAEL, ITS NEIGHBORS, AND THE U.S. at Temple Beth-El , 3610 Dundee Road in Northbrook, Ill. onSunday, August 22, 2010 at 7:00 PM.
HERUT/LIKUD ZIONISTS OF CHICAGO, Jewish War Veterans Post 29, Strategic Studies Discussion Group (Highland Park),Temple Beth-El (Northbrook),Temple Chai (Long Grove), Kadima Congregation (Deerfield), Beth Hillel Congregation/B'nai Emunah (Wilmette),Temple Emanuel (Chicago), Vashe Radio,
Although both candidates for the U.S. Senate seat, Congressman Mark S. Kirk and (R- IL 10th) and current Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias (D) had agreed to participate in the forum several months ago, the Giannoulias campaign announced today that it had “previous commitments.” (Last March Giannoulias personally accepted the invitation to participate in the forum and his campaign confirmed his availability on the forum date.) The forum for the senate seat will continue along with the forum for the 10th Congressional seat (being vacated by Rep. Kirk) with Democrat Dan Seals and Republican Robert Dold
The non-partisan forum is an opportunity for constituents to question the candidates about their positions on the current status of the U.S.-Israel relationship, the future prospects of the U.S.-Israel political and strategic alliance, the U.S. position on efforts to isolate and de-legitimize the State of Israel, Israel’s right to self defense (and U.S. support for that right), U.S. efforts to stop or contain Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and other issues which pertain to the Middle East.
The forum is free to the public, but registration is highly recommended to guarantee admittance to an event that promises to be “sold out.” Email proheritagepac@aol.com to reserve seats.
TO PROTECT OUR THERITAGE PAC is a bipartisan Political Action Committee dedicated to supporting a strong U.S.-Israel relationship by working for Congressional support. Its members are Democrats, Republicans and Independents, Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and secular. TO PROTECT OUR HERITAGE EUCATION DIVISION conducts candidate forums, hosts educational programs and provides expert speakers on issues relating to the U.S.-Israel relationship.
Other sponsoring organizations include AFSI/Americans for a Safe Israel, American Zionist Movement, Bene Shalom (Skokie),B.J.B.E. (Deerfield), Congregation K.I.N.S. (Chicago), Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob (Skokie), Darchei Noam Synagogue of Glenbrook (Northbrook, Glenview),
A second forum for the 9th District, featuring incumbent Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D) and challenger Joel Pollak (R), is scheduled for Sunday, October 17th at Congregation K.I.N.S., 2800 West North Shore Avenue, Chicago Ill. 60645.
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