William Cellini trial, Bill Cellini 101, Chicago corruption world of Cellini Blagojevich Rezko Obama
William Cellini trial, Bill Cellini 101, Chicago corruption world of Cellini Blagojevich Rezko Obama
William Cellini was mentioned numerous times during the Tony Rezko trial in early 2008. Cellini was indicted in October 2008.
Press release
http://www.justice.gov/usao/iln/pr/chicago/2008/pr1030_01.pdf
Indictment
http://www.justice.gov/usao/iln/pr/chicago/2008/pr1030_01a.pdf
From Citizen Wells December 11, 2008.
“A review of senate records from January 2003 to August 2003, shows Obama played a major role as chairman of that committee, in pushing through Senate Bill 1332, that led to the “Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act,” which reduced the number of members on the Board from 15 to 9, making the votes much easier to rig.
Democratic Senator Susan Garrett sponsored the bill in the senate, and the chief co-sponsor was Republican Senator Dale Righter. These two senators were also on the Human Services Committee with Obama.
The bill was filed with the senate secretary on February 20, 2003, and assigned to Human Services Committee for review on February 27. Less than a month later, as chairman, Obama sent word that the bill should be passed on March 13, 2003.
On May 31, 2003, the House and Senate passed the bill and the only senator listed in the “yes” votes mentioned in the Board Games indictments is Obama.
Blagojevich made the effective date June 27, 2003, and the co-schemers already had the people lined up to stack the Board and rig the votes with full approval from Obama.”
“During the trial, Stuart Levine testified that when he sought reappointment to the Planning Board, he told Republican co-schemer, Bill Cellini, to tell the Blagojevich administration he would vote however they wanted when approving projects.”
From Citizen Wells August 10, 2009.
“Children’s Memorial Hospital seen as potential shakedown target”
“The brief conversation was between Levine and Rezko on April 24, 2004, just three days after Levine said he and Rezko had rigged a vote of a state hospital planning board to approve a controversial hospital in Crystal Lake. Hospital contractor Jacob Kiferbaum was going to pay Levine and Rezko $1 million in bribes if the Crystal Lake facility won approval, Levine has testified.
Levine testified that he called Rezko on April 24 to set up a meeting to discuss their next shakedown target: Children’s Memorial Hospital. Just minutes before Levine called Rezko, Levine had hung up with a money manager from the investment banking firm Bear Stearns named Nicholas Hurtgen, who prosecutors say was a confederate in past Levine kickback schemes.”
“This is made for Tony and Mr. C,” Hurtgen told Levine. Asked by prosecutors later to explain what that meant, Levine said Hurtgen was referring to Rezko and Republican political insider William Cellini, who were both accomplished real estate developers who might eye the Children’s Memorial property as a development opportunity if the hospital moved.”
From Citizen Wells April 29, 2010.
“From the Chicago Tribune, November 16, 2008.
“ Connections could touch every somebody”
“To fully appreciate our politics you’ve got to look at the connections. Sadly, this task is beyond the national press and some locals besotted with our renowned vintage, Combine Kool Aid.
But you readers have the mental agility to follow along.
So as U.S. District Judge James Zagel accepted the not guilty plea, Cellini stood with his defense lawyer, Dan Webb.”
“Illinois is Six Degrees of Bill Cellini.”
“Some political analysts become quite upset when “Daley machine” and “Obama” are mentioned in my column. They feel compelled to give me a vigorous corrective. But this same Flat Earth society denied the existence of a Combine for years, then shut up for a while when Obama’s real estate fairy Tony Rezko was convicted in the federal government’s Operation Board Games probe.”
From Citizen Wells May 5, 2010.
“From the recent motion to subpoena Barack Obama from the Blagojevich defense team we know this.
“22. However, the defense has a good faith belief that Mr. Rezko, President Obama’s former friend, fund-raiser, and neighbor told the FBI and the United States Attorneys a different story about President Obama. In a recent in camera proceeding, the government tendered a three paragraph letter indicating that Rezko “has stated in interviews with the government that he engaged in election law violations by personally contributing a large sum of cash to the campaign of a public official who is not Rod Blagojevich.”
“In addition, Rezko has stated to the government that he and the public official had certain conversations about gaming legislation and administration, which the public official denies having had.”10
“10 The defense has a good faith belief that this public official is Barack Obama.”
“Here is just a snippet of insight into Obama’s close connections to corruption figures tied to the gaming industry. Of course you remenber that Obama was a IL senator in 1999. What else was Obama doing in 1999? What else was Stuart Levine doing in 1999?
The names highlighted were done so by me.”
“MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING
ILLINOIS GAMING BOARD
OCTOBER 26, 1999
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS”
“The Illinois Gaming Board (“Board”) held its Regular Meeting on October 26, 1999 in the auditorium on the 5th floor of the State of Illinois Building, Chicago, Illinois, pursuant to the Illinois Open Meetings Act, 5 ILCS 120.
The following Board Members were present: Robert F. Vickrey, Chairman; and Members Gregory C. Jones, Joseph A.
Lamendella, Stuart P. Levine and Staci M. Yandle.”
“ALTON GAMING COMPANY (“Alton”) – Don Malloy, representing Alton, requested approval of its owner’s license.
Administrator Acosta stated that there are no outstanding concerns with AGC and recommended approval to the Board.
Member Levine moved
that the Board renew the owner’s license of Alton Gaming Company for a period of 1 year.
The license is to expire in October 2000.
In renewing the license, the Board formally designates the following as key persons of the licensee:
Argosy Gaming Company
William F. Cellini“
From Citizen Wells December 10, 2010.
“At a status hearing Thursday, a federal judge in Chicago scheduled William Cellini‘s trial for Aug. 22.
Cellini is a longtime fundraiser and behind-the-scenes power broker in Illinois politics.”
From Citizen Wells January 8, 2011.
“Rezko sentencing delayed indefinitely”
“Prosecutors gave no indication if Rezko would be called to testify in the Blagojevich retrial or the trial of co-defendant William Cellini, a Springfield powerbroker, in August.”
From Citizen Wells May 25, 2011.
“If William Cellini has been called as a witness in the Blagojevich Trial, it has not been reported. Yet Bill Cellini was enmeshed in Chicago and Illinois corruption and he was indicted in October of 2008 and awaiting trial scheduled for August 22, 2011.”
“Here are a few of the many references to William Cellini during the Tony Rezko trial in the spring of 2008.”
From Citizen Wells June 11, 2011.
“What was Barack Obama up to in 2004.
Where is Tony Rezko?
From Citizen News June 11, 2011.
“From the William Cellini Indictment Press Release October 30, 2008.”
“Between February and April 2004 – at the same time Commonwealth Realty Advisors obtained allocations totaling $220 million from TRS – Cellini, Levine, Rezko, and Co-Conspirator A allegedly conspired to use their influence and Levine’s position at TRS”
“What was Barack Obama doing at that time?
From the Chicago SunTimes.
February 10, 2008.
“In the media, Obama always made it sound like he rarely saw Rezko, saying they met for breakfast or lunch once or twice a year. However, the FBI mole John Thomas helped investigators “build a record of repeat visits to the old offices of Rezko and former business partner Daniel Mahru’s Rezmar Corp., at 853 N. Elston, by Blagojevich and Obama during 2004 and 2005,“
During his March 14, 2008 interview, “the Times told Obama, Thomas is an FBI mole and he “recently told us that he saw you coming and going from Rezko’s office a lot.”
“And three other sources told us that you and Rezko spoke on the phone daily.”””
From Citizen Wells June 20, 2011.
“I have another question for you. When was the last time that you saw a news organization the size of Citizen Wells get positions 1 through 4 and 6 in a major search engine search?
And of course we have the Chicago Tribune scrubbing their article of December 2, 2010.
And something suspicious happened with a Chicago Sun-Times article of a few months ago about Daniel Frawley, a Rezko associate.
Has something happened in regard to William Cellini that the big players know about or are they simply perpetuating status quo in protecting Obama?”
From Citizen News June 27, 2011.
“Cellini’s trial is set for Oct. 3. His lawyer, Dan Webb, said that a jury’s decision Monday to convict Blagojevich on 17 criminal counts “will have no impact on the Cellini trial.”
“Besides Cellini’s trial, other developments in Operation Board Games are expected now that Blagojevich has been found guilty of the overwhelming majority of criminal charges he’d been facing. Several defendants in the case are awaiting sentencing, including Rezko and Levine.”
