Monthly Archives: November 2011

Blagojevich sentencing set for December 6, 2011, District Judge James Zagel, Sentence may exceed former Governor George Ryan’s

Posted on November 7, 2011 | 26 comments

Blagojevich sentencing set for December 6, 2011, District Judge James Zagel, Sentence may exceed former Governor George Ryan’s

“I believe I’m more pristine on Rezko than him.”…Rod Blagojevich

From the Chicago Tribune November 7, 2011.

“A federal judge today scheduled former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s sentencing for Dec. 6.

The disgraced former government was convicted last summer on sweeping corruption charges, including allegations he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat left open by Barack Obama’s election as president..

U.S. District Judge James Zagel had originally scheduled Blagojevich’s sentencing for Oct. 6, but it was indefinitely postponed in part because the judge was then presiding over the trial of Blagojevich co-defendant William Cellini, a Springfield power broker who was convicted last week.

Prosecutors have not said yet what sentence they will seek for Blagojevich, but it is widely expected that they will ask for more than the 6½-year prison term being served by his predecessor, former Gov. George Ryan, for his 2006 corruption conviction.

U.S. Attorney’s Office spokeman Randall Samborn said that the sentencing could go into a second day if necessary.”

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-blagojevich-sentencing-set-for-dec-6-20111107,0,2249696.story

26 Comments

Posted in Blagojevich, Blagojevich trial, Chicago, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, FBI, Federal Court, Illinois, Patrick Fitzgerald, Pay to play politics, US Department of Justice

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Obama eligibility, Dumbing down Constitution for Obama’s sake?, World Net Daily, Constitution amended by fiat

Posted on November 7, 2011 | 92 comments

Obama eligibility, Dumbing down Constitution for Obama’s sake?, World Net Daily, Constitution amended by fiat

“Our Constitution is in actual operation; everything appears to promise
that it will last; but nothing in this world is certain but death and
taxes.”…Benjamin Franklin

“If in the opinion of the People, the distribution or modification of the Constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation, for through this in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed.”…George Washington

“We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.”…Abraham Lincoln

From Joseph Farah of World Net Daily November 06, 2011.

“
•”He’s clearly a citizen of the United States.”
•”We’ve seen his birth certificate.”
•”Without question, Barack Obama was born in the U.S.”
•”Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, and that settles it.”
•”It’s nuttiness and counterproductive to question the president’s eligibility for office.”
These are some of the phrases we hear from Barack Obama’s ardent defenders – people like Anderson Cooper and nearly all his colleagues in the news media.
We hear the same drivel from the Republican establishment – people like Karl Rove, who insist the important principle of constitutional integrity should not be a “distraction” in efforts to defeat Obama at the polls.
 
But what happens when the national debate is systematically stifled by these gatekeepers is that we allow Barack Obama’s clear lack of basic qualifications for office dumb down the rule of law, set a new lower standard of constitutional eligibility and redefine what the Constitution says and what the Supreme Court has ruled on its meaning?

In effect, we are allowing the Constitution to be amended by fiat – all because there is no political or legal mechanism in place to ensure candidates for president are constitutionally fit to serve.

Barack Obama is not a “natural born citizen,” as required by Section 2, Article 1, of the Constitution. It has nothing to do with where he was born. It has to do with what Barack Obama has consistently represented to the American people about his birth – that his father was a citizen of Kenya. This is a disqualifier for office because that fact means he is not a “natural born citizen,” the offspring of American citizens. It wouldn’t matter if he were born in Kansas on the Fourth of July or on the dark side of the moon.

As we mercifully approach the end of the Obama regime, it’s time to get serious about the bigger issue of presidential eligibility for the future of this country. If we allow the Obama eligibility standard to become the de facto law of the land, we lose one more important component of constitutional integrity – and we’re on our way to being a nation adrift from any legal moorings.

When I first set out on the lonely course to make this a national issue, against all odds, I predicted that it would not go away. I predicted it would be a major issue in the 2012 presidential election. I also predicted it would not be settled in any court in America. In other words, I was three for three in my predictions.

Today, there remains a total political disconnect between the American people, who understand Obama is an illegitimate pretender to the highest office in the land, and the elite media and political establishment – both Republican and Democrat – which simply doesn’t care what the Constitution requires.

But the Constitution and its clear intent and purpose are much bigger and more important to the future of America than is Barack Obama.”

“It’s not a choice between Democrat and Republican. It’s a choice between right and wrong.”

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=364953

Well said and amen Mr. Farah.

Thanks to commenter GORDO

92 Comments

Posted in Barack Obama, Birth Certificate, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, constitution, Election 2012, Eligibility, Government, Natural born citizen, Obama, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, The Case Against Barack Obama, US Constitution, Washington DC, white house

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Rush Limbaugh Larry Sinclair Obama sex drug incident, November 4, 2011, Limbaugh compares Sinclair treatment to Herman Cains

Posted on November 4, 2011 | 89 comments

Rush Limbaugh Larry Sinclair Obama sex drug incident, November 4, 2011, Limbaugh compares Sinclair treatment to Herman Cains

***  Update Below  ***

From the transcripts of the Rush Limbaugh show November 4,  2011.

“Caller on the Double Standard for Black Conservatives”

“BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Cheryl, the Upper East Side of Manhattan, great to have you on the EIB Network.  Hi.

CALLER:  Hi, Rush.  It’s an honor to speak with you.

RUSH:  Thank you very much.  Great to have you with us.

CALLER:  Listen, I’m a black conservative, and I just want to make one thing abundantly clear: The media can attempt to paint you any way they want to, but there are no bigger racists in this country than white Democratic liberals.  They are and they will forever be the biggest racists in this nation because they seek to determine how black people should think and who black people should support, and the reason for their contempt against Herman Cain is that he has simply said, “I’m an independent thinker.  I don’t need to stay on the Democratic plantation in order to succeed.”

RUSH:  It really is… Folks, it is no more complicated than that.  She’s exactly right, and because of that he represents a great threat to them.

CALLER:  But let me give you an example of how Cain would have been treated if he had been a good and docile Negro and stayed on the Democratic plantation. 

Jesse Jackson, presently, has pending against him in Cook County court in Illinois a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against him by one Mr. Tommy Bennett, a former male PUSH employee who had sued Jesse Jackson and the push organization for sexual discrimination and Jackson specifically for sexual harassment.

RUSH:  Yeah.

CALLER:  There has not been one story about this on Politico. Not one.

RUSH:  Why do you think that is?

CALLER:  Excuse me?

RUSH:  Why do you think that is?

CALLER: (chuckles) Please, Rush.  As I said, Jesse Jackson has remained on the plantation.

RUSH:  Exactly right.

CALLER:  So of course he gets special treatment.

CALLER:  Yep, that’s exactly right.

RUSH:  But I have to make one more point.  The other example of how there is a distinct difference in treatment is that during the 2008 campaign, Mr. Obama was accused of a sex and drug-related incident by a man, a Mr. Larry Sinclair.  To this day — (static flare)

RUSH:  Did we lose hear?

CALLER:  — the press has reported it.  Now, it could be well, you know, it’s not substantiated. (static) We don’t have facts.  Well, there’s no substantiation. (static)

RUSH:  She’s having problem on a cell.  But I remember the Larry Sinclair thing, and what I remember about it was that the media told us this guy was an absolute weird nutcase, insane lunatic; should have been in asylum or some such thing. Remember that?  That was how the accuser was characterized.  I remember that.  Larry Sinclair.  I’m gonna have to Google the name or have one of my vast array of researchers (ahem) Google the name and remind me who Larry Sinclair was.  But I remember that the media set out to destroy this guy.

CALLER: (silence)

RUSH: Darn it, we’ve lost her out there! She was on a cell phone calling from the Upper East Side of Manhattan.  She’s right — and, by the way, the plantation she’s talking about, the liberal plantation — and there are many black conservatives who, of course, abandoned the liberal black plantation, don’t want any part of it. It’s not just they’ve attacked it because they are considered a threat; it is a form of punishment as well.  They go after Herman Cain not just because he represents a threat; he shows other blacks what you can accomplish independently from the Democrat Party and the Jesse Jacksons and all of the prescriptions — liberal affirmative action and all that — but there’s also a punishment, because the message by going after Herman Cain, the message is to other blacks, “You stay right where you are or this will happen to you.  You stay on this side of the aisle or we try to destroy you, too.”

(interruption) Yeah, Larry Sinclair had a shady background, convicted felon, reportedly crimes for forgery, bad checks, theft by check; but he did level an accusation against Obama, and it was never treated with any seriousness or sincerity.  That’s a good get.  I had forgotten that.  This is… (interruption)

Oh, The Politico did?  Okay, here it is.  June 18th, 2008. (singing) Summertime and the livin’ is easy.  My favorite version of Summertime is by Billy Stewart.  Yeah, I think 1964, 1965.  Mike, see if we’ve got that in the system. What’s the name of our system? I keep forgetting. (interruption) Yeah, the Proffit System. (Two F’s in there, folks. We’re not talking about money here.)  My all-time favorite version of Summertime.  Anyway, this is Obama, or Politico reporting on that story in June of 2008.

“Obama Accuser Has Long Rap Sheet — Larry Sinclair is wanted in Colorado, but you can catch him today at the National Press Club.  Sinclair is familiar to political junkies and reporters as the source of outlandish allegations about Senator Barack Obama, tales that began with sex and drugs and moved on to murder.  The Duluth, Minn., resident is the sort of figure who appears at the margins of every presidential campaign, and both Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton had their own obscure accusers with dramatic allegations. But as the old media ignores him, Sinclair has taken full advantage of the Internet, and a video in which he makes his claims that have been viewed more than 900,000 times on YouTube.

“This afternoon, he’s reserved the Holeman Lounge at downtown Washington’s National Press Club to try to lend his story the legitimacy that comes with national media attention.  Sinclair’s biography, though, may get in the way of that pitch: Public records and court filings…” See, this guy’s not an Ivy Leaguer.  Bernie Goldberg is right.  If Larry Stewart had gone to the Ivy League, the media might have believed him. (Hardy-har-har.)  “Sinclair’s biography, though, may get in the way of that pitch: Public records and court filings reveal that he has a 27-year criminal record, with a specialty in crimes involving deceit.” So that’s how they handled the Obama accuser at The Politico in June of 2008.  Did you find a version of the song, by the way? (interruption) It’s being loaded now.  We’ve got everything in the Proffit System! Gosh, when I was a deejay I wish it was this easy.  We never had the records.  Never had ’em.

I remember at my first job I’d volunteering out to the local store and buy the records.  The owner was too cheap.  Record companies didn’t service small little Podunk radio stations like the one I worked at.

END TRANSCRIPT”

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2011/11/04/caller_on_the_double_standard_for_black_conservatives

***  Update  ***

Larry Sinclair:

Submitted on 2011/11/04 at 5:50 pm

“CW: the below portion of the transcript is mistakenly labeled as RUSH speaking when it was the caller. Just an FYI

“RUSH: But I have to make one more point. The other example of how there is a distinct difference in treatment is that during the 2008 campaign, Mr. Obama was accused of a sex and drug-related incident by a man, a Mr. Larry Sinclair. To this day — (static flare)”

The caller has posted a comment over on the website, she is the editor of BlackConservative.com.”

89 Comments

Posted in Barack Obama, Chicago, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Donald Young, down low, drugs, Larry Sinclair, Larry Sinclair blog, Larry Sinclair book, News, Obama, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, Senator Obama, The Case Against Barack Obama, Washington DC, white house

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Obama Rezko Daley Blagojevich Chicago corruption, Chris Kelly and other mysterious deaths, Thomas R. Bennett Chicago perspective

Posted on November 4, 2011 | 40 comments

Obama Rezko Daley Blagojevich Chicago corruption, Chris Kelly and other mysterious deaths, Thomas R. Bennett Chicago perspective 

“Why was Christopher Kelly transported past 2 trauma facilities on the way to Stroger Hospital?”…Thomas R. Bennett

From Nuclear Chicago.

About

“Thomas R. Bennett, owner and publisher of NUCLEAR | CHICAGO is also the Principal of a Chicago-based commercial real estate company as well as the sponsor of several emerging technology and Next Generation Commerce early-stage investments.

Mr. Bennett’s citizen journalism endeavor via NUCLEAR | CHICAGO while recent, is not new to the extended Bennett family.  Investigative journalism and law enforcement is very much a part of Mr. Bennett’s DNA as several of Mr. Bennett’s relatives have backgrounds in both law enforcement and media.

In fact, the catalyst for Mr. Bennett establishing NUCLEAR | CHICAGO can be attributed to both Mr. Bennett’s aggressive and determined approach for uncovering The Truth as well as influenced by the legacy that was established by Mr. Bennett’s Irish Immigrant Great Uncle – Michael ‘Iron Mike’ Hughes.

‘Iron Mike’ Hughes, a native of Ballygar in County Galway, Ireland, was the Chief of the Chicago Police Department, and former Chief of Detectives during the Era in which Al Capone and his notorious gang of hoodlums were roaming the streets of Chicago.  According to the Chicago Tribune, ‘Iron Mike’ Hughes – had a ‘record without parallel’ and was regarded as ‘the personal nemesis of all crookdom’ during his tenure at the Chicago Police Department.

Upon Iron Mike’s retirement in November 1935 after a 41-year career with the Chicago Police Department, Iron Mike embarked upon a career as a journalist and reporter with the The Chicago American – the last of the aggressive journalistic traditions in Chicago.

In recent years, Mr. Bennett has been exposed to various levels of ‘crookdom’ emanating from Rich Daley’s City Hall for the past several years.  To this end, the final catalyst for Mr. Bennett’s launch of NUCLEAR | CHICAGO can be attributed to a handful of corrupt events that Mr. Bennett was subjected to beginning in 2007.  NUCLEAR | CHICAGO will be reporting upon his  own experience in great detail, as well as other instances of ‘crookdom’ throughout Illinois.

NUCLEAR | CHICAGO will be posting the biographies of other journalists and related team members in coming weeks.”

MISSION

“Our mission is to produce very relevant, uncensored (and unbiased), high-quality, old-school investigative journalism material. NUCLEAR | CHICAGO will be distributed via web, print, television mainstream media partnerships and radio partnerships.

NUCLEAR | CHICAGO is delivering the nuclear energy required to disinfect the systemic and pervasive public corruption that pollutes our city, state and our nation.

The majority of our local, state and national policy-makers have demonstrated both a lack of respect and understanding toward the U.S. Justice Louis Brandeis philosophy related to maintaining the benefits of openness and transparency in government – “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.”

As both publisher and owner of NUCLEAR | CHICAGO, I invoke the above-Brandeis quote as it’s appearing that sunlight alone is ineffectual in Chicago.

To this end, the only option remaining for our city, our state and our democracy is The Nuclear Option.

NUCLEAR | CHICAGO will create effective levels of openness, transparency and accountability by simply going nuclear and reporting upon what the local and national media essentially censure and refuse to report upon.

Stay tuned and stay informed.”

http://www.nuclearchicago.com/

Thomas Bennett sent the link to the following video to me yesterday. Mr. Bennett addresses the bigger picture of Chicago, not just the Blagojevich trial, including former mayor Daley. He also provides some additional insight into the death and treatment of Christopher kelly and the mysterious deaths of others tied to Rezko and Obama.

Breitbart.tv » The B-Cast B-Side: Blago Connections Raise All Kinds of Concerns.

From Chicago Breaking News September 13, 2009.

“Flores-Buhelos initially told police that Friday night she received
text messages from Kelly — who was married but estranged from his
wife — saying that he had tried to kill himself, Welch said.

She then arrived from Chicago at the Forest Lumber Co. parking lot —
near a storage yard owned by Kelly’s company — and found Kelly inside
his car, covered in vomit. She pushed him into the passenger seat,
Welch said, and apparently drove to Oak Forest Hospital.

What happened there, and the kind of medical care Kelly received after
arriving, are among the remaining mysteries behind his death.

After initially seeming incoherent, Kelly apparently became lucid
enough to speak to police and was, at one point early Saturday
morning, stabilized.

Later that morning, his condition apparently deteriorated enough for
hospital officials to send Kelly to Stroger Hospital in Chicago, about
25 miles away from Oak Forest.

Cook County health officials said Oak Forest Hospital doctors thought
it made more sense for him to be treated at Stroger, which, unlike
their hospital, has a trauma center.

When asked why Kelly wasn’t transferred to a closer hospital, Cook
County Health and Hospitals System spokesman Lucio Guerrero said it’s
“standard procedure” to transfer patients from one county health
facility to Stroger when trauma care is needed after they have been
stabilized.

“The treatment or treatments necessary could be better facilitated at
Stroger,” wrote Marcel Bright, Stroger Hospital spokesman, in an
e-mail. “He was stabilized before being transported.”

Kelly was pronounced dead inside Stroger at 10:46 a.m. Saturday, officials said.”

http://archive.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/09/mayor-kellys-girlfriend-is-lawyered-up-not-talking.html

“He was stabilized before being transported.”

Apparently not!

40 Comments

Posted in Barack Obama, Blagojevich, Blagojevich trial, Chicago, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, corruption, Crime, FBI, Illinois, News, Obama, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, Obama thugs, Pay to play politics, Rezko, Richard Daley, The Case Against Barack Obama, Tony Rezko, US Department of Justice

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Obama corruption tie Christopher Kelly death, Some day the whole truth will come out, Donald Young, Murder and suicide?, Dead men speak

Posted on November 3, 2011 | 28 comments

Obama corruption tie Christopher Kelly death, Some day the whole truth will come out, Donald Young, Murder and suicide?, Dead men speak

“Some day, the whole truth will come out.”…Christopher Kelly, 4 days before his death

Two men with ties to Obama’s past are dead. Yet their voices and deeds can still be heard. We will not let their deaths go unnoticed, forgotten.

Donald Young, the choirmaster at TUCC, Obama’s church, was murdered in December 2007. Young had knowledge of Obama’s drug use and gay sex activities.

Christopher Kelly, whose name was mentioned over 140 times in the Blagojevich Evidentiary Proffer, conveniently died in 2009. His death, under very suspicious circumstances, was investigated as a homicide but ruled a suicide. Kelly was in the thick of Chicago corruption with Obama’s buddies Rezko, Levine, et al.

Four days before Christopher Kelly’s death, he stated the following:

“Some day, the whole truth will come out.”

I agree. Slowly but surely I believe that the truth is coming out. I will do my best to assist.
From Chicago Breaking News September 13, 2009.

“Police plan on Monday to go over security surveillance cameras at the
Oak Forest hospital to see who showed up after Kelly, partially in
hopes of identifying a white-haired man who tried to drive away in
Kelly’s car before hospital police stopped him.

The man left without an explanation, Welch said.

“That’s [Kelly’s] best friend, that’s all we know right now,” Welch
said, adding police also will target the text messages allegedly sent
by Kelly to Flores-Buhelos. “We have to get a court order to get that
stuff, and we will get that.””

http://archive.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/09/mayor-kellys-girlfriend-is-lawyered-up-not-talking.html

From Chicago Breaking News November 23, 2009

“New details about Christopher Kelly emerge”

“As Christopher Kelly was being treated for a fatal overdose, the
political fundraiser who was being pressured to testify against
ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich confided to his girlfriend to “tell them they
won.”

“It’s my life,” Kelly told Clarissa Flores-Buhelos, according to a
police report released today to the Tribune. “Tell them they won, tell
them they won.”

The report does not specify to whom Kelly was referring. It was one of
several new details contained in the 47-page police report released by
Country Club Hills, where Kelly took numerous pills before his Sept.
12 death that authorities have ruled a suicide.”

http://archive.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/11/new-details-about-christopher-kelly-emerge.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+ChicagoBreakingNews+(Chicago+Breaking+News)

From Citizen Wells May 1, 2010.

“Dead men don’t talk or do they?

Three deaths.
Christopher Kelly  ( Suicide ?? )
John Stroger       ( Stroke complications )
Orlando Jones      ( Suicide ?? )
All three with connections to Rod Blagojevich and Barack Obama.”

“Six months before Obama bought the strip of land from Rezko’s “wife”
to enlarge his yard, on August 28, 2005, Natasha Korecki reported in
the Sun-Times that, “there’s so much corruption to investigate in the
Chicago area, the FBI is adding manpower.”

Robert Grant, FBI Special Agent in Charge, told the Times that he had
reorganized the bureau to add a third public corruption squad, giving
Chicago the largest corruption unit in the country, even bigger than
those in New York and Los Angeles.”
“The “fashion show” was chaired by Rita Rezko, co-chaired by the
Governor’s wife, Patti Blagojevich, and Michelle Obama was a special
guest that day, according to Merriner.

Two weeks after the “fashion show,” on November 17, 2006, the
Sun-Times reported that Blagojevich’s wife Patti got nearly $50,000
from a real estate deal in late 2002 involving Rezko.

In terms of dollar amounts of campaign contributions directly from
Rezko in Illinois, the top four earners were, the now deceased
President of the Cook County Board, John Stroger, Blagojevich, Chicago
Mayor, Richard Daley, and Obama — in that order.

Rezko was the head of Stroger’s campaign finance committee at the same
time that he served on Obama US Senate finance committee.

When it came time for Stroger’s reelection campaign, in the midst of
the erupting Rezko scandals in the media, on April 8, 2005, the
Tribune reported that Stroger “has selected beleaguered businessman
and political powerbroker Antoin “Tony” Rezko as one of the honorary
chairs of his campaign fundraiser next month.”

Stroger appointed Rezko’s wife Rita to the Cook County Employee
Appeals Board, which hears cases filed by fired or disciplined
workers, at a part-time salary of $37,000 a year.

According to documents filed in the Rezko corruption case, this was
Rita’s sole income when she supposedly came up with a $125,000 down
payment and secured a $500,000 mortgage to buy the $625,00 lot next to
Obama. Less than a year after Obama bought his strip of land, Rita
sold the rest of the lot to attorney Michael Sreenan, and made a
profit of more than $50,000.

On February 27, 2007, the Sun-Times pointed out that Obama’s “new
neighbor, Michael Sreenan,” had contributed $5,000 to Obama’s
campaigns. Less than a year after buying the lot, Sreenan put it up
for sale for $1.5 million in October 2007.

Of course John Stroger will not be answering any questions about
corruption, or any other matter, because he died on January 18, 2008.
His former chief of staff and godson, Orlando Jones, will not be
talking either because he was found dead of self-inflicted gun wounds
in September 2007, “just as a corruption inquiry targeting him was
heating up,” according to a September 7, 2007 report by CBS News
channel 2 Chicago.”

https://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2010/05/01/blagojevich-trial-christopher-kelly-john-stroger-orlando-jones-dead-men-dont-talk-or-do-they-obama-and-blagojevich-corruption-cronies-tony-rezko-patti-rezko-patti-blagojevich-michelle-obam/

28 Comments

Posted in Barack Obama, Blagojevich, Chicago, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, corruption, Donald Young, FBI, Illinois, News, Obama, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, Obama thugs, Patrick Fitzgerald, Pay to play politics, Rezko, Stuart Levine, The Case Against Barack Obama, Tony Rezko, US Department of Justice, William Cellini

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Obama on Rezko deal: It was a mistake, Chicago SunTimes, November 5, 2006, BY DAVE MCKINNEY AND CHRIS FUSCO, Obama regrets Rezko lot purchase

Posted on November 2, 2011 | 90 comments

Obama on Rezko deal: It was a mistake, Chicago SunTimes, November 5, 2006, BY DAVE MCKINNEY AND CHRIS FUSCO, Obama regrets Rezko lot purchase

“Why did Mutual Bank fire whistleblower Kenneth J Connor after he
challenged the appraisal on the land purchased by Rita Rezko, just
prior to the land sale to Obama?”…Citizen Wells

“Where did Rita Rezko get the money to buy the lot she sold to Barack and Michelle Obama?”…Citizen Wells

The following article was presented by the Chicago SunTimes on  November 5, 2006. It has been quoted numerous times since then. The article disappeared from the internet quite some time ago due to what appears to be the standard policy of the SunTimes to not retain articles for any length of time. I cannot guarantee that this is the entire original article.

From the Chicago SunTimes November 5, 2006.

“Obama on Rezko deal: It was a mistake

November 5, 2006

BY DAVE MCKINNEY AND CHRIS FUSCO Staff Reporters Contributing: Mark Brown
U.S. Sen. Barack Obama expressed regret late Friday for his 2005 land
purchase from now-indicted political fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko in
a deal that enlarged the senator’s yard.
“I consider this a mistake on my part and I regret it,” Obama told the
Chicago Sun-Times in an exclusive and revealing question-and-answer
exchange about the transaction.

In June 2005, Obama and Rezko purchased adjoining parcels in Kenwood.
The state’s junior senator paid $1.65 million for a Georgian revival
mansion, while Rezko paid $625,000 for the adjacent, undeveloped lot.
Both closed on their properties on the same day.

Sen. Barack Obama says he regrets purchasing land from politcal
fundraiser Antoin Rezko.

Last January, aiming to increase the size of his sideyard, Obama paid
Rezko $104,500 for a strip of his land.
The transaction occurred at a time when it was widely known Tony Rezko
was under investigation by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and as
other Illinois politicians befriended by Rezko distanced themselves
from him.

In the Sun-Times interview, Obama acknowledged approaching Rezko about
the two properties being up for sale and that Rezko developed an
immediate interest. Obama did not explain why he reached out to Rezko
given the developer’s growing problems.

Last month, Rezko was indicted for his role in an alleged pay-to-play
scheme designed to fatten Gov. Blagojevich’s political fund. Rezko
also was accused of bilking a creditor.

“With respect to the purchase of my home, I am confident that
everything was handled ethically and above board. But I regret that
while I tried to pay close attention to the specific requirements of
ethical conduct, I misgauged the appearance presented by my purchase
of the additional land from Mr. Rezko,” Obama said.

“It was simply not good enough that I paid above the appraised value
for the strip of land that he sold me. It was a mistake to have been
engaged with him at all in this or any other personal business dealing
that would allow him, or anyone else, to believe that he had done me a
favor,” the senator said.

The land deal came up in a court hearing Friday that delved into
Rezko’s finances. Obama said he has not been approached by federal
prosecutors about the transaction nor has plans to go to them about
it.

Obama and Rezko have been friends since 1990, and Obama said the
Wilmette businessman raised as much as $60,000 for him during his
political career. After Rezko’s indictment, Obama donated $11,500 to
charity–a total that represents what Rezko contributed to the
senator’s federal campaign fund.

After the controversy surfaced on Wednesday, the Sun-Times presented
Obama’s office with a lengthy set of questions about the land deal,
Obama’s relationship with Rezko and the story’s impact on a potential
2008 bid for the White House.

Here are his responses:
Q: Senator, when did you first meet Tony Rezko? How did you become
friends? How often would you meet with him, and when did you last
speak with him?
A: I had attracted some media attention when I was elected the first
black President of the Harvard Law Review. And while I was in law
school, David Brint, who was a development partner with Tony Rezko
contacted me and asked whether I would be interested in being a
developer. Ultimately, after discussions in which I met Mr. Rezko, I
said no.

I have probably had lunch with Rezko once or twice a year and our
spouses may have gotten together on two to four occasions in the time
that I have known him. I last spoke with Tony Rezko more than six
months ago.
Q:. Have you or your wife participated in any other transactions of
any kind with Rezko or companies he owns? Have you or your wife ever
done any legal work ever for Rezko or his companies?
A: No.
Q: Has Rezko ever given you or your family members gifts of any kind
and, if so, what were they?
A: No.
Q: The seller of your house appears to be a doctor at the University
of Chicago . Do you or your wife know him? If so, did either of you
ever talk to him about subdividing the property? If you ever did
discuss the property with him, when were those conversations?
A: We did not know him personally, though my wife worked in the same
University hospital. The property was subdivided and two lots were
separately listed when we first learned of it. We did not discuss the
property with the owners; the sale was negotiated for us by our agent.
Q: Did you approach Rezko or his wife about the property, or did they
approach you?
A: To the best of my recollection, I told him about the property, and
he developed an interest, knowing both the location and, as I recall,
the developer who had previously purchased it.
Q: Who was your Realtor? Did this Realtor also represent Rita Rezko?
A: Miriam Zeltzerman, who had also represented me in the purchase of
my prior property, a condominium, in Hyde Park. She did not represent
Rita Rezko.
Q: How do you explain the fact your family purchased your home the
same day as Rita Rezko bought the property adjacent to yours? Was this
a coordinated purchase?
A: The sellers required the closing of both properties at the same
time. As they were moving out of town, they wished to conclude the
sale of both properties simultaneously. The lot was purchased first;
with the purchase of the house on the adjacent lot, the closings could
proceed and did, on the same day, pursuant to the condition set by the
sellers.
Q: Why is it that you were able to buy your parcel for $300,000 less
than the asking price, and Rita Rezko paid full price? Who negotiated
this end of the deal? Did whoever negotiated it have any contact with
Rita and Tony Rezko or their Realtor or lawyer?
A: Our agent negotiated only with the seller’s agent. As we understood
it, the house had been listed for some time, for months, and our offer
was one of two and, as we understood it, it was the best offer. The
original listed price was too high for the market at the time, and we
understood that the sellers, who were anxious to move, were prepared
to sell the house for what they paid for it, which is what they did.

We were not involved in the Rezko negotiation of the price for the
adjacent lot. It was our understanding that the owners had received,
from another buyer, an offer for $625,000 and that therefore the
Rezkos could not have offered or purchased that lot for less.
Q: Why did you put the property in a trust?
A: I was advised that a trust holding would afford me some privacy,
which was important to me as I would be commuting from Washington to
Chicago and my family would spend some part of most weeks without me.
Q: A Nov. 21, 1999, Chicago Tribune story indicates the house you
bought “sits on a quarter-acre lot and will share a driveway and
entrance gate with a home next door that has not yet been built.” Is
this shared driveway still in the mix? Will this require further
negotiations with the Rezkos?
A: The driveway is not shared with the adjacent owner. But the
resident in the carriage house in the back does have an easement over
it.
Q: Does it display a lack of judgment on your part to be engaging in
real estate deals with Tony Rezko at a point his connections to state
government had been reported to be under federal investigation?
A: I’ve always held myself to the highest ethical standards. During
the ten years I have been in public office, I believe I have met those
standards and I know that is what people expect of me. I have also
understood the importance of appearances.

With respect to the purchase of my home, I am confident that
everything was handled ethically and above board.

But I regret that while I tried to pay close attention to the specific
requirements of ethical conduct, I misgauged the appearance presented
by my purchase of the additional land from Mr. Rezko. It was simply
not good enough that I paid above the appraised value for the strip of
land that he sold me. It was a mistake to have been engaged with him
at all in this or any other personal business dealing that would allow
him, or anyone else, to believe that he had done me a favor. For that
reason, I consider this a mistake on my part and I regret it.

Throughout my life, I have put faith in confronting experiences
honestly and learning from them. And that is what I will do with this
experience as well.
Q: Why did you not publicly disclose the transaction after Rezko got indicted?
A: At the time, it didn’t strike me as relevant. I did however donate
campaign contributions from Rezko to charity.
Q: Have you been interviewed by federal investigators about this
transaction or about your relationship with Rezko? If not, do you
intend to approach them?
A: I have not been interviewed by federal investigators. I have no
reason to approach them.
Q: Did Rezko or his companies ever solicit your support on any matter
involving state or federal government? Did Al Johnson, who was trying
to get a casino license along with Tony Rezko, or Rezko himself ever
discuss casino matters with you?
A: No, I have never been asked to do anything to advance his business
interests. In 1999, when I was a State Senator, I opposed legislation
to bring a casino to Rosemont and allow casino gambling at docked
riverboats which news reports said Al Johnson and Tony Rezko were
interested in being part of. I never discussed a casino license with
either of them. I was a vocal opponent of the legislation.
(http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/votehistory/srollcalls91/pdf/910SB1017_05251999_001000C.PDF)
Q: Has this disclosure about your relationship with Rezko changed your
thoughts about a White House run?
A: No. As I have said, how I can best serve is something I will think
about after the 2006 election next Tuesday.
Q: Did Rezko ever discuss with you his dealings with Stuart Levine,
Christopher Kelly or William Cellini or the role he was playing in
shaping Gov. Blagojevich’s administration?
A: No.
Q: Are the Obamas the only beneficiaries of the land trust?
A: Yes.
Q: Are you aware of any efforts by previous owners to develop what is
now the Rezko lot, possibly as townhomes?
A: I was not aware of any prior effort by the seller to develop the
property, but always understood the other lot was to be developed upon
sale.
Q: Did Rezko have an appraisal performed for the 10-foot strip?
A: I had an appraisal conducted by Howard B. Richter & Associates on
November 21, 2005.
Q: Was there a negotiation? Did he have an asking price, or did he
just say, whatever you think is fair?
A: I proposed to pay on the basis of proportionality. Since the strip
composed one-sixth of the entire lot, I would pay one-sixth of the
purchase price of the lot. I offered this to Mr. Rezko and he accepted
it.
Q: How many fundraisers has Mr. Rezko hosted for you? Were these all
in his home? How much would you estimate he has raised for your
campaigns?
A: He hosted one event at his home in 2003 for my U.S. Senate
campaign. He participated as a member of a host committee for several
other events. My best estimate was that he raised somewhere between
$50,000 and $60,000.”

Original link.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/124171,CST-NWS-obama05.article

90 Comments

Posted in Barack Obama, Chicago, Chicago SunTimes, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, corruption, Illinois, News, Newspapers, Obama, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Obama records, Pay to play politics, Rezko, Senator Obama, The Case Against Barack Obama, Tony Rezko

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Cellini found guilty of conspiracy bribery, November 1, 2011

Posted on November 1, 2011 | 69 comments

Cellini found guilty of conspiracy bribery, November 1, 2011

From the Chicago Tribune November 1, 2011.

“Cellini found guilty of conspiracy, bribery”
“A federal jury convicted Springfield power broker William Cellini on two of four counts in connection with a plot to extort a Hollywood producer.

The multimillionaire Republican businessman who wielded influence behind the scenes in Illinois politics and government for four decades was convicted of conspiracy to commit extortion and aiding and abetting the solicitation of a bribe.

He was acquitted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and attempted extortion.

A straight-faced Cellini tapped his folded hands at the edge of the defense table as the verdict was read, otherwise showing little emotion. His daughter Claudia dropped her head on word of the first of the two guilty verdicts.

Cellini’s lawyer Dan Webb put the best face possible on the verdict, saying he was pleased the jury had “thrown out the most serious charges” and  that Cellini’s involvement “didn’t even rise to the level of an attempted extortion.”

“We obviously are going to appeal … and we are confident we have a substantial chance of getting the case reversed,” Webb said.

Cellini did not speak as he left the courthouse.

Patrick Fitzgerald, on crutches, said the prosecution was gratified by the guilty verdicts on the two counts, calling Cellini’s prosecution an “extremely important case.”

“In the quiet corridors in Chicago and Cook County and Springfield, a lot of backroom deals take place, and the fact that Bill Cellini was convicted today sends a very, very loud message,” Fitzgerald said.

The guilty verdict brings to 15 the number of individuals convicted in the eight-year federal Operation Board Games probe of the scandal-plagued Blagojevich administration.

Blagojevich himself is awaiting sentencing after being convicted in June on 17 of 20 counts, including allegations he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat left open by Barack Obama’s election to president in 2008. The former governor was also convicted at his first trial in the summer of 2010 on a single count of lying to the FBI.

Word of a verdict in the Cellini trial came at about 10:15 a.m. Tuesday. It was announced at about 12:15 p.m.

The 10-woman, two-man jury had just returned to the courthouse from a three-day weekend. Deliberations began last Wednesday but had to be restarted on Thursday after a juror was excused for an unexplained conflict of interest. An alternate was added to the panel.

The charges against Cellini centered on his longtime influence at the Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System, the state pension fund for public school teachers outside Chicago. To keep from losing his clout after Blagojevich became the first Democratic governor of Illinois in more than a quarter century, prosecutors alleged that the prominent Republican fundraiser agreed to pick firms to manage TRS’s hundreds of millions of dollars in investments on one key condition – if they had contributed to Blagojevich’s campaign.”

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-jury-has-reached-verdict-in-cellini-extortion-trial-20111101,0,3309176.story

69 Comments

Posted in Attorneys, Blagojevich, Chicago, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, corruption, FBI, Federal Court, Illinois, Judges, Jury, Lawyers, News, Patrick Fitzgerald, Pay to play politics, Rezko, Stuart Levine, The Case Against Barack Obama, Tony Rezko, William Cellini

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FDIC Mutual Bank lawsuit reveals Rezko Obama corruption, Kenneth J. Conner lawsuit, Amrish Mahajan, Richard Barth, Where did Rezkos get the money?

Posted on November 1, 2011 | 31 comments

FDIC Mutual Bank lawsuit reveals Rezko Obama corruption, Kenneth J. Conner lawsuit, Amrish Mahajan, Richard Barth, Where did Rezkos get the money?

“Why did Mutual Bank fire whistleblower Kenneth J Connor after he
challenged the appraisal on the land purchased by Rita Rezko, just
prior to the land sale to Obama?”…Citizen Wells

“Where did Rita Rezko get the money to buy the lot she sold to Barack and Michelle Obama?”…Citizen Wells

Here is what we know about the purchase of a lot by Barack and Michelle Obama from Rita Rezko in 2006:

1. “In June, 2005, Mutual Bank President and CEO Amrish Mahajan and
other Mutual Bank officers approved a loan to Rita Malki Rezko (Rita
Rezko) which was guaranteed by Antonin Rezko so that Rita Rezko could
purchase a 9,090 square foot vacant parcel of real estate at 5050 S.
Greenwood Avenue, Chicago.” (Conner lawsuit)

2. “On or about January 4, 2006, Rita Rezko entered into an
agreement with Senator Barack and Michelle Obama (Obamas) to sell a
ten-foot strip of the 5050 S. Greenwood property to the Obamas.”
(Conner lawsuit)

3. “In late 2005 or early 2006, Conner performed an appraisal review
of the Adams Appraisal (Exhibit C) per the directive of Richard Barth
and James Murphy. Conner prepared a written Appraisal Review report
(ARR) opining that the Adams Appraisal overvalued the Greenwood lot by
a minimum of $ 125,000.00 and that a reasonable and fair valuation for
Mutual Banks’s underwriting purposes should be no greater than $
500,000.00 for the entire 5050 S. Greenwood parcel as originally
purchased by Rita Rezko.” (Conner lawsuit)

4. “On or about October 19, 2006, Mutual Bank received a Grand Jury
Subpoena (GJS) requiring Mutual Bank to produce the Rezko 5050
Greenwood loan file, as well as a Rita Rezko Riverside District
Development LLC checking account and loan file.” (Conner lawsuit)

5. “In October, 2007, Conner had various communications with Mutual
Bank’s Human Resources Department representative, Lana Schlabach. In
an email communication of October 15, 2007, Conner directly referenced
“Resentment over my mentioned discovery of the removal/replacement of
an appraisal review that I conducted. That appraisal review contained
substantial observations and suggestions. The transaction and parties
involved were high profile in the media.I am under the impression that
the FBI has since looked at the file.”” On October 23, 2007, eight days after Conner’s October 15, 2007 email to Schlabach attached as Exhibit J, Mutual Bank terminated Conner’s employment for pretextual reasons.” (Conner lawsuit)

6. “On October 23, 2007, eight days after Conner’s October 15, 2007
email to Schlabach attached as Exhibit J, Mutual Bank terminated
Conner’s employment for pretextual reasons.” (Conner lawsuit)

7. The FDIC has filed a lawsuit against Mutual Bank, Amrish Mahajan, Richard Barth, et al.
From Citizen Wells October 31, 2011.

“The FDIC is suing eight former directors, two officers and the bank’s lawyer.

The failure of the $1.7 billion-asset bank, which had 10 branches in
the Chicago area, is expected to cost the FDIC $775 million. From 2005
to 2009, the lender had nearly doubled in size, fueled by what would
turn out to be bad real estate loans, many of which were made to about
15 borrowers. Record-keeping was shoddy, and loan terms were changed
at closing with no board approval, the suit said. Mutual had become a
“lender of last resort for failed real estate projects,” particularly
in the hotel industry, the suit said.

One of the defendants, former bank president and board member Amrish
Mahajan, couldn’t be reached for comment.”
“5. Collectively, the Director Defendants and Officer Defendants
(“Director and Officer Defendants”) (a) recklessly implemented a
strategy of rapid asset growth through approving a high concentration
of risky CRE, ADC and out-of-area loans to a small concentration of
high-volume borrowers; (b) failed to implement appropriate
underwriting and credit administration practices; (c) ignored the
Bank’s loan policies; (d) ignored federal lending regulations; and (e)
disregarded warnings from the Bank’s regulators regarding the Bank’s
lending activities.”
https://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2011/10/31/mutual-bank-amrish-mahajan-richard-barth-fdic-lawsuit-kenneth-j-conner-whistleblower-vindication-obama-rezko-land-deal/
8. The Rezko’s were deeply in debt. Where did they get the money to purchase the lot?

From the Real Barack Obama April 1, 2008 by Brenda J. Elliott.

“Weeks earlier, on February 10, 2008, RezkoWatch posted a lengthy
article in which was discussed the fact that Rita Rezko purchased the
lot for the full asking price of $625,000.00, with a downpayment of
$125,000.00 and the $500,000.00 balance financed with the Mutual Bank
of Harvey, Illinois, which is owned by Amrish Mahajan, who had loaned
millions of dollars in financing for Tony Rezko’s real estate
ventures.

It is also important to note that Sreenan, who handled the transaction
for Rita Rezko, “said that the lot was attractive to developers and
that the Rezkos had to outbid others to buy it.”

Complicating the matter is the fact that the January 26, 2008, Motion
for Issuance of an Arrest Warrant in United States of America v.
Antoin Rezko showed that in November 2006 Tony Rezko had submitted
documentation “detailing his assets and liabilities” to the Court. On
November 2, 2006, Rezko’s counsel sent a letter to the Court which
stated “that it was ‘abundantly clear’ that [Rezko] ‘has no income,
negative cash flow, no liquid assets, no unemcumbered assets, is
significantly in arrears on many of his obligations … and has been
forced to rely on family friends for financial assistance.’” Rita
Rezko only “had a salary of $37,000, but no other significant assets.”

In fact, on October 20, 2006, when Tony Rezko made his second court
appearance following his indictment, it was reported that Rezko had
“fallen tens of thousands of dollars behind in mortgage and property
tax payments. The lender filed suit to take back the big place.” Not
only were the Rezkos broke, but Tony Rezko was about $50 million in
debt.

As RezkoWatch wrote on February 10, 2008, this leads to the question
of where Rita Rezko obtained the $125,000.00 downpayment to purchase
the lot, as the source is not stated. Additionally, as this debt—the
$125,000.00—is not listed among Rita Rezko’s liabilities in October
2006, it suggests that the loan had been paid off.”

http://therealbarackobama.wordpress.com/2008/04/01/follow-the-money-who-really-bought-the-rezko-lot-updated/

31 Comments

Posted in Attorneys, Barack Obama, Chicago, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, corruption, FBI, fraud, Illinois, Lawyers, Michelle Obama, News, Obama, Obama lies, Obama Nation, Rezko, The Case Against Barack Obama, Tony Rezko, Washington DC, white house

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