Category Archives: Dr. Robert Weinstein

Rod Blagojevich trial, Indictment, Obama connection, Rezko, Chicago IL corruption, Obama senate seat diversion, Fox and MSM fail us.

Rod Blagojevich trial, Indictment, Obama connection

Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and Fox News have done an excellent job of covering the financial crisis, what got us there and what we must do to fix this mess. They have also done a good job of covering ACORN corruption and ties to Obama. They deserve credit for that. Sean Hannity even said that questioning Obama’s birth certificate was appropriate on his radio show. But no one on TV is covering Obama’s eligibility issues and Beck and O’Reilly have insulted many concerned Americans.

I am not certain, but I thought I detected a change in Glenn Beck’s attitude today. Beck is calling Obama a liar. That is reporting the facts. This blog began referring to Obama as a liar in 2008. Why? Because he is.

No one on TV, including Fox, is covering the Rod Blagojevich indictment in the months leading up to his trial. Why is the indictment important? Because it represents the widespread crime and corruption over the past ten years, it reveals the world that Blagojevich, Obama and Rezko operated in and ties Obama to this corruption. It also reveals the attempts to cover for Obama. Read the Indictment and the Criminal Complaint. It will be immediately apparent that the attempt to sell the old Obama Seante seat is just the tip of the iceberg.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/iln/

Why is no MSM outlet covering the corruption and corruption ties?

Tony Rezko, who had a deep long term relationship with  Obama was indicted on 24 counts and convicted on 16 counts. Rezko is still awaiting sentencing.

This timeline of the Blagojevich investigation, from the Chicago Tribune, reveals widespread corruption prior to the senate seat controversy.

“In their prosecution of Blagojevich fundraisers and allies, dubbed “Operation Board Games,” federal prosecutors detailed a scheme that began only months after Blagojevich took office in which top fundraiser and adviser Antoin “Tony” Rezko conspired with longtime GOP government apparatchik Stuart Levine to split kickbacks from a state pension deal. Rezko also helped ensure Levine’s reappointment to a state pension board.

As part of the investigation, in which 13 people have been indicted or convicted, kickbacks were often the prescribed price of doing high-level business, be it the pension board for state teachers or the panel that decided whether hospitals could expand their facilities. And the extortion efforts went beyond merely enriching the participants to include soliciting campaign funds for Blagojevich.”

Here is a timeline of the investigation:

June 7, 2004: Stuart Levine, a longtime Republican reappointed to the powerful Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, abruptly resigns on the eve of several important hospital expansion votes. The revelation is the first indication that the Blagojevich administration is under federal criminal investigation.

June 27, 2004: The Tribune discloses that an official for one hospital seeking permission to expand was wearing a federal bug during meetings in an effort to expose extortion attempts by Levine and others for contributions to Blagojevich.

July 2, 2004: Levine resigns from his seat on the board of the state Teachers’ Retirement System. It remains undisclosed that federal authorities had secretly taped Levine’s conversations.

May 9, 2005: Levine is indicted on corruption charges. Federal subpoenas are issued to numerous administration sources, including top Blagojevich fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko

May 20, 2005: The governor’s office acknowledges to the Tribune that Rezko has an ongoing eight-year professional relationship with Patricia Blagojevich’s home-based real estate brokerage, River Realty Inc.

Sept 15, 2005: Prominent Democratic fundraiser Joseph Cari and a former lawyer for the state’s teacher’s pension board pleads guilty in an extortion scheme that steered state pension business to favored companies in exchange for campaign contributions to a high-ranking public official described in court documents only as “Public official A.”

Oct. 25, 2005: The Tribune discloses a federal grand jury investigation into the alleged political hiring practices of the Blagojevich administration, including the governor’s top hiring aide, Joseph Cini.

Sept. 10, 2006: The Tribune reveals that the FBI is investigating allegations by a one-time Blagojevich family friend that she had concerns her state job may have come in return for a $1,500 personal check her husband wrote to one of Blagojevich’s children.

Sept. 17, 2006: The Tribune reports that the Blagojevich administration skirted state hiring rules to give jobs to at least 360 people whose applications were sent through back channels by the governor’s offices and politically connected officials.

Aug. 5, 2006: The Tribune reports that Levine is cooperating with the federal investigation of state government.

Oct. 11, 2006: Blagojevich confidant and top fundraiser Rezko is indicted on federal charges he sought millions of dollars in kickbacks and campaign donations from firms seeking state business.

Oct. 27, 2006: Political insider Levine pleads guilty in a scheme to squeeze millions of dollars from firms seeking state business. In court papers, federal authorities spell out allegations that Rezko and another schemer, identified by sources as Blagojevich confidant and top fundraiser Christopher Kelly, were using their influence for corrupt purposes.

Oct. 27, 2006: The Tribune reveals that Blagojevich’s wife, Patricia, earned more than $113,000 in real estate commissions in 2006 through a woman with a no-bid state contract whose banker husband–a major Blagojevich fundraiser–has business pending before state regulators. Both the FBI and the Cook County state’s attorney’s office begin investigations.

March 9, 2007: Cook County prosecutors charge the woman, Anita Mahajan, with billing the state for more than $2 million in services her drug-screening firm never performed.

March 14, 2007: The Tribune reveals Mahajan’s husband, Amrish, is the driving force behind his wife’s company and helped raise more than a half million dollars for Blagojevich’s campaigns since 2001.

April 8, 2007: Tribune reports that a close business associate of Amrish Mahajan, Amrit Patel, hosted a fundraiser for Blagojevich and was involved in a real estate deal with Patricia Blagojevich, while seeking to expand his Dunkin’ Donuts business into the state’s tollway oases. The deal was never consummated.

May 23, 2007: The Tribune reveals that federal prosecutors have subpoenaed records from Blagojevich’s campaign fund as part of the sweeping corruption probe into whether top aides and advisers exchanged state business and jobs for political support.

Nov. 4, 2007: A Tribune investigation reveals that influential lobbyist John Wyma, a longtime Blagojevich friend and confidant, bought a $650,000 home from one of his clients that sent real estate commissions of more than $30,000 to the governor’s wife. The client, Mark Wight, later won $10 million in state road contracts.

Dec. 7: 2007: The Tribune reports that authorities are investigating Patricia Blagojevich’s real estate business as part of their three-year corruption probe into allegations of favoritism and fraud within the administration.

Dec. 13, 2007: Kelly, a Chicago area businessman and chief Blagojevich fundraiser, is indicted on unrelated federal tax evasion charges involving huge gambling losses.

March 6, 2008: The federal trial of Rezko begins.

April 22, 2008: Ali Ata, appointed by Blagojevich as executive director of the Illinois Finance Authority, admits buying the $127,000 job by contributing to the governor’s campaign, pleads guilty to obstruction of justice and agrees to cooperate.

April 26, 2008: A Tribune investigation reveals at least three of every four $25,000 donors to Blagojevich got something from the administration–including jobs, contracts or favorable regulatory rulings.

June 4, 2008: After nearly three months of testimony that lays bare some of the innermost workings of the Blagojevich administration, Rezko is convicted of using his political ties to the governor to orchestrate a multimillion-dollar kickback scheme.

May 31, 2008: Lawmakers pass ethics reforms targeted directly at Blagojevich and his record-setting efforts to collect campaign contributions from state contractors.

July 30, 2008: The Tribune reports that in the month since lawmakers passed an ethics bill outlawing the governor’s ability to take donations from state contractors, the governor ramped up his efforts by collecting more than a quarter of a million dollars from those with business before the state.

Aug. 25, 2008: Blagojevich vetoes the ethics bill saying he wants it to be tougher and to include lawmakers as well as him.

Oct. 19, 2008: The Tribune reports that more than three quarters of the $700,000 in real estate commissions earned by Patricia Blagojevich’s home-based sales company since 2000 came from state contractors, Blagojevich’s family and others with political ties.

Oct. 23, 2008: The Tribune reports that Wyma, the longtime friend and former congressional chief of staff to Blagojevich, is under investigation by federal authorities, who are probing his lobbying activity for at least one hospital client.

Oct. 30, 2008: Springfield millionaire and longtime political power broker William Cellini, who for four decades played an enormous role in Illinois’ political leadership, is indicted on charges he extorted campaign contributions for Blagojevich.

Dec. 5, 2008: The Tribune reveals that federal authorities have made covert tape recordings of Blagojevich and that Wyma has cooperated with investigators.

Dec. 9, 2008: F.B.I agents arrest Blagojevich and his chief of staff at their homes on a broad array of corruption charges, including asking for favors in exchange for his selection of a replacement in the senate for President-elect Barack Obama.”

Read more:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-investigation-timeline-1208,0,2680294.story

Alonzo Monk Guilty Plea, November 2, 2009

 
“Feds track Obama’s visits to Rezko
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,“ according to the February 10, 2008 Sun-Times.”

Another of Obama’s crime buddies pleads guilty

This blog and others on the internet are devoted to keeping you informed. For more information on Obama, Blagojevich, Rezko and Chicago and IL corruption, use the search feature of this blog.

Fox News Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck protect Obama, Saudi pressure?, Obama threats?, Obama money?, Obama eligibility, Obama corruption ties, Blagojevich indictment, Rezko, Levine, Weinstein, Obama arrest

Why has Obama employed a legion of private and government attorneys to avoid presenting a legitimate birth certificate and college records?…Citizen Wells and millions of concerned Americans

Why has the MSM and Fox News ignored the other counts of corruption against Rod Blagojevich, the same corruption tied to Obama, Rezko, Levine, Weinstein, et al? Why has the MSM and Fox only covered the alleged attempt to sell Obama’s old senate seat?

Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck continue to insult concerned Americans who question Obama’s eligibility. They refer to them as birthers and right wing nuts. However, even Lou Dobbs while still at CNN asked why Obama doesn’t present a legitimate birth certificate.

I have tried to make this simple enough even for the bloviating idiots O’Reilly and Beck. On February 14, 2010, the Citizen Wells blog presented this simple, uncomplicated information.

“Obama and Congress Request and Obtain an Extension of Time to File Opposition Brief to Kerchner v Obama & Congress Appeal.”

From the docket of the Kerchner v Obama lawsuit.

“02/12/2010
1 pg, 83.15 KB
ECF FILER: Letter from Dick Cheney, Congress of US, House Represenatives,
Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, US Senate and USA confirming extension of time
pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 31.4 with service on opposing counsel. Service
date 02/12/2010. (EF)”

Even Beck and O’Reilly can figure this one out. Obama is hiding his records and the taxpayers are paying for his defense.

Glenn Beck, I emailed and left voice messages with a cell phone number you can call if you have any questions or if anything here appears incorrect.

Glenn, I am still waiting for the phone call.

Obama attorneys fight to hide records

On February 15, 2010, the Citizen Wells blog provided an intro into what Blagojevich was indicted for versus what Bill o’Reilly interviewed him about.

“Let’s focus om the Rod Blagojevich indictment and upcoming trial. This, like the Tony Rezko trial, is more about rampant Chicago and Illinois corruption and Obama strong, long time ties to not only Blagojevich, but especially Tony Rezko who is at the center of so much of this corruption.

The Obama Administration and Obama camp are masters of deceit and diversions. It is now clear that the alleged attempt by Rod Blagojevich to sell Obama’s old US Senate seat was crafted as a masterful diversion to keep the attention away from the years of corruption that Blagojevich and Obama were involved in. Of course this benefits Blagojevich and Obama. It is an excellent diversion.”

Bill O’Reilly and Fox ignore most of Blagojevich indictment

Here is the truth about Blagojevich, Obama and their crime buddies.

From the Rod Blagojevich Indictment press release APRIL 2, 2009.

“CHICAGO – Since 2002, even before he was first elected governor that November, and continuing until he was arrested on Dec. 9, 2008, former Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and a circle of his closest aides and advisors allegedly engaged in a wide-ranging scheme to deprive the people of Illinois of honest government, according to a 19-count indictment returned today by a federal grand jury. Blagojevich, 52, of Chicago, was charged with 16 felony counts, including racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud, extortion conspiracy, attempted extortion and making false statements to federal agents. He allegedly used his office in numerous matters involving state appointments, business, legislation and pension fund investments to seek or obtain such financial benefits as money, campaign contributions, and employment for himself and others, in exchange for official actions, including trying to leverage his authority to appoint a United States Senator, announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.”

“The charges are part of Operation Board Games, a continuing public corruption investigation of pay-to-play schemes, including insider-dealing, influence-peddling and kickbacks involving private interests and public duties. The investigation began in 2003 and has resulted in charges against a total of 17 defendants. Today’s charges were brought in a superseding indictment that replaces one brought Oct. 30, 2008, against Cellini alone for allegedly conspiring with others to obtain campaign funds for Blagojevich by shaking down an investment firm that was seeking a $220 million allocation from TRS.”
Citizen Wells: The following ties Blagojevich, Obama, Rezko, Levine, Weinstein and a host of other in a web of corruption.

“The principle fraud scheme count, which names Blagojevich, Monk, Harris and Robert Blagojevich as co-schemers, together with Kelly, Cellini, Rezko, Levine and others, alleges that they deprived the people of Illinois and the beneficiaries of TRS of the honest services of Blagojevich, Harris, Monk and Levine, who was a member of the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board and the TRS board of trustees.”

From the Tony Rezko Indictment:

“The Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board (“Planning Board”) was a commission of the State of Illinois, established by statute, whose members were appointed by the Governor of the State of Illinois. State law required an entity seeking to build a hospital, medical office building, or other medical facility in Illinois to obtain a permit, known as a “Certificate of Need” (“CON”), from the Planning Board prior to beginning construction.”

“REZKO used his relationship with certain State of Illinois officials, to ensure that REZKO and LEVINE had the ability to influence the actions of TRS and the Planning Board for the benefit of themselves and their nominees and associates.”
“4. It was further part of the scheme that REZKO sought to influence certain State of Illinois officials, in order to ensure that LEVINE, and persons allied with REZKO and LEVINE, retained and obtained memberships on the TRS Board and the Planning Board that enabled REZKO and LEVINE to influence the actions of those boards for the benefit of REZKO, LEVINE, and their nominees and associates. As part of this aspect of the scheme:”

From the indictment of

STUART LEVINE, JACOB KIFERBAUM, P. NICHOLAS HURTGEN

“The Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board (“Planning Board”) was a commission of the State of Illinois,
established by statute, whose members were appointed by the Governor of the State of Illinois. State law required an entity seeking to build a hospital, medical office building, or other medical facility in Illinois to obtain a permit, known as a “Certificate of Need” (“CON”), from the Planning Board prior to beginning construction.”

“7. It was further part of the scheme that LEVINE solicited a kickback of approximately $1.5 million from KIFERBAUM relating to the construction of Mercy Hospital’s Crystal Lake facility. KIFERBAUM agreed to pay a kickback, with the exact amount and manner of the payments to be determined at a later date. At LEVINE’s direction, the kickback proceeds were to be paid to Individual 1 pursuant to a sham consulting contract. LEVINE agreed to and did use his influence with the Planning Board to ensure that Mercy Hospital would and did receive approval of its application to build the Crystal Lake facility after it contracted with Kiferbaum Construction Company to build that facility. In voting for, and influencing other Planning Board members to vote for, the application for Mercy Hospital’s Crystal Lake facility, LEVINE concealed from the Planning Board his personal financial interest in the construction of the Crystal Lake facility. In furtherance of this aspect of the scheme:”

From the DR. Robert Weinstein Indictment.

“Investigation Special Agent that Levine never told WEINSTEIN that Rezko had influence over the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, whereas at the time WEINSTEIN made this statement and representation, WEINSTEIN knew the statement and representation was false because, in truth and fact, WEINSTEIN and Levine discussed Rezko’s influence over the Planning Board, including in a recorded conversation on April 21, 2004 in which they discussed Rezko’s involvement in the Planning Board and Levine explicitly advised WEINSTEIN of Rezko’s role in manipulating the Planning Board’s vote earlier that day on the CON application of Mercy Health System Corporation Hospital, as well as other Planning Board matters;
In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001(a)(2).”

From the indictment of

ROD BLAGOJEVICH, CHRISTOPHER KELLY, ALONZO MONK, WILLIAM F. CELLINI, SR., JOHN HARRIS, and ROBERT BLAGOJEVICH

“It was further part of the conspiracy that defendants ROD BLAGOJEVICH and KELLY, along with Monk, Cellini, Robert Blagojevich, Harris, Rezko, and Levine, and others, used and attempted to use the powers of the Office of the Governor and of certain state boards and commissions subject to the influence of the Office of the Governor, to take and cause governmental actions, including: appointments to boards and commissions; the awarding of state business, grants, and investment fund allocations; the enactment of legislation and executive orders; and the appointment of a United States Senator; in exchange for financial benefits for themselves and others, including campaign contributions for ROD BLAGOJEVICH, money for themselves, and employment for ROD BLAGOJEVICH and his wife.”

“Rezko arranged for a total of $50,000 in contributions to Friends of Blagojevich from Ali Ata, a Chicago-area businessman, and in exchange for those contributions discussed with Ata, ROD BLAGOJEVICH, and Monk obtaining a high-level state appointment for Ata, whom ROD BLAGOJEVICH ultimately appointed as the executive director of the Illinois Finance Authority;”

Pay attention to the following. It is but one of many examples of Obama’s connections to shady dealings in Chicago. However, it is strong one and well documented.

Barack Obama’s role in rigging the IL Health Facilities Planning Board

The number of members was reduced from 15 to 9 and therefore allowed Tony Rezko, Stuart Levine and Rod Blagojevich to control the board with only 5 members.

From Journalist Evelyn Pringle.

“Curtain Time Part II will show that Obama was the inside guy in the Illinois senate as far as setting up the Health Facilities Planning Board to extort contributions from companies in exchange for the approval of applications to build medial facilities.

Obama was chairman of the Senate Health & Human Services Committee in January 2003. A few articles in the media have mentioned that Obama sat on a committee that reviewed matters related to the Planning Board in conjunction with the Governor’s staff but none have discussed his integral part in getting the bill passed

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.

As discussed fully in Curtain Time for Obama Part 1, the Republicans and Democrats worked together in setting up the Planning Board scheme because the Combine as a whole would profit.

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.

He told the jury he had the same understanding with the two prior Republican governors, Jim Edgar, and George Ryan, who is now sitting in prison due to Fitzgerald’s successful prosecution of a corruption case against him.

A June 2003 email exchange produced in the trial shows Obama was one of eight officials who received the names of the nominees for the new Board ahead of time, from the office of David Wilhelm, who headed Blagojevich’s 2002 campaign for governor.

Tony Rezko’s name does not appear in the email. In fact, his attorney made the point to the jury that the exchange was from Blagojevich’s general counsel, Susan Lichtenstein, and Wilhelm’s office, and indicated the appointees were recommended by Wilhelm and supported by those who received the memo.

The memo said, “we worked closely over the past six months” with eight officials including three state senators.

Jennifer Thomas, a former aide in Blagojevich’s patronage office, testified that she attended regular weekly meetings at Rezko’s office between the spring of 2003 and November 2004, and Rezko floated names and specifically said Levine should be reappointed to the new Board.

The Senate bill said, the “Board shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate.” But the Senate Confirmation Hearings were a joke. For instance, the Feds recorded Levine talking to co-schemer, Jon Bauman, the day Levine learned he was approved by the Senate from the executive secretary of the Board.

Levine told Bauman he ran into Jeffrey Marks, who said “congratulations on your appointment,” and Levine asked for what. Marks said, “well the Senate Confirmation Hearings on Health Facility Plan Board members.”

He told Levine Senate President, Emil Jones, only allowed 2 members to be approved and “that was you and the other person he just put in.”

“Isn’t that hysterical ’cause you know they had this big battle going on,” Levine told Bauman.

Laughing away, Levine said, “don’t you just love it.”

“I’m one of those independents and not part of the block.”

“Well, good, you know it’s good to be just a true independent civil servant,” Bauman said laughing along with Levine.

“Is, is that a good thing,” Levine replied, “I’ve never been that.”

Corrupt appointees fund Obama and Blagojevich campaigns

The corrupt new appointees were all contributors to the presidential hopeful, Blagojevich, and the US senate hopeful Obama.

The previous Act allowed the Board itself to select a “Chairman and other officers as deemed necessary.” But the new law stated: “The Governor shall designate one of the members to serve as Chairman and shall name as full-time Executive Secretary.”

The Board’s then sitting-chairman, Thomas Beck, who was originally appointed by a Republican governor, testified under a grant of immunity that he brought a $1,000 check to Rezko on July 15, 2003, to make sure Blagojevich reappointed him.

A few weeks later, Beck said, Rezko called to say he would be reappointed along with a Republican holdover Levine. Beck also testified that Rezko told him Blagojevich was set to appoint Rezko’s three doctor friends to complete the rigged voting bloc. He said he met the doctors in August 2003, at the first meeting of the new Board.

Dr Michel Malek gave Obama $10,000 a little over a month before the first meeting on June 30, 2003. He also donated $25,000 to Blagojevich three weeks later on July 25, 2003, and gave Obama another $500 in September 2003. Malek was an investor in Riverside Park.

Dr Fortunee Massuda donated $25,000 to Blagojevich on July 25, 2003, and gave a total of $2,000 to Obama on different dates. Massuda’s husband, Charles Hannon, is a co-schemer in the pension fund case and testified against Rezko in the trial.

Dr Imad Almanaseer contributed a total of $3,000 to Obama after he landed the appointment. On March 13, 2008, Almanaseer testified against Rezko and told the jury he was an investor in Rezko’s fast-food businesses.

This doctor’s son, Ahmed Almanaseer, was given a trade office intern position with the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Ahmed is president of HireIraqis.com a bilingual human resources “site aimed at linking Iraqi job seekers with the companies engaged in the reconstruction [in Iraq] efforts,” according to Rezko Watch/RBO. ”

Read more:

http://therealbarackobama.wordpress.com/2008/10/01/evelyn-pringles-operation-board-games-and-curtain-time-for-obama/

From the Chicago Tribune Tony Rezko Trial transcripts.

March 6, 2008; 12:29 a.m.

“Hamilton finished remarks after an hour. She did not mention the name of Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama, whose U.S. Senate campaign in 2004 allegedly was the beneficiary of $20,000 in campaign cash from intermediaries in the kickback schemes the government says were orchestrated by Rezko.”
March 10, 2008; 4:16 p.m.

“The name of Barack Obama, the Democratic front-runner for the presidential nomination, also appears in the e-mail as a member of a strategic team reviewing hospital board matters with the governor’s staff when he was a state senator. The hospital board was scheduled to be revamped in the summer of 2003.

Obama was then chairman of the Senate Committee on Health & Human Services. Other legislative leaders, including Madigan, were part of that review panel as well, according to the e-mail.”
March 13, 2008; 3:09 p.m.

“Dr. Imad Almanaseer is on the witness stand this afternoon, testifying about his links to Antoin “Tony” Rezko and his time on the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board”.
“Almanaseer was appointed to the planning board in 2003 on Rezko’s recommendation. Prosecutors contend he became part of a five-member voting bloc on the board that followed Rezko’s wishes. Almanaseer said board Chairman Thomas Beck tried to steer his voting.”
March 19, 2008; 11:21 a.m.

“Prosecution witness Stuart Levine is walking jurors through the evolution of his relationship with defendant Tony Rezko. The two met at a dinner party shortly before the 2002 election in which Rezko’s close friend Rod Blagojevich was elected governor.”

“Levine said he met increasingly with Rezko in early 2003 after Blagojevich was sworn in as governor. On occasion, Levine said, Rezko described his close relationship with Blagojevich.

“He said that he had raised a great deal of money for Gov. Blagojevich and that he had great hopes and expectations that Gov. Blagojevich would run for president,” Levine recalled. “And although he knew it was a long shot, he was working toward that end.””

“”Mr. Rezko told me that he was able to have individuals appointed to state boards and was able to have individuals hired into state agencies and that he spoke very often — and in fact went over decisions — that Lon Monk would put into place,” Levine said.”
March 21, 2008; 12:10 p.m.

“Another government wiretap has been played with Antoin “Tony” Rezko’s voice on it, and this one could prove damaging to his defense. On the tape, recorded May 18, 2004, Rezko can be heard giving orders to political fixer Stuart Levine about how he wanted to manipulate the vote of one of Levine’s fellow members on the Illinois Health Facilities Planning board, Danalynn Rice.

On the call, Rezko is heard mentioning Chris Kelly, who with Rezko was one of the top fundraisers for Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Both Rezko and Kelly were key members of Blagojevich’s kitchen cabinet.

Rezko makes it clear in the phone call that Kelly, too, had been involved in trying to manipulate decisions of the hospital board, which Rezko has been charged with corrupting. Kelly apparently had called Levine earlier and told him he should be Rice’s mentor on the board, directing her to follow his lead on voting. Rice had been recently installed on the hospital panel at the insistence of a leader of the Laborers’ International Union, which had contributed more than $133,000 to Blagojevich’s campaign.”

I promised you more details. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

One thing is obvious, Rod Blagojevich’s alleged attempt to sell Obama’s old senate seat is minimal in the scheme of things. Another thing is obvious, Rod Blagojevich and Barack Obama are guilty as sin of long time crime and corruption.

Sadly, another thing is obvious. Fox News is not doing their job. Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck et al are covering for Obama. Here are some possible reasons.

Saudi pressure and ownership of Fox.

Bought out by Obama.

Threatened by Obama.

Fear of riots or reprisals if the truth emerges.

Ironically, Sean Hannity, who I respect the most on Fox, states repeatedly that journalism died in 2008.

USDOJ documents:

http://www.justice.gov/usao/iln/

February 18, 2010, Open thread, Blagojevich Trial, Obama ties to Blagojevich and Rezko, Fox and MSM cover for Obama

This is the open thread for February 18, 2010. Comment about anything that you desire. However, I intend to present more details about the Blagojevich indictment, upcoming trial and why the story needs to be told of Obama’s involvement in the same corruption that ended in the indictments and/or convictions of so many of his associates and contributors. Have you asked Bill O’Reilly or Glenn Beck why they are not covering this?

Fox News has joined Big Brother, O’Reilly, Rod Blagojevich interview, Obama eligibility, Obama birth certificate, Obama not natural born citizen, Fox owned by Saudis, Fox bought or threatened by Obama

“And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed
–if all records told the same tale–then the lie passed into
history and became truth. “Who controls the past,” ran the
Party slogan, “controls the future: who controls the present
controls the past.”…George Orwell, “1984″

Fox News, long thought to be the only network covering the news, especially regarding Obama, his agenda, his past and his associations, is increasingly becoming suspect as being controlled by the Saudis and Obama Administration. While I was preparing this first part of at least a two part series, John Charlton of the Post & Email presented this pertinent article.
“Saudi controlled FOX moves against Gubernatorial candidates who question Obama’s Eligibility”

“In a move which openly and shamelessly manifests FOX’s anti-American agenda, the former conservative news agency has launched a propaganda campaign against U.S. Citizens who, having announced their candidacy for State Governor in their home states, also question the eligibility of Barack Hussein Obama to hold the office of U.S. President.
In an unsigned report published at their website, on Friday, Feb. 12, 2010, Fox News takes aim at Georgia Gubernatorial Candidate Nathan Deal and Texas Gubernatorial Candidate Debra Medina.”

“By this statement, FOX has made it absolutely clear to America that they will not tolerate anyone who will not work with Obama and be respectful to him.

This move by FOX comes less than a month after a member of the Saudi Royalty, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a nephew of the King of Saudi Arabia, announced his desire to forge closer ties with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, the parent of FOX.”

Read this article for more insight into the Citizen Wells article:

http://www.thepostemail.com/2010/02/15/saudi-controlled-fox-moves-against-gubernatorial-candidates-who-question-obamas-eligibility/

Many have wondered about the motivation of Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck to not only shy away fromn the Obama eligibility question but to openly attack those concerned Americans, exercising their First Amendment Rights, but also their constitutional duties to defend it against foreign influence. Bill O’Reilly is a bloviating self indulgent blowhard and apparently he has influenced Glenn Beck.

Think that the Obama eligibilty question is the only major Obama story that Fox is ignoring or misreporting?

Think again.

Let’s focus om the Rod Blagojevich indictment and upcoming trial. This, like the Tony Rezko trial, is more about rampant Chicago and Illinois corruption and Obama strong, long time ties to not only Blagojevich, but especially Tony Rezko who is at the center of so much of this corruption.

The Obama Administration and Obama camp are masters of deceit and diversions. It is now clear that the alleged attempt by Rod Blagojevich to sell Obama’s old US Senate seat was crafted as a masterful diversion to keep the attention away from the years of corruption that Blagojevich and Obama were involved in. Of course this benefits Blagojevich and Obama. It is an excellent diversion.

From the Rod Blagojevich Indictment press release APRIL 2, 2009.

“CHICAGO – Since 2002, even before he was first elected governor that November, and continuing until he was arrested on Dec. 9, 2008, former Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and a circle of his closest aides and advisors allegedly engaged in a wide-ranging scheme to deprive the people of Illinois of honest government, according to a 19-count indictment returned today by a federal grand jury. Blagojevich, 52, of Chicago, was charged with 16 felony counts, including racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud, extortion conspiracy, attempted extortion and making false statements to federal agents. He allegedly used his office in numerous matters involving state appointments, business, legislation and pension fund investments to seek or obtain such financial benefits as money, campaign contributions, and employment for himself and others, in exchange for official actions, including trying to leverage his authority to appoint a United States Senator, announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.”

“The charges are part of Operation Board Games, a continuing public corruption investigation of pay-to-play schemes, including insider-dealing, influence-peddling and kickbacks involving private interests and public duties. The investigation began in 2003 and has resulted in charges against a total of 17 defendants. Today’s charges were brought in a superseding indictment that replaces one brought Oct. 30, 2008, against Cellini alone for allegedly conspiring with others to obtain campaign funds for Blagojevich by shaking down an investment firm that was seeking a $220 million allocation from TRS.”
Among the new factual allegations are that:

“beginning in 2002 and continuing after Blagojevich was first elected governor, Blagojevich and Monk, along with Kelly and previously convicted co-schemer Antoin “Tony” Rezko, agreed that they would use the offices of governor and chief of staff for financial gain, which would be divided among them with the understanding that the money would be distributed after Blagojevich left public office;”

“in 2003, Blagojevich, Monk, Kelly, Rezko and other co-schemers implemented this agreement by directing lucrative state business relating to the refinancing of billions of dollars in State of Illinois Pension Obligation Bonds to a company whose lobbyist agreed to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars to Rezko out of the fee the lobbyist would collect, and Rezko in turn agreed to split the money with Blagojevich, Monk and Kelly;”

“After it became public that Kelly and Rezko were under investigation and ceased playing a significant role in raising campaign funds, Blagojevich personally continued to trade his actions as governor for personal benefits, including, for example, delaying a state grant to a publicly-supported school while trying to leverage a U.S. Congressman, who supported the school, or the Congressman’s brother, to hold a campaign fundraiser for Blagojevich;”

and

“in an interview on March 16, 2005, Blagojevich lied to FBI agents when he said that he maintains a separation, or firewall, between politics and state business; and he does not track, or want to know, who contributes to him or how much they are contributing to him.”

“The principle fraud scheme count, which names Blagojevich, Monk, Harris and Robert Blagojevich as co-schemers, together with Kelly, Cellini, Rezko, Levine and others, alleges that they deprived the people of Illinois and the beneficiaries of TRS of the honest services of Blagojevich, Harris, Monk and Levine, who was a member of the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board and the TRS board of trustees.”

“Attempted Extortion of Children’s Memorial Hospital

“On Oct. 8, 2008, defendant Blagojevich advised Lobbyist A that he intended to take official action that would provide additional state money to Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, and that Blagojevich wanted to get $50,000 in campaign contributions from the hospital’s chief executive officer.
On Oct. 17, 2008, Blagojevich called the hospital’s CEO to tell him of his intent to increase the Illinois Medicaid reimbursement rate for speciality-care pediatric physicians. Shortly before this, Blagojevich had directed Deputy Governor A to initiate such an increase, which Illinois providers of pediatric healthcare, including Children’s Memorial Hospital, had actively supported for years.”

“On Oct. 22, 2008, Blagojevich spoke with the Children’s CEO and asked him to arrange to raise $25,000 for Blagojevich prior to Jan. 1, 2009. On Nov. 12, 2008, after the Children’s CEO had not returned additional phone calls from Robert Blagojevich and no political contributions from the Children’s CEO or other persons associated with the hospital had been received, Blagojevich spoke to Deputy Governor A about the increase in the Medicaid reimbursement rates for specialty-care pediatric physicians, asking whether “we could pull it back if we needed to. . . .” As a result of this conversation, Deputy Governor A instructed the Department of Healthcare Services to stop its work on increasing the reimbursement for specialty-care pediatric physicians.”

That was just the tip of the iceberg from the press release. The actual indictment is loaded. Why would the MSM and O’Reilly avoid asking Blagojevich about the bulk of the indictment? because it points back to Obama.

From the Tony Rezko Indictment:

“The Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board (“Planning Board”) was a commission of the State of Illinois, established by statute, whose members were appointed by the Governor of the State of Illinois. State law required an entity seeking to build a hospital, medical office building, or other medical facility in Illinois to obtain a permit, known as a “Certificate of Need” (“CON”), from the Planning Board prior to beginning construction.”

“REZKO used his relationship with certain State of Illinois officials, to ensure that REZKO and LEVINE had the ability to influence the actions of TRS and the Planning Board for the benefit of themselves and their nominees and associates.”
“4. It was further part of the scheme that REZKO sought to influence certain State of Illinois officials, in order to ensure that LEVINE, and persons allied with REZKO and LEVINE, retained and obtained memberships on the TRS Board and the Planning Board that enabled REZKO and LEVINE to influence the actions of those boards for the benefit of REZKO, LEVINE, and their nominees and associates. As part of this aspect of the scheme:”

From the DR. Robert Weinstein Indictment.

“Investigation Special Agent that Levine never told WEINSTEIN that Rezko had influence over the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, whereas at the time WEINSTEIN made this statement and representation, WEINSTEIN knew the statement and representation was false because, in truth and fact, WEINSTEIN and Levine discussed Rezko’s influence over the Planning Board, including in a recorded conversation on April 21, 2004 in which they discussed Rezko’s involvement in the Planning Board and Levine explicitly advised WEINSTEIN of Rezko’s role in manipulating the Planning Board’s vote earlier that day on the CON application of Mercy Health System Corporation Hospital, as well as other Planning Board matters;
In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001(a)(2).”
Now watch the Bill O’Reilly interview of Rod Blagojevich.

 
So, why didn’t the pompous jackass O’Reilly ask Blagojevich about any of these charges?

So, Bill O’Reilly, why are you and Fox covering for Obama on his eligibilty issues and ties to Chicago corruption?

Bill O’Reilly, which of the following apply to you?

Incompetent

Biased

Bought out or controlled by Fox, Obama or the Saudis

The indictments, criminal complaints and press releases can be found here:

http://www.justice.gov/usao/iln/

In Part 2 of this reporting of O’Reilly and Fox not covering the Rod Blagojevich story, many more details will be provided.

I urge you to contact O’Reilly and Fox and ask why they are not covering the Rod Blagojevich corruption ties to Obama et al.

Alonzo Monk pleads guilty, Obama Health care reform, Rod Blagojevich health care, Illinois pay to play, Chicago politics, Chicago corruption, Obama cronies, Monk and Obama ties

Alonzo Monk pleads guilty

Part 1

 

I was preparing an article on Alonzo Monk, former chief of staff for Rod Blagojevich, who just pled guilty to corruption charges. Instead of just writing the simple story, a story barely covered by the press, I wanted to provide more background information and the depth of involvement in crime and corruption in Chicago and Illinois and how this is also an indictment of Barack Obama. As in any story involving Obama, there is just too much to write about in one article.
I came across this article from the Chicago Tribune dated December 23, 2007. The article, written many months before Rod Blagojevich was indicted, explains how Heath Care reform, Illinois pay to play style works. Change some names and dates and what do you have? The current Obama attempt to ram government run health care down our throats and enrich his cronies.
“For years, Rod Blagojevich has projected two distinct images that define his tenure as Illinois’ governor.

In one, he is a populist champion with an agenda of “putting people first” by pushing causes like health care for all. In the other, he is a consummate politician with cronies who offer advice while raising campaign cash and asking for favors.”
“Federal prosecutors for the first time have put Blagojevich inside their widespread investigation of pay-to-play in his administration. Blagojevich told one convicted federal informant, “You stick with us and you will do very well for yourself,” according to a court document prosecutors filed.”
“Nix, however, disputed that Knapp’s influence is overriding. Instead, she said Blagojevich long has used a team approach to politicking and governing. In this vein, he is a public official heavily reliant on his aides. His team has a core nucleus of Nix, chief of staff John Harris, former chief of staff Alonzo Monk, longtime political aide John Wyma, state Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Collinsville), state Sen. James DeLeo (D-Chicago) and campaign spokesman Doug Scofield.

But Monk, Scofield and Wyma are lobbyists, and their clients have won millions in state contracts under Blagojevich’s stewardship. And Kelly, another close adviser and friend, was indicted this month on federal tax fraud charges.

Blagojevich allies and confidants said the governor opened his second term with two key missions for 2007: First, he wanted to expand government-covered health care insurance to all Illinoisans; second, he wanted, once and for all, to politically wound his chief nemesis, House Speaker Michael Madigan, chairman of the state Democratic Party.”
“Health care “is an issue that he feels is a fundamental right,” Hoffman said. “I think he’s willing to stake his administration on it and that’s what this fight is all about.””
“This strategy has worked marvelously in the thick of campaign season. He handily won both gubernatorial contests by creating an enemy—the scandal-marred Gov. George Ryan was used in both cases—and then excoriating that enemy by claiming that he would defend the public against this foe.”

Read more:

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2007/12/gov-blagojevich.html

Sound familiar?

Now revisit articles from Citizen Wells that reveal the ties between Obama and Chicago and Illinois corruption figures, including Alonzo Monk, and decide if you want Health Care Reform, Chicago style.
December 9, 2008

The real Rod Blagojevich, et al and Obama ties

 

December 22, 2008

Hospital CEO Wore Wire, helped build Graft Cases In Illinois

March 6, 2009

“Barack Obama’s role in rigging the IL Health Facilities Planning Board by reducing the number of members from 15 to 9
and therefore allowing Tony Rezko, Stuart Levine and Rod Blagojevich to control the board with only 5 members, is
examined in detail. The indictments and criminal complaints of Rezko, Levine, Blagojevich and Weinstein reveal their
involvement in board corruption. Obama should be indicted as well.”

IL Health Facilities Planning Board rigged

August 10, 2009

Mercy Hospital kickbacks

“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.”

Children’s Memorial Hospital seen as potential shakedown target

“Levine testified that he called Rezko on April 24 to set up a meeting to discuss their next shakedown target: Children’s
Memorial Hospital.”

Valerie Jarrett and Michelle Obama’s job and salary

“Jarrett was appointed chairman of the University of Chicago Medical Center Board in June 2006. She was also made
chairman of a newly created Executive Committee of that Board, according to a June 13, 2006 University announcement. In
addition, Jarrett was named vice-chair of the University’s Board of Trustees, the announcement states. Michelle landed a high paying job at the University of Chicago Hospitals. Two months after Obama became a US senator, she was appointed vice president for community and external affairs. Tax returns show the promotion nearly tripled her pay to
$317,000 in 2005, from $122,000 in 2004.”

Obama healthcare, Chicago corruption

September 12, 2009

Planning board votes rigged for Mercy Hospital scheme

“Although the application was rejected the first time, Mercy moved for reconsideration and won approval at the April 21,
2004 meeting. Beck testified that after the meeting, he and Levine drove to Rezko’s office to tell him the plan was
approved and Rezko was there with Christopher Kelly.”

“It was further part of the conspiracy that defendants ROD BLAGOJEVICH and KELLY, along with Monk, Cellini, Robert
Blagojevich, Harris, Rezko, and Levine, and others, used and attempted to use the powers of the Office of the Governor
and of certain state boards and commissions subject to the influence of the Office of the Governor, to take and cause
governmental actions, including: appointments to boards and commissions; the awarding of state business, grants, and
investment fund allocations; the enactment of legislation and executive orders; and the appointment of a United States
Senator; in exchange for financial benefits for themselves and others, including campaign contributions for ROD
BLAGOJEVICH, money for themselves, and employment for ROD BLAGOJEVICH and his wife.”

Cristopher Kelly dead, Planning board rigging
 

September 13, 2009

“Kelly dies of possible overdose
Authorities say death may be suicide but are investigating it as homicide”

“Kelly, 51, who was to report to federal prison officials this week to start serving an 8-year sentence, died Saturday at
Stroger Hospital in what authorities said was a possible suicide from an over-the-counter medication. An autopsy is
scheduled for Sunday, and police in Chicago and south suburban Country Club Hills are conducting a death investigation.

Kelly’s death ended a tumultuous year in his life. He twice pleaded guilty to federal charges. He was estranged from his
wife. And he faced serious financial problems, partly due to gambling debts. But Kelly indicated he was not going to turn
on Blagojevich despite pressure from prosecutors.”

Citizen Wells clarification

“Do not let the fact that the federal prosecutors convicted Kelly because of his corruption involving O’Hare International Airport. Just as most of the corruption Blagojevich had to do with “pay to play” politics in Chicago and Illinois, Kelly was involved with Blagojevich, Rezko, Levine and ultimately Obama in the Planning Board rigging that corrupted the Mercy Hospital deal.”

Christpher Kelly’s role clarified
 
  

What is the current attempt by Obama and liberal Democrats at health care reform all about?

  • Appeasing their far left core support.
  • More control over the American people to get votes.
  • Payback to trial lawyers and other big supporters (refer to contribution table above).
  • Achieving the goals of far left, socialist, communists who are controlling the party with the goal of redistribution of wealth..

Truth about Obama Health care Reform

Would you trust Obama, et al with your and your family’s health care?

Please pass this story along to Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and as many people as possible. The story of Alonzo Monk pleading guilty has been barely covered. The much larger story of Monk’s involvement in Illinois corruption, the impact on health care in IL and Monk’s ties to Obama is a much bigger story. And the really big story is that Obama is trying to force health care changes on this country just like Rod Blagojevich tried, for the enrichment of himself and his cronies.

For additional insight:

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/pr/chicago/2009/pr0402_01a.pdf

Obama arrest, Patrick Fitzgerald, USDOJ, Chicago, US department of justice corrupt?, Who is controlling USDOJ?, Why were Blagojevich and Obama indictments delayed?

Barack Obama

Arrest

Part 3

Where is Patrick Fitzgerald?

What is Patrick Fitgerald working on?

The issues surrounding Barack Obama’s eligibility to be president are crucial, yet they are but one piece of a disturbing puzzle picture of Obama.

The Citizen Wells blog has focused on the aspects of Obama and his past that we believe are the main issues surrounding Obama, the usurper. It boils down to this:

  • Obama’s persona is made up of lies, deception and fraud.
  • Obama is a narcissist. It is all about him.
  • What entities are controlling Obama, the puppet?

This blog will continue to cover the important eligibility issues. However, another important aspect of Obama’s life, one that helps explain his other behaviours, is his strong ties to crime and corruption as well as his involvement in crime and corruption. It is obvious why Obama has gone to such great lengths to hide his past.

It is clear that Patrick Fitzgerald and the US Department of Justice had more than enough evidence to indict Rod Blagojevich by mid 2008 at the latest. And since Obama made possible one of the main acts of corruption that Blagojevich, Rezko, Levine, Weinstein, et al, were indicted on, Obama should have been indicted before the general election.

  • Why did this not happen?
  • Is the USDOJ corrupt?
  • Is the USDOJ being controlled by the “secret government” Bill Clinton spoke of?
  • Is the USDOJ being controlled by a foreign government?
  • Is the USDOJ being controlled by the Obama camp? This is a distinct possibility.

OR

Is it as simple as this

What is the common denominator of these 3 politicians? 

 

ObamaContributions

Obama source

BidenContributions

Biden source

PelosiContributions

Pelosi source

Is this another reason why tort reform is not being pursued and why the politicians want more complicated government programs?

There are two primary criminal activities that Barack Obama was involved in that Patrick Fitzgerald is aware of and should have been working on. We will be providing details soon of the story that has been mostly overlooked.

Stay tuned.

Obama arrest, Blagojevich arrest, Patrick Fitzgerald, Rezko trial, Chicago corruption, Obama Rezko ties, Obama lies, Campaign donations, Fraud, Obama just as corrupt as Blagojevich, USDOJ corrupt?

Barack Obama

Arrest

Part 2

I was going over some notes, preparing to put up the next article explaining in detail why Barack Obama should have already been arrested when I came across some old articles that I had saved. The articles were so compelling on their own that I decided to present them as standalone evidence that Obama and Blagojevich should have been indicted and arrested by mid 2008. This leaves several glaring questions.

Why did Patrick Fitzgerald and the US Dept of Justice wait until after the election to arrest Blagojevich? The excuse of waiting for the US Senate seat to be sold was a diversion. There was plenty of evidence against Blagojevich. The amount of evidence placed before the public was sufficient and Fitzgerald has much more.

If you arrest Blagojevich, you have to arrest Obama. Obama was just as steeped in Chicago and IL corruption.

Perhaps that was the reason for focusing on the selling of the IL senate seat.

However, if you examine the complaint and subsequent indictment of Blagojevich, you will see the same references to corruption that ensnares Obama.

And now Obama has picked Fitzgerald to be the Interim chairman of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys.

What does that mean? 
What is also significant about the following articles is that they came from the Main Stream Media. However, prescious little of this was revealed on television.

From the LA Times blog, Top of the Ticket, April 7, 2008:

“Ticket Special Report: Obama and Rezko, the early years”

“The trial of Antoin “Tony” Rezko, one-time patron to Sen. Barack Obama and Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, has turned lurid.
 
Under cross-examination by Rezko attorney Joseph Duffy, star prosecution witness Stuart Levine, a Chicago-area lawyer, is admitting to conspiracy, extortion, bribery, fraud and other bad acts while he “served” at the Illinois public school teachers pension fund board.
 
At Duffy’s urging, Levine is detailing 30 years of drug usage including sordid day-long binges with other men at a Chicago inn called the Purple Hotel. Rezko’s attorney Duffy is wondering whether all that cocaine, crystal meth and other drug use has perhaps fogged Levine’s memory.
 
That aside, much of the trial’s focus is on money — much of it given in the form of campaign money in the careers of Obama and Blagojevich.
 
It’s an unfolding, seemingly local political story that’s fascinating in its revealing details about the subterranean world of business, financial and family connections in Illinois and Chicago politics that helped take a virtually unknown black Chicago attorney, nurtured him politically and financially and turned him into….
 
the polished candidate who today thrills crowds of thousands across the country with his eloquence.
 
Obama currently leads in delegates for the Democratic nomination for president.
 
This tale is long by Ticket standards. We’ll do this rarely. But for those interested in delving into details it provides important background about the early political connections of a little-known newcomer to the national political scene.
 
This story concerns two men, neither of whom face any legal charges today. They are two of Illinois’ top Democratic politicians — Gov. Blagojevich, who’s been mentioned often in court, and Sen. Obama, who’s received only passing mentions. They’re entwined in the Rezko saga, particularly through the bounteous campaign money he raised for them both.
 
Get used to that name. Rezko’s currently in a long-running Chicago trial on federal extortion and bribery charges. Few campaign donors were more responsible than Rezko for the rise of Blagojevich (Blah-goy-ah-vitch) and Obama. Both politicians came to rely on him for political and personal advice — and lots of campaign money.
 
 
 
Their intimate relationship is coming into focus through Rezko, a Syrian-born businessman who made his money in real estate and restaurant franchises and now sits daily in the federal courtroom of U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve. The trial’s daily events are covered in this Tribune Rezko court blog.
 
So far, Blagojevich, reelected in 2006, is more deeply enmeshed in the scandal than Obama, who’s not been implicated in any wrongdoing.
 
But all three operated in the murky world of Illinois Democratic politics, where money, family relationships and long business associations provide the invisible glue of the local political world.
 
Witnesses in Rezko’s trial have testified that Rezko recommended friends and associates for government jobs and posts on Illinois state boards when Blagojevich took office in 2003, and some of those friends were generous donors to Blagojevich.
 
An early trial exhibit from prosecutors was a spreadsheet. Prepared by an FBI agent , the spreadsheet identifies Rezko-related donors who supplied $1.43 million between 2001 and 2004 to Blagojevich, who was first elected governor in 2002.
 
Using Federal Election Commission and Illinois state records, The Times’ Dan Morain compared donors on the FBI spreadsheet to Obama’s contributors. Guess what.
 
Sen. Obama received $222,000 during the same 2001-2004 period from Rezko-related Blagojevich donors.
 
And Obama received at least another $32,000 from them for this presidential run — although Rezko, indicted in 2006, has not been involved in Obama’s current campaign.
 
Those Obama-Blagojevich donors include Rezko himself, along with his family members, employees and associates of his various business enterprises. There’s also the head of a major Chicago investment firm that received Illinois public teachers’ pension money to invest.”

Read more:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/04/obamarezko.html

From the Chicago SunTimes April 23, 2007:
“Obama and his Rezko ties
DAY ONE OF TWO”
“For more than five weeks during the brutal winter of 1997, tenants shivered without heat in a government-subsidized apartment building on Chicago’s South Side.
 
It was just four years after the landlords — Antoin “Tony” Rezko and his partner Daniel Mahru — had rehabbed the 31-unit building in Englewood with a loan from Chicago taxpayers.

Rezko and Mahru couldn’t find money to get the heat back on.

But their company, Rezmar Corp., did come up with $1,000 to give to the political campaign fund of Barack Obama, the newly elected state senator whose district included the unheated building.
 
Obama has been friends with Rezko for 17 years. Rezko has been a political patron to Obama and many others, helping to raise millions of dollars for them through his own contributions and by hosting fund-raisers in his home.
 
Obama, who has worked as a lawyer and a legislator to improve living conditions for the poor, took campaign donations from Rezko even as Rezko’s low-income housing empire was collapsing, leaving many African-American families in buildings riddled with problems — including squalid living conditions, vacant apartments, lack of heat, squatters and drug dealers.
 
The building in Englewood was one of 30 Rezmar rehabbed in a series of troubled deals largely financed by taxpayers.

Every project ran into financial difficulty. More than half went into foreclosure, a Chicago Sun-Times investigation has found.
 
“Their buildings were falling apart,” said a former city official. “They just didn’t pay attention to the condition of these buildings.”
 
Eleven of Rezko’s buildings were in Obama’s state Senate district.
 
Obama, now a U.S. senator running for president, has come under fire over his friendship with Rezko, who was charged last fall with demanding kickbacks on state business deals under Gov. Blagojevich.”
 

“Rezko and Mahru had no construction experience when they created Rezmar in 1989 to rehabilitate apartments for the poor under the Daley administration. Between 1989 and 1998, Rezmar made deals to rehab 30 buildings, a total of 1,025 apartments. The last 15 buildings involved Davis Miner Barnhill & Galland during Obama’s time with the firm.
 
Rezko and Mahru also managed the buildings, which were supposed to provide homes for poor people for 30 years. Every one of the projects ran into trouble:”
 
•                         Seventeen buildings — many beset with code violations, including a lack of heat — ended up in foreclosure.
 
•                         Six buildings are currently boarded up.
 
•                         Hundreds of the apartments are vacant, in need of major repairs.
 
•                         Taxpayers have been stuck with millions in unpaid loans.
 
•                         At least a dozen times, the city of Chicago sued Rezmar for failure to heat buildings.”
“Obama works on Rezmar deals

Obama spent the next eight years serving in the Illinois Senate and continued to work for the Davis law firm.  Through its partnerships, Rezmar remained a client of the firm, according to ethics statements Obama filed while a state senator.”
“But Obama did legal work on real estate deals while at Davis’ firm, according to biographical information he submitted to the Sun-Times in 1998. Obama specialized “in civil rights litigation, real estate financing, acquisition, construction and/or redevelopment of low-and moderate income housing,” according to his “biographical sketch.”
 
And he did legal work on Rezko’s deals, according to an e-mail his presidential campaign staff sent the Sun-Times on Feb. 16, in response to earlier inquiries. The staff didn’t specify which Rezmar projects Obama worked on, or his role. But it drew a distinction between working for Rezko and working on projects involving his company.”

Read more:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/353829,CST-NWS-rez23.article

Obama health care, Chicago corruption, Obama and pals cheated Illinois citizens, Blagojevich, Rezko, Levine, Mercy hospital, Childrens hospital

Do you want the government running health care?

Is the government efficient?

How well will a health care system designed and run by corrupt individuals function?

We now have an illegal person occupying the white house.

Try to forget for a moment that Obama has hidden his past and refuses to present a legitimate long form birth certificate. Barack Obama should have been indicted and arrested for his part in crime and corruption in Chicago and Illinois along with his co conspirators, Rezko, Levin, Blagojevich, et al.
Would you trust Obama, et al with your and your family’s health care?

The Citizen Wells blog will be presenting a multi part detailed series on how Obama is well connected to crime and corruption in Chicago and Illinois and his part in rigging the IL Health Planning Facilities Board.
Here are a few facts for you to ponder as Obama’a “health care plan” is being debated.

In the photo below, Obama embracing his good buddy Tony Rezko, Obama during his  chairmanship of the Illinois Senate Health Services Committee and Obama shaking hands with Stuart Levine.

RezkoObamaLevine

From Journalist Evelyn Pringle:

Mercy hospital

“The Planning Board staff still recommended the rejection of Mercy’s proposal. On March 11, 2008, Jones told the jury that experts found the application failed to meet 18 criteria set up for the establishment of a new hospital. He said it was also too close to other hospitals that had too many empty beds and services not fully utilized.
The day before the vote in December 2003, Mercy hired the Chicago-based law firm of Gardner, Carton and Douglas. Gardner had donated $25,000 to Blagojevich in July 2003.

Although the application was rejected the first time, Mercy moved for reconsideration and won approval at the April 21, 2004 meeting. Beck testified that after the meeting, he and Levine drove to Rezko’s office to tell him the plan was approved and Rezko was there with Christopher Kelly.

Once approved, the plan was for co-schemer Jacob Kiferbaum to pad the construction costs on the hospital and pay the kickback through a bogus consulting contract with Levine’s business associate, Dr Robert Weinstein.
After helping set up the Planning Board, Dave Wilhelm became a consultant for Edward Hospital. Edward also wanted approval to build a new hospital. On April 9, 2008, Levine testified that he met with Wilhelm and another Edward lobbyist in the summer of 2003, and came away with the impression that Wilhelm’s contribution to the team was clout with the Blagojevich administration.”

From the Chicago Tribune Rezko trial transcripts Weeks 3 – 4

Childrens Hospital

“Children’s Memorial Hospital seen as potential shakedown target

March 21, 2008; 10:20 a.m.
The snow proved no deterrent to Friday’s session of the Antoin “Tony” Rezko corruption trial, and political fixer Stuart Levine is continuing his testimony for a fourth day.

Finally, and fleetingly, Rezko’s voice was heard on a government wiretap played for jurors.

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.

A recording of the conversation between Levine and Hurtgen was played for jurors and in it Hurtgen said he had learned that Children’s Memorial was looking to either remodel its aging Lincoln Park hospital or replace it with a new one in a different location. It was a potential $500-million job, Hurtgen said, and ripe for exploitation.

“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.

Hurtgen said any redevelopment or move would likely need government financial help, and he told Levine that could be their opening to impress upon Children’s Memorial that it needed to play ball. Levine told Hurtgen that he would make it a top priority to lk over the Children Memorial opportunity with Rezko.”

From Evelyn Pringle and the Rezko trial

Obama contact with Tony rezko

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,“ according to the February 10, 2008 Sun-Times.

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 Evelyn Pringle

Valerie Jarrett and Michelle Obama’s job and salary

Obama’s introduction into the “Combine” came when his wife Michelle was hired by Jarrett in the early 1990s, and served as Jarrett’s assistant in Daley’s office and followed her to the Department of Planning and Development.
Jarrett was appointed chairman of the University of Chicago Medical Center Board in June 2006. She was also made chairman of a newly created Executive Committee of that Board, according to a June 13, 2006 University announcement. In addition, Jarrett was named vice-chair of the University’s Board of Trustees, the announcement states.
Michelle landed a high paying job at the University of Chicago Hospitals. Two months after Obama became a US senator, she was appointed vice president for community and external affairs. Tax returns show the promotion nearly tripled her pay to $317,000 in 2005, from $122,000 in 2004.

What you have just read is just the tip of the iceberg.

Stay tuned for more details.

Chicago Tribune Rezko trial transcripts:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-rezko-court-week1-story,0,4187820.story

Evelyn Pringle articles:

http://therealbarackobama.wordpress.com/2008/10/01/evelyn-pringles-operation-board-games-and-curtain-time-for-obama/

 

Obama, Patrick Fitzgerald, August 5, 2009, Attorney General’s Advisory Committee, Obama indictment in jeopardy, Nixon fired special prosecutor Archibald Cox

I was preparing a new article, a more detailed version of an earlier article about Obama’s role in rigging the Illinois Health Planning Facilities Board (you know, the board mentioned in the indictments of Rezko, Levine, Weinstein, Blagojevich, et al). The events leading up to the Blagojevich trial are dragging on in typical fashion and I did not want the American public to forget about Obama’s strong ties to Chicago corruption. The Citizen Wells blog has for
many months stated that Obama should be indicted next. The question was, would Patrick Fitzgerald do his duty or be controlled by the Obama camp.

Now we have the answer.

I was hoping that Patrick Fitzgerald had integrity and patriotism.

Perhaps he received, in the tradition of Chicago thuggery, an offer he couldn’t refuse.

 
In February 2009 we learned

“US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who brought criminal fraud charges against former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, will stay on with the Obama administration, reports Pete Williams at NBC.”

Read more:

http://www.mainjustice.com/2009/02/12/fitzgerald-will-stay/

 

 July 30,  2009, we discover

“Patrick Fitzgerald, the top prosecutor in Illinois’ Northern District, has been named interim chairman of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys (AGAC).
In his new role, Fitzgerald will be the lead voice for the U.S. attorney community. It’s the latest high-profile assignment for America’s prosecutor, who has been busy overseeing the prosecution of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), bringing down mortgage fraudsters, and fighting with journalists.”

Read more:

http://www.mainjustice.com/2009/07/30/pat-fitzgerald-named-interim-chairman-of-ag-advisory-committee/
On Saturday, October 20, 1973, Watergate special prosecutor, Archibald Cox was removed by Richard Nixon. This move by the Obama Camp is eerily reminiscent of that power play.

Read more:

http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/web/20051020-nixon-archibald-cox-watergate-white-house-conspiracy.shtml
On October 8, 2008, the Citizen Wells blog gave the opinion that Obama had to win the election due to the fact that he had relinquished his law license, was entrenched in corruption and was not eligible to be president.
“Why am I certain that Obama is desperate to become president?

During the Tony Rezko investigation and trial, it was discovered that
Rezko told Stuart Levine not to worry, he would see to it that Patrick
Fitzgerald would be removed as prosecutor.

If Obama is elected, he certainly would see to it that Fitzgerald is
“reassigned”.”

Read more

From the Tony Rezko Indictment February 2005
“a.
In or about late 2003, LEVINE and Kiferbaum agreed that LEVINE would use his position as a Planning Board member toattempt to influence the Planning Board to approve Mercy’s application to build a hospital in Crystal Lake so that

Kiferbaum Construction Company could build the planned hospital. In exchange for LEVINE’s help, LEVINE and Kiferbaumagreed that Kiferbaum would pay a kickback as directed by LEVINE, with the exact amount and manner of the payments to be determined at a later date.
b.
LEVINE told REZKO about Kiferbaum’s willingness to pay a kickback to ensure that Mercy Hospital’s application for a CON would be approved. REZKO agreed to support Mercy Hospital’s application in exchange for a share of Kiferbaum’s kickback.

REZKO and LEVINE agreed that they would split evenly Kiferbaum’s kickback, which they expected would be approximately $1 million or more.

c.
At its December 2003 meeting, the Planning Board issued an intent-to-deny with respect to Mercy Hospital’s application.
d.
On or about April 21, 2004, the Planning Board voted in favor of granting Mercy Hospital’s application for a permit to build a new hospital. REZKO and LEVINE took steps to cause other Planning Board members to vote to approve Mercy Hospital’s application, and LEVINE voted in favor of the application.
e. After the April 21, 2004 Planning Board meeting, LEVINE directed Kiferbaum to pay the kickback proceeds relating to the Mercy Hospital project to Individual E. LEVINE, Kiferbaum, and Individual E agreed to use a sham consulting contract to conceal the fraudulent nature of the intended payments from Kiferbaum to Individual E.”

 
From the Rod Blagojevich criminal complaint.

“b. Corruption of the Planning Board
35. As described more fully in the following paragraphs, Mercy Hospital, which
sought permission from the Planning Board to build a hospital in Illinois, received that
permission through Rezko’s exercise of his influence at the Planning Board after Rezko was
promised that Mercy Hospital would make a substantial campaign contribution to ROD
BLAGOJEVICH. Rezko later told a member of the Planning Board that Mercy Hospital
received the permit because ROD BLAGOJEVICH wanted the organization to receive the
permit.
36. Levine’s criminal activities included his abuse of his position on the Planning
Board to enrich both himself and Friends of Blagojevich. The Planning Board was a
commission of the State of Illinois, established by statute, ch members were appointed
by the Governor of the State of Illinois. At the relevant time period, the Planning Board
consisted of nine individuals. State law required an entity seeking to build a hospital,
medical office building, or other medical facility in Illinois to obtain a permit, known as a
“Certificate of Need” (“CON”), from the Planning Board prior to beginning construction.
37. Levine, as well as Planning Board members Thomas Beck and Imad
Almanaseer, testified under oath at the Rezko Trial.9 Beck testified that he asked Rezko to
reappoint him to the Planning Board and that Beck thereafter followed Rezko’s directions
regarding which CON applications Rezko wanted approved. Beck testified that it was his
job to communicate Rezko’s interest in particular CONs to other members of the Planning
Board, including Almanaseer, who were loyal to Rezko. Beck testified that he understood
that Rezko spoke for the Blagojevich administration when Rezko spoke to Beck about
particular CONs. Almanaseer testified that Beck instructed him that Rezko wanted
Almanaseer to vote a particular way and that Almanaseer should follow Levine’s lead in
voting on CONs. Almanaseer testified that before certain Planning Board meetings, he
received notecards from Beck indicating how to vote on certain CON applications. Beck
testified he provided these notecards to Almanaseer and certain other members of the
Planning Board to communicate Rezko’s directions about certain CON applications.

(9 Beck and Almanaseer testified pursuant to immunity orders.)”
Barack Obama’s IL Senate committee reduced the Health Planning Board members from 15 to 9.

Rod Blagojevich appointed new members and gained control of the board needing only 5 members to do so instead of the earlier number of 8.
The next Citizen Wells article on this topic will go into more detail about the rigging of the IL Health Planning Facilities Board and how Obama was an important part of the corruption.

 

Thanks to several commenters on this blog for helpful info.

Obama, Baxter International, CDC, Dr. Robert Weinstein, corruption ties, Chicago, Weinstein, Levine, Rezko, Blagojevich, Obama

Are you sleeping well these days with the corrupt Obama in the White House and concerns about the H1N1 Swine Flu?

Flu epidemics or pandemics are scary enough under normal circumstances, but with the reputation of Obama and his long time ties to crime and corruption in Chicago, it is hard to trust anything coming out of his administration.

Remember Dr. Robert Weinstein? He pled guilty to corruption charges a few months ago, corruption charges that linked him to Stuart Levine, Tony Rezko, Rod Blagojevich and ultimately Barack Obama. Well, it turns out that there is a Dr. Weinstein that has ties to the CDC and possibly Baxter. Are these Dr. Weinstein’s related?

Now revisit the following article:

 Obama baxter ties in corrupt Chicago

To refresh your memory:

Dr. Robert Weinstein Indictment

Governor Rod Blagojevich Criminal Complaint

Citizen Wells request to Patrick Fitzgerald, Indict Obama

Dr. Robert Weinstein pleads guilty

Dr. Robert Weinstein and the CDC

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Past Issue

Vol. 7, No. 2
Mar–Apr 2001

“Controlling Antimicrobial Resistance in Hospitals: Infection Control and Use of Antibiotics

Robert A. Weinstein
Cook County Hospital and Rush Medical College, Chicago, Ilinois, USA”

“Dr. Weinstein is chair, Division of Infectious Diseases, Cook County Hospital; director of Infectious Disease Services for the Cook County Bureau of Health Services; and professor of medicine, Rush Medical College. He also oversees the CORE Center for the Prevention, Care and Research of Infectious Disease and directs the Cook County Hospital component of the Rush/Cook County Infectious Disease Fellowship Program. His areas of research include nosocomial infections (particularly the epidemiology and control of antimicrobial resistance and infections in intensive care units) and health-care outcomes for patients with HIV/AIDS.

Address for correspondence: Robert A. Weinstein, Division of Infectious Diseases – Suite 129 Durand, Cook County Hospital, 1835 W. Harrison St.,Chicago, IL 60612, USA; fax: 312-572-3523; e-mail: rweinste@rush.edu

Read more:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol7no2/weinstein.htm

October 24, 2006

“Yet the CDC refuses to endorse search and destroy. It is sticking to the mantra that hospital workers should wash their hands more carefully and frequently, and that in most cases patients should be isolated only after symptoms of infection with MRSA appear. Routine surveillance to find patients who may not be symptomatic, but are still contagious, is rarely practiced, and not recommended in the CDC’s new hospital infection-fighting guidelines, which were released last week after five years of deliberations. The guidelines do not include a routine recommendation for search and destroy.”

“This is a bitter pill for many infectious-disease experts, who have been joined by the relatives of dead patients, Consumers Union, and even a few Congress members in pressing the CDC. “Why are we spending millions if not billions on bird flu, a ghost that might not happen, when you have thousands being colonized by MRSA and dying of it?” asks Dr. William Jarvis, a top CDC hospital-infection expert until he resigned in 2003. At a March 29 hearing on hospital infections—which, all told, kill an estimated 90,000 patients each year—Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., charged that the CDC had stood by, despite a steady rise in infections since the early 1970s. “During that time, hospital stays have grown dramatically shorter yet infection rates continue to go up,” Stupak said. “What do we have to do to motivate CDC?””

“The counterargument is made by Dr. Robert Weinstein, a hospital-infection expert at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, and a leader on the CDC advisory committee that issued last week’s guidelines.”

Read more:

http://www.slate.com/id/2152118/