Tony Rezko May 2011 court hearing, Rezko witness in Blagojevich trial?, Rezko jailed in Dodge County,Wisconsin
“Why did the Illinois Senate Health & Human Services Committee, with Obama as chairman, create and push Bill 1332, “Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act,” early in 2003, which reduced the number of members on the Board from 15 to 9, just prior to rigging by Tony Rezko and Rod Blagojevich?”…Citizen Wells
“I believe I’m more pristine on Rezko than him.”…Rod Blagojevich
“Why were Stuart Levine and Tony Rezko not called as witnesses in the Blagojevich trials? FBI agent Daniel Cain testified in the Rezko trial. Why was agent Cain not questioned more in the Blagojevich trial?…Citizen Wells
In a very much underreported story, Tony Rezko spoke to his trial judge, Amy St. Eve, at a federal court hearing several weeks ago.
From The Chicago SunTimes May 12, 2011.
“As a pale, thin-looking Tony Rezko admitted Thursday his two-plus years in jail is wearing on him, the convicted businessman became a possible factor in former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s April retrial.
Rezko’s January sentencing was postponed to leave open the possibility that the onetime powerful political fund-raiser could testify in either Blagojevich’s trial or that of Downstate businessmen William Cellini, Rezko’s lawyer said. However, prosecutors did not say whether they would tap Rezko.
Meanwhile, Rezko, who spoke briefly at a federal court hearing Thursday, revealed for the first time where he’s being housed — about 150 miles away inside the Dodge County, Wis., lock-up.
“These have been very tough times. … I’ve not seen the outside,’’ Rezko told U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve. “I have no contact with my family since I’ve been moved to Dodge.’’
A Dodge County jail official said Rezko was moved to the facility Dec. 16, 2008.
The move came after Rezko began cooperating with prosecutors and after his attorneys complained about the conditions he faced in solitary confinement at the downtown Metropolitan Correctional Center.
Rezko, formerly a top adviser to Blagojevich as well as a political fund-raiser to now-President Obama, was convicted of fraud and corruption under Blagojevich in June 2008. He voluntarily started serving jail time, even though he hadn’t been officially sentenced.”
“Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Niewoehner said only that it was in the interest of both the prosecution and Rezko to delay sentencing. He implied that prosecutors hadn’t decided yet on whether Rezko will be called to testify.
Rezko’s lawyers said the convicted businessman would like to reap the benefits of testifying and possibly receive a lighter sentence. But he will not seek a delay in sentencing beyond September.”
Where’s Tony Rezko?, Thomas R. Bennett accuses U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald of protecting Team Obama, Rezko can bury Blagojevich and Chicago Political Thuggery Machine
“Why did the Illinois Senate Health & Human Services Committee, with Obama as chairman, create and push Bill 1332, “Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act,” early in 2003, which reduced the number of members on the Board from 15 to 9, just prior to rigging by Tony Rezko and Rod Blagojevich?”…Citizen Wells
“I believe I’m more pristine on Rezko than him.”…Rod Blagojevich
“Why were Stuart Levine and Tony Rezko not called as witnesses in the Blagojevich trials? FBI agent Daniel Cain testified in the Rezko trial. Why was agent Cain not questioned more in the Blagojevich trial?…Citizen Wells
Thank God someone is paying attention and thanks to Thomas R. Bennett and Barbara Hollingsworth. I have tried my best to keep this story alive despite the best attempts of the mainstream media along with Patrick Fitzgerald and the Obama controlled US Justice Department to minimize the impact on Obama.
The Washington Examiner, in an article dated May 26, 2011, links to a Citizen Wells article in this line, ” If Rezko was pulling Blago’s strings, why isn’t he testifying at his trial?”
“Where’s Tony Rezko?”
“Thomas R. Bennett, who has been following the retrial of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich for the Nuclear Chicago blog, accuses U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald of “sandbagging” and “running egregious political interference to both benefit and protect Team Obama” for not calling fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko to the stand as a government witness:
“Simply put – Antoin ‘Tony’ Rezko is the only witness that can bury Blagojevich and the Chicago Political Thuggery Machine. Why is Fitzgerald holding back Rezko? What has been promised or implied to Fitzgerald as a ‘reward’ for Fitzgerald’s blatant sandbagging efforts?”
Bennett launched this latest incendiary after federal marshals apparently detained him and escorted him out of Chicago’s federal court building after he wrote: “There is still a gigantic elephant in the room. Specifically, we still do not have an answer related to who leaked classified Department of Justice (DOJ) information regarding the confidential Blagojevich wiretaps?” He included a link to an earlier Beltway Confidential post asking the same question.
Bennett raises a good point about the convicted-but-still-not-sentenced Rezko, whose whereabouts after he was transferred from Chicago’s downtown Metropolitan Correctional Center last year remain murky.
In his retrial of the former Illinois governor for allegedly trying to sell President Obama’s old Senate seat and seeking campaign contributions in exchange for political favors , Fitzgerald inexplicably dropped all the charges against Blagojevich that involved Rezko. This despite the fact that federal prosecutors previously described Rezko as “”the man behind the curtain, pulling the strings” in the Blagojevich administration.
I have spent countless hours researching and writing about the Chicago corruption world of Tony Rezko, Rod Blagojevich and Barack Obama. My conclusion that Obama was being protected was an obvious one. My consistent statements that Tony Rezko must be called as a witness are substantiated by conclusions of a number of legal experts.
From Citizen Wells April 19, 2011.
“Here are the approximate number of times that “Rezko” is mentioned in US Justice Department documents.
Indictment: 100 times.
Criminal complaint: 170 times.
Evidentiary Proffer: 288 times.
Even if a strong argument is made against using Rezko as a witness, and good luck with that argument, Stuart Levine was used extensively as a witness in the Rezko trial, and his name was mentioned approx. 146 times in the Blagojevich Criminal Complaint. And don’t forget, Blagojevich’s name was mentioned at least 30 times on one day of the Rezko trial.”
“An expert on law has commented on Rezko and Levine being called as witnesses. Leonard Cavise is a DePaul University law professor.”
“But Leonard Cavise, a DePaul University professor, suggested the government will need to do more at the retrial, possibly leading to a longer presentation of evidence. He said he believes the government may try to avoid another deadlocked jury by using fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko and political fixer Stuart Levine as witnesses.
Both men have agreed to cooperate, but prosecutors chose not to call them this summer in part because of the baggage both bring.
“If the prosecution insists on going forward, I have two words for them: Rezko and Levine,” Cavise said. “They know where all the bodies are buried.””
Bill Cellini trial August 22, 2011 yet Cellini indicted in October 2008, William Cellini enmeshed in Chicago corruption world of Blagojevich Rezko and Obama
“Why did the Illinois Senate Health & Human Services Committee, with Obama as chairman, create and push Bill 1332, “Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act,” early in 2003, which reduced the number of members on the Board from 15 to 9, just prior to rigging by Tony Rezko and Rod Blagojevich?”…Citizen Wells
“I believe I’m more pristine on Rezko than him.”…Rod Blagojevich
“There is enough corruption in Illinois so that all it takes is someone who is serious about finding it to uncover it. If a U.S. attorney is not finding corruption in Illinois, they’re not seriously looking for it.”…Northwestern Law Professor James Lindgren
It is clear that the arrest, indictment and trials of Rod Blagojevich have been delayed to protect Obama. It is further clear that the prosecution of Blagojevich has been diluted to protect Obama and Blagojevich. I now believe that originally the Rezko trial was delayed to help Blagojevich and then when he fell out of grace as a presidential prospect, Obama became the primary focus of protection. The scheme has worked so far. Obama seized the White House and now controls the US Justice Department.
The following information and timeline makes it crystal clear that Patrick Fitzgerald and the Justice Dept. had sufficient evidence to arrest Rezko, Blagojevich, et al in 2005.
If William Cellini has been called as a witness in the Blagojevich Trial, it has not been reported. Yet Bill Cellini was enmeshed in Chicago and Illinois corruption and he was indicted in October of 2008 and awaiting trial scheduled for August 22, 2011.
Here are a few of the many references to William Cellini during the Tony Rezko trial in the spring of 2008.
March 6, 2008
“Prosecutor Carrie Hamilton talks about how Highland Park businessman
Stuart Levine is central to the government case ”
“She also explains how William Cellini, a powerful Republican power
broker, was also allegedly central to many of the alleged kickback
schemes at the Teacher’s Retirement System.
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 21, 2008
“That’s where Levine’s testimony is headed right now as he details how
he and Republican insider William Cellini staged a coup to take
control of the Teachers’ Retirement System, the $30 billion pension
fund for most Illinois teachers. Cellini had worked with Levine in the
past on corrupt business deals, Levine has testified. Prosecutors say
Levine and Rezko corrupted the pension fund, plotting to steer tens of
millions of dollars in investments to favored money managers in
exchange for a secret split of finder’s fees for those investments.”
March 21, 2008
“Once the investment received approval, Levine said he had a
conversation with William Cellini, another Republican power broker.
Both Cellini and Kjellander were lobbyists for a company called
Compdent, for which Levine found clients. In testimony earlier this
week, Levine said he had passed bribes to secure contracts for
Compdent, a dental insurance provider, with the Chicago Public
Schools.”
March 31, 2008
“Kelly has not been charged in this case and neither has another alleged co-schemer in pension steering, Republican insider and developer William Cellini. Levine testified Monday that he and Cellini worked with Rezko and Kelly to solidify control over a state teacher’s pension board. But Levine said at one point in the summer of 2003 he confided to Cellini that he preferred to work with Rezko, not Kelly.”
“In the conversation, Cellini communicates to Levine that he is concerned about possible federal investigations because of heat being generated by Rezko and his fellow fundraiser Christopher Kelly, who are out “hammerin’ ” people for contracts.”
April 1, 2008
“In February 2004, TRS allocated $220 million to Commonwealth, and,
Levine said, he had already spoken to Cellini at a meeting before the
allocation was voted on. Among those present was Jon Bauman, executive
director of TRS, and TRS counsel Steve Loren.”
“”I had had a conversation with Mr. Cellini wherein I asked Mr.
Cellini if Commonwealth could make an investment in a company called
Senior Lifestyles,” Levine said. That was a company involved in senior
centers that both Levine and his friend Sheldon Pekin had an interest
in.””
April 2, 2008
“”Every social world, even the crooked ones, develops its own system of
codes and nicknames and so it was with Stuart Levine and his
associates.
As prosecutors played more wiretaps of their star witness Levine in
the Antoin “Tony” Rezko corruption trial, Levine was heard describing
how one key official at a state pension board referred to him as “The
Rabbi.” Another political fixer, William Cellini, earned the nickname
“The Pope” from the same pension official.””
April 8, 2008
“Levine and a regular group of male drug buddies favored a Lincolnwood hotel for the frequent binges, but he said they would sometimes shift the parties to tony downtown hotels. Levine said he often chartered a plane and flew his drug buddies to Springfield, where they partied in what was then known as the Renaissance Hotel. It was owned by William Cellini, a Springfield power broker identified by prosecutors as an unindicted co-schemer in the case against Rezko.”
Daniel Cain testimony limited in Blagojevich trial, Prosecution case diluted, Counts 1 2 4 dropped, Justice Dept protects Obama
“Why did the Illinois Senate Health & Human Services Committee, with Obama as chairman, create and push Bill 1332, “Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act,” early in 2003, which reduced the number of members on the Board from 15 to 9, just prior to rigging by Tony Rezko and Rod Blagojevich?”…Citizen Wells
“I believe I’m more pristine on Rezko than him.”…Rod Blagojevich
“Why were Stuart Levine and Tony Rezko not called as witnesses in the Blagojevich trials? FBI agent Daniel Cain testified in the Rezko trial. Why was agent Cain not questioned more in the Blagojevich trial?…Citizen Wells
“The past, he reflected, had not merely been altered, it had
actually been destroyed. For how could you establish, even
the most obvious fact when there existed no record outside
your own memory?”…George Orwell, “1984″
The so called prosecution has complete their “case” against Rod Blagojevich. The Case was steadily diluted against Blagojevich beginning with word changes from the Criminal Complaint to the second superceding Indictment, followed by the dropping of counts 1,2 and 4 which had the most substance of corruption activity in 2003 and 2004 and ultimately linked Obama to the board rigging. The second trial, as in the first, had little testimony and few witnesses. The question begged to be asked by this site as well as legal experts was why Tony Rezko was not called as a witness. Even Judge Zagel chimed in calling Rezko a bad witness. The terms streamlining and simplifying were used for the terse prosecution, but those are just Orwellian attempts at justifying a far less than complete effort. It must be obvious to even the casual observer that the US Justice Department is protecting Obama.
Tony Rezko has not been sentenced. Rezko has been called a bad witness, yet Stuart Levine, steeped in corruption and a drug user, was the key witness in the Rezko trial and Rezko was convicted on most of the counts. FBI agent Daniel Cain was called to the stand in the Rezko trial to back up the testimony of Levine. Agent Cain recently testified in the Blagojevich trial. Daniel Cain could have been called to corroborate the testimony of Tony Rezko, but since counts 1, 2 and 4 were dropped, it wasn’t necessary.
Apparently no one else is covering this. Here is an exclusive report on FBI Agent Daniel Cain, what he was involved in investigating Operation Board Games and why he should have been asked more questions about the Chicago corruption world in 2003 and 2004 involving Blagojevich Rezko, Levine, Obama, et al.
Lon Monk testifies Rezko gave him $70,000 to $90,000, Blagojevich trial testimony, May of 2004, Health Planning Board Rigging with Obama help
“Why did the Illinois Senate Health & Human Services Committee, with Obama as chairman, create and push Bill 1332, “Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act,” early in 2003, which reduced the number of members on the Board from 15 to 9, just prior to rigging by Tony Rezko and Rod Blagojevich?”…Citizen Wells
“I believe I’m more pristine on Rezko than him.”…Rod Blagojevich
“The last thing Sen. Barack Obama and Gov. Rod Blagojevich needed was that letter written by convicted Illinois influence peddler Tony Rezko promising he’d never rat out his pals.”…John Kass, Chicago tribune
From the Chicago SunTimes May 17, 2011.
“Rod Blagojevich’s running buddy, onetime law school roommate and former chief of staff Lon Monk testified that he took $70,000 to $90,000 in cash payments from fundraiser Tony Rezko.
Monk said he took the money while he worked as chief of staff for Blagojevich and Rezko was a major fund-raiser.
Before his 2008 conviction, Rezko was a major political donor, forging ties with numerous politicos, including one Barack Obama.
The cash payments from Rezko started in May of 2004, according to Monk.
“I’d gone to him to recommend a car dealership where I could buy a particular car,” Monk said of Rezko. “He gave me that recommendation and at that time told me he wanted to help me buy the car.”
Rezko then helped him buy his car. He continued paying Monk about $10,000 in cash on different occasions. Monk did not deposit it because he didn’t want anyone seeing large cash deposits in his bank account.
Jurors heard the disclosure after Monk described how he, Blagojevich, fund-raiser Chris Kelly and Rezko were close and had met on occasion to discuss ways to make money off of state business. Monk’s testimony was not as detailed as it was in last summer’s trial, when he described Rezko at a drawing board describing ways to divvy up potential state deals. ”
This may be as close as we come in this trial to linking Obama to the Chicago corruption due to the efforts of Patrick Fitzgerald and the US Justice Department to dilute the prosecution and protect Obama.
Look at the period of time from March – May 2004 and examine what Monk, Rezko, Levine and Obama were up to.
Alonzo Monk testifies in Blagojevich retrial, Blagojevich Chief of Staff and college pal controlled by Rezko
“Why did the Illinois Senate Health & Human Services Committee, with Obama as chairman, create and push Bill 1332, “Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act,” early in 2003, which reduced the number of members on the Board from 15 to 9, just prior to rigging by Tony Rezko and Rod Blagojevich?”…Citizen Wells
“I believe I’m more pristine on Rezko than him.”…Rod Blagojevich
“The last thing Sen. Barack Obama and Gov. Rod Blagojevich needed was that letter written by convicted Illinois influence peddler Tony Rezko promising he’d never rat out his pals.”…John Kass, Chicago tribune
From the Chicago Tribune May 17, 2011.
“Prosecutors say they intend to call Alonzo “Lon” Monk to the stand on Tuesday.
A third week into testimony, Monk could be one of the last major government witnesses.
At the first trial, he wasn’t always an effective witness. He often seemed defensive and ill-at-ease.
Monk can address the earlier years of Blagojevich’s governorship, as well as alleged shakedowns of businessmen in 2008.
He’s claimed Blagojevich and an inner circle plotted to profit from gubernatorial decisions from the outset of Blagojevich’s first term. He told jurors last year that the plan was to split ill-gotten gains after Blagojevich left office.”
“”He called me and he said we need to move on Stuart Levine,” Hayden testified. Hayden said Rezko told her he had already spoken to her boss, Blagojevich chief of staff Lon Monk, about the Levine reappointment and been assured the appointment would go through.
Hayden said Rezko laughed when she said she would have to check with Monk herself. “I took that to mean that I could go ahead and ask him, but it was already a done deal,” she recalled.”
March 19, 2008
“Levine also said that Rezko told him that he and fellow Blagojevich fundraiser Christopher Kelly “exercised the most influence” in Blagojevich’s kitchen cabinet. And Levine said Rezko told him that “all the major decisions in the governor’s office were cleared through [chief of staff] Lon Monk and through Mr. Rezko.”
“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.”
April 15, 2008
“Cari said he met with Stuart Levine at Rezko’s office in January that year. Rezko said he had the power to award contracts and get consultants hired through the governor’s then-chief of staff, Lon Monk, Cari said.
“Mr. Monk took direction from [Rezko],” Cari told the jury.
Rezko illustrated his clout by picking up the phone and apparently calling Monk in front of him, Cari said.”
FBI chart presented to the jury on April 28, 2008, shows 257 calls from Rezko’s phones to Blagojevich’s chief of staff, Lon Monk, between March 2004 and May 2004 alone.
Obama justice?, Blagojevich trial streamlined?, Blagojevich trial and charges rigged to protect Obama
“Why did the Illinois Senate Health & Human Services Committee, with Obama as chairman, create and push Bill 1332, “Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act,” early in 2003, which reduced the number of members on the Board from 15 to 9, just prior to rigging by Tony Rezko and Rod Blagojevich?”…Citizen Wells
“I believe I’m more pristine on Rezko than him.”…Rod Blagojevich
“Why did Obama attend a party in April 3, 2004 with Stuart Levine and Nadhmi Auchi, a controversial Iraqi-born billionaire who Rezko was trying to get to invest in a South Loop real-estate development?”…Citizen Wells
The US Justice Department with the aid of the complicit media, continue to portray their chicanery in protecting Obama with Orwellian phrases like “streamlining” the Blagojevich Trial.
From the Chicago Tribune May 3, 2011.
“Testimony streamlined in Blagojevich trial
2:35 a.m. CDT, May 3, 2011
The Ultra Slim Fast version of the prosecution case against Rod Blagojevich is continuing as his former chief of staff, John Harris, has taken the stand in the first day of testimony in the former governor’s corruption retrial. Last summer, Harris didn’t appear until the fourth week of proceedings.
And the testimony of Harris has been clearly streamlined as government lawyers reshuffle their deck to draw a sharp focus on Blagojevich’s alleged attempts to sell a U.S. Senate seat.”
Despite the US Justice Department dropping counts 1,2 and 4 against Blagojevich and changing the wording in the indictments, which contain information damning for Obama, corruption figures such as Stuart Levine and Tony Rezko, closely tied to Obama, cannot be ignored.
The Chicago Tribune presents a Stuart Levine wiretap from April 26, 2004. Although Obama is not mentioned, look below at the timeline of activity.
Even though only approx. 2 percent of the wiretaps were released during the first Blagojevich Trial, we hear Blagojevich indicting Obama.
As the second Blagojevich “trial” progresses, keep referring to the following information and timeline.
Evidentiary Proffer supporting charge of Collusion in protecting Obama during the course of investigating and prosecuting Tony Rezko and Rod Blagojevich.
Jan. – Aug. 2003: Obama was Chairman of the IL Senate Health and Human Service Committee. Feb. 20, 2003: Senate Bill 1332 “Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act” filed. Reduced members of IL Health Planning and Facilities Board from 15 to 9.
(Rezko Trial March 13, 2008; 3:09 p.m.)
“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.
“He said, ‘If you just don’t know which way to vote, vote the way Mr. Levine votes because that’s the way Tony would want the vote to go,” Almanaseer recalled, referring to Stuart Levine.”
Spring 2003 – Nov 2003: (Rezko trial March 11, 2008; 10:58 a.m.)
“Jennifer Thomas, a former aide to Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s patronage chief Joe Cini, continued on the stand Tuesday morning and gave a few more insights into those regular Monday morning meetings she and Cini held in 2003 with Antoin “Tony” Rezko at his office.”
“Thomas said Rezko floated the names of several people to sit on the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, which the government claims Rezko corrupted with the help of board member Stuart Levine. And Thomas said Rezko at one point made it clear that he wanted to see Levine reappointed to the panel, which was being overhauled by the governor in 2003.” May 21, 2003: Senate Bill 1332 passed by House and Senate. June 27, 2003: Blagojevich made this the effective date of Senate Bill 1332. June 2003: (Rezko trial March 10, 2008; 4:16 p.m.)
“Ziegelmueller asked Hayden about a 2003 e-mail exchange with Lichtenstein, then the governor’s top lawyer, in which Wilhelm made recommendations for the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board.
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.” June 30, 2003: Obama gets the following donations.
$5000 Ali Ata was appointed as Director at IFA
$6000 Alison Davis gets appointment on Investment Board
$15,000 Dr. Michael Malek gets appointment on Hospital Facility Board
$5000 Abdelhamid Chaib’s wife gets appointment on Employee Security Board
$10,000 Elie Maloof – Rezko used him as one of several strawmen to donate funds to certain politicians.
$1000 Phil Cacciatore (one of Auchi’s Riverside Park Investors) gets seat on Board
$1000 Velma Butler (one of Auchi’s Riverside Park Investors) was recommended for Board
$1000 Martello Pollack (Vegas Crystal Comm) received Iraqi Construction contracts
$1000 Jack Carriglio gets appointed to Board
$500 Anthony Abboud gets appointed to Board
$3000 Michael Winter, who helped Rezko in funneling kickbacks through investment firm
$1000 Talat Othman gets appointed to Board
$1000 David Gustman, $1000 from Gustman’s wife after he is appointed Board Chairman Late 2003: Earliest documented awareness by FBI and Patrick Fitzgerald of corruption in Blagojevich admin. Pamela Meyer Davis agreed to secretly record conversations involving state health planning board with an FBI wire. Oct. 29, 2003: Blagojevich interest in presidency (Blagojevich criminal complaint pg 14).
“During the conversation, Cari and ROD BLAGOJEVICH discussed Cari’s fundraising background and work as a national fundraiser. ROD BLAGOJEVICH discussed his interest in running for President of the United States.” Dec 17, 2003: Former Governor George Ryan indicted.
“Mr. Fitzgerald announced that he was prosecuting former Gov. George Ryan, a Republican, in a scandal that had been swirling around long before Mr. Fitzgerald got here and that many people thought would never touch the most powerful politicians in Illinois. But there Mr. Fitzgerald was, a week before Christmas, ticking off the details of a 91-page indictment against Mr. Ryan, seemingly from memory.
That, even Mr. Fitzgerald’s former opponents in the courtroom say, is classic Fitzgerald: dogged, dispassionate and endlessly prepared.” 2004 – 2005: (February 10, 2008 Sun-Times)
“In the media, Obama always made it sound like he rarely saw Rezko, saying they met for breakfast or lunch once or twice a year. However, the FBI mole John Thomas helped investigators “build a record of repeat visits to the old offices of Rezko and former business partner Daniel Mahru’s Rezmar Corp., at 853 N. Elston, by Blagojevich and Obama during 2004 and 2005,“
During his March 14, 2008 interview, the Times told Obama, Thomas is an FBI mole and he “recently told us that he saw you coming and going from Rezko’s office a lot.”
“And three other sources told us that you and Rezko spoke on the phone daily.”” March – May 2004: (Rezko trial exhibits)
FBI chart presented to the jury on April 28, 2008, shows 257 calls from Rezko’s phones to Blagojevich’s chief of staff, Lon Monk, between March 2004 and May 2004 alone.
“Stuart Levine, the prosecution’s star witness, said he and Obama were at a party Rezko threw at his Wilmette mansion on April 3, 2004, for Nadhmi Auchi, a controversial Iraqi-born billionaire who Rezko was trying to get to invest in a South Loop real-estate development.
Auchi, now a citizen of the United Kingdom, has faced criminal charges in Europe. He also figured in the revocation of Rezko’s bond early this year after attempting to wire him more than $3 million. Upon learning of that attempt, U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve declared Rezko a flight risk and ordered him held in a federal jail in the Loop.
The Rezko party in 2004 was designed to induce Auchi to pour money into the South Loop investment. Obama’s presence at the party was not previously known. At the time, Obama was fresh off a surprise win in the Illinois Democratic primary for U.S. Senate and was riding a crest of national publicity.” April 8 – May 21, 2004: (Rezko Trial March 12, 2008; 11:11 a.m.)
“FBI Special Agent Daniel Cain, the primary case agent on the investigation into Levine and Rezko, is on the stand now in testimony that is laying the foundation for entering the wiretaps into evidence.
Cain said the investigation, dubbed Operation Board Games by the federal agents, began in December 2003 and was prompted by information gleaned from an informant whom he did not identify. That witness, he said, took part in meetings with two other individuals who were in contact with Levine by phone at his home.
Cain said Levine had three phone lines in his North Shore home. Federal agents recorded conversations on those lines April 8-May 21, 2004. Those dates span the time when Levine, Rezko and others allegedly were working to rig the hospital board vote on a Mercy Health System hospital proposal for Crystal Lake and other kickback schemes prosecutors claim they were engaged in.” April 21, 2004: (Rezko Trial March 11, 2008; 5:27 p.m.)
“The former lawyer for a state board that regulates hospital expansions took the stand late in the afternoon and said she told Stuart Levine of her concern after an odd vote on the Mercy Hospital project that included Levine whispering to other board members before the project was approved.
His response was no less troubling, she said.
“He shrugged his shoulders and said, ‘Sometimes you have to be a good soldier,’” said Anne Murphy, the former lawyer for the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board.
Murphy said Levine’s remark followed a vote that saw the plan for a new hospital in Crystal Lake squeak by with the minimum of five votes in favor on the nine-member board.
With eight members present at the April 2004 meeting, Murphy said the vote was stalled with three members voting “yes,” two voting “no” and two abstentions when Chairman Thomas Beck was called to give his vote.
Beck said, “Where’re we at?” Murphy testified. He then went over to whisper with Levine off the record, she said. When that conversation ended, Murphy said, Levine got up and whispered to Imad Almanaseer.
Beck then voted yes, Murphy testified, and Almanaseer changed his vote to “yes,” giving the plan the necessary votes to pass.
“There was an audible, collective gasp across the room,” Murphy recalled of the April 2004 meeting.
Prosecutors contend the five members who voted for the hospital were a Levine-led bloc that Rezko had placed on the board and controlled. The two were charged with arranging to accept a kickback from the builder who was going to build the Mercy project in Crystal Lake.
The entire board was new as of the summer of 2003, Murphy said. She said she had given the new members memos on ethics, including conflicts of interest.”
“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.
June 7, 2004: Stuart Levine, member of the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, abruptly resigns. This is the first indication that the Blagojevich administration is under federal criminal investigation.
July 2, 2004: Stuart Levine resigns from the state Teachers’ Retirement System board. July 27, 2004: Obama Democratic Convention Speech. May 9, 2005: Stuart Levine indicted on corruption charges. Federal subpoena issued to Tony Rezko. June 15, 2005: Obama purchases home next door to Rezko for $1.65 million, $300,000 less than the asking price. June 15, 2005: Rita Rezko, Tony’s wife purchased plot next door for $625,000 asking price. Sept. 15, 2005: Joseph Cari, former lawyer for the state’s teacher’s pension board pleads guilty to extortion. A high ranking public official is described in court documents only as “Public official A.” Oct. 25, 2005: The Chicago Tribune reports about a federal grand jury investigation into the alleged political hiring practices of the Blagojevich administration. Late 2005 early 2006: From the Kenneth J. Conner complaint against Mutual Bank filed Oct. 16, 2008. The lawsuit is still active.
“11. 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″
“18. 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 later told World Net daily when he initially was fired, that the bank and the Rezkos were engaged in “fraud, bribes or kickbacks, use whatever term you want,” to benefit the Obamas.
Soon after the Blagojevich arrest, Conner was interviewed by investigators from Fitzgerald’s office. Jan. 2006: Rita Rezko sells the Obamas one-sixth of her lot for $104,500. Feb. 4, 2006: (Chicago Sun-Times)
“Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has always been rumored to be interested in higher office. A single entry in a campaign-finance report he filed this week could add fuel to the speculation.
Blagojevich paid $7,500 in December to one of the top Democratic political strategists in Iowa, where contacts are important for anyone with presidential aspirations.” Feb. 19, 2006: Blagojevich began his 2006 re-election to IL Governor. Aug. 5, 2006: The Chicago Tribune reports that Stuart Levine is cooperating with the federal investigation of state government. Aug. 11-20 2006: Illinois State Fair. “We’ve got a governor in Rod Blagojevich who has delivered consistently on behalf of the people of Illinois,” Obama told the crowd. Oct. 11, 2006: Tony Rezko is indicted on federal charges he sought millions of dollars in kickbacks and campaign donations from firms seeking state business.
Oct. 22, 2006: Obama publicly states he is considering a run for the Presidency. Oct. 27, 2006: Stuart Levine pleads guilty in a scheme to squeeze millions of dollars from firms seeking state business. Court papers contain allegations that Rezko and Christopher Kelly were using their influence for corrupt purposes. Nov. 7, 2006 (Chicago SunTimes)
“The Rezko story broke last week, when Obama was wrapping up a national tour serving several purposes: promote his new book, The Audacity of Hope, raise money and stump for Democrats, and lay the groundwork for a possible 2008 White House bid.” Jan. 16, 2007: Obama announces his intention to run for president.
“I’ve navigated some fairly difficult territory in my political career and, you know, there are some folks in Springfield who are pretty wily.
And I’ve always been able to operate effectively, but also do so in a way that’s consistent with my values and ethics. I make no claims of perfection, but I think that generally my judgment and my assessments of people have been pretty good and that’s part of how I’ve stayed out of trouble in what can be a pretty hurly burly political environment. ….. I think that the way [voters should view the Rezko relationship] is that I made a mistake in not seeing the potential conflicts of interest or appearances of impropriety. But they should see somebody who was not engaged in any wrongdoing, who did not in any way betray the public trust, who has maintained consistently high ethical standards and who they can trust.” Feb 10, 2008: (Chicago Sun-Times)
“Sources said 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.” March 6, 2008: Rezko trial begins. April 22, 2008: Ali Ata pleads guilty to obstruction of justice and agrees to cooperate. May 2, 2008: Illinois Senate narrowly defeated a measure aimed at giving voters a chance to recall Gov. Rod Blagojevich. June 4, 2008: Rezko convicted on 16 of 24 counts.
Count 1 contains ties to Blagojevich and Obama.
The following conviction counts are related to Mercy Hospital and the rigging of the Planning Board.
1, 11, 12, 14, 15
A large portion of the testimony in the Rezko Trial was about the rigging of the Planning Board. Aug. 20, 2008: Rezko sentencing delayed. Oct. 9, 2008: Rezko sentencing delayed. Oct. 30, 2008: William Cellini indicted Nov. 4, 2008: Washington Times report.
“A former Illinois real estate specialist says FBI agents have questioned him about a Chicago property that had been bought by convicted felon Tony Rezko’s wife and later sold to the couple’s next-door neighbor, Sen. Barack Obama.
The real estate specialist, Kenneth J. Conner, said bank officials replaced an appraisal review he prepared on the property and FBI agents were investigating in late 2007 whether the Rezko-Obama deal was proper.
“Agents and I talked about payoff, bribe, kickback for a long time, though it took them only a short number of minutes of talking with me while looking at the appraisal to acknowledge what they already seemed to know: The Rezko lot was grossly overvalued,” Mr. Conner told The Washington Times Monday.
“Rezko paid the asking price on the same day Obama paid $300,000 less than the asking price to the same seller for his adjacent mansion,” he said. “This begs the question of payoff, bribe, kickback.””
Dec. 7, 2008: Criminal complaint of Blagojevich. Nine individuals is important. Obama helped passed a bill to reduce the number from 15 to 9.
“b. Corruption of the Planning Board”
“At the relevant time period, the Planning Board consisted of nine individuals.”
“Planning Board” (IL Health Facilities Planning Board) is mentioned 31 times.
“Rezko” is mentioned 170 times.
“Hospital” in context of Mercy Hospital mentioned 8 times. Dec. 9, 2008: Blagojevich arrested
“Fitzgerald said, “We make no allegations” that Obama was aware of any alleged scheming by Blagojevich.” Jan. 9, 2009: IL House votes 114 to 1 to impeach Blagojevich. Jan 29, 2009: IL Senate removes Blagojevich from office. Feb 12, 2009: “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.” APRIL 2, 2009: Press release, Superceding Indictment. There is no mention of nine board members.
“Planning Board” (IL Health Facilities Planning Board) is mentioned 7 times
“Rezko” is mentioned 100 times.
http://www.justice.gov/usao/iln/pr/chicago/2009/pr0402_01a.pdf July 30, 2009: 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). Feb. 4, 2010: Second superceding indictment. There is no mention of nine board members.
“Planning Board” (IL Health Facilities Planning Board) is mentioned 7 times
“Rezko” is mentioned 87 times.
“Hospital” in context of Mercy Hospital mentioned 1 time.
“During the relevant time period, the Planning Board consisted of nine individuals.”
“Rezko was able to obtain significant influence over the affairs of the Planning Board by arranging for Blagojevich to appoint five of Rezko’s associates and/or friends, including Levine, as members of the Planning Board in 2003.”
“Rezko” is mentioned 288 times.
“Hospital” in context of Mercy Hospital mentioned 18 times. April 22, 2010: Motion filed to subpoena Obama and redacted parts revealed.
“22. However, the defense has a good faith belief that Mr. Rezko, President Obama’s former friend, fund-raiser, and neighbor told the FBI and
the United States Attorneys
Redacted:
a different story about President Obama. In a recent in camera proceeding, the government tendered a three paragraph letter indicating that Rezko “has stated
in interviews with the government that he engaged in election law violations by personally contributing a large sum of cash to the campaign of a public official who is not Rod Blagojevich. … Further, the public official denies being aware of cash contributions to his campaign by Rezko or others and denies having conversations with Rezko related to cash contributions. … Rezko has also stated in interviews with the government that he believed he transmitted a quid pro quo offer from a lobbyist to the public official, whereby the lobbyist would hold a fundraiser for the official in exchange for favorable official action, but that the public official rejected the offer. The public official denies any such conversation. In addition, Rezko has stated to the government that he and the public official had certain conversations about gaming legislation and administration, which the public official denies having had.”10
10 The defense has a good faith belief that this public official is Barack Obama.”
June 29, 2010: Judge Zagel said there was a word to describe witnesses like Rezko who damage whatever side calls them to testify.
“generally explains why they’re not called.”
Aug. 17, 2010: Blagojevich convicted of 1 of 24 counts. Neither Rezko or Levine were called as witnesses. One juror held out from indicting on more counts. The trial was much shorter than predicted . Approx 2% of the wiretaps were presented. Jan. 6, 2011: Rezko sentencing delayed indefinitely. Jan. 28, 2011: Rezko sentencing set for October 21, 2011. Feb. 24, 2011: Counts 1,2,4 in the Blagojevich Indictment are dropped. This represents approx. half of the indictment and includes numerous corruption ties to Blagojevich and Obama.
The only reference left to “Hospital” in context of Mercy Hospital was in count one. March 9, 2011: Blagojevich files motion to be sentenced on one conviction charge.
Blagojevich trials truth, Blagojevich Rezko Obama, Mockery of justice, Obama had to get elected, Obama controls Justice Dept
“Why did the Illinois Senate Health & Human Services Committee, with Obama as chairman, create and push Bill 1332, “Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act,” early in 2003, which reduced the number of members on the Board from 15 to 9, just prior to rigging by Tony Rezko and Rod Blagojevich?”…Citizen Wells
“I believe I’m more pristine on Rezko than him.”…Rod Blagojevich
“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,“… February 10, 2008 Sun-Times
“Ziegelmueller asked Hayden about a 2003 e-mail exchange with Lichtenstein, then the governor’s top lawyer, in which Wilhelm made recommendations for the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board.
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 10, 2008 Tony Rezko trial
Some people were paying attention before Obama became a serious contender in 2008. The Chicago Tribune even covered corruption in the Blagojevich Administration long before the Rezko trial. The Tribune and a few others even connected the dots from Rezko to Obama. And then….
I wrote the following on October 3, 2008.
“Barack Obama appears desperate to win the presidential election. The more
I know about Obama, the more I have come to the conclusion that he
believes he must win the presidency. Consider the following:
Obama has no Law License
Obama relinquished his Illinois law license in early 2007. Why would
Obama give up something that provided his primary source of income
and something he spent so much time and energy obtaining? Andy Martin
filed a complaint in IL on March 13, 2007 stating that Obama had lied
on his IL bar application. Obama had 17 outstanding traffic violations
that he had failed to take care of. Mr. Martin discovered that Obama
would not be prosecuted because he no longer had his law license. I contacted Andy Martin and this was his response:
“Nothing. Obama had already resigned as a lawyer and so they had no jurisdiction over him.”
“Not if they have lost jurisdiction over the individual. They can’t punish someone who has resigned, which is why so many corrupt lawyers in Illinois resign before they are disbarred.“
Obama ties to Crime and Corruption
Obama had many close ties to crime and corruption in Chicago and Illinois.
Tony Rezko and Obama, close associates for many years, are at the center
of investigations and prosecutions by federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald.
Tony Rezko has been tried and convicted of multiple counts of corruption
and is awaiting sentencing. he is also talking. Stuart Levine, the star
witness at the Rezko, has been convicted. Dr. Robert Weinstein has been
indicted and is awaiting trial. Rod Blagojecvich, the governor of Illinois,
was endorsed by Obama and will probably be indicted or impeached.
Obama has many ties to these corruption players and his name was mentioned regularly during the Rezko trial. Will Obama be indicted next?
From the Petition to Impeach, expel Senator Obama:
Whereas: Senator Barack Obama used the office of IL Senator to
facilitate the vote rigging in Chicago as chairman of the Illinois Senate
Health and Human Services Committee. Mr. Obama pushed legislation in Senate Bill 1332 to reduce the number of members of the Health Facilities Planning Board from 15 to 9. Mr. Obama did conspire with Stuart Levine, Tony Rezko and Rod Blogojevich to rig the committee and was rewarded with campaign contributions. The new members appointed included 3 doctors who contributed to Mr. Obama. On April 21, 2004, Stuart Levine explicitly advised Dr. Robert Weinstein, who is now indicted, of Tony Rezko’s role in manipulating the Planning Board’s vote.
Philip J Berg Lawsuit – Obama is a Indonesian citizen
Philip J Berg filed a lawsuit in federal court on August 21, 2008 that
states Obama is not qualified to be president. The lawsuit is based on
many documented facts, with the prominent fact being that Obama became
an Indonesian citizen and never pledged allegiance to the US. Instead
of offering proof of US citizenship in the form of a vault copy of his
birth certificate and a pledge of allegiance, Obama filed a motion to
dismiss Mr. Berg’s lawsuit. John McCain provided a vault COLB to congress.
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”.
If the Philip J Berg lawsuit is delayed until after the election, Obama
believes that the current congress would never impeach him. I am certain
most people would agree.”
The Blagojevich trial clearly could have and should have happened before the 2008 elections. Refer to the Citizen Wells Evidentiary Proffer.
After Obama took control of the White House, he appointed his buddy Eric Holder as Attorney General. This gave Obama control of the US Justice Department.
July 30, 2009: Patrick Fitzgerald, the top prosecutor in Illinois’ Northern District, was named interim chairman of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys (AGAC).
The first Blagojevich trial, which obviously was delayed to protect Obama, was a farce. From Citizen Wells August 23, 2010.
“If you read the press coverage of this verdict, it is clear that public reaction to the verdict is nearly universal: “One count? That’s it!? Is this a joke?”
No, it’s no joke. And, truthfully, this is the result I expected after the government wrapped up its case. It looked like the prosecution’s case was distorted in order to protect President Obama, Rahm Emanuel and Valerie Jarrett. It’s that simple.”
“It looked to me that the trial was turning into a political nightmare for the Obama White House. And this may explain why the prosecution shut their case down a month early.”
“Let’s hope prosecutors get it right this time. I suspect that Eric Holder’s politicized Justice Department interfered with the investigation conducted by the reputedly independent U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald.”
“Have any of the big media players pointed this out? Blagojevich was convicted on one count of lying to the FBI in 2005. At the absolute latest they had this nailed down by the Tony Rezko trial in early 2008.”
“If I were a juror, I’d wonder why we never heard from so many of the allegedly bad guys — Tony Rezko, Stuart Levine — mentioned by the prosecution.”
“As noted in part 5 of this series, Tony Rezko’s name was mentioned approximately 288 times in the Evidentiary Proffer. The above numbers reveal that of the evidence presented in the Proffer, 38 pages are loaded with names and corruption activities tied to Blagojevich from 2002 to mid 2008. And yet neither Tony Rezko or Stuart Levine were called as witnesses. And just as predicted and warned about here, the focus of the trial was the selling of Obama’s senate seat.”
“But Leonard Cavise, a DePaul University professor, suggested the government will need to do more at the retrial, possibly leading to a longer presentation of evidence. He said he believes the government may try to avoid another deadlocked jury by using fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko and political fixer Stuart Levine as witnesses.
Both men have agreed to cooperate, but prosecutors chose not to call them this summer in part because of the baggage both bring.
“If the prosecution insists on going forward, I have two words for them: Rezko and Levine,” Cavise said. “They know where all the bodies are buried.”””
More evidence of corruption in the US Justice Department surfaces.
J Christian Adams and Christopher Coates speak out.
““Politicizing the Law”
“Eric Holder’s Justice Department has exiled Christopher Coates to South Carolina.
Coates, you may recall, is a career attorney at Justice, the chief of the Civil Rights Division’s (CRD) Voting Section. More to the point, Coates recommended that the CRD file a lawsuit for voter intimidation against the New Black Panther party and several of its members, who were in paramilitary uniforms (one of them waving a nightstick) threatening elderly white voters at a polling station in Philadelphia during last year’s elections.
Political appointees at the Justice Department overrode Coates’s recommendation. They ordered him to dismiss the lawsuit against all but one of the defendants, even though they were in default because they did not defend themselves. The eventual injunction against the defendant with the weapon was laughably weak.”
““That brings us to the real bone of contention, the final reason Coates has been transferred: the voter-intimidation case against the New Black Panther party. NBPP members were hurling racial epithets and threatening voters at a polling place in Philadelphia. It was among the most blatant cases of voter intimidation the CRD had seen in decades. Adams was one of three lawyers assigned to the case by Coates, no doubt because, unlike the other career lawyers in the Voting Section, Adams would not refuse to sue non-white perpetrators of voter intimidation. The other two lawyers on the New Black Panther party case were Robert Popper and Spencer Fisher, both highly dedicated voting-rights attorneys as well.”
“One former Voting Section career lawyer who had left the Justice Department to go to work for the NAACP, Kristen Clarke, admitted to the Washington Times that she talked to the new political leadership after Obama was inaugurated, berating them for not dismissing the case. Sources at Justice tell me Clarke made an identical pitch to her former colleagues in the Voting Section once Obama and Eric Holder came to power.”
Case against Blagojevich and ultimately Obama weakened by Justice Department dropping counts 1,2,4 against Balgojevich.
From Citizen Wells February 26, 2011.
““Prosecutors in the Blagojevich trial have dropped 3 counts from the indictment against him. That is approximately 15 %. That does not appear on the surface to be significant. However, counts 1 and 2 represent about half of the indictment and mention numerous Chicago corruption figures with ties to Obama. Get the picture?”
“Most of you know by now that the US Justice Department is corrupt, as evidenced by recent whistleblowers, and that Obama and Eric Holder have no regard for the US Constitution. The manner in which the Blagojevich trial has played out, beginning with the delay of his arrest, the diversion of the selling of the senate seat, inept prosecution in the first trial and manipulation of charges, all are further proof of Obama’s usurpation and control of the Justice Dept.
Remember in 2008 I told you that Obama had to win the election to avoid prosecution.””
Obama mansion, Rezko, William Miceli, Probate Judge Jane L Stuart, Harvey Wineberg, Kenneth J Conner fired
“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
“Why do 3 supporters own Obama’s home?”…World Net Daily
From World Net Daily April 20, 2011.
“This, the first of a series of articles on the Obama home at 5046 S. Greenwood, establishes that three individuals other than Obama are listed in public records as owners and taxpayers on the property.
Barack Obama is not among at least three people listed as current owners and taxpayers of the mansion his family calls home in Chicago’s upscale Kenwood neighborhood, according to public records.
WND reported in December 2008 that William Miceli, the attorney for convicted political operative Tony Rezko and a fundraiser for Obama, owns the Obama home at 5046 S. Greenwood.
Miceli is a lawyer at the Chicago law firm Miner, Barnhill & Galland, which employed Obama when he did legal work for Rezko.
Now, WND has discovered that, along with Miceli, there are at least two other people listed in public records as owners and taxpayers of 5046 S. Greenwood in the South Side neighborhood of Kenwood, an oasis of pricey homes that has attracted professors at nearby University of Chicago.
The Cook County Recorder of Deeds website shows the property was purchased by the Northern Trust Company, with the mortgage recorded Dec. 19, 2005. The records suggest a Northern Trust Company trust, perhaps headed by Miceli, was the deed holder.
There are no Cook County records that show Barack or Michelle Obama own 5046 S. Greenwood Ave., although the likelihood is that the couple are the owners of the Northern Trust Company trust established to buy the property.
Rezko found the new residence for Obama when the Rezko family lived across the street.
In the 2008 presidential campaign, Rezko’s role in the purchase created a scandal that threatened to derail Obama’s presidential hopes. The list price for the home was $1.95 million. But the Obamas reportedly were able to negotiate a price of $1.65 million when Tony Rezko’s wife, Rita Rezko, closed on the purchase of an adjacent vacant lot for $625,000 on the same day. The Obamas later bought one-sixth of the adjacent lot from Rita Rezko, creating a buffer.
Obama was grilled on the transactions before the election in meetings with the editorial staff of Chicago’s two major newspapers, the Sun-Times and the Tribune. He admitted to the Sun-Times that it was a “boneheaded move” but denied he coordinated the purchase with the Rezkos. Critics pointed out that any coordination with supporters would be a clear violation of Senate ethic rules.
Now, a search of records shows that, in addition to Miceli, the Obama mansion is owned by Chicago Probate Judge Jane L. Stuart and Obama accountant Harvey Wineberg, both of whom are paying taxes on the property.
WND was assisted in the inquiry by an expert debt collector who had access to professional databases used by debt collection agencies and skip-tracing companies with proprietary “skip-trace” software designed to find debtors who have attempted to run away to avoid payment.
WND’s source wishes to remain anonymous to prevent the type of retaliation faced by other experts who have been cut off from using proprietary databases in their attempt to search Obama’s records.
The expert lives in the U.S. Southeast and has more than 10 years of experience in the financial and debt collection industries. He describes himself as a libertarian who voted for Obama in 2008, only to become disillusioned with what he sees as attacks on medical freedom in Obama’s health-care reform.”
From the Kenneth J. Connor lawsuit reported at Citizen Wells on February 10, 2011.
“9. In June, 2005, Mutual Bank President and CEO Amrish Mahajan and other Mutual Bank olfficers 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. As part of the Mutual Bank loan underwriting process, Mutual Bank obtained a real estate appraisal from Adams Valuation Corporation (Adams Appraisal) which purported to provide an opinion of value of the subject 5050 S. Greenwood real estate (the collateral for the Rezko loan) at $ 68.76 per square foot. A copy of the Adams Appraisal is attached as Exhibit C. In June, 2005, Rita Rezko closed on the purchase of the 5050 S. Greenwood property at a purchase price of $ 625,000.00 along with the loan from Mutual Bank in the amount of $ 500,000.00 with Mutual bank obtaining a first mortgage lien position on the Greenwood vacant parcel.”
“10. 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. A copy of the Obama/Rita Rezko contract is attached as Exhibit D. As a result of that transaction, the Rezkos requested that Mutual Bank release it’s first collateral position to the ten-foot strip parcel transferred to the Obamas. In that same general time frame, Richard Barth, Mutual Bank Senior VP of construction lending and James Murphy, Mutual Bank Senior VP Internal Auditor/Risk Manager, requested that Conner perform an appraisal review of the Adams Appraisal attached hereto as Exhibit C.”
“11. 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. In that same general time frame an appraisal was performed for the 5050 S. Greenwood property by Howard B. Richter, MAI which valued the 5050 S. Greenwood property at $ 54.00 per square foot but then discounted the ten-foot strip being transferred by Rita Rezko to the Obamas by fifty percent, as the ten-foot strip was unbuildable standing alone…The valuation by the Richter Appraisal for the 5050 S. Greenwood lot was substantially to Conner’s ARR valuation.”
“18. 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.”
“A former Illinois real estate specialist says FBI agents have questioned him about a Chicago property that had been bought by convicted felon Tony Rezko’s wife and later sold to the couple’s next-door neighbor, Sen. Barack Obama.
The real estate specialist, Kenneth J. Conner, said bank officials replaced an appraisal review he prepared on the property and FBI agents were investigating in late 2007 whether the Rezko-Obama deal was proper.
“Agents and I talked about payoff, bribe, kickback for a long time, though it took them only a short number of minutes of talking with me while looking at the appraisal to acknowledge what they already seemed to know: The Rezko lot was grossly overvalued,” Mr. Conner told The Washington Times Monday.
“Rezko paid the asking price on the same day Obama paid $300,000 less than the asking price to the same seller for his adjacent mansion,” he said. “This begs the question of payoff, bribe, kickback.””
Blagojevich trial two begins, Jury Selection, April 20, 2011, Jury questionnaires, Obama Justice Dept.
“Why did the Illinois Senate Health & Human Services Committee, with Obama as chairman, create and push Bill 1332, “Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act,” early in 2003, which reduced the number of members on the Board from 15 to 9, just prior to rigging by Tony Rezko and Rod Blagojevich?”…Citizen Wells
“I believe I’m more pristine on Rezko than him.”…Rod Blagojevich
From the Chicago Tribune.
“Rod Blagojevich’s second corruption trial is set to get under way with nearly all the same evidence as the first trial, just packaged and presented in a whole new way.
Would-be jurors were expected to begin filling out questionnaires Wednesday meant to help weed out anyone with strong biases for or against the ousted Illinois governor.
Since Blagojevich’s first trial last year that ended with jurors deadlocked on all but one count, federal prosecutors have honed and simplified their case, dropping complex racketeering charges to address complaints by the previous jury that the evidence was too hard to follow.
For his part, Blagojevich, now 54, is returning with a scaled-down, more bookish defense team that no longer includes lead lawyer Sam Adam Jr., whose courtroom theatrics in round one often drew the judge’s ire. And this time, Blagojevich will be the lone defendant after authorities dropped all charges against his brother.”
“The former contestant on TV’s “Celebrity Apprentice” faces 20 charges, including that he sought to sell or trade an appointment to President Barack Obama’s old U.S. Senate seat.
Already, he could get up to five years in prison for the lying conviction at the first trial. And the stakes are as high as ever this time: A conviction on just one offense could mean a decade or more behind bars.”
“In pretrial preparations, prosecutors have been working to simplify everything.
The dropped racketeering charges, which have stupefying legal points and subpoints. They also dismissed all charges against Blagojevich’s brother and co-defendant, Robert Blagojevich, allowing them to focus entirely on the former governor.
They even sought to edit out what they consider irrelevant chit-chat on hours of FBI wiretap recordings, evidence at the heart of the government case, including a reference in one conversation to Blagojevich’s famously bountiful locks.
“They’ve been like a ship tossing excess baggage over board to get through a storm,” said David Morrison of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.
With the prosecution pursuing a condensed case, many experts say it would behoove the defense to call at least a few witnesses — in contrast to the first trial, when they chose not to put on a case.
Phil Turner, a former federal prosecutor, said he would normally adhere to conventional wisdom that it’s almost always a bad idea to expose a defendant to blistering cross-examination. But he said the defense may want to consider putting Blagojevich on the stand.”
Counts 1,2,4 were dropped several months ago. Those counts had the strongest ties to Obama. Anyone surprised by that or not calling Tony Rezko in the first trial since Obama’s pal Eric Holder controls the Justice Dept.
Citizen WElls 