Tag Archives: Dan Shomon

Obama corruption, Alexi Giannoulias speaks at Convention, Chicago corruption, Obama mentor to Giannoulias, Giannoulias mob ties, Dan Shomon, Audacity of corruption

Posted on August 27, 2008 | 9 comments

“Giannoulias is so tainted by reputed mob links that several top Illinois Dems, including the state’s speaker of the House and party chairman, refused to endorse him even after he won the Democratic nomination with Obama’s help.”
Lynn Sweet, Chicago Sun-Times

The Citizen Wells blog began researching Obama’s ties to Alexi Giannoulias and other Chicago and Illinois corruption figures months ago. This blog posted an article about Alexi Giannoulias, Dan Shomon and corruption on May 14, 2008. Here is an exerpt from the article:

“Like the ill-advised connection to Obama in Aurora, thanks to Dan Shomon, Obama is mentioned in the same discusion with all these problems with Giannoulias.”
“Shomon’s main activities are political campaigns and helping Obama and his friends like Alexi Giannoulias who is now the Treasurer for the State of Illinois.”
“We think it’s HIGHLY unethical of Dan Shomon or Tom Weisner to exploit the taxpayers of Aurora for political purpose. Barack Obama’s credibility is also risked in the process of Shomon and Weisner’s games at the expense of taxpayers.
“Aurora Mayor Thomas J. Weisner gave Shomon the lobbying gig in exchange for political work, including getting the endorsement of Barack Obama back in 2005 when Obama first said he would remain “neutral” in the heated mayoral race.”
“In the 2006 Democratic primary, for example, Obama endorsed first-time candidate Alexi Giannoulias for state treasurer despite reports about loans Giannoulias’ family-owned Broadway Bank made to crime figures. Records show Giannoulias and his family had given more than $10,000 to Obama’s campaign, which banked at Broadway.”

Audacity is a word often used by Obama. What we have here is:

The Audacity of Corruption.

Alexi Giannoulias spoke at the Democratic National Convention on Monday, August 25, 2008.

NY Post article:

“By CHARLES HURT Bureau Chief

September 5, 2007

WASHINGTON – A man who has long been dogged by charges that the bank his family owns helped finance a Chicago crime figure will host a Windy City fund-raiser tonight for Sen. Barack Obama.

Alexi Giannoulias, who became Illinois state treasurer last year after Obama vouched for him, has pledged to raise $100,000 for the senator’s Oval Office bid.

Before he promised to raise funds for Obama, Giannoulias bankrolled Michael “Jaws” Giorango, a Chicagoan twice convicted of bookmaking and promoting prostitution. ”

Read more here:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/09052007/news/nationalnews/obamas_mob_tie_idekick.htm

Consider the following:

“Much in the same way that Obama was groomed for his elections by people in power in Chicago, and much in the same way that Obama supported the corrupt Stroger family even when he could have supported a reform-minded (liberal Democrat) opponent to the Strogers, the Obama-Giannoulias relationship seems one of political payback.”

“The close association of Obama with a man who seems clearly to be involved in some shady deals with convicted criminals is yet another example of questionable judgment at best and typical dirty Chicago politics at worst. I wonder if Giannoulias will turn out to be the next in Obama’s never-ending series of “He’s not the man I knew”.”

Read more here:

http://www.rossputin.com/blog/index.php/2008/08/27/will-alexi-giannoulias-be-obama-s-next-n

Alexi Giannoulias, in his speech on Monday, referred to Obama as his friend and mentor.

Watch the video of the Alexi Giannoulias speech:

If you are fed up with Obama, his thugs and Chicago corruption, visit the Petition to Impeach, expel Senator Obama:

http://obamaimpeachment.org

I would like to thank Gracie, a commenter on this blog, for alerting us to Alexi Giannoulias speaking.

9 Comments

Posted in Alexi Giannoulias, Announcements, Attorney General, Barack Obama, Blagojevich, Chicago, Citizens for the truth about Obama, Corporate accountability, Crime, Criminal Complaint, Dan Shomon, Delegate, Democrat delegate, democratic convention, Democrats, drugs, Election, Election 2008, Election update, Government, Illinois, Impeach Senator Obama, impeachment, indictment, Joe Biden, Joseph Cari, Justice, Killerspin, Lobbyist, money laundering, News, Obama impeachment, Obama indictment, Obama Nation, Obama records, Political prisoner, Politics, Rezko, Robert Blackwell, Senator Biden, Senator Obama, Stuart Levine, The Case Against Barack Obama, United States, voters, Warrant, YouTube

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The Case Against Barack Obama, Dan Shomon, Robert Blackwell, David Freddoso, Killerspin, Illinois State Grants, Legal retainer, Money Laundering, LA Times article

Posted on August 14, 2008 | 22 comments

One of the least reported aspects of Obama’s past and his ties to
corruption and dubious business associations is the Robert Blackwell
“legal retainer” in conjunction with Dan Shomon. The LA Times broke
this story back in April 2008. They referred to Dan Shomon as an
Obama campaign aide. This blog, Citizen Wells, dug deeper into the
role of Dan Shomon. Dan Shomon was actually Obama’s Campaign Manager
at one time and he was also  a lobbyist. Dan Shomon’s name is at
the top of an announcement of Robert Blackwell being on Governor
Rod Blagojevich’s team. Blagojevich was named often during the Tony
Rezko trial and has been the subject of a recall attempt in Illinois.
Robert Blackwell contacted this blog shortly after we presented
our article in April 2008.

David Freddoso has written a new book, “The Case Against Barack Obama.
Freddoso, to his credit, writes about the Dan Shomon connection. He
does not cover Shomon as well as this blog so we recommend that you
search on Shomon here and learn more. Here are some exerpts from
“The Case Against Barack Obama”:
“Perhaps the most surprising story about Barack obama and money is one that no one talks about at all.  It involves ping-pong.  it is the story of how state Senator Obama was paid more than $100,000 for legal work, then helped his client’s company get $320,000 in taxpayer grants. 
For some reason, only the Los Angeles Times has examined the story of Robert Blackwell Jr. and the government grants he received after he invested in Barack Obama.

Obama writes in The Audacity of Hope that after his failed congressional run in 2000, he was “more or less broke.”  His family would make $240,000 that year, but they had large debts, and he had just loaned his losing campaign $9,500 and maxed out his credit card.  To keep his family afloat, he writes, he went back after the election to his law firm, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, which he had neglected throughout 2000 (he received no income from the firm that year).  He planned to do some legal work to supplement his modest $58,000 salary as a state senator.

In 2001, while serving as a state senator, Obama would earn $98,158 from his law practice.  Of that money, $80,000 came from a single client – Electronic Knowledge Interchange (EKI)-which had put him on a $8,000 monthly retainer.  This lasted fourteen months and netted Obama $112,000.  The company was owned by one Robert Blackwell Jr., a friend of Obama’s since about 1995.

Months after Obama received his final payment from EKI, he wrote a request on Illinois Senate letterhead and sent it to state officials for a $50,000 tourism grant to a company named Killerspin. This company was also owned by Blackwell.

Killerspin runs ping-pong tournaments and sells ping-pong gear.  After Obama’s original request, Killerspin received a $20,000 grant for a ping-pong tournament.  Over the next three years, Obama’s aide Dan Shoman-who was working for the senator part-time and part-time for Blackwell-would help Killerspin get a $200,000 state grant for its 2003 tournament and a $100,000 state grant for its 2004 tournament, for a total of $320,000.

So Blackwell’s company paid Senator Obama a large sum of money.  Blackwell’s other company received almost three times as much in state grants, with help from Obama and his aide.

The Times reports that Obama, in his required legal financial disclosures, buried his six-figure financial conflict of interest amid a list of hundreds of other clients represented by his law firm.  He did not mention that the majority of his 2001 income came from EKI-nor was he required to do so under Illinois law.  Moreover, the Times piece notes:

The business arrived at an especially fortuitious time because, as the law firm’s senior partner, Judson Miner, put it, “it was a very dry period here,” meaning that the ebb and flow of cases left little work for Obama and cash was tight.”

This corruption connection is listed on the Petition to Impeach, expel Senator Obama:

http://obamaimpeachment.org

22 Comments

Posted in Barack Obama, Blagojevich, Chicago, Citizens for the truth about Obama, Congress, Corporate accountability, Crime, Dan Shomon, democratic convention, Democrats, Election, Election 2008, Election update, Government, Grants, Illinois, Impeach Senator Obama, impeachment, indictment, Justice, Killerspin, Lobbyist, News, Obama home for sale, Obama impeachment, Obama indictment, Obama records, Politics, Robert Blackwell, Senator Obama, The Case Against Barack Obama, United States, voters

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Dan Shomon, Obama, Robert Blackwell, Illinois state grants, Obama retainer, Killerspin, Blagojevich, Rezko, Alexi Giannoulias, Not on MSM, MSM being bought?

Posted on May 14, 2008 | 20 comments

The Los Angeles Times, in an article dated April 27, 2008 reveals
that Obama received a $8,000 a month retainer from Robert Blackwell
for his technology firm, Electronic Knowledge Interchange,
for a total of $112,000. The following exerpts are from the LA times
article:

“A few months after receiving his final payment from EKI, Obama sent a request on state Senate letterhead urging Illinois officials to provide a $50,000 tourism promotion grant to another Blackwell company, Killerspin.”

“With support from Obama, other state officials and an Obama aide who went to work part time for Killerspin, the company eventually obtained $320,000 in state grants between 2002 and 2004 to subsidize its tournaments.”

“But Obama portrays himself as a lawmaker dedicated to transparency and sensitive to even the appearance of a conflict of interest.”

“Killerspin’s owner, Blackwell, was a political supporter and friend as well. Both men lived on Chicago’s South Side. Blackwell, a savvy and successful entrepreneur, was one of the first donors to Obama’s early campaigns, including the state senator’s failed bid for a congressional seat in 2000. In the presidential race he is credited on Obama’s website with committing to raise $100,000 to $200,000 for Obama’s campaign.”

Obama and his supporters have downplayed the legal retainer and grant
request. The MSM is barely touching this story. Even the LA Times,
that broke this story, downplays the significance of Dan Shomon and
refers to him as an Obama aide. Dan Shomon was much more than just
an Obama aide. Consider the following facts about Shomon and his
relation with Obama and other politicians and businessmen.

Here are the facts about Dan Shomon, Robert Blackwell, Alexi Giannoulias and Obama’s ties to Shomon, Blackwell, Alexi Giannoulias and Chicago and Illinois corruption:

Dan Shomon was a long time employee of Robert Blackwell and Barack Obama as well as main political advisor to Obama.

Obama initiated the request for Robert Blackwell company Killerspin to receive a grant from Illinois and made the request on official Illinois Senate stationery.

Shoman, while an employee of both Blackwell and Obama secured grants for Blackwell company Killerspin:
$200,000 grant for its 2003 tournament
$100,000 grant for its 2004 tournament

Robert Blackwell had strong ties to Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich who has been mentioned many times during the Tony Rezko corruption trial.
The following is from a news release by EKI Consulting:
“BLACKWELL JR. NAMED TO ILLINOIS GOVERNOR’S TRANSITION TEAM”
The top of the press release reads:
For Immediate Release
Contact: Dan Shomon, (312) 578-0450
(* reference 1)

Obama supported the re-election of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, whose administration is embroiled in corruption probes.

EKI, a Blackwell company, gave $20,000 to Blagojevich.
Electronic Knowledge Interchange won $6 million in technology consulting and software development contracts. EKI did no state
work until after Blagojevich took office.
(* reference 2)

Robert Blackwell Companies gave the following to Obama’s campaign in 2007:

BLACKWELL CONSULTING SERVICES $9,200.00
EKI  $6,925.00
KILLERSPIN  $16,500.00
(* reference 3)

Dan Shoman was referred to as an Obama aide in the LA Times article but he was much more than that:
October 2002
“He (Obama) consulted with Shoman, still his main political adviser”
(* reference 4)

April 13, 2006

“Like the ill-advised connection to Obama in Aurora, thanks to Dan Shomon, Obama is mentioned in the same discusion with all these problems with Giannoulias.”
“Shomon’s main activities are political campaigns and helping Obama and his friends like Alexi Giannoulias who is now the Treasurer for the State of Illinois.”
“We think it’s HIGHLY unethical of Dan Shomon or Tom Weisner to exploit the taxpayers of Aurora for political purpose. Barack Obama’s credibility is also risked in the process of Shomon and Weisner’s games at the expense of taxpayers.
“Aurora Mayor Thomas J. Weisner gave Shomon the lobbying gig in exchange for political work, including getting the endorsement of Barack Obama back in 2005 when Obama first said he would remain “neutral” in the heated mayoral race.”
“In the 2006 Democratic primary, for example, Obama endorsed first-time candidate Alexi Giannoulias for state treasurer despite reports about loans Giannoulias’ family-owned Broadway Bank made to crime figures. Records show Giannoulias and his family had given more than $10,000 to Obama’s campaign, which banked at Broadway.”
(* reference 5)
“Andy Martin says ‘retainer’ by Robert Blackwell, Jr. was classic Illinois ‘pay to play’ and may have been criminal behavior.”
(* reference 6)

From Obama’s website. Reveals connection to Shomon:
“”She is as strong and stubborn as he is,” said Dan Shomon, an aide to Obama during his unsuccessful challenge to U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) eight years ago.”

http://www.barackobama.com/2007/04/22/michelle_obama_baracks_rock.php
“After just a few years, Obama was talking about running for Congress, and thought he saw an opportunity. In 1999, black congressman Bobby Rush had challenged Richard M. Daley for mayor, and lost. Obama conducted a poll, says then-campaign manager Dan Shomon, and it suggested that some voters, particularly white ones, were looking for an alternative to Rush.”

http://www.barackobama.com/2007/08/12/a_series_of_fortunate_events.php

References

1. The full press release can be read here:

http://www.eki-consulting.com/APPS/EKIHP1.nsf/Content/BE14CC6D3CE4025586256D030075A471?OpenDocument

2.Here is the link:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/blagojevich/695931,gov013005.stng

3.Here is the link:

http://query.nictusa.com/pres/2007/Q2/C00431445/A_EMPLOYER_C00431445

4.October 2002

So when Saltzman was assembling speakers for the anti-war rally in late October 2002, Obama came to her mind…She called him and asked him to participate in the rally…Obama…did not immediately agree, but he told Saltzman that he would think it over…

“He consulted with Shoman, still his main political adviser at the time, and Shomon told him…if Saltzman was urging him to speak, he could not refuse. Moreover, Obama was trying to draw Axelrod onto his Senate campaign team. It would not be wise to disappoint Saltzman if he wanted her to continue lobbying Axelrod on his behalf. So Obama agreed to speak…Obama made the decision to protest the impending war in part as a political calculation that he hoped would benefit him among Democrats…
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/02/29/7364/
5.Here is the link:
http://openline.blogspot.com/2006/04/more-not-so-good-news-for-city-of.html
6.Here is the link:
http://www.pr-inside.com/smoking-gun-prompts-andy-martin-to-r559376.htm

20 Comments

Posted in Announcements, Barack Obama, Clintons, Corporate accountability, Crime, Dan Shomon, democratic convention, Democrats, doublespeak, drugs, Election, Government, Journalism, Justice, Money, News, Obama records, Politics, Society, voters

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