[Rhodes22-list] Politics: Obama Tries to Ban Opponents Ads

[Brad Haslett]

Bill,

The NRA is the least of Obama's problems (see below).  Want to start a
pool on how many days until Rezko mysteriously gets a bad meal in
prison?  How do you think he's going to explain his wife buying the
lot next to Barry and Michelle's place on the same day for $300,000
when Rezko testified that they only had a net worth of $37,000 at the
time. We know he contributed over a quarter of a million dollars to
the Obama campaign.  Where did that money come from?  This should be
fun.  Sing Rezko, Sing!

Brad

-------------------------

Attorneys believe Rezko is talking to prosecutors

By MIKE ROBINSON – 12 hours ago

CHICAGO (AP) — Convicted political fixer Antoin "Tony" Rezko has been
quietly visiting Chicago's federal courthouse, setting off speculation
that he may be spilling secrets to prosecutors in return for a lenient
sentence.

Prosecutors investigating Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration would
plainly like to hear what Rezko knows, and there is plenty of
incentive to talk.

"Jail is horrible and Tony Rezko has just two options," says Jay
Stewart, executive director of the Better Government Association. "One
option is to do nothing and get a full sentence. The other is to
cooperate with prosecutors."

Attorneys with knowledge of the government's investigation of
corruption in state government say they are convinced the one-time key
fundraiser for Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Sen. Barack Obama
is either talking or about to do so.

Two attorneys said Monday they and other lawyers have been contacted
by prosecutors seeking to check information that only Rezko could have
told them. Both attorneys spoke only on condition of anonymity, saying
prosecutors have sought to keep such matters secret as part of the
grand jury investigation.

The Chicago Tribune reported Sunday that four lawyers claimed to the
newspaper that they have been called by prosecutors with information
from Rezko or his attorneys.

Rezko, 53, a one-time millionaire real estate developer and fast-food
entrepreneur, raised funds for many Illinois politicians — more than
$1 million for Blagojevich. And in return he became one of the
governor's key advisers.

He also raised money for Obama's Illinois campaigns but not for his
presidential bid. Obama has donated $159,000 in Rezko-related
contributions to charity.

Rezko was convicted in June of mail fraud, wire fraud, attempted
extortion and money laundering. Witnesses said he launched a scheme to
get $7 million in payoffs from a contractor and a group of money
management firms that were hoping to do business with state boards
stacked with his political allies.

Some of the charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years each.

Rezko attorney William Ziegelmueller declined to comment about the
courthouse visits, and attorney Joseph Duffy, the lead counsel at
Rezko's trial, did not immediately return a call from The Associated
Press on Monday.

Rezko's sentencing on Oct. 28 comes only days before the presidential
election. Republican rival John McCain has been running TV ads linking
Obama to Rezko. But Obama's name surfaced only briefly at the trial
and there was no evidence of wrongdoing on Obama's part.

Rezko also faces trial next year on charges of swindling General
Electric Capital Corp. out of $10 million in the sale of a pizza
business. The sheer size of the loss could send him to prison for many
more years if he is convicted.

And Rezko is also facing allegations in Las Vegas that he failed to
pay debts totaling almost $800,000 to three gambling casinos.

"If he is convicted of causing the loss of $10 million he is looking
at a very high sentence and that obviously shifts a tremendous amount
of leverage to the prosecution side — the only way to get out of that
is to cooperate," said former federal prosecutor Anthony Barkow, now
executive director of the Center for Administration of Criminal Law at
New York University.

Rezko initially had been scheduled for sentencing Sept. 3 and U.S.
District Judge Amy St. Eve repeatedly said she wanted to keep that
date. But in late August she postponed the sentencing to Oct. 28 after
defense lawyers said they needed more time to file post-trial motions.

At the same time, federal marshals began taking Rezko from the
Metropolitan Correctional Center where he is being held to the
courthouse where prosecutors have their offices, the attorneys and law
enforcement officials who spoke to The AP said. The law enforcement
officials also spoke on condition of anonymity because of the secrecy
of grand jury proceedings.

They said he entered through a basement garage and went upstairs on a
back elevator unseen by the public. But reports of his presence in the
building quickly spread — and so did speculation that he might be
willing to do an about-face.

The attorneys told the AP that Rezko may not have made a final
agreement to talk but could have dangled information before
prosecutors to coax them into making a deal.

If Rezko talks, what might he say about Blagojevich? Revelations about
the governor drew much attention at Rezko's trial.

Political insider Ali Ata, who got his job as head of the Illinois
Finance Authority from Blagojevich through Rezko, testified that the
governor discussed hiring him after Ata put a $25,000 campaign
contribution on the table.

The federal government has spent years investigating whether patronage
jobs were handed out legally under Blagojevich, and Rezko might shed
additional light.

Ata and two other political insiders, Stuart Levine and Joseph Cari,
testified at Rezko's trial that Blagojevich hinted to them that they
might profit by raising money for his future campaigns.


On Tue, Sep 30, 2008 at 9:05 AM, Bill Effros <bill at effros.com> wrote:
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