We send our politicians to jail, but IIllinois sends them to the White
House.
In addition to a land deal, Sen. Barack Obama's ties to indicted
dealmaker Antoin "Tony" Rezko include an intern****p the senator
provided the son of a contributor at the request of Rezko, an Obama
spokesman confirmed today.
John Aramanda served as an intern for Obama for about a month in 2005,
said Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs. His father is Joseph Aramanda, a
Rezko business associate who was named as an unindicted co-conspirator
in a federal corruption case against Rezko. Aramanda has contributed
$11,500 to Obama since 2000, Gibbs said.
"Mr. Rezko did provide a recommendation for John Aramanda," Gibbs
said. "I think that it's fairly obvious that a few-week intern****p is
not of anything of benefit to Mr. Rezko or any of his businesses."
The revelation of the intern****p comes after Obama acknowledged a
mistake in buying property from Rezko in January 2006 -- a deal that
enlarged the senator's yard in the Kenwood neighborhood on the South
Side. The transaction occurred at a time when it was widely known
Rezko was under investigation by the U.S. attorney's office.
"It was a mistake to have been engaged with him at all in this or any
other personal business dealing that would allow him, or anyone else,
to believe that he had done me a favor," Obama -- a likely presidential
candidate -- told the Sun-Times in November.
Rezko was indicted in October for allegedly trying to collect nearly
$6 million in kickbacks from government deals and trying to shake down
a Hollywood producer for $1.5 million in campaign contributions to
Gov. Blagojevich.
Obama and Rezko have been friends since 1990, and the Wilmette
businessman has raised as much as $60,000 in campaign contributions
for him.
After Rezko's indictment, Obama donated $11,500 to charity -- the
amount Rezko contributed to the senator's federal campaign fund.
Gibbs said he did not know whether Obama was considering returning any
contributions from Aramanda given his alleged role in the federal
corruption cases against Rezko and former Teachers Retirement System
board member Stuart Levine.
Aramanda is identified as "Individual D" in Rezko's indictment. And
when Levine pleaded guilty in October, Aramanda again was listed as
"Individual D."
Aramanda was identified by the Sun-Times as "Individual D," who
allegedly received a $250,000 kickback tied to a scheme to steer
lucrative state pension deals to firms and consultants that donated to
Blagojevich. Aramanda is not specifically named or charged with
criminal wrongdoing in the court papers. He could not be reached for
comment Saturday.
Aramanda has contributed $11,500 to Obama's campaigns since 2000,
Gibbs said. He gave $1,000 toward Obama's run for Congress against
Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Chicago) in 2000; $500 to Obama's Senate campaign
in 2003 and $10,000 to his Senate campaign in 2004, Gibbs said.
Gibbs said John Aramanda served in Obama's Capitol Hill office from
July 20 to Aug. 26, 2005, during which he received an $804 cost-of-
living stipend. Aramanda was one of nearly 100 interns who worked for
Obama in 2005, Gibbs said.
from:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/184540,122306obama.article
The corruption trial for a former fundraiser with ties to Barack Obama
has begun in Chicago. Businessman Tony Rezko is accused of trying to
extort millions of dollars in payoffs and campaign cash from companies
seeking to do business with the state of Illinois.
Legal Affairs
Q&A: The Tony Rezko Case
by David Schaper
NPR.org, March 2, 2008 =B7 Who is Tony Rezko? New York Sen. Hillary
Clinton called him a "slum landlord." Federal prosecutors call him a
corrupt political insider. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama once thought of
him as a friend. Now Rezko faces federal corruption charges in
Illinois. Here, an overview of the Rezko case.
How did Rezko rise to prominence in Chicago?
For more than two decades, Rezko, 52, has been a real estate developer
and fast food entrepreneur in the city. He purchased old factories and
parcels in gentrifying neighborhoods and converted them into
condominium developments, which earned him millions. He also bought
older buildings in poorer neighborhoods, renovated them and rented the
apartments to public housing tenants, often in partner****p with
nonprofit groups. Several of his buildings fell into disrepair,
earning Rezko the "slum landlord" title from Clinton. Both of those
types of projects require political clout and connections in Chicago.
Rezko also owned a number of Papa John's Pizza franchises and was an
investor in the Panda Express chain of fast food Chinese restaurants.
He helped both chains land lucrative spots in Illinois Toll Highway
rest stops.
What is Rezko's connection to Illinois politicians?
Rezko has been very active in raising money for and contributing to
politicians -- Republicans and Democrats -- at the local, state and
federal level. He contributed to President Clinton in the 1990s and
served as a co-chair for a multimillion-dollar fundraiser for
President George W. Bush in 2003. That most of his activities have
been on behalf of Illinois Democrats is probably more a function of
political realities than ideology: Democrats hold every statewide
office in Illinois and have majorities in both chambers of the state
Legislature.
Which politicians have benefited from Rezko's fundraising efforts?
Rezko has contributed to, or raised money for, current Illinois
Comptroller Dan Hynes, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan,
Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn and Illinois U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, all
Democrats. But his most notable fundraising efforts have been on
behalf of Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, which earned Rezko
a spot within Blagojevich's inner circle.
What are the charges against Rezko?
Rezko is accused of using his position on two state boards in an
extortion scheme that would enrich him and his co-conspirators, while
also adding to Gov. Blagojevich's campaign coffers. He is charged with
eight counts, including fraud, attempted extortion, money laundering
and aiding bribery.
After he took office in 2003, Blagojevich appointed Rezko to the board
that controls the permitting of hospital expansion and construction
projects, and to the board that oversees the $30 billion teachers'
pension fund. Prosecutors allege that Rezko used his clout to try to
collect bogus fees from companies that wanted investments from the
pension fund and permits from the hospital board.
One insider who allegedly helped craft the deals, Stuart Levine, has
pleaded guilty and will be the government's star witness against
Rezko. Blagojevich has not been charged with wrongdoing, but two other
members of his inner circle are under indictment. U.S. District Judge
Amy J. St. Eve has publicly named the governor as the anonymous
"Public Official A" who appears in court papers as a beneficiary of
the alleged scheme.
What is the nature of Rezko's relation****p to Obama?
Back when Obama was at Harvard Law School, Rezko offered him a job
with his development company in Chicago. Obama declined. But the
relation****p grew while Obama worked as a Chicago community organizer
and then for a small Chicago law firm. Obama's firm did legal work for
some of Rezko's development companies. Obama himself billed five hours
for work on behalf of one of Rezko's nonprofit partners in an inner-
city redevelopment project.
When Obama first ran for the Illinois state senate in 1996, Rezko was
one of his first campaign contributors. He has remained a significant
contributor to and fundraiser for Obama's subsequent campaigns.
What was Obama's land transaction with Rezko?
In 2004, the Obama family wanted to buy a mansion in Chicago's Kenwood
neighborhood, on the city's South Side. The asking price was too high,
so the owners agreed to split the house and an adjacent lot into two
parcels.
The Obamas purchased the house in June 2005; Rezko, through his wife,
Rita, purchased the side lot. About a half-year later, Obama purchased
a 10-foot-wide strip of that side lot to increase his yard. Obama
landscaped the Rezko parcel in exchange for Rezko paying for a
security fence around it. At the time, news re****ts suggested Rezko
was already under federal investigation. While there is no indication
that there was anything illegal about the yard deal, even Obama now
admits the transaction was "boneheaded."
from:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3D87865558
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