Tony Rezko: Difference between revisions
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== Ties to politicians == |
== Ties to politicians == |
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[[Image:Rezko.jpg|thumb|right|Tony Rezko with Bill and Hillary Clinton]] |
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Rezko has raised funds for many politicians, both Democrats and Republicans. These include Illinois Governor [[Rod Blagojevich]],<ref>{{citation | last=Kidwell | first=David | last2=Chase | first2=John | last3=Long | first3=Ray | title=Another inside deal for governor's wife | newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] | year=[[2007]] | date=[[2007-11-04]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/newspaper/printedition/sunday/chi-blago-bd04nov04,0,6240004.story}}</ref> Lt. Gov. [[Pat Quinn]], Attorney General [[Lisa Madigan]], U.S. Senator and Presidential Candidate [[Barack Obama]], former President [[Bill Clinton]], Comptroller [[Dan Hynes]], former Cook County Board President [[John Stroger]], and Cook County Board President [[Todd Stroger]].{{Fact|date=December 2007}} Rezko has also raised money for former Illinois Governor [[Jim Edgar]] and co-chaired a megamillion-dollar fund-raiser for President [[George W. Bush]] in 2003.<ref>{{citation | last=Sneed | first=Michael | title=The Rezko scandal ... | newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] | year=[[2006]] | date=[[2006-10-12]] | url=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=/1-0&fp=4537afe577bf80c6&ei=jq03Ran8BqWSafT6jPAE&url=http%3A//www.suntimes.com/news/sneed/93087%2CCST-NWS-sneed12.article&cid=0}}</ref> |
Rezko has raised funds for many politicians, both Democrats and Republicans. These include Illinois Governor [[Rod Blagojevich]],<ref>{{citation | last=Kidwell | first=David | last2=Chase | first2=John | last3=Long | first3=Ray | title=Another inside deal for governor's wife | newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] | year=[[2007]] | date=[[2007-11-04]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/newspaper/printedition/sunday/chi-blago-bd04nov04,0,6240004.story}}</ref> Lt. Gov. [[Pat Quinn]], Attorney General [[Lisa Madigan]], U.S. Senator and Presidential Candidate [[Barack Obama]], former President [[Bill Clinton]], Comptroller [[Dan Hynes]], former Cook County Board President [[John Stroger]], and Cook County Board President [[Todd Stroger]].{{Fact|date=December 2007}} Rezko has also raised money for former Illinois Governor [[Jim Edgar]] and co-chaired a megamillion-dollar fund-raiser for President [[George W. Bush]] in 2003.<ref>{{citation | last=Sneed | first=Michael | title=The Rezko scandal ... | newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] | year=[[2006]] | date=[[2006-10-12]] | url=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct=/1-0&fp=4537afe577bf80c6&ei=jq03Ran8BqWSafT6jPAE&url=http%3A//www.suntimes.com/news/sneed/93087%2CCST-NWS-sneed12.article&cid=0}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 23:14, 29 January 2008
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Antoin "Tony" Rezko (born 1955 in Aleppo, Syria) is a restaurateur and real estate developer in Chicago, Illinois. Rezko is currently facing federal charges of attempted extortion, money laundering, and fraud. On January 28, 2008, he was arrested at his Wilmette, Illinois home for an alleged bond violation.[1]
Early life and education
Rezko was born in 1955 in Aleppo, Syria to a Christian family. After graduating from high school there, Rezko moved to Chicago and earned an engineering and construction degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Business history
Upon arriving in Chicago, Rezko began a career as a real estate developer.
In addition, he began investing in a variety of fast-food restaurants, starting with a chain of Panda Express Chinese restaurants before soon owning a chain of Papa John's Pizza stores in multiple states.[2]
Fraud and extortion charges
In October 2006, Rezko was indicted for extortion of businesses seeking to do business with the Illinois Teachers Retirement System Board and the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board. In addition, he has been charged with wire fraud for staging false transactions of his pizza stores in order to secure $10 million in loans from GE Capital.[3] The case is being prosecuted by Patrick Fitzgerald who prosecuted the case against Scooter Libby arising from the CIA leak scandal.
Ties to politicians
Rezko has raised funds for many politicians, both Democrats and Republicans. These include Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich,[4] Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, U.S. Senator and Presidential Candidate Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton, Comptroller Dan Hynes, former Cook County Board President John Stroger, and Cook County Board President Todd Stroger.[citation needed] Rezko has also raised money for former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar and co-chaired a megamillion-dollar fund-raiser for President George W. Bush in 2003.[5]
The indictment of Rezko on federal charges has drawn attention to his relationship with Illinois Senator Barack Obama, though Obama is accused of no wrongdoing.[6][7]
In November 2006, Obama drew media scrutiny because he had purchased his house in 2005, on the same day that Rezko purchased an adjoining empty lot. Obama subsequently bought from Rezko an adjoining strip of land from the empty lot. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Obama's purchase of the land from Rezko may have created an increased value to Obama's property beyond the actual purchase price by making the adjacent Rezko property difficult to develop.[8] However, Obama acknowledges that the exchange may have created the appearance of impropriety, and stated "I consider this a mistake on my part and I regret it."[9]
In June 2007, the Sun-Times published a story about letters Obama had written in 1997 to city and state officials in support of a low-income senior citizen development project headed by Rezko and partner Allison Davis. The project received more than $14 million in taxpayer funds, including $885,000 in development fees for Rezko and Davis. Of Obama's letters in support of the Cottage View Terrace apartments development, Obama spokesman Bill Burton said "This wasn't done as a favor for anyone, it was done in the interests of the people in the community who have benefited from the project. I don't know that anyone specifically asked him to write this letter nine years ago. There was a consensus in the community about the positive impact the project would make and Obama supported it because it was going to help people in his district." Rezko's attorney responded that "Mr. Rezko never spoke with, nor sought a letter from, Senator Obama in connection with that project.[10] Obama had told the Sun-Times that Rezko raised "between $50,000 and $60,000" during Obama's political career. However, Obama has since donated all campaign contributions from Rezko to charity.[6]
In the South Carolina Democratic Party presidential debate on January 21, 2008, Senator Hillary Clinton said that Obama had represented Rezko, who she referred to as a slumlord .[11] Obama responded that he had never represented Rezko and had done work indirectly for Rezko's firm for an estimated five hours.[12]
On Friday, January 25, 2008, the Drudge Report posted an unsourced, undated photograph of Rezko posed next to Bill and Hillary Clinton. Asked about the photograph, Hillary Clinton commented "I probably have taken hundreds of thousands of pictures. I wouldn’t know him if he walked in the door. I don’t have a 17-year relationship with him. There’s a big difference between standing somewhere taking a picture with someone you don’t know and haven’t seen since and having a relationship that, you know, the newspapers in Chicago have been exploring". [13] [14]
References
- ^ Jeff Coen and John Chase (2008-01-28). "Tony Rezko arrested, sources say". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
- ^ Jackson, David; Chase, John (2006-10-12), "Rezko's life a story of pizza and politics", Chicago Tribune
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|year=and|date=(help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ Coen, Jeff; Bush, Rudolph; O'Conner, Matt (2006-10-12), "The federal government's charges against Rezko", Chicago Tribune
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|year=and|date=(help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ Kidwell, David; Chase, John; Long, Ray (2007-11-04), "Another inside deal for governor's wife", Chicago Tribune
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|year=and|date=(help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ Sneed, Michael (2006-10-12), "The Rezko scandal ...", Chicago Sun-Times
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|year=and|date=(help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ a b Drew, Christopher; McIntire, Mike (2007-06-14), "An Obama Patron and Friend Until an Indictment", New York Times
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Novak, Tim (2007-04-23), "Obama and his Rezko ties", Chicago Sun-Times
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Brown, Mark, Obama's dealings with Rezko buy a parcel of questions, Chicago Sun-Times, Nov. 2, 2006
- ^ McKinney, Dave; Fusco, Chris (2006-11-05), "Obama on Rezko deal: It was a mistake", Chicago Sun-Times
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Novak, Tim (2007-06-13), "Obama's letters for Rezko", Chicago Sun-Times
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Healy, Patrick; Zeleny, Jeff (2008-01-22), "Obama and Clinton Tangle at Debate", New York Times
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ McKinney, Dave; Fusco, Chris (2006-11-05), "Obama on Rezko deal: It was a mistake", Chicago Sun-Times
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Photo Surfaces Showing Sen. Clinton Posing With Chicago Landlord Rezko, FOXNews.com Friday, January 25, 2008
- ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/27/wuspols227.xml