By Rorschach | Lone Star Times | December 18, 2006 Monday 2:43 PM EST
Dec. 18, 2006 (Lone Star Times delivered by Newstex) -- In 2005, Barak Obama purchased his swanky Chicago mansion for $300,000 below asking price. the wife of Tony Rezko, a Chicago property developer who had befriended and funded Senator Obama since the 1990s, bought adjoining land at the full price of $US625,000. Senator Obama went on to purchase a small strip of that land from the Rezkos for $US104,500, a fair market rate. That in of itself raises eyebrows, but there is more:
In October this year, Mr Rezko, an ally of the Governor of Illinois, was indicted for trying to obtain nearly $US5 million in kickbacks from firms that wanted to do business with the state. The US Attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, said the charges against him revealed a "frenzy of corrupt scheming". Mr Rezko denies all the allegations.
Senator Obama knew Mr Rezko could be in trouble, yet it was he who drew the property developer's attention to the available land. The transaction was not illegal, but it has led to speculation that Senator Obama obtained a large house surrounded by an expanse of green land at a knock-down price.
While denying that inference, Senator Obama has expressed regret about the appearance of impropriety. "It was a mistake to be engaged with (Mr Rezko) at all in this or any other personal business dealing that would allow him or anyone else to believe he had done me a favour," he told the Chicago Sun-Times.
By the standards of the Windy City, home to the former mobster Al Capone, the land sale is small beer, but it runs counter to Senator Obama's image as a politician of rare integrity.
Also, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/16/AR2006121600729.html
Compared to Harry Reid's land deals this one's no biggie.