Tony Rezko arrested, sources say (timing is everything)

Chicago Tribune ^ | 28 January 2008 | Jeff Coen and John Chase

[SE Mom]

Antoin "Tony" Rezko was arrested early Monday at his Wilmette home by federal agents on an alleged bond violation, the Tribune has learned.

Investigators had in recent weeks become concerned about the movement of some of his finances, a source said. Rezko, who is scheduled to stand trial on corruption charges in less than a month at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, was taken into custody due to an alleged bond violation, a source confirmed.

[VRWCmember]

Well, we have been waiting for the other hsu to drop.

[Sig Sauer P220]

Time for another mysterious jail death. Don’t want Tony to talk.

[aculeus]

Fitzpatrick involved?

[jdm]

Will the media give this more airtime and column space than they did Norman Hsu....?

No.

[A_Former_Democrat]

I agree. No support here for Hussein NObomba, the epitome of the empty suit.

Sit back and enjoy.

[Twinkie]

Unlike the Hsu incident, Hillary needs for the Rezko story to “have legs” enough so that she beats Obama, but not enough so that he would be mortally wounded. So, the MSM will continue to carry the Clinton water until their love affair with the Clintons finally dies - or at least cools. Also, there’s some question how much Clinton residue is left over in this government from the Clinton appointments.

[Miss Didi]

[Beckwith]

Ethical questions surround Obama's shady real estate deal and relationship with indicted political fundraiser and Arab-American activist Tony Rezko, who befriended Obama during his Harvard days.

Obama bought a $1,650,000 Georgian revival mansion at a gigantic discounted price, some $300,000 less than the asking price.  The same day, Rezko's wife bought the adjoining lot, paying the full $625,000 asking price.

The Rezko lot wasn't accessible from the public street.  However, it abuts Obama's property and  provided a private preserve that adds to its ambience.  Obama  bought the Rezko property for $104,500 -- $520,500 less than Rezko's wife paid for it. 

Did Tony Rezko and his wife subsidize the purchase of Obama's opulent home?

Mr. Obama turned to Mr. Rezko for help at several important junctures. Records show that when Mr. Obama needed cash in the waning days of his losing 2000 Congressional campaign, Mr. Rezko rounded up thousands of dollars from business contacts. In 2003, Mr. Rezko helped Mr. Obama expand his fund-raising for the Senate primary by being host of a dinner at his Mediterranean-style home for 150 people, including some whose names have since come up in the influence scandal.

In June, 2007, it was revealed that Barack Obama wrote letters to city and state officials supporting his political patron Tony Rezko's successful bid to get more than $14 million from taxpayers to build apartments for senior citizens when he was an Illinois state senator.

The deal included $855,000 in development fees for Rezko and his partner, Allison S. Davis, Obama's former boss, according to records from the project, which was four blocks outside Obama's state Senate district.

Obama's letters, written nearly nine years ago, for the first time show the Democratic presidential hopeful did a political favor for Rezko -- a longtime friend, campaign fund-raiser and client of the law firm where Obama worked -- who was indicted last fall on federal charges that accuse him of demanding kickbacks from companies seeking state business under Gov. Blagojevich.

During his 12 years in politics, Sen. Barack Obama has received nearly three times more campaign cash from indicted businessman and Arab-American activist, Tony Rezko and his associates than he has publicly acknowledged, the Chicago Sun-Times has found.

Seven months ago, Obama told the Sun-Times his "best estimate" was that Rezko raised "between $50,000 and $60,000" during Obama's political career.

However, Obama has collected at least $168,308 from Rezko and his circle.  Obama also has taken in an unknown amount of money from people who attended fund-raising events hosted by Rezko since the mid-1990s.

The deal included $855,000 in development fees for Rezko and his partner, Allison S. Davis, Obama's former boss, according to records from the project, which was four blocks outside Obama's state Senate district.

Obama's letters, written nearly nine years ago, for the first time show the Democratic presidential hopeful did a political favor for Rezko -- a longtime friend, campaign fund-raiser and client of the law firm where Obama worked -- who was indicted last fall on federal charges that accuse him of demanding kickbacks from companies seeking state business under Gov. Blagojevich.

The Obama File

[isom35]

I suggest no more airplane travel for Rezko...

[Fox_Mulder77]

HEHE

[SE Mom]

In reading the article- Rezko’s lawyer says he’s confused by this arrest he’s due for trial shortly and it doesn’t seem to make sense that he’d be arrested at this time...but it also says ...”Investigators had in recent weeks become concerned about the movement of some of his finances, a source said.”

[N. Theknow]

But I thought he had friends in high places.

Or maybe it's low friends in high places.

Boy, if you don't keep up your extortion payments you can get in a lot of trouble.

Does Rezko own an aspirin factory?

[Right_in_Virginia]

Gee, does anyone think the timing of this has anything to do with diminishing the Kennedy clan/Obama lovefest scheduled for noon today at American University?????

[Miss Didi]

Today's NY tabloids:

[angcat]

Please don’t insult the Italians!

[mewzilla]

This is a link from 2006, interesting because of the backround info on Rezko....

Indicted Rezko could be in native Syria

...Law enforcement sources believe that Rezko may be in his native Syria. He is know to have investments, real estate holdings and relatives in metro Damascus, the capital of the Middle Eastern nation where Rezko was born.

Wonder if Tony gets bail....?

[TommyDale]

Did he violate his bond by being seen in public with these other two felons?

[SE Mom]

That - or similar- is exactly what I thought

[rock_lobsta]

Pat Fitzgerald is the U.S. Attorney for N. Illinois, so I’m sure he’s behind the arrest.

It probably has more to do with Fitzgerald’s investigation of Blagojevich than anything else, but the timing of this is vintage ‘toon.