Barack's Rezko Connection Gets Attention

[Brainster]

I mentioned this in passing a week or two ago as something that was "out there" for any political opponents of Barack Obama. Well, Hillary brought it up Monday night in the debate, and it's everywhere today.

LA Times:

Antoin "Tony" Rezko, an entrepreneur who made a fortune in pizza parlors, Chinese restaurants and real estate, goes on trial next month on federal charges of extortion, influence peddling and conspiracy. There is no suggestion that Obama is involved in any of the alleged criminal activity. But the upcoming trial -- and details of Obama's relationship with its central figure -- could cast a shadow over his carefully cultivated image at a critical time.

Taylor Marsh (Huffington Post blogger):

It is nothing short of a political godfather story. The tale of an eager, brilliant, ambitious man wanting to rise in politics, and the man who had the money to make it happen. It's the real true tale of Barack Obama and Antoin "Tony" Rezko and the Faustian political deal made in the quest for power, fame and political prowess, which would eventually lead to a bid for the presidency. The fact that Obama won't mention the name of the guy who made his rise to political prominence possible out loud illustrates the efforts to which Obama, with the aid of a mostly negligent press, has been able to make Rezko a forbidden word to utter, instead of an issue that we all should know a lot more about.

Note: Marsh's post has the aroma of opposition research from the Clinton campaign, so take it with a grain of salt.

The Chicago Sun-Times:

During Monday's Democratic debate in Myrtle Beach -- in advance of Saturday's South Carolina primary -- Clinton asked Obama about legal work he did for "your contributor, Rezko, in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago."

I am a bit surprised that it took this long for Hillary to highlight the Rezko problem, considering the trouble she was in before winning New Hampshire.

 

[corplinx]

There are too many unnamed sources in those articles for my liking. However, Obama playing off Rezko as just some dude his firm did work for is obviously an act.

 

[WildCat]

The Rezko property adjoining Obama's house is currently for sale. I don't know why Obama doesn't just buy it and put this mess behind him.

 

[Tsukasa Buddha]

This is old stuff to us Chicagoans.

Were they expecting anything else from a Chicago politician ?

Just wait until they find out about the deceased voters who cast ballots for him...

 

[T.A.M.]

Billary has succeeded in dragging him down in the mud.

I use to like Bill, but now, watching their politics in action, I am learning to despise both of them (Hill-Billy)

TAM

 

[KoihimeNakamura]

A friend of mine commented he was sad Obama was responding to EVERY attempt of Hillary's to bait him.

 

[T.A.M.]

The trouble is, his people are likely telling him to leave no accusation unanswered, and god knows Billary are letting lose with the accusations.

TAM

 

[Puppycow]

The Rezko property adjoining Obama's house is currently for sale. I don't know why Obama doesn't just buy it and put this mess behind him.

Would buying it put it to rest or just call more attention to it? I don't see how buying it puts anything to rest.

I looked at this months ago myself. I think it's mostly Rezko trying to glom onto a rising political star. Obama maybe lacked a little bit of judgment, but I don't think he set out to do anything wrong.

 

[Thorn]

This is old stuff to us Chicagoans.

Were they expecting anything else from a Chicago politician ?

Just wait until they find out about the deceased voters who cast ballots for him...

I wonder if that would work for Obama like it does Ron Paul...

" I accept Moral Responsibility, so shut up and let it drop."

 

[Brainster]

Would buying it put it to rest or just call more attention to it? I don't see how buying it puts anything to rest.

I looked at this months ago myself. I think it's mostly Rezko trying to glom onto a rising political star. Obama maybe lacked a little bit of judgment, but I don't think he set out to do anything wrong.

The thing is that the initial purchase absolutely smells like a way of Rezko giving Barack some money. Let's see, here's a house you want to buy, the seller's got some land next door, I'll pay them full price for the land and you'll get a discount on the home.

That stinks to high heaven. And you add who Rezko is besides and it becomes something of a joke. And you add that Obama admits that he paid the same price per square foot of land for the slice he bought back from Rezko, but that was "over the appraisal"... it seems like a retroactive attempt to justify the Rezko price.

And this is really, really easy to understand, unlike Whitewater.

 

[corplinx]

I think the real point of the Sun Times piece is to point out how Obama turned a blind eye to a notorious slumlord because he was a good campaign backer.

Instead of looking like an agent of change, it makes Obama look like a typical Chicago politician but with a gift for public speaking.

 

[WildCat]

Would buying it put it to rest or just call more attention to it? I don't see how buying it puts anything to rest.

I think it would take the stink off of it.

Here's the timeline:

June 20, 2005: Rita M. Rezko (the property is in the wife's name) purchases the empty lot for $625,000.
June 21, 2005: Obama purchases the adjoining house for $1,650,000.

-Much criticism from the local media ensues, Rezko indicted by the Feds on unrelated charges-

February 2, 2007: Rezko sells a narrow strip of the lot back to Obama for $575,000. (!)

Currently: The remainder of the lot is for sale, and it's sizeable enough to build condos on but not big enough to build a house typical of the Kenwood neighborhood. Some neighbors aren't happy about condos being built there, may require zoning changes.

The vacant lot is a corner lot btw, in case you're wondering how condos could be built on a narrow strip of land.

 

[WildCat]

I think it would take the stink off of it.

Here's the timeline:

June 20, 2005: Rita M. Rezko (the property is in the wife's name) purchases the empty lot for $625,000.
June 21, 2005: Obama purchases the adjoining house for $1,650,000.

-Much criticism from the local media ensues, Rezko indicted by the Feds on unrelated charges-

February 2, 2007: Rezko sells a narrow strip of the lot back to Obama for $575,000. (!)

Currently: The remainder of the lot is for sale, and it's sizeable enough to build condos on but not big enough to build a house typical of the Kenwood neighborhood. Some neighbors aren't happy about condos being built there, may require zoning changes.

The vacant lot is a corner lot btw, in case you're wondering how condos could be built on a narrow strip of land.

Oops, I made a big mistake in the above post! Rezko sold Obama the strip of land in December 2005, for $104,500. The sale for $575,000 was to a developer. What confused me was that apparently the vacant lot still has the same postal address as Obama's lot, and when I searched the real estate transfers I assumed that since it was the same address that the $575,000 sale was to Obama. I guess the land won't be assigned a new postal address until it is developed. Sorry if I confused anyone! (besides myself that is)

At any rate, the developer never did develop it for whatever reason and it is indeed for sale now.

And in related news, Rezko was arrested at his home in swanky Wilmette early this morning after receiving a $3.5 million wire from Lebanon. Apparently, Rezko had claimed in court that he had $50 million in liabilities and only $9,000 in cash and no access to funds outside the country (Rezko is a native of Syria). Some of the cash was used to pay back people who posted his bail, in violation of the court order. The judge saw this as evidence that Rezko was preparing to flee the country, and revoked his bond. He's now cooling his heels in the Metropolitan Correctional Center downtown.

 

[Brainster]

The (UK) Times pulls on the other end of the Rezko Obama string and finds out where Rezko got the money to buy the adjacent parcel:

A British-Iraqi billionaire lent millions of dollars to Barack Obama's fundraiser just weeks before an imprudent land deal that has returned to haunt the presidential contender, an investigation by The Times discloses.

The money transfer raises the question of whether funds from Nadhmi Auchi, one of Britain’s wealthiest men, helped Mr Obama buy his mock Georgian mansion in Chicago.

A company related to Mr Auchi, who has a conviction for corruption in France, registered the loan to Mr Obama's bagman Antoin "Tony" Rezko on May 23 2005. Mr Auchi says the loan, through the Panamanian company Fintrade Services SA, was for $3.5 million.

Mr Auchi (is his name pronounced "Ouchie"?) has his own troubled past:

Mr Auchi was convicted of corruption, given a suspended sentence and fined £1.4 million in France in 2003 for his part in the Elf affair, described as the biggest political and corporate scandal in post-war Europe. He, in a statement from his media lawyers, claims he is appealing against the sentence.

The article also makes the purchase of the excess parcel of land seem even odder:

Mr Obama says he never used Mrs Rezko's still-empty lot, which could only be accessed through his property. But he admits he paid his gardener to mow the lawn.

Only be accessed through his property? Now that is extremely odd. Why would anybody want to purchase a "land-locked" parcel of ground, other than, you know, to buy influence with a US Senator?

This story isn't over, not by a longshot.

 

[T.A.M.]

I am expecting the Rezko thing, as well as any other dirty politic topic to be brought out tonight in the debate. I hope I am wrong, but I think Hillary will go for the throat tonight.

TAM

 

[WildCat]

Only be accessed through his property? Now that is extremely odd. Why would anybody want to purchase a "land-locked" parcel of ground, other than, you know, to buy influence with a US Senator?

That's not really accurate. The property is a corner lot, and is inaccessible only because it is fenced. Once it is sold (I haven't been by there in over a month so it may have sold in the mean time) it will certainly be accessible without going through Obama's lot.

 

[Brainster]

That's not really accurate. The property is a corner lot, and is inaccessible only because it is fenced. Once it is sold (I haven't been by there in over a month so it may have sold in the mean time) it will certainly be accessible without going through Obama's lot.

Thanks for the clarification. Apparently the lot has been sold by Rezko's wife, and now the purchaser is trying to sell it again:

Currently, the property is listed for $995,000, although it was originally listed at $1,495,000. Chicago newspapers have reported that the developer who purchased the vacant lot from Rita Rezko had intended to develop it but since dropped that plan, hence the drastic reduction in the sale price.

That's still quite a premium over the $575,000 the guy paid to buy it from Mrs Rezko.

 

[WildCat]

That's still quite a premium over the $575,000 the guy paid to buy it from Mrs Rezko.

And they say real estate prices are tanking!

But I think the developer managed to get the property re-zoned from single family to multi-unit, which would substantially increase the value.