LATimes: Longtime patron[Rezko] may be a problem for Obama

[rodeodance]

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-rezko23jan23,1,392172.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Longtime patron may be a problem for Obama

Alleged slumlord and indicted businessman Antoin 'Tony' Rezko has long supported the Democratic presidential hopeful, who has returned related donations.
By Dan Morain and Tom Hamburger, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
January 23, 2008
............


A review by the Los Angeles Times shows that Rezko, a businessman long active in Chicago politics, played a deeper role in Obama's political and financial biography than the candidate has acknowledged.

For example, Rezko, his employees and business associates -- such as his consultants, lawyers and their families -- have provided Obama more than $200,000 in donations since 1995, helping fuel his rapid ascent in Illinois and U.S. politics. Although Rezko is not Obama's largest bundler, he was there at the start and at critical moments along the way, helping support the candidate when few others were.

In addition to being a campaign benefactor, Rezko also surfaced when Obama and his wife purchased their house on Chicago's South Side in 2005. On the day the Obamas bought their house, Rezko's wife, Rita, bought an adjacent lot from the same sellers, part of which Obama later bought back.

Rita Rezko's purchase, at the $625,000 asking price, came just as the Obamas successfully bid in a slow market to buy the house for $300,000 below the asking price, according to the Chicago Tribune.

[TwilightZone]

1. I don't get it...

Considering how readily available this information was, did Obama think that his "five hours of legal work" comment was really representative of the relationship?

I can't see how.

[ccpup]

3. and that we wouldn't find out he had written letters

as a State Legislator to help his buddy Tony and his fledgling construction crew land a multi-million dollar tax-payer funded contract to build low-income housing (that started falling apart 5 years after being built)?

As a state senator, 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.

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 letters appear to contradict a statement last December from Obama, who told the Chicago Tribune that, in all the years he's known Rezko, "I've never done any favors for him.''

edited to add link:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/425305,CST-NWS-obama13.article

[TwilightZone]

6. Someone in another thread claimed that the response was essentially...

(I'm paraphrasing): "I had no idea that the guy was a sleezeball when all of that happened."

I don't think that's going to close the door on the issue. This is the kind of stuff that the media obsesses over. The sharks smell blood.

[jackson_dem]

7. So a cool 900k was funneled directly from taxpayers to Rezko's firm

And we are supposed to believe everything was kosher?

[AtomicKitten]

2. Oh, you can dream, can't you?

[madrchsod]

5. nah it`s all true...

honest..it`s all true. the democratic machine in illinois is finished and like the Phoenix the republican machine in illinois will rise from the ashes. the people will vote in a republican governor and a republican senator,thus balance will be restored.

[madrchsod]

4. that`s all fitzgerald needs to convict obama

special election time in illinois!