Muckety.com: "Rezko Ties Haunt Obama"

Rezko ties haunt Obama
January 30, 2008 at 2:40pm | By A. James Memmott

He has had to fend off persistent questions about one of his longtime contributors, Antoin “Tony” Rezko, a Chicago real estate developer and restaurant chain owner. Though Obama has been not been charged with wrongdoing, he remains on the defensive.

Rezko was indicted in 2006 on extortion charges unrelated to his dealings with Obama. On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Amy St. Eve ruled Rezko was a flight risk. She ordered him jailed as he awaits a trial set to begin Feb. 25. Allegedly, Rezko had received about $3.5 million from Nadhmi Auchi, an associate. Federal authorities argued it would finance an escape.

The Rezko indictment has proven to be a headache not just for Obama. Rezko was a leading contributor to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, and several other Illinois politicians. He also contributed to the presidential campaign of George W. Bush.

Obama was at Harvard Law School in the early 1990s when a Rezko associate offered him a job. Obama turned down that job and returned to Chicago in 1992 to lead a voter-registration drive. The next year, he took a position in a law firm then known as Davis Miner Barnhill & Galland. The firm did work for Rezko, who was developing housing projects. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Rezko became one of “Obama’s earliest political patrons.” He helped raise money for Obama’s 1995 Illinois Senate campaign. Rezko also was a key fundraiser for Obama’s 2004 campaign for the U.S. Senate. In all, Rezko, his family and associates contributed at least $168,000 to Obama campaigns over the years, the paper reported. In the wake of the indictment, Obama has given most of this money to charity. Obama has also faced scrutiny for a 2005 real estate deal that involved Rezko’s wife, Rita Rezko. Obama paid $1.65 million for a Chicago mansion, $300,000 below the original asking price. Rita Rezko bought an adjoining lot for $625,000. She then sold one-sixth of the lot to Obama for $104,500....

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