Prosecutors: Rezko should get up to 15 years in prison

Federal prosecutors say Tony Rezko deserves to spend up to 15 years in prison for his crimes in two separate cases and that he damaged his own credibility by lying to the court.

Prosecutors for the first time publicly addressed why they never called the convicted political fund-raiser to the witness stand after he began cooperating in 2008. They say in more than 19 meetings with them, he did not fully tell the truth about his own wrongdoing until he was confronted by agents with new information. Prosecutors said juries would never have accepted his word.

“Rezko’s cooperation was heavily tainted by the timing of when he decided to cooperate, by his repeated lies to judges, and by his pervasive and sustained lies made to the government over the first several months of his purported cooperation with the government,” prosecutors wrote.

The recommendation is in drastic contrast from the time served that Rezko’s lawyers are asking U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve to impose at his Nov. 22 sentencing. Prosecutors said they believe Rezko should face 11 to 15 years in prison for a kickback case before St. Eve and a separate loan fraud case that was before U.S. District Judge James Zagel.

The government’s recommendation is significantly more steep than the roughly five and a half years that Stuart Levine faces. Levine is accused of conspiring with Rezko during Rod Blagojevich’s administrations to win kickbacks from state deals.

“From the government’s perspective, the major difference between Levine and Rezko is not the quality or quantity of their past crimes — both Rezko and Levine are guilty of terrible crimes,” prosecutors wrote. “The major difference between Levine and Rezko is that Levine’s cooperation with the government has been truly remarkable, while Rezko’s has not. For his many faults, Levine’s cooperation is directly responsible for convictions in difficult and important cases against, among others, Rezko, William Cellini, and Edward Vrdolyak.”

They said Levine cooperated “pro-actively.” Levine has testified in two major trials. But Rezko’s lawyers argue, that prosecutors could have called Rezko to testify — he was prepared to do so — but they never did.

“In contrast, the best that can be said of Rezko’s cooperation is that, after obstructing the government’s investigation and his court proceedings and going to trial, he helped the government develop several witnesses who testified against Rod Blagojevich,” prosecutors wrote.

“The timing, quality, and utility of Rezko’s cooperation pales in comparison to Levine’s. As a result, while Rezko and Levine are roughly equivalent when it comes to their past crimes, Rezko deserves a significantly higher sentence than Levine because Levine’s cooperation was so superior to Rezko’s.”

Feds ask for 11-plus years in prison for Rezko

***

Rezko has never been elected or appointed to anything in Illinois, but for years he was the man behind the curtain in the administration of Rod Blagojevich. Federal prosecutors have considered him as the "Wizard of Rod," pulling the levers on government cheating, bribes and payoffs.

*snip*

According to the government's memo filed Friday in advance of Rezko's November 22 sentencing, Rezko was the "idea man and point person" who was to "convert power...into millions" of dollars for himself and Blagojevich and a few others in what prosecutors call a "breathtaking fraud."

*snip*

Rezko decided to cooperate with authorities only after he was convicted. Levine cooperated from the beginning and pleaded guilty.

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So, who are "few others?" And, why so silent, Tony .. who are you protecting??

I haven’t seen official confirmation of that, but other
shady deals

http://blogs.suntimes.com/blago/2010/07/tony_rezko_cut_patti_blagojevi.html

~~~~~

Patti got cushy job with Rezko, Monk testifies

Excerpt:

One of the ways fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko got the state’s first family money was to hire Patti Blagojevich to work for his real estate development firm, Alonzo “Lon” Monk said as his testimony continued this afternoon.

Monk, a onetime close friend and adviser to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, has been detailing the mechanics of corruption in the administration during his testimony this week. He has had a lot to say about the ways Rezko sought — and bought — influence.

Patti Blagojevich was ordered to leave the courtroom by U. S. District Judge James Zagel because the testimony dealt specifically with her and she is expected to be a defense witness in the case. Zagel has given her special permission to remain in court with her husband when the testimony doesn’t deal directly with her.

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/blagojevich-on-trial/2010/06/patti-got-cushy-job-with-rezko-monk-testifies.html

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But this is actually the mild stuff. What’s really interesting is Blago’s ties to the man Barack Obama bought his house with, Tony Rezko:

But his strongest ties have always been with Blagojevich. Rezko’s and Blagojevich’s families often socialized. Rezko and the governor’s wife, Patti, a real estate agent, even worked on several property deals together since 1997, earning Patti Blagojevich at least $38,000 in fees.

So when Blagojevich was elected governor in 2002, Rezko said he felt an overwhelming urge to help get a Democratic administration up and running after two decades of Republican governors.

Rezko recommended numerous candidates for Cabinet positions and state boards and commissions. And in a sign of how closely he meshed his pizza business deals with his forays into politics, a close circle of Rezko business investors and their relatives received jobs and appointments to influential state posts under Blagojevich.

Blagojevich appointed three Rezko pizza business investors to a controversial board that oversees hospital projects. (That board was replaced amid an ongoing federal kickback investigation that led to the indictment of the board’s vice chairman.)

The state’s business development agency, run by a former Rezko real estate firm executive, employed the daughters of two other pizza business partners, including a man who is a fugitive on federal tax charges.

And another Rezko partner got a loan for pizza franchises through a California businessman whose firm won an $83 million contract for redeveloping the restaurants at Illinois Tollway oases. The loan came after an introduction from Rezko. Blagojevich has said those who secured jobs and appointments were qualified.

http://www.nationalreview.com/campaign-spot/8241/obama-blagojevich-ties-dont-forget-rezko

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