Biden has deep ties to Rezko accomplice

No matter what help Barack Obama might get from Sen. Joseph Biden, his newly named vice presidential running mate won't give Obama much cover on the Tony Rezko front.

Biden has described himself as a 30-year friend of a key figure in the Rezko trial who's pleaded guilty to a federal extortion charge in Chicago and is awaiting sentencing.

When the Delaware senator began contemplating his own 2008 presidential run, he initially was helped by Chicago lawyer Joseph Cari Jr., who also served as Biden's Midwest field director in his failed 1988 bid for president.

In 2005, Cari admitted to taking part in an $850,000 kickback scheme that prosecutors say was part of a larger political fund-raising operation for Gov. Blagojevich overseen by Rezko, who was convicted in June of wide-ranging corruption involving state deals.

On the day Cari's name first surfaced in the federal probe of the state Teachers Retirement System, the former finance chairman for the Democratic National Committee and for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee was to have hosted a Biden fund-raiser in Chicago.

Offering Cari a vote of confidence at the time, Biden said, "All I know is Joe Cari is a friend, and he's an honorable guy, but I don't know anything beyond that."

Biden took $2,000 in campaign contributions from Cari in the early and mid-1990s, federal campaign-finance records show.

Two other donors whose names surfaced in the Rezko case -- Chicago lawyers Myron "Mike" Cherry and Anthony Licata -- donated to Biden's U.S. Senate campaign, as well. Cherry has given Biden $5,900, while Licata gave $1,000. Neither Cherry nor Licata has been accused of any criminal wrongdoing.

Earlier this year, in a bid to distance Obama from Rezko, the Illinois senator's campaign fund gave away to charity an amount equal to what had been contributed to the Democratic presidential hopeful by Cari, Cherry and Licata.

The Obama campaign downplayed the significance of Cari's contributions to Biden, noting that Cari was a prolific donor to an array of other politicians, from Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) to Illinois' other Democratic senator, Dick Durbin.

Still, an Obama spokesman said Biden would follow Obama's lead and divest his campaign fund of any money from Cari.

"As the former national finance director for the DSCC and DNC, Mr. Cari was a fund-raiser for many prominent elected officials," spokesman Ben LaBolt said. "If any contributions from Mr. Cari have not been returned or donated it is an oversight, and they will be immediately."

And the PUMAs chime in:

~~~~~

Rezko’s Boys: Obama and Biden

It doesn’t happen often, but it’s about to happen in 2008. A convicted fixer is about to have two of his boys as the official nominees of the democratic party.

Who might those two be? Why, Obama and Biden of course.

In today’s Chicago Sun-Times it is indicated that Biden’s Midwest Campaign manager in the 1988 presidential primary, a guy who also maintained ties with Biden in the early part of his 2008 run, is a key figure in the Tony Rezko trial. We are referring to none other than Joseph Cari.

Cari pled guilty to a federal extortion charge this year, and like his “mentor”, Tony Rezko is currently awaiting sentencing.

*snip*

Amazing isn’t it, I mean what are the chances that both Barack and Biden have political ties to the Rezko corruption scandal.

It isn’t far fetched to wonder what Cari did for Biden, what Rezko did for Obama, and what role this played in Obama deciding to announce Biden (at 3am no less) as his running mate.

At this point in time, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that Obama’s “Change” mantra is as grounded in reality as finding a leprechaun at the end of the rainbow.

Just in case you missed all the above, here’s a summarized version:

Obama has a convicted fixer (Rezko) raising money for him throughout most (if not all) of his political career, Biden on his own part has an admitted and convicted extortionist running part of his 1988 campaign, and advising him on this one.

Only the delegates can save the Democratic Party from this spectacle in Denver, we PUMAs hope they vote based in their conscience and not the effects of Obama’s Rezko tainted Kool-Aid…

Posted by GRANDPUMA

http://www.puma08.com/2008/08/25/rezkos-boys-obama-and-biden/

Unlocking Biden’s baggage reveals Blago ticket
8/25/2008

Chuck Goudie, Daily Herald

Once upon a time, long before Barack Obama sent text messages about Joe Biden, there was another five-letter Illinoisan who had his eye on the altar.

B-l-a-g-o.

http://www.weareillinois.org/connect/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=4625

If only fate and fortune weren’t such merciless home wreckers, it might have been Gov. Rod Blagojevich standing beside Sen. Joe Biden during Saturday’s ceremony in Springfield.

The matchmaker of such a Blago-Biden ticket would have been Joseph Cari of Chicago, a Harvard-educated lawyer, political financier, power broker and the fundraising chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Soon, Mr. Cari will be known only by an 8-digit number.

That numeric title will be bestowed on Cari by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons when he reports to a federal penitentiary after pleading guilty to trying to extort campaign money for Gov. Blagojevich from an investment firm seeking state contracts.

So it is interesting indeed that Mr. Cari has deep connections with Blago, Biden, a loose link to Obama himself and several other notable political figures.

First, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del):

Mr. Cari was a top campaign official and successful fundraiser for Sen. Biden in 1988, during the Delaware senator’s maiden run for president. Biden’s campaign chairman 20 years ago was William Daley, brother of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.

Together, Cari and Bill Daley raised more money for Biden than any other candidate in the Democratic field.

Even though Biden lost in 1988, Cari didn’t veer far from him after that.

Shortly before Cari’s corruption indictment by a federal grand jury in Chicago in 2006, Sen. Biden called him “an honorable guy” and was planning to appoint him to a high-ranking campaign position for the 2008 presidential campaign. However, the Illinois shakedown scheme (that had nothing to do with Biden) derailed Cari’s future plans.

Next, Gov. Rod Blagojevich:

Cari told federal prosecutors that the governor told him he “could award contracts, legal work and investment banking” in exchange for campaign fundraising help. Cari said that Blagojevich henchmen, including Antoin “Tony” Rezko, wanted him to work as a national fundraiser for the governor.

Cari once told a prospective shakedown target: “This is how things are done in Illinois.”

When such an Illinois thing included a $1.5 million bribe from a state contractor, Cari became entangled in the messy federal case. He pleaded guilty and testified against Rezko.

Cari testified about a private jet trip he took with Blagojevich in 2003 to a New York fundraiser and how the governor spoke of his future political dreams.

“He had aspirations beyond the governorship,” Cari said.

“What did you understand by that?” prosecutor Reid J. Schar asked.

“Running for the presidency,” Cari said.

Cari’s testimony helped convicted Tony Rezko.

Since then, Mr. Blagojevich’s presidential stock has tumbled although the governor has never been charged with wrongdoing, denies such a midair conversation with Cari ever occurred and claims to have barely known him.

Finally, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill):

While Mr. Cari was a top-level Democratic operative and money man during Obama’s rise through Springfield to the U.S. Senate and did support his campaigns, Cari did not have any organizational position with Obama.

Cari however was more tightly wound with convicted influence peddler Tony Rezko, who had a 20-year personal and professional relationship with Mr. Obama.

During the height of the Rezko investigation, Obama’s campaign returned a $1,439.59 donation to Joe Cari.

Cari was such a household name in Democratic circles that Mr. Obama could probably have told his handlers most of this from memory and spared his campaign a costly private investigation tab.

It didn’t take much “vetting” to find out all of this information.

You can be sure that Mr. McCain and the Republicans are foaming at the mouth while waiting to fire off a few Biden/Cari/Rezko questions.

And the truth is unlikely to fit in a text message.

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