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(Was just posting this news when I saw your ping ... ;)

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Man with ties to Blagojevich, Rep. Jackson arrested (plus news video)

Excerpt:

Nayak is accused of understating his gross income when he reported the following amounts to the IRS: $4,643,916 for 2005; $6,471,865 for 2006; $5,791,109 for 2007; and $9,362,647 for 2008.

Nakak was a fundraiser for both Blagojevich and Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.

Nayak told federal investigators that Jackson asked him to raise campaign money for Blagojevich in the hopes that the then-governor would appoint Jackson to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama, sources familiar with the investigation have told the Tribune.

Nayak was never charged in that investigation, and wasn't called to testify at Blagojevich's two trials.

As owner of several surgery centers in Chicago and Indiana, Nayak had long been a controversial and wealthy businessman who became a leader in Illinois’ burgeoning Indian community.

Nayak’s businesses have over the years needed the approval of state regulators and auditors and Nayak became a big campaign bundler and contributor, donating more than $779,000 to elected officials including Blagojevich, Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Obama from the late 1990s until his name surfaced in the Blagojevich scandal in late 2008.

Nayak’s story was one of a man who overcame racism and near-poverty to launch his medical clinics, which years ago gained the attention of federal investigators who probed allegations of fraud at his clinics -- allegations he vehemently denied.

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While he was never charged and didn't testify during Blagojevich's corruption trials, Nayak's name has come up in connection with them. He has also been mentioned in a House Ethics Committee probe over Jackson's alleged ties to Blagojevich.

Nayak previously told the feds Jackson Jr. offered money to Blagojevich to fill now-President Barack Obama's old U.S. Senate seat. Nayak said Jackson instructed him to offer Blagojevich as much as $6 million for the seat -- $1 million from the Indian community and $5 million from a fund-raiser that Jackson Jr. would organize.

Nayak's allegations countered Jackson Jr.'s public statements that he never authorized deals to buy the Senate seat.

It wasn't the only mention of the money. During the first Blagojevich trial, Robert Blagojevich testified he was approached twice by members of Chicago’s Indian-American community, offering as much as $6 million for the Blagojevich campaign, if Jackson was appointed to the Obama senate seat.

Nayak, a longtime friend of Jackson, also reportedly told the FBI that the congressman directed him to buy plane tickets for a woman described as Jackson's "social acquaintance." The issue came up on the campaign trail during Jackson's 2010 re-election and in the March primary, which the Democrat easily won. Jackson has since called it a personal matter that he and his wife have dealt with privately.

After Blagojevich was sentenced, an ethics committee revived its investigation of Jackson Jr.'s involvement in the matter.