Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Obama Pal And Benefactor Tony Rezko Gets 10 1/2 Years For Crimes Against Illinois Taxpayers

Obama and Daley having a laugh at Blagovich's expense before he knew their plan to pin all the blame on him

Convicted political fixer Tony Rezko, who was once one of Barack Obama's closest friends and top political advisers, received a sentence of 10 1/2 years for conspiring with former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and others to cheat Illinois taxpayers. Rezko has remained locked up in jail for the past four years by federal prosecutors and never called as a witness in the high profile prosecutions of his co-conspirators in an effort to protect Obama from damning disclosures Rezko could make about his corrupt relationship with the nation's most powerful politician, including how he helped Obama purchase his dream house on Chicago's south side when he was short the cash he needed to purchase the multi-million dollar mansion. Reading news reports today on Rezko's sentencing you would get the impression Rezko was just another guy in the neighborhood Obama once knew. Rezko's lawyers wanted him released for time served, but a federal judge instead meted out a stiff sentence for him. From the Sun-Times:
A federal judge sentenced Tony Rezko to 10 1/2 years in prison Tuesday, describing his actions under Rod Blagojevich’s tenure as “selfish and corrupt.”
Rezko, 56, has already served about 44 months. His daughter burst into tears at hearing the sentence.
U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve said she found it offensive that Rezko put at risk the Teachers’ Retirement System by scheming for kickbacks with a board member in 2004.
“You put their retirements at risk for your own greed and your own thirst for power,” St. Eve said.
A pale, thin Rezko gave a brief statement before he learned his sentence, saying “there are no words to describe the pain and regret,” he carries and the amount of suffering his family has endured. He apologized to the court and to his family.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Niewoehner said Rezko’s conduct was severe and included scheming with former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and others to control state deals so they could make money off of it.
“That’s about as bad as it can get in a political corruption case,” he said. “Illinois was for sale at the very top levels of our government.” Rezko’s attorney, Joseph Duffy, said his client would never commit a crime again  . . .
Rezko, a former top fund-raiser to Blagojevich and a onetime friend to President Barack Obama, volunteered to go to jail in 2008 immediately after his conviction on 16 of 24 counts of corruption, including fraud, money laundering and plotting to squeeze $7 million in kickbacks from firms that wanted to do business with the state during Blagojevich’s tenure . . .
Gee, you would never know that Rezko's introduction to the Blagojevich corruption ring was made by none other than Barack Obama, the expansive role Obama and Rahm Emanuel played in plotting the election of Blagojevich to the governor's office, or that Obama was an active participant in the scheming and dealing behind the scenes after Blagojevich's election to put Obama's top contributors, too, on state boards and commissions to help steer state business to Obama's friends. Yep, it was just all those dirty white Chicago guys engaged in all of the political corruption. The One had no part of it. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago made sure the truth about Obama's role in the Chicago corruption ring would never see the light of day to smooth his ascension to the presidency as planned out by the New World Order masters, phony narrative and all.

You can thank the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago for the wrath Obama has brought on the working men and women of America since his election three years ago. But at least his campaign bundlers are getting very rich at your expense the same way they did during his time back in Illinois prior to his election. That's because the Chicago Way is now the American Way.

UPDATE: American Thinker's Rick Moran wonders if anyone in the media will even bother to ask Obama to comment on the sentence his long-time friend received:
Barack Obama fundraiser gets 10 1/2 years.

But you'd never know that from reading the story in the Chicago Tribune. The name "Barack Obama" appears nowhere in this story reporting on the sentence received by one of the key figures in Obama's life - a man who raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for his state senate and US senate runs, who introduced him to movers and shakers in the shadowy world of big money real estate wheelers and dealers, and who befriended him on numerous occassions, including the favor he did him when he purchased the lot next door to his current home.

Will anyone even ask Obama for a statement on the fate that has befallen his former friend?

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