Joe Biden Has Ties to Tony Rezko, 30-Year Friend of Joseph Cari Jr.

Here we go again revisiting the Rezko mess. I guess, the sad reality is that no matter how we try, the Obama-Rezko connection keeps rearing its ugly head. Enter the new twist…. According to the Chicago Sun Times Sen. Joseph Biden, his newly named vice presidential running mate, evidently has ties to Tony Rezko as well. 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. Joseph Cari Jr., who took part in an $850,000 kickback scheme, was Joe Biden’s Midwest field director. So, I am sure Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and many other right wing conservatives will be foaming at the mouth over this one.

According to the Sun Times, when Biden 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.

Another nugget from the Sun Times, 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. Cari was a no-show at that July 25, 2005, event.

Of course, not knowing that this friendship would come back to bite him in the ass, Biden, offering Cari a vote of confidence at the time 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. He needs to give that money back. Additionally, the Sun Times is reporting that 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. Again, rather than running the risk of being totally blindsided by the Republicans, Biden needs to be proactive and give the money back.

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. No matter what happens, Tony Rezko will be an issue in this campaign and we will be reminded of this repeatedly.

Filed under: Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Joseph Cari Jr., Tony Rezko

Tony Rezko Money Woes Continue to Mount

The saga continues with Tony Rezko and his money woes has made his predicament worst. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, he has gone to jail, but his money troubles won’t go away.

A former Rezko business associate, Semir Sirazi, went to court Thursday to try to get the former top political fund-raiser and adviser to Gov. Blagojevich declared bankrupt and force an investigation into his finances.

Lawyers for Sirazi said Rezko owes him $18 million from business deals in which Sirazi put up assets to secure Rezko loans. In 2006, Rezko promised to pay Sirazi if he sold his stake in various properties, according to Sirazi’s lawyer, Gregory Scandaglia.

Rezko then sold his interest in 62 acres in the South Loop to a company owned by London billionaire Nahdmi Auchi. But Sirazi didn’t get any of the $3.8 million proceeds, Scandaglia said. Rezko later told U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve that much of the money went toward his legal fees, and some to his wife, Rita Rezko, and other family members. Rezko’s failure to disclose that sale prompted St. Eve to order him jailed Jan. 28, pending his trial. She later allowed him to go free once more on bail.

To recoup what Sirazi is owed, Scandaglia said he will seek the appointment of a bankruptcy trustee to sell off Rezko’s remaining assets. The trustee also would have the power to investigate Rezko’s past financial transactions. “We think that there are distributions that were made that the trustee will have the ability to undo,” Scandaglia said.

This is a shame. You make money, why can’t you stay on the right side of the law and do the right thing? So many times we hear of these rich people getting greedy and end up in over their heads. The timing in this matter for Barack Obama couldn’t have come at a worse time. Yes, they did not pin him directly to this man, but it still leaves a cloud of doubt over him because of the so-called questionable people he has been associated with such as Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Pastor Michael Pfleger, Ayers and so on. The right wing media and the GOP will run with this and it is my hope that none of this will stick. Tony Rezko and many others like him are a disgrace. I hope his business associate will be able to collect his money. Just my thoughts, you be the judge….

Filed under: Barack Obama, Pastor Michael Pfleger, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Tony Rezko