Obama's strange collection of friends included Antoin Rezko, who did Obama a big favor in having his wife (income $37,000) buy an unusable lot (for the full asking price of $625,000) next to the main lot Obama wanted which Obama bought for a discounted price. Obama couldn't afford the asking price otherwise. Rezko got the money from a loan from an Iraqi Muslim while he was essentially bankrupt. It is not known if the lender knew where most of the money was going or if Obama knew where the money was coming from. What Rezko didn't use for buying the Obama companion lot went to pay lawyers for his tangle of law suits, including federal prosecution for influence peddling charges. Rezko raised about $160,000 for Obama's campaigns.
Today Rezko was convicted of influence peddling by a federal jury.
Rezko Convicted of Influence Peddling Updated 5:23 p.m. By Peter Slevin CHICAGO -- A federal jury today convicted political fundraiser Antoin Rezko, a longtime backer of Sen. Barack Obama, of influence peddling in the high councils of Illinois state government.The verdict comes after weeks of vivid insider accounts about attempts to sell political favors in the administration of Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich (D).
The jury concluded that Rezko was part of a corrupt money-making scheme and found Rezko guilty of 16 of 24 felony counts, including fraud, money laundering and joining a bribery conspiracy.
Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, was not connected to the case and has not been implicated in wrongdoing.
The verdict nonetheless makes it more likely that critics will continue to question his relationship with Rezko, who contributed to and raised money for earlier campaigns and bought property adjacent to Obama's Chicago home.
Indeed, within 20 minutes of the verdict's announcement, the Republican National Committee sent an e-mail to reporters under the subject line, "Rezko: Obama's Longtime Friend and Money Man."
Obama has said whenever asked -- and he has been asked often -- that Rezko asked for no favors and that he did him none.
Rezko, once the prosperous owner of restaurant chains, did not testify at the trial.
