Rezko finds sharing underwear 'degrading'
'DISGUSTING' | Lawyer wants him released to home before trial
He was once a high-powered fund-raiser who hosted high-priced galas for politicians in his Wilmette mansion.
These days, though, Antoin "Tony" Rezko is sharing underwear with other inmates while in solitary confinement at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, his lawyer said Tuesday.
(Sun-Times file)
"It's just disgusting," attorney Joseph Duffy said as he pleaded with a federal judge to release Rezko to home confinement with a special protection team before his public corruption trial begins in two weeks. "It's just a real degrading way for anybody to try to survive."
Just months ago, Rezko appeared in court in pinstriped power suits. On Tuesday, he appeared unkempt, unshaven and in a wrinkled orange jumpsuit. He held his face in his hands as he sat in the courtroom.
Duffy wants to hire a security firm that would place Rezko under 24-hour surveillance at his home and would escort him to court. Duffy argued that Rezko is being held in deplorable conditions at the downtown lockup, spending 23 hours a day alone. Rezko was arrested last month after he was deemed a flight risk for taking an undisclosed $3.5 million loan from an Iraqi-born businessman in violation of a court order.
St. Eve said she would consider Duffy's proposal.
High-profile inmates are often placed in solitary while their security risks are assessed, MCC spokesman Vincent Shaw said.
Rezko is accused of shaking down companies wanting to do business with the state.