Gov's name comes up in first 10 minutes of Rezko case
It took only about 10 minutes for Gov. Blagojevich's name to surface in the corruption trial of Tony Rezko.
In the prosecution's opening statement today, Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Hamilton told jurors the Rezko case focuses on a violation of the public trust orchestrated by Rezko and Stuart Levine, a member of two state-government boards over which Rezko held considerable sway.
(AP file)
Rezko was a key Blagojevich political fund-raiser in 2002 who "gave names of people" to the Blagojevich administration for key state posts," Hamilton said. "The administration took his recommendations very seriously," eventually appointing many of the people Rezko had recommended to seats on various state boards and commissions.
Hamilton told jurors Rezko was "the man behind the curtain" who controlled a nine-member board that oversaw hospital construction in Illinois. Rezko did this, she said, by ensuring that five people that he knew were appointed or reappointed to the panel: Levine, chairman Thomas Beck and three doctors - Imad Almanaseer, Michel Malek and Fortunee Massuda.
"To get anything passed, five votes were needed," Hamilton said. "Before each planning board meeting, defendant Rezko talked to Tom Beck."
Rezko's control of the board, she said, ensured that Mercy Hospital of Wisconsin win approval to build a new hospital in Crystal Lake once it agreed to hire construction magnate Jacob Kiferbaum to handle the construction. Kiferbaum, she said, was part of a scheme in which Rezko and Levine - who has pleaded guilty and is set to testify against Rezko - could receive a kickback of at least $1 million from Kiferbaum in exchange for Mercy winning approval.
Hamilton also outlined other schemes she said involved a board that controlled investments for the state's teacher-pension fund. Those schemes involved "finder's fees" paid to consultants, some who did no work for the money, she told jurors.
The prosecution has contended in court filings that a small chunk of an illegal $250,000 "finder's fee" that Rezko obtained for one associate was routed to Barack Obama's 2004 U.S. Senate campaign fund. Hamilton didn't mention the Democratic presidential hopeful in her opening statement. Obama has said he was donating to charity the contributions in question.
But Hamilton again named Blagojevich in connection with the pension schemes. She said Rezko, Levine, Republican Party power broker William Cellini and other "insiders" shook down an investment firm to pay either a large finder's fee or make $1.5 million in campaign contributions to the governor. No money changed hands, she said, after the firm's former principal, Hollywood producer Tom ("Million Dollar Baby") Rosenberg, threatened to expose the attempted extortion.
Blagojevich was not accused of knowing about or participating in the schemes. He has not been accused of any crime.
"We're here because the public's trust has been violated," Hamilton concluded. "Decisions were being because of the best interest of defendant Tony Rezko and Stuart Levine."
Rezko's defense lawyers are to present their opening statement at 1:15 p.m.