The Anatomy of the Rezko Case: The Players

The Chicago Sun-Times reports:

Tony Rezko goes on trial March 3 in a complicated corruption case that centers on allegations of influence-peddling in Gov. Blagojevich’s administration.

The case, which has drawn national attention because of Rezko’s long ties to Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama, centers on a string of alleged kickback schemes. Some of the people involved, prosecutors say, wanted a cut of the billions of dollars invested by the state Teachers’ Retirement System, the pension plan for all public schoolteachers outside Chicago.


The trial will feature a tangled web of players. A few have pleaded guilty, including Stuart Levine, Joseph Cari and Steven Loren. They likely will testify against Rezko.

Nearly three dozen other people are somehow involved in Rezko’s prosecution, but none of them is facing criminal charges in the case. So far, prosecutors have identified them only by letters of the alphabet in a 78-page court filing that spells out the allegations against Rezko.

Who are those people? And why are they part of the Rezko case?

These are most of the names behind those letters, sources familiar with the case told the Sun-Times, along with the number of times each is referenced. Also included are quotes from the document that describe their involvement. Read the full text at suntimes.com.

Names in italics and brackets were added by the Sun-Times to help readers identify the individuals named by prosecutors.

Read the entire 78-page court filing that outlines the charges against Tony Rezko.
PUBLIC OFFICIAL A: Gov. Blagojevich (mentioned 43 times)

"At the beginning of the flight, Levine thanked Public Official A [Blagojevich] for reappointing him to the Planning Board. Public Official A responded that Levine should only talk with 'Tony' [Rezko] or [Co-Schemer B] [Christopher G. Kelly] about the board, 'but you stick with us and you will do very well for yourself.' ''
Co-Schemer A (104): William F. Cellini, a longtime Republican power broker

"Co-Schemer A [Cellini] . . . had a significant interest in a real estate asset management firm that had a long-standing business relationship with TRS [the Teachers' Retirement System], and established effective control over the TRS board."
o-Schemer B (72): Christopher G. Kelly, a roofing contractor and investor in Rezko restaurants

"Co-Schemer B [Kelly] was a business associate of Rezko's who was also heavily involved in Illinois state politics as a fund-raiser for Public Official A [Blagojevich].''
Co-Schemer C (99): Sheldon Pekin, a Chicago businessman

"Levine approached Co-Schemer C [Pekin] and asked whether Co-Schemer C would be willing to split any finder's fee that Co-Schemer C would earn from Investment Firm 1 [Glencoe Capital].''
Individual D (48): Joseph Aramanda, a Rezko business partner from Glenview

"Co-Schemer C [Pekin] received a $375,000 finder's fee from Investment Firm 1 [Glencoe Capital], and gave $250,000 of that money to Individual D [Aramanda] at the direction of Levine and Rezko. ... [$10,000 of that money] . . . was used to make a political contribution in Individual D's name to a political candidate [Sen. Barack Obama]."
Co-Schemer E (53): Dr. Robert Weinstein, a Levine business partner

"Levine and Co-Schemer E [Weinstein] had agreed that Co-Schemer E would collect fees from Co-Schemer C [Pekin] for Levine's benefit.''
Co-Schemer F (34): Charles Hannon, a Chicago businessman

"Rezko owed Co-Schemer F [Hannon] and Co-Schemer F's wife, Individual Y [Fortunee Massuda], millions of dollars. . . . Co-Schemer F and Rezko had previously had several discussions related to finder's fees and consulting work for the State of Illinois.''
Individual G (26): Michael Winter, a Rezko business associate

"Rezko, Individual G [Winter], Levine and Loren talked at different times about how Individual G could find investment companies that TRS would invest in.''
Individual H (3): Myron "Mike" Cherry, a Chicago lawyer and Democratic fund-raiser

"Co-Schemer B [Kelly] said that Individual G [Winter] could not be named as the consultant for Investment Firm 5 [Sterling Partners] because he shared an office with Rezko and because of Rezko's relationship with the Public Official A [Blagojevich]. Individual G suggested that Individual H's name be used instead of his, and Co-Schemer B and Rezko agreed to this arrangement.''
Co-Schemer I (29): ?

"Levine arranged with Co-Schemer I, who had arranged to receive a finder's fee from Investment Firm 6 [Investors Mortgage Holdings] for investments in Illinois state pension funds, that Co-Schemer I would share 2/3 of the fees that he received as Levine directed.''
Individual J (73): Tom Rosenberg, movie producer best known for "Million Dollar Baby''

"Levine acted to stall the allocation, and planned with Rezko to approach Individual J [Rosenberg], a principal of Investment Firm 7 [Capri Capital], with a choice: if Individual J wanted to get the $220 million (in state pension funds) for Investment Firm 7, he was either going to have to make a $1.5 million donation to Public Official A [Blagojevich] or pay Levine a 1% fee (which would be shared with Rezko).''
Individual K (1): Robert Kjellander, treasurer of Republican National Committee
Individual L (1): Sven Philip-Sorensen, a Levine business associate from Europe

"Two individuals referred to in Levine's plea agreement (Individuals K [Kjellander] and L [Sorensen] . . . were not referred to in this filing."
Individual M (5): Lawyer William Cavanagh

"Individual M [Cavanagh] had a close relationship with Co-Schemer A [Cellini], and had assisted Co-Schemer A and Levine in maintaining control at TRS in the past.''
Individual N (18): TRS Executive Director Jon Bauman

"Co-Schemer A [Cellini] described to Levine how he pressured Individual J [Rosenberg] as part of the scheme by describing how Individual N [Bauman] called Levine the 'Rabbi' and Co-Schemer A the 'Pope,' which reflected the influence they had with Individual N.''
Individual O (8): Jill Hayden, head of the governor's Office of Boards and Commissions
Individual P (6): Lon Monk, Blagojevich's former chief of staff

"Rezko told Individual O [Hayden] to move Levine's re-appointment along and said that he had already talked to Individual P [Monk] . . . Individual P gave Individual O the approval to re-appoint Levine to the TRS Board.''
Individual Q (10): Anthony Abboud, former TRS board member

Individual R (5): Jack Carriglio, former TRS board member

"Both Individual Q [Abboud] and Individual R [Carriglio] confirmed to Levine that Rezko had told them to do as Levine directed.''
Individual S (2): James Bruner, former TRS board member

"Levine instructed Individual Q [Abboud] and Individual R [Carriglio] how they needed to vote for the various Committee Chair positions in the Board elections, including that Individual S [Bruner], another trustee who was allied with Levine and Co-Schemer A [Cellini], should be elected as Chair of the Investment Committee.''
Individual T (9): Chicago Ald. Richard Mell (33rd), the governor's father-in-law

"Rezko later told Levine that Individual T [Mell] would not be involved, but that Levine should go ahead with the deal because someone else could be chosen to split the finder's fee with Co-Schemer C [Pekin]."

Politics The Illinois Way.No word yet from the Obama campaign on this one.