The Chicago Sun-Times reports:
There's a strong chance White House hopeful Barack Obama's name will surface at indicted political fund-raiser Tony Rezko's trial, which is to begin next week.
In a ruling released Monday, a federal judge also made clear that Gov. Blagojevich, too, stands to come up at trial, as she made public what Blagojevich has long denied: that the governor is the "Public Official A" who's repeatedly referenced in Rezko court documents.
Obama's name was not mentioned, but U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve said she would allow prosecutors to present evidence about a portion of a $375,000 finder's fee that a Rezko associate, Joseph Aramanda, obtained through an alleged kickback scheme orchestrated by Rezko.
Prosecutors, she ruled, will be allowed to ask about how money from that fee allegedly was used "to make a political contribution" in Aramanda's name "because Rezko had already donated the maximum amount by law."
The ruling does not identify Obama as the recipient of that contribution. But sources have identified him as the "political candidate" who prosecutors say received a $10,000 donation from Aramanda -- at Rezko's direction -- during Obama's 2004 run for the U.S. Senate.
Obama has donated that contribution to charity. Aramanda's lawyer could not be reached for comment.
In addition, Rezko allegedly directed another associate, Elie Maloof, "to donate for the same reason," St. Eve wrote.
"The evidence is admissible," she added.
As with the Aramanda contribution, Obama has donated a $10,000 contribution from Maloof -- who was out of the country and could not be reached -- to charity. The two contributions are among $157,835 in Rezko-linked donations that Obama has given away.
Rezko was once part of Obama's senatorial finance committee.
Informed of the ruling, Obama spokesman Bill Burton said, "We had no knowledge of any straw donations and have returned any of the donations about which we have any reasonable question.
"By now it is well-established that Sen. Obama is not involved in the matters at issue in the [Rezko] trial."
Also in the ruling, St. Eve outed Blagojevich as the "Public Official A" whose campaign fund was to benefit through an alleged extortion of Hollywood producer Thomas Rosenberg.
Rezko allegedly tried to extort a $1.5 million Blagojevich contribution from Rosenberg in exchange for directing a $220 million state investment to Rosenberg's former company, Capri Capital. Rosenberg balked and threatened to go to authorities, prosecutors allege.
The ruling disclosed another alleged transaction involving Blagojevich's campaign fund. Rezko promised a businessman an appointment to a state post in exchange for a $50,000 political donation to the governor, according to prosecutors.
Joseph Cacciatore allegedly asked Rezko to help his brother, Phil, land a spot on the Illinois Banking Board. Rezko said it would happen if he kicked in $25,000 to the governor's campaign fund. Rezko offered to contribute another $25,000 through one of his companies on behalf of Cacciatore, according to the ruling.
Rezko recommended Phil Cacciatore to the board in 2004. Records show Joseph Cacciatore donated $25,000 to Blagojevich's campaign war chest in 2002.
But Phil Cacciatore, vice president of Lakeside Bank, said he never sought the banking board appointment from anyone -- including his brother. He said his brother didn't offer to pay money in exchange for the appointment.
"Not only was it a non-paying position. It was the strangest position in the world because it technically never met," Cacciatore said. "The one meeting that was scheduled, there was no quorum."
Cacciatore said he hasn't talked to federal authorities or Rezko's attorneys about the appointment but said that his brother was asked to submit an affidavit. He also said he resigned from the state banking board about a year ago.
The Blagojevich campaign also disputed the allegation that the $25,000 contribution from Joseph Cacciatore bought his brother the banking board seat.
We don't know if Phil Cacciatore is related to
Victor Cacciatore.Something the media should look into.Anyway here's a July 27, 2007 from
Carol Marin:
"CHICAGO BUSINESSMAN VICTOR CACCIATORE TESTIFIED HE WAS A VICTIM OF OUTFIT EXTORTION AND . . . PAID $200,000 IN THE EARLY 1980s TO THE PEOPLE EXTORTING HIM AND THREATENING HIS FAMILY."
Victor Cacciatore? The Chicago attorney and real estate developer? Chairman of Lakeside Bank? Member of convicted ex-Gov. George Ryan's transition team? One of the partners of now-indicted Antoin "Tony" Rezko's defunct 62-acre riverfront parcel in the South Loop? Holder of loads of government contracts and political contributor of at least $385,000 since 1995?
Yes, that Victor Cacciatore.
When he took the stand this week at the request of federal prosecutors, it was to buttress what Nick Calabrese had been saying about the Chicago mob. That they will muscle, extort, threaten or kill anybody if they think they can get away with it.
Thank goodness for Sun-Times reporter Steve Warmbir's blog that delved into this small but fascinating aspect of the trial.
Warmbir reports that Cacciatore testified he was being extorted by the mob in the 1980s, though "his memory was fuzzy."
In the 1980s, Cacciatore told the court, somebody put the head of a dog on his son's car and shot out his back windshield. Cacciatore called the cops. Oddly, he refused to tell police at the time who exactly it was who was extorting him to the tune of $5 million. Instead, Cacciatore went to 1st Ward Ald. Fred Roti, someone who had sent a lot of business Cacciatore's way. The extortion demand dropped to a mere $200,000.
Roti, you may recall, went to federal prison in the 1990s on corruption charges. It was revealed that he was a made member of the Chicago mob.
Here's some more information from
John Kass:
Lakeside is the same bank that had mayoral friend and trucking boss Fred Bruno Barbara as an
investor. Lakeside chairman Victor Cacciatore was recently and repeatedly mentioned in the
Family Secrets trial as a victim of Outfit extortion.
According to recent court documents, a loan was engineered by Joe Cacciatore even though
Gettleman already had frozen the Demasi/Tsunami assets. Demasi received that $280,000
emergency loan, using his frozen assets as collateral that required him to pay $675,000 in six
months.
On July 5, the deal went sour, and the next day, armed guards seized Reserve and Crescendo and
shuttered them.
Court documents contain the deposition of Stefani, saying Joe Cacciatore told him in June that he
knew Gettleman had frozen the assets. On Thursday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
asked Demasi and Cacciatore to show cause why they should not be held in contempt. The case
was continued.
One business plan fronted by the Cacciatore side would give control to Michael Kaulentis, and
make him the big cheese of Chicago nightclubs. But that's only one plan
A web of interesting Chicago characters.Alderman Roti can still make news.
