This is something for Erica, I guess your "saint has some dirt but not to worry because he is black nothing will be made of this.
CHICAGO (AP) — Political fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko must remain behind bars while he goes to trial on corruption charges, a three-judge federal appeals panel said Monday.
The judge who will preside over his trial, due to get under way March 3, was right to revoke his bond and jail him as a precaution against the chance that Rezko might skip out beforehand, the appeals court said.
Rezko, 52, who bankrolled the campaigns of Sen. Barack Obama and Gov. Rod Blagojevich, had grumbled that life on his floor at the Metropolitan Correctional Center was so miserable that inmates had to share underwear.
U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve jailed Rezko Jan. 28, saying he had disobeyed her order to keep her posted on his financial status.
Among other things, he failed to tell her about a $3.5 million loan from London-based Iraqi billionaire Nadhmi Auchi — a loan that was later forgiven in exchange for shares in a prime slice of Chicago real estate.
Rezko gave $700,000 of the money to his wife and used the rest to pay legal bills and funnel cash to various supporters.
“Perhaps all of these transactions are innocent, but district judges must act when the risks of flight change materially and a plan of concealment could well make life as a fugitive tolerable for the defendant,” the appeals court’s two-page order said.
Federal prosecutors opposed restoring Rezko’s bond, saying he lied to the court when he claimed his holdings in a 62-acre tract south of the Loop were essentially worthless.
Auchi forgave the $3.5 million loan in exchange for only a portion of the land Rezko owned.
Prosecutors agreed with St. Eve, who suggested the loan showed that Rezko, who has dual U.S. and Syrian nationality, might take off before the start of the trial if allowed to remain free on bond.
Rezko is accused of scheming with millionaire attorney Stuart Levine to shake down firms seeking business or regulatory approval from two key state boards that make big-money decisions.
Obama and Blagojevich have not been accused of any wrongdoing.