Picking him apart
Friday, Apr 4, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Stu Levine may be wanting something for his nerves after what happened to him on the stand yesterday…
The man whose word must be trusted to bring down Gov. Blagojevich fund-raiser Tony Rezko was reduced to admitting Thursday he’d been a thief, a con man, a liar and a junkie who stole from the children of a dead relative.
* The Tribune didn’t go into much detail on the first point, but these two items are what you need to watch from here on out…
[Rezko defense attorney Joseph Duffy’s] assault on Levine’s credibility played out on two tracks. One suggested that a scheming Levine puffed up his own clout by dropping Rezko’s name; the other stressed that Levine’s decades of drug abuse had fried his brain and clouded his memories.
The object here is to prove that Levine lied about Rezko’s influence to benefit himself, both with his business associates and then the feds.
* Also…
At one point Duffy asked Levine, “How much money did you give to Mr. Rezko?”
The answer: “I did not give any money personally to Mr. Rezko.”
The feds broke up the alleged scams before Rezko got any benefit. Another big point in the defense’s case.
* And…
Duffy got Levine to admit that he initially lied to federal prosecutors about a crooked real estate deal, even after he agreed to cooperate with the government to avoid a possible life sentence.
Prosecutors and agents caught him in the lie, Levine testified.
That’s more incentive to tell the feds what they want to hear.
* And Levine knew from the very beginning whom the feds were chasing…
Duffy focused on the theory that Levine’s survival instincts kicked in the moment federal agents swooped down on him May 20, 2004, at his Highland Park mansion.
After they left, Levine was on the phone with Robert Weinstein, a longtime partner in business, in a conversation that was captured on an FBI wiretap.
“The government’s looking for a big fish, and it’s Tony Rezko,” Duffy quoted Levine as saying on the call.
You shouldn’t assume from anything I’ve written that I believe Tony Rezko to be innocent. I just don’t believe anything that comes out of Stu Levine’s mouth. What a horrible witness.
- South of I-80 - Friday, Apr 4, 08 @ 7:13 am:
Rich, your right “What a horrible witness”, but on the other hand, what a horrible mess.
- Snidely Whiplash - Friday, Apr 4, 08 @ 8:09 am:
After listening to the tapes of phone conversations between Levine and Bill Cellini, I’d say there’s more than enough to convict Levine on, and maybe even enough to convict Cellini. The rest is just hearsay, and for that to have any chance of success, you have to have a credible witness. Levine is pathetic. Hopefully, they have additional, CREDIBLE witnesses for the prosection.
Like Michael Corleone, Rezko had “a lot of buffers.” Elvis had (has) even more. They’re going to be hard to convict. Our slimey friend Levine will not be, hence his guilty plea. I hope the judge throws the book at him, despite his testimony. The man is just beneath contempt.
- Just Because - Friday, Apr 4, 08 @ 8:20 am:
I agree that Levine is a slimy and un-credible witness. However he says just enough to make a person think there is more to all this. Someone convinced the governor to not consolidate those boards. He did get reappointed, He did ride in the plane with the Governor. I truly believe that the prosecution has more. Probably why they presented Levine first to get past his credibility issues.
- Wild Bill - Friday, Apr 4, 08 @ 9:30 am:
Listen to the 5-18 tape of TR and Stuie…Game Set Match
TTFN
- KenoMan - Friday, Apr 4, 08 @ 10:04 am:
Who cares if Levine can’t remember what he had for lunch yesterday. The tapes, the actions of the Board, and the testimony of the other Board members clearly depicts a conspiracy.
Rezko is going down, Kelly next, Blago on deck.
- wordslinger - Friday, Apr 4, 08 @ 10:04 am:
Duffy’s good. Definitely the most impressive performance by a big-foot defense attorney of recent vintage (and that includes Webb and all the Family Secrets lawyers).
- Legal Eagle - Friday, Apr 4, 08 @ 10:17 am:
As I’m sure the Government will say in its closing arguments, “we didn’t pick Levine as a witness, Rezko picked him by associating with him”. The case is solid even if the jury doesn’t believe Levine at all. There is a money trail, and tape recorded conversations. Rezko will not testify because that would destroy his value as a flipper witness against the Governor after Rezko is convicted. With Rezko’s testimony, the Governor’s indictment is just a matter of time.
- tinman - Friday, Apr 4, 08 @ 10:25 am:
I wonder if they are going to put that Tom R. on the stand? He stated that everyone knew how Rezko and others were extorting money. Maybe they are saving him for Blago.
- Juice - Friday, Apr 4, 08 @ 10:46 am:
Dept of lessons learned, if you’re going to participate in shady business/government transactions, make sure your accomplice is so sketchy it’s difficult to believe a word he/she says when testifying against you. Hey, maybe these guys are smarter than we give them credit for.
- zatoichi - Friday, Apr 4, 08 @ 11:04 am:
What I find most amazing about this entire situation is how much power the behind the curtain people wield. Rezko is not elected, appointed, or hired to anything yet is there any part of state government where he has had no influence. I realize “money talks and BS walks” and that patronage is real, but you have to wonder who is really running the show. If Levine was not rich would he still be able to do what is being claimed? On top of it, add in all the contracts for consultants and non-Illinois companies that have been signed over the last couple of years to directly do the state’s work. Just a case of abdicating responsibility of “working for the people” to someone who can just walk away. Pretty sad. This gives the conspiracy theorists endless material to work with.
- Louis G. Atsaves - Friday, Apr 4, 08 @ 11:19 am:
The theme of the trial seems to be that a bunch of slimy characters got together in a series of kick back schemes to enrich themselves and others at the expense of the taxpayers of Illinois.
It doesn’t matter if they are Democrats or Republicans. They all conspired to create a financial kick back system, whether it be by campaign contributions, appointments to state agencies or kick backs to individuals.
Whether the Feds broke it up before any of that cash got into Rezko’s hands may save him from conviction for acquiring ill-gotten cash. It may not save him from conspiring with fellow slime to corrupt government and enrich campaign chests and individuals.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Apr 4, 08 @ 1:27 pm:
===Listen to the 5-18 tape of TR and Stuie…Game Set Match
TTFN===
Maybe in the current environment, but those tapes don’t prove anything beyond a shadow of a doubt.
- Captain America - Friday, Apr 4, 08 @ 1:41 pm:
Does anyone really believe that Levine is lying? Was Joe Cari lying when he pled guilty several years ago. Notwithstanding drug use, there seems to be a lot of corroborating evidence to support Levine’s assertions and Rezco’s ultimate conviction. Personally, I don’t have much doubt that the jury will conclude that Rezco is guilty of many felonies using the beyond a reasonable doubt standard.
On the other hand I haven’t heard or read anything that would lead me to conclude that the Governor is guilty of conspiring with Rezco and kelly beyond a reasonable doubt. That issue will only be resolved after Rezco and Kelly are convicted of crimes, and what they choose to tell the government about the Governor thereafter.
- Siyotanka - Friday, Apr 4, 08 @ 1:56 pm:
Well it seems we are making inroads to national attention with this mess. Check out this article just published… http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/04/rezko_sleaze_engulfs_governor.html
- Rich Miller - Friday, Apr 4, 08 @ 2:01 pm:
i wouldn’t call that national media.
- Siyotanka - Friday, Apr 4, 08 @ 2:08 pm:
You are correct…that’s why I called it national attention…it really needs to be National Media Attention. I stand corrected…
- BigWindy - Friday, Apr 4, 08 @ 4:23 pm:
Well, I think there is alot more here…
The fact that Cellini ws not indicted in the TRS mess would seem to imply that he might be one of the many people who have immunity in this deal.
If that is the case what about Big Bob K? Now he recieved 800K for doing the Hurtgen Bear Stearns deal($10 Billion in State bonding)- of that seemingly nearly 50% went to a Rezko associate who has pled guilty and later dispersed the monies to four seemingly Rezko conected entities.
I don’t think this thing is even close to over. I think that Levine is just one peice here.
The pieces will start to fall in place as people that have immunity begin to tesitfy to link those that are on trial- Rezko- Hurtgen- Kelly et al. They are the hold outs. Cari, Levine, Kieferbaum have all pled guilty. I would be surpriaed if Big Bob K, Cellini, Loren have not all made deals.
This story is just beginning to get written. Kelly doesn’t go on trial until September- lot’s of time to reach for a life jacket.
Hurtgen’s trial starts next week. It will be interesting to see how this all weaves together.
- Take It Easy - Friday, Apr 4, 08 @ 5:20 pm:
Levine is despicable snake who cannot be trusted and the jury will not believe him. The problem is that the jury tends to side with the government regardless of the evidence. The jury figures the defendant has to be guilty of something to deserve all of the government’s attention.
Look at the Conrad Black trial. After Black’s conviction the jurors said they thought the government’s chief witness was a liar BUT the jurors still sided with the government. Jurors tend to ignore the whole “beyond a reasonable doubt” presumption OR that the defendant is presumed innocent.
How about George Ryan’s trial. Fawell was a slimely worm that the jurors didn’t trust but once again, but in the end, Ryan went down. Now I know the government had more than Fawell but it is a safe bet for jurors to simply side with the government after a long exhaustive trial.
- Bobby - Friday, Apr 4, 08 @ 6:01 pm:
So many legal experts and soothsayers.
- The Other Stuart - Friday, Apr 4, 08 @ 8:16 pm:
If Joe Cari takes the stand in this one, it could be over for Blago. Birds of a feather that flew together.
- Just ran across this quote? - Saturday, Apr 5, 08 @ 8:10 am:
Mr Kiselev likened Yeltsin’s entourage to a camarilla . . . which would turn Russia “into a gigantic banana republic corrupted from top to bottom by a rotten clique of demagogues”.
– Marcus Warren, “Moguls at war over control of Kremlin”, Daily Telegraph, July 23, 1999