Why did Rezko give himself up?
Thursday, Jun 5, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I was on Don & Roma’s WLS Radio show this morning and they brought up a point that puzzles me. Why did Tony Rezko give himself up to authorities yesterday when his sentencing isn’t until September?
This is the same guy, remember, who was whining about how he had to share underwear with other prisoners. But yesterday he volunteered to go right back to that undie-sharing lockup and he may never emerge again…
Rezko faces $4 million in fines and as much as 300 years in prison if he gets the maximum when he’s sentenced Sept. 3
Roma thought it meant that Rezko was signaling his cooperation with the feds. I can see that side, but others speculated yesterday that his actions were intended to show the feds that he’s actually a tough guy who will keep his mouth shut, perhaps in an effort to squeeze the best possible deal outta the G.
* The Daily Herald…
Will Tony Rezko flip?
There is perhaps no more pertinent question on the minds of many in state, city and county governments today after the corruption conviction Wednesday of one of their most influential powerbrokers.
But if Rezko is of a mind to start spilling what he knows about allegations made during his trial against Gov. Rod Blagojevich, he gave no indication of it Wednesday when he immediately surrendered himself to custody.
Whether the move was a demonstration of Rezko’s resolve to do his time without talking, or simply a desire to try to get his prison term behind him as quickly as possible, is impossible to say.
* Mark Brown has some speculation that makes sense, and other ideas that seem a bit far-fetched…
The simplest answer is that Rezko may have felt St. Eve was going to revoke his bond anyway and order that he be detained. Federal prosecutors were asking her to do so when Duffy announced his intentions. […]
it also just may be that Rezko is tired of fighting. He has spent a lot of money — and emotional energy — to go to trial, and in the end, it didn’t get him very far. […]
I know this is going to sound overly dramatic, but it’s not really that far-fetched to think Rezko may well believe he’s in danger if he goes free and that by reporting to jail it’s proof that he’s not cooperating. […]
I don’t see this as a sign that Rezko has already thrown in the towel and decided to cooperate, not to say that he won’t in the future as the prospect of the second trial looms even larger.
I’m curious what you think.
…Adding… A commenter posted what might be the simplest explanation: It was the decent thing to do for his friends and family…
Don’t forget people, that a lot of people put up a lot of money, homes, etc. for his bail. By surrendering himself, they can likely file a motion now to have the assets released, something which definitely could not happen if he was out pending sentencing.
- Wumpus - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 9:34 am:
Maybe he simply grew fond of sharing skivvies. Obama will pardon him if elected anyway.
- Anon - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 9:36 am:
Is it possible that he told his family members who put up significant assets for his bail that, if found guilty, he would surrender immediately so they would no longer be on the hook?
Just a thought that I hadn’t heard mentioned yet.
- Team America, World Police - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 9:36 am:
One of the news reports last night (think it was channel 5) stated that Rezko is also wanted on a warrant in Nevada. Perhaps letting himself be taken into custody was to avoid being arrested and extradicted to Nevada?
- Black Robe - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 9:37 am:
Rezko’s life is in serious danger now. He does’nt want to get struck by lighting or die from sudden and acute lead poisoning. He, better than most of us, knows the kind of people he has dealt with and knows what lengths they will go to, to keep him from talking. Yep, he needed to get into federal protection right away. All these quesses that it was intended to send some subtle message is, I believe, off base. You are not thinking about what subtle messages to send when you are just convicted of multiple felonies, you are thinking about your life and the life of your family. I would’nt be suprise to see his family take a vacation to an undisclosed locale immediately.
- Lurker - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 9:38 am:
I, too, took his immediate surrender as a signal that he was tough and would not be cooperating. I think the feds are going to have to work at him and his family a bit to get him to agree to anything. Scott Fawell had vowed to keep his mouth shut, too, until they got to his girlfriend.
He’s in so deep with his gambling debts and other issues, I fear he doesn’t have much to gain by talking.
- Reform & Renewal - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 9:40 am:
“What’s SHE thinking”?
She was thinking you are going to jail, Rod, just like the rest of us now do.
- Ghost - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 9:41 am:
Technically they can still seek to extradicte him to nevada.
He will talk. There is no real connection between him and Blago that would cause him to throw away his life for the Gov. He has no real incentive to do the time on behalf of somone else. AT least not with the current info we have.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 9:41 am:
===Obama will pardon him if elected anyway.===
Try not to be so silly when commenting here. Even you can’t possibly believe that.
- Cassandra - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 9:44 am:
The notion that Rezko’s life is in danger seems pretty far fetched. But if there is any truth at all to fears in that direction, Illinois is much further down the road towards being a outlaw state than I think most of us realized.
- Legal Eagle - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 9:49 am:
Of course Rezko will flip. It would be malpractice for his lawyer not to explore flipping him with the USA. The difference to Rezko is ten years at Leavenworth vs. two years at Oxford, Wisconsin. And I wouldn’t put too much credence in what individual jurors say after the fact about the thought processes during deliberations. It is a dynamic, community effort by a jury; very inaccurate for one juror to try to reconstruct ten days of deliberations.
- Stuck with Sen. CPA - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 9:49 am:
I’ll admit that I came up with the notion that he felt safer behind bars too. I still don’t think I buy it though. My more rational thought is that he’s going to flip and wants to start building time served because he isn’t going to walk away with no time at all.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 9:52 am:
I think he went in for a number of reasons. Here they are, from most reasonable to way out there. At this point, though, I don’t know where way out there is.
1. I think he wanted to give peace of mind to the people who put up their houses for him. It’s possible that might have been part of the deal ahead of time: if you’re convicted, you have to go in so we’re not worrying about you lamming it and we lose our homes.
2. He’s going to flip. He’s a gambler; he took a chance that the jury would find Levine so revolting that he would get off. He lost, and now he’s going to play the hand he’s been dealt and take some people down. Which leads to…
3. He’s safer on the inside. I don’t think we know the full extent of Rezko’s business dealings and partners. I suspect he can flip on more people than we know right now.
There’s his Iraq dealings — not too many Better Business Bureau award winners in that part of the world. Billions of taxpayer dollars unaccounted for there. What did he see and learn over there?
There’s the London billionaire. There’s the former Iraqui minister with the Interpol warrant who’s here and the DOJ is in no hurry to pick up.
I suspect we’re overlooking an 800-pound gorilla in the room as well: The Outfit. They’ve been part and parcel of Chicago, Cook County and Illinois government and politics since the 20s.
Tony’s a hustler; Tony’s a gambler, in every sense of the word. We’ve seen he’s quite often had debt and cash-flow problems. Given the circles he’s been traveling in, would it be a shock if he’s had to take out juice loans in the past? Would it be a shock if he had used his influence to help out some Outfit types in the past? I think both are almost certainties.
As strange as it may seem, I think this story is just getting started.
- Ghost - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 9:52 am:
Cassandra his life may not be in danger in the US from its citizens, but Rezko also has been dealing with folks in the middle east who sometimes resort to violence to settle disagreements. He may not even be in actual danger, but he may think he is in danger from some of the overseas crowd who have been invovled in his dealing as well.
- Maggie - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 9:53 am:
If he doesn’t rollover he can kiss Rita goodbye. This women is accustomed to living the high life. Nails and hair done everyday and the best clothes money can buy. She’s still young and attractive. She is not the type of person to be visiting Tony in jail. Feds will lean on her and make sure her imcome stays at the poverty level. And what about the boys ? No doubt Tony will talk to save his family.
- Dirt Guy - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 9:54 am:
- Team America, World Police - has it correct. I’m sure Tony would rather be a guest of the Fed’s in DT Chicago, while waiting sentencing, than be a guest in a county hospitality suite in Nevada. County lock-up in Nevada would be a great deal more trying than sharing undies in solitary courtesy of the Federal government.
- HoBoSkillet - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 9:54 am:
If Rezko is looking down the road and thinking that by not talking and going immediately to prison will get him a lighter sentence, well I just don’t quite see the logic in that. It could be that he is concerned about his safety and is willing to cooperate in order to get a lesser sentence. That seems to make more sense to me - get out of public site, show the prosecution some form of contrition, and plea bargain for a better deal. Or on a less serious note, maybe Rezko found out that he really likes sharing underwear - who knows…..
- Kevin Fanning - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 9:56 am:
He is already appealing though. Why not hold off until the appeal, or at least until the sentencing in Sept.?
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 10:02 am:
I seriously doubt that the feds would allow him to be extradited to Nevada. They have another case to prosecute against Rezko right here in Illinois, remember.
- 618er - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 10:09 am:
I wonder….
If we line up everyone he ‘owes’ and who has warrants/indictments out against him, in what order do they fall. Sure he might have surrendered to give those that mortgaged their existence to bail him out, that seems responsible. But he has what seems to be huge financial obligations. Can the USA trade the state warrant in Nevada? And will Nevada be willing if the USA can? I doubt the casinos he owes money to could care less about this conviction. Can the State of Nevada and or the Casinos seize any of his property to pay off what he owes the casinos. Or is there anything left after the legal bills?
To the point…
It might be his state of mind. In his own mind, and to some extent reality, he was a very powerful man in the state. He probably has the ear of many federal,state, and local politicians…. And now he is Federal Inmate number ?????. The pokey might be the only place for him to wrap his head around this….
- Mr. Wizard - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 10:10 am:
A clue to his motives might be found by googling more about his broader business associates and less about his relations with politicians. I suspect he is in physical danger on the outside.
- Ghost - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 10:15 am:
Thats right I keep forgetting about the second fed case.
- wizard - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 10:17 am:
Mr. Wizard: If he is in physical danger on the outside, he could be in greater physical danger on the inside. The Feds can make the Nevada “stuff” go away if Rezko seriously co-operates.
- anon - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 10:29 am:
== to show the feds that he’s actually a tough guy who will keep his mouth shut, perhaps in an effort to squeeze the best possible deal outta the G. ==
Does that mean out of the Governor or the Government (Federal)? If the Governor, what kind of deal could he provide?
- Been There - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 10:30 am:
====This is the same guy, remember, who was whining about how he had to share underwear with other prisoners at the Cook County Jail.====
I am pretty sure he was at the Federal Metropolitan Correctional Center downtown. Not at Cook County. Big difference.
- The Professor - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 10:36 am:
I’m not going to speculate on Rezko’s motives, but I would like to take issue with reports that he could face 300 years in prison. That commits the ninth deadliest sin of legal reporting: “Here’s the easiest way to hype a story: Quote numbers that might have a superficial, literal truth, but are fundamentally false. What’s the maximum sentence a defendant faces if convicted on all counts? It’s the max of all the counts run consecutively (except that will never happen).”
Will he receive a longer sentence than WorldCom’s Bernie Ebbers (25 years) or Enron’s Jeff Skilling (24+ years)? If Rezko gets 6 years, 10 years, 20 years or even 50 years — quite long for a white-collar sentence — readers will have been misled into thinking he got off easy.
- agree - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 10:41 am:
Mr.Rich Miller, I agree thier Obama would never pardon Rezko. He just isn’t the type of guy to do bone headed things.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 10:41 am:
Been There, you’re right. Changed.
- North of I-80 - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 10:45 am:
1) Safer on the inside [he owes a lot of $$ to assorted people/organizations AND he has a lot of info that could damage some important people]. He doesn’t want to ‘disappear’ and while we assume he fled back to Syria, he is really playing cards with Hoffa and Luca Brasi,
2) Start the time-served part of his sentence and
3) [we hope] Starts his discussions with US Atty office reference what he has to do for xxx years off sentencing.
Great stuff Rich!
- Legal Eagle - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 11:04 am:
Rezko would have ten days from the date of his sentencing to file a notice of appeal. I don’t see that he has any compelling appellate issues, and he’s still in prison during any appeal. The USA could also give him post-conviction use immunity and force him to testify in the grand jury; this would not effect this conviction, and if he lied he would not only destroy his value as a flipper, but would be indicted for perjury. USA will trump the Nevada charges - remember Antietam, “one wore blue, one wore gray”, where this was finally decided!
- Team Sleep - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 11:15 am:
The amount of guilty counts should have made Rezko realize any appeals could be fruitless - as well as expensive. Perhaps he truly felt defeated and decided it was time to give up. Also, if it looks as though he is “remorseful” and willing to now cooperate, his sentence will be reduced and he can find comfort in taking down others associated with these convictions. Comfort may be the wrong word to use; solace might work better.
- Romney Marsh - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 11:33 am:
Much safer for him in prison, federal prison at least. Remember what happened to Nick “the stick” Lacoca.
- Macbeth - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 11:45 am:
What’s the compelling theory for Rezko *not* talking? That he’s a good soldier and would prefer to spend the rest of his life in prison? That his life is in danger if he’s out?
I’m confused. Why would someone *not* flip when they’re facing so much prison time?
- Anon - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 11:56 am:
Just a side issue, but I think the Nevada case is civil, not criminal. Just a casino and a hotel trying to collect a debt. No extradition.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 11:57 am:
No. They hit him with a couple of felonies.
- Captain America - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 12:06 pm:
I have to believe the friends’ and relatives’ property tied up to secure his bail was a significant factor. Plus Rezco knows he’s guilty, not to mention the pending bank fraud charges. My best guess is that both Rezco and Kelly will both flip on the Governor, since cooperating is the only way to reduce a long prison sentence. I think there are a lot of nervous politicians, government executives, and contractors worried about what Rezco might tell the feds, not just Blago.
- Tony Rezko on Ice - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 12:06 pm:
I think he’s not just going to flip, he’s going to do a triple-Lutz into a Sowkow and a triple toe-loop, then finish with a triple Axel. There is nothing Rod can offer or threaten that is worth him keeping quiet now, and Rod dare not communicate to him with new offers now in any case. My guess is Tony on Ice is going to bust things wide open and take down many more people than we expect, before he gets released and takes a semi-permanent vacation back overseas with the Emir.
- Justice - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 12:53 pm:
Consider that he may have decided to cut a deal with the Feds and knows what they are offering regarding time to be served. I suspect they are cutting him a break as well as allow time served against that sentence. He wants out at the earliest and the “deal” may permit that. Get in and get it over with as soon as possible. Give up the gov!
- Just a thought - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 12:58 pm:
Don’t forget people, that a lot of people put up a lot of money, homes, etc. for his bail. By surrendering himself, they can likely file a motion now to have the assets released, something which definitely could not happen if he was out pending sentencing.
- GofGlenview - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 2:11 pm:
Why not tell all? His “friends” failed him. Kjellander couldn’t get Fitzy off the case. Blago is a lame duck now just wiating for his indcitment to hit.
Kjellander has a lot of explaining to do including why he gave Rezko half his $800,000 “finders fee” for the $11,000,000,000 re-fi.
- Just a thought - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 2:54 pm:
And as it turns out, when Judge St. Eve accepted TR into custody, she also directed that the posted bail be returned.
- Garp - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 2:55 pm:
The most telling reason that demonstrates he is cooperating is that he surrendered himself against the advice of his council. Maybe he is tired of paying his attorney millions only to get him into more trouble than necessary.
- Crafty Girl - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 3:55 pm:
I was not surprised by immediate surreander. I thought he realized the Judge was likely to revoke his bond anyway. In that case, why not surrender?
- Loop Lady - Thursday, Jun 5, 08 @ 8:25 pm:
Patrick Collins on last night’s Chicago Tonight said that if Rezko wants to talk to the Feds, at least they know where to find him. Ha! Priceless, plus Collins is smart and great looking…