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* This sentencing recommendation probably does not bode well for Rod Blagojevich’s fate…
Prosecutors want a judge to sentence a central figure in the administration of disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich to between 11 and 15 years in prison.
The filing comes before Tony Rezko’s Nov. 22 sentencing.
Prosecutors cited letters sent to the judge by Rezko supporters, but they say the court won’t “receive a letter from all the people who were cheated or defrauded by Rezko.”
* More…
The recommendation is in drastic contrast from the time served that Rezko’s lawyers are asking U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve to impose at his Nov. 22 sentencing. Prosecutors say they believe Rezko should face 11 to 15 years in prison for a kickback case before St. Eve and a separate loan fraud case that was before U.S. District Judge James Zagel.
The government’s recommendation is significantly more steep than the roughly five and a half years that serial conman and drug abuser Stuart Levine faces. Levine is accused of conspiring with Rezko during Rod Blagojevich’s administrations to win kickbacks from state deals. […]
[Prosecutors] say Levine cooperated wore a wire and cooperated “pro-actively.” Levine has testified in two major trials. But Rezko’s lawyers argue, that prosecutors could have called Rezko to testify — he was prepared to do so — but they never did.
“In contrast, the best that can be said of Rezko’s cooperation is that, after obstructing the government’s investigation and his court proceedings and going to trial, he helped the government develop several witnesses who testified against Rod Blagojevich,” prosecutors wrote. “The timing, quality, and utility of Rezko’s cooperation pales in comparison to Levine’s. As a result, while Rezko and Levine are roughly equivalent when it comes to their past crimes, Rezko deserves a significantly higher sentence than Levine because Levine’s cooperation was so superior to Rezko’s.”
* But Rezko wants out right away…
A convicted political fixer and onetime fundraiser for impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich wants a federal judge to set him free at his sentencing hearing later this month, arguing that he has already served more time awaiting sentencing — and under harsh conditions — than others convicted in related schemes have.
Tony Rezko — once described by prosecutors as “the man behind the curtain, pulling the strings” in Blagojevich’s administration — has spent much of his more than 3 1/2 years in jail in solitary, rarely getting fresh air and subject to a diet that has resulted in him losing 80 pounds, according to a defense filing unsealed Thursday.
“With his dramatic weight loss, Mr. Rezko has shrunk from a robust, somewhat overweight man to a frail and gaunt shell of his former self,” the filing says.
In arguing for a sentence of time served, the document insists the 56-year-old Rezko accepts responsibility for his wrongdoing. But it also suggests that Rezko didn’t engage in criminality on his own initiative but at the urging of Blagojevich and his other confidants.
* Rezko also blamed Bill Cellini for his troubles with Stu Levine…
Tony Rezko didn’t trust Stuart Levine until Bill Cellini vouched for him, according to documents filed by Rezko’s lawyers in federal court on Thursday.
Levine, then a member of the Teachers’ Retirement System board and an associate of Cellini, approached Rezko, a fundraiser and adviser to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, about getting “finder’s fees” from firms that got state business and then directing the fees to people in the Blagojevich administration, according to the sentencing memo. p,,,]
“Mr. Rezko did not trust Stuart Levine when Levine first approached him, and it was only after Bill Cellini vouched for Levine that Rezko proceeded …” the filing said. “Rezko knew Cellini was the ultimate insider during the 26 years of Republican administrations that preceded Blagojevich, and Rezko knew that Cellini had made tens if not hundreds of millions from state business during that time period.
“Cellini had in place for years the apparatus that Blagojevich wanted Kelly and Rezko to build, and Levine was practically begging to maintain and even increase his thoroughly corrupt influence,” the memo says.
However, Rezko was actually acquitted of the Tom Rosenberg shakedown scam pushed by Levine.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Nov 4, 11 @ 10:18 am
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=But it also suggests that Rezko didn’t engage in criminality on his own initiative but at the urging of Blagojevich and his other confidants.=
“I was just following orders” is no excuse, and I don’t have much sympathy for Rezko, or any of these folks. Their activities made things miserable for a lot of people for a long time. Prison sucks. That’s the whole point. Now that these trials are wrapping up I don’t think he needs to be kept segregated, but 3 1/2 years isn’t long enough. Sorry.
Comment by TwoFeetThick Friday, Nov 4, 11 @ 10:57 am
Not to get all conspiracy theory-ish. But don’t you find it odd that Rezko was kept in solitary confinement and then in a secret government housing place?
Is that precedented? For someone like this?
I think there is more to the story there (not talking major conspiracy, just maybe he negotiated a sweet deal for behind the scenes help, or vice versa is getting extra punishment).
Comment by hmmm Friday, Nov 4, 11 @ 11:08 am
I am willing to give Tony Rezko a free punch on his T.S. card!
Comment by Bman Friday, Nov 4, 11 @ 11:10 am
If memory serves, I think he requested to be removed out of the general prison population. And if he was in secret gvt. housing, I’d think that’d probably be better than Cook County’s lockup. Wasn’t he sent to Lake County?
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Nov 4, 11 @ 11:10 am
Hey, 2feet,
It ain’t like Rezko was “following orders”. He wasn’t a sworn member of the armed forces, he was a fixer. On his own dime. What happens if he refuses to do RB’s bidding? Does he get court-martialed? The stockade? The firing squad?
Pathetic. He should get 10 years. With time served he would still be out before his buddy.
Comment by dupage dan Friday, Nov 4, 11 @ 11:29 am
MCC and then Wisconsin county lockup re Trib:
At the Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Chicago, Rezko was on 23-hour lockdown and allowed recreation for one hour, according to the filing. Meals were pushed through a slot in the door.
After being moved to a jail in Dodge County, Wis., Rezko was placed in a cell with blacked-out windows “that prevent him from knowing if it is day or night,” according to the filing. Ziegelmuller also said Rezko was fed only one piece of fruit every two weeks and has lost 80 pounds.
Comment by Anonymous Friday, Nov 4, 11 @ 11:29 am
If Rezko had anything good, he would have given it up by now. There’s less there than meets the eye.
Comment by wordslinger Friday, Nov 4, 11 @ 11:31 am
“Rezko is being held in a county jail in Wisconsin that does not allow inmates to go outside or to have personal contact with visitors, attorneys say.”
From the Sun-Times story. They call it a “special housing unit.”
Comment by hmmm Friday, Nov 4, 11 @ 11:32 am
Hey DD,
We basically agree with each other. Rezko’s argument is that the others made him do it. I’m saying that’s no excuse. Whether they had any ability to punish him for refusing to go along is irrelevant. He made the choice to participate. And I agree he should get 10 years.
Comment by TwoFeetThick Friday, Nov 4, 11 @ 11:59 am
“arguing that he has already served more time awaiting sentencing — and under harsh conditions —than others convicted in related schemes have.”
Maybe it’s time the courts raised the bar on this sort of thing and doled out max sentences to criminals who operate in the government arena. Let’s quickly legalize marijuana to make plenty of room for them.
Comment by Cook County Commoner Friday, Nov 4, 11 @ 12:14 pm
I think the best explanation for why Rezko was acquitted on the Rosenberg charges is that he was not caught on tape discussing the situation with Levine. Cellini was caught on tape with Levine.
That’s a pretty big difference. Neither jury believed Levine. Cellini’s jury believed the tapes.
Comment by Jim Friday, Nov 4, 11 @ 12:24 pm
Man, I might do time to lose 80 pounds. On second thought.
Comment by wishbone Friday, Nov 4, 11 @ 3:43 pm
wishbone, I’d almost - almost - agree to do a year in Oxford. Three squares a day. Regular schedule. No blogging. No phone calls. Lose weight, quit smoking, write a book, nobody around to bother me.
I’d much rather have a MacArthur Foundation genius grant, but Oxford would be easier to get. lol
Hope I didn’t just jinx myself.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Nov 4, 11 @ 3:46 pm