We now know the story of Barack Obama and the convicted bad guy Tony Rezko, who had a habit for showering money on politicians and seeking favor. A few months after Obama became a U.S. Senator, he bought a house. At the same time, Rezko’s wife bought the land next to Obama’s house, and then later sold a piece of that land to Obama at the appraised value. As Obama observed in 2006, “There’s no doubt that this was a mistake on my part. ‘Boneheaded’ would be accurate.”
According to testimony in the ongoing trail of former Illinois Rod Blagojevich, President Obama was not the only bonehead. From yesterday’s testimony, via the Chicago Sun-Times Blago Blog:
Prosecution witness Robert Williams, Rezmar Chief Financial Office, read off the list of contractors who did work on the Blagojevich family’s Ravenswood Manor home. The main contractor and the subcontractors all were companies tied to Rezko. The total amount to be paid to the various subcontractors at that time in January of 2004: $39,966.68.
Williams previously said Rezko asked him to pay $40,000 to Patti Blagojevich during the same time frame. Though the money purported to be commission for the sale of a condo unit, Williams said he wasn’t aware of any work Patti Blagojevich did to earn the commission.