Witness testifies Rezko offered him choice of jobs

Loyal, discreet and good with money, Ali Ata seemed the perfect director for the Illinois Finance Authority.

But his leadership of the powerful state agency was a fraud, based on campaign contributions to Gov. Rod Blagojevich at the behest of political operative Antoin "Tony" Rezko, Ata testified Thursday.

Ata, a Lemont engineer, is the latest witness in the corruption trial of Rezko, a prominent Blagojevich fund-raiser.

After telling the jury he had recently made a plea deal with federal prosecutors by admitting to tax fraud and lying to the FBI, Ata painted a sleazy picture of abuses in state government ranging from political hirings and firings to public agencies being used for private gain.

Among his claims were that Rezko asked him to pony up for renovations at Blagojevich's Chicago bungalow to avoid a lien being placed on the property.

"He (Rezko) said it would be an embarrassment for everyone," said Ata, who ended up giving cash four separate times totaling $125,000 between 2003 and 2004.

Rezko, a Wilmette businessman, is standing trial on corruption charges, accused of extorting campaign contributions in exchange for jobs and contracts. He has pleaded innocent.

Blagojevich has not been accused of any wrongdoing. A spokeswoman said the governor and his wife paid for all renovations at their home themselves.

Ata, who is proving a new threat to the defense case, had his sympathetic moments, explaining that he was questioned by FBI agents after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The native of Jordan said he was subsequently offered an early retirement offer he accepted.

"It was devastating to myself and my family," he said.

But his dealings with the state gave Rezko's defense attorney Joseph Duffy plenty of ammunition.

"As you sit here, you are a felon, and you're a felon because you're a liar?" Duffy asked.

"Yes," Ata answered.

Duffy also pressed Ata to provide records of the cash distributions. Ata said he had none as the money was taken out of a safe from a business that belongs to his family.

Prior to Blagojevich's election, Ata described his decision to support the governor and told of hosting two fundraising events.

In summer of 2002, responding to a request from Rezko, Ata wrote a $25,000 check to the governor's campaign, which resulted in a face-to-face meeting with Blagojevich.

"Mr. Rezko stated I had expressed interest in serving in his administration. Mr. Blagojevich stated I had been supportive and a friend and he asked Mr. Rezko if I had identified any job opportunities," Ata testified.

Earlier that year, Rezko advised Ata to pick out jobs he was interested in within the state government.

"I looked on the Internet and at different state departments and their mission statements and what they did," Ata said.

He ended up giving Rezko a shortlist that included transportation, human services and capital development.

Following the governor's election, Ata testified Rezko promised him he'd get the position of executive director of the state Capital Development Board but that later fell through in spring 2003.

Ata kept up with the political donations, though, forking over another $25,000 in summer 2003, at which time Rezko advised him to consider a position at the Illinois Finance Authority, a new agency that makes loans, issues tax-exempt bonds and is charged with fostering economic development.

His donation coincided with a Navy Pier fundraiser, where Ata again met Blagojevich.

"He said he understood I was considering a job with the new administration," Ata testified. "He said, 'It had better be a job where I can make some money.' "

Ata later told Rezko, "I was surprised he would make such a statement."

Later, as federal investigators honed in on Rezko, he warned Ata not to talk to anyone and promised that through his political connection Robert Kjellander, a Republican heavyweight familiar with President Bush's former top adviser Karl Rove, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald would be gone before any harm was done.

In that context, Ata admitted to lying to the FBI during questioning.

"I lied to protect both of us," he told a skeptical Duffy.

Ata officially became the Illinois Finance Authority's leader in January 2004, but title notwithstanding, the reality was he reported to Rezko, he told the jury.

That relationship proved galling later that year when Rezko pressured Ata to write a letter on agency letterhead to a loan company, indicating the authority was backing a refinancing of numerous Papa John's pizza restaurants he owned. Prosecutors say the refinancing was a fraudulent scheme.

Ata wrote the letter. He told jurors he knew who called the shots and what would happen if he refused orders.

"I would probably not show up for work that day," he said.

But Ata balked at having the authority consider a refinancing.

"The publicity resulting from such a transaction would be detrimental to the IFA and the governor's office," he said.

Rezko backed down but still used the letter, faxing it to the loan company.

Ata also described a pattern of political appointments to agencies such as the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board and Illinois Finance Authority. He spoke of how a property he co-owned and was being leased to the government ran into trouble when the state informed him an extension to complete the building wasn't valid.

Ata appealed to Rezko who received a share in the property shortly after the problem "was resolved," he testified.