Rezko freed on $8 million bond, home monitoring
Satisfied that safeguards are in place to keep him from skipping the country, a federal judge has decided Antoin "Tony" Rezko can go home from jail as his corruption trial continues.
Judge Amy St. Eve, who issued her ruling this afternoon, had revoked Rezko's bond on Jan 28, deeming him a flight risk. At that time, St. Eve ordered Rezko jailed after he failed to inform the court that he had been wired $3.5 million from the Middle East, where he was born and maintains many personal connections.
On Friday, St. Eve granted a motion, filed Thursday, for Rezko's release from a federal corrections center in downtown Chicago. The judge agreed to free the defendant, a key fundraiser for Gov. Rod Blagojevich, after friends and relatives posted as security 30 properties with a combined value of $8 million.
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In addition, Rezko's wife, Rita, posted $380,000 cash, raised mostly from Rezko divesting his final interest in 62 acres in the South Loop.
By late afternoon, Rezko was free, pushing his way past reporters and photographers without comment as he left the Dirksen Federal Building.
St. Eve made Rezko's release conditional on Rezko wearing an electronic monitoring device and his wife assuming responsibility for his whereabouts. He may leave his Wilmette home only to travel directly to court for his trial, which is expected to continue at least through May.
Rezko, who has appeared mostly impassive throughout the six weeks of his trial, did not comment in the courtroom on the decision, but his lead attorney, Joseph Duffy, expressed appreciation.
St. Eve told Rezko she was impressed by the number of individuals willing to post property as security and the fact that many are not his relatives.
The judge told Rezko that if he violates the provisions of his release, "You will leave me no choice but to have the government foreclose on the property of these 30 individuals and take what is in some instances their life savings."
After St. Eve's ruling, Duffy told reporters: "Obviously, we're very pleased by the court's ruling. We're most happy for Mr. Rezko and his family."
Duffy said his client's release would make courtroom preparation "substantially easier" because he will now have unlimited evening phone access to Rezko.
Before agreeing to release Rezko, St. Eve quizzed his wife and him, probing for hidden assets or income. During that exchange, Rita Rezko said the couple has not made a mortgage payment on their North Shore home since September 2006, just weeks before her husband's indictment. She said attorneys continue to discuss the situation, but that the bank must give four months' notice before eviction and foreclosure.
Before St. Eve's ruling on Rezko's bid for release, Friday's trial testimony centered on prosecution accusations that Rezko switched gears on one alleged kickback scheme because he feared suspicion would stem from the involvement of a close associate.
Michael Winter, a Rezko business associate who shared office space with Rezko on Chicago's North Side, was initially tabbed to receive the finder's fee on an allocation of Illinois Teacher Retirement System funds sought by Sterling Venture Partners in 2004. The TRS figures prominently in the case, as prosecutors say Rezko and Stuart Levine, a TRS board member, schemed to rig investment allocations and extort kickbacks in exchange.
Prosecutors say that a behind-the-scenes switch made Myron Cherry the designated consultant for Sterling so that questions would not be raised about Winter's involvement.
Under cross-examination, Daniel Rosenberg, a Sterling partner, testified that changes in such matters as the designated consult are not unusual, as documents go through several drafts before finalization. He also said the switch from Winter, whom Sterling had initially contacted, to Cherry did not raise red flags for his firm.
For one thing, Rosenberg said, Sterling knew Winter from previous dealings. In addition, he said, Sterling knew that Cherry was Winter's attorney. Rosenberg also testified that Sterling never heard from Rezko during any of its communications with Winter or the Teachers Retirement System. TRS ultimately did not award an investment allocation to Sterling.
Also, prosecutors Friday began direct examination of Scott Parrish, a former Teachers Retirement System employee. Prosecutors hope to convince jurors, through testimony from Parrish and others, that Rezko and Levine schemed to install businessman Sheldon Pekin as a sham consultant to handle planned kickbacks totaling $1.25 million on pension fund allocations to LLR Partners Inc. and Stockwell Capital.