If this claim is true, then questions need to be asked why a man (who is our next President) lives in the house of a lawyer for a felon.

The fact that Bill Miceli is listed as the owner of Obama’s home is weird. But, again, what does it show? Does it show that Bill Miceli lent him some money?

I think the strangest thing about all this is that Obama could get a $300,000 discount on his house with the help of Rezko. For less, $250,000, Ted Stevens was convicted for not reporting gifts. In Illinois, we send the guy on to the White House.

To all the Obama worshippers, I will gladly deal with the fact he is president of the U.S.. As far as I’m concerned, he can be president for 8 years or more if you guys want. For some reason though, I don’t think that is going to happen.

Get a grip, your just caught up in baseless partisan attack. If it were a Republican who will be sworn into office I do not think you would be so involved in this witch hunt.

Your asking Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald to go after President Elect Obama. Are you an attorney? you have no clue what an investigation and gathering evidence entails.

You think your cut and paste partisan attack information will amount to anything?

Anyone can list contributors, that does not make it illegal.

Senator Barak Obama is going to be your President, deal with it.

We’re talking about the tax records from the Cook County Clerk (link included above) for the Obama home listed at 5046 Greenwood.

And it clearly states that the owner is William Micelli. The records are fairly straightforward.

Of course, you’d have to have known that; having checked out the links in the story before you wrote your comment.

No conspiracy here: just a question.

Perhaps you have the answer.

Dear Mr. Fitzgerald:

Today you told the press, in connection with the Blagojevich arrest, “We were in the middle of a corruption crime spree and we wanted to stop it.” And yet most of the complaint is based on evidence you have had for a number of years. In other words, if the matter concerning the appointment of a Senator were removed, you would still have had enough evidence to indict Blagojevich. In fact, the complaint shows that you have enough evidence for a number of years.

This means that you and no one else, allowed Blagojevich to continue on a “crime spree” long after you had enough evidence to arrest him. Indeed, he would never have gotten to the point at which he was about to sell a Senate seat, if you had arrested him earlier. Why did you not do so? Why did you allow him to commit more crimes?

And now you are about to show the same negligence again. You are apparently about to make the same mistake with regard to Barack Obama. As you probably know, Evelyn Pringle has published detailed online articles concerning Obama’s participation in “Operation Board Games” crimes. Below, I reproduce paragraphs from your own Blagojevich complaint, and after them, a section from the Pringle Obama articles dealing with precisely the same facts as the complaint.

Her articles show in detail that Obama has committed the same 18 USC 1346 crimes you discuss in your Blagojevich complaint. And yet he has not yet been arrested. Why not?

Just as you allowed Blagojevich to get to the point where he was about to sell a United States Senate seat, so you allowed Obama to be elected President, and apparently you are willing to let him continue his own crime spree by actually becoming President.

It was irresponsible for you to continue to allow Blagojevich to continue in office when you had enough evidence to arrest him, and it is irresponsible of you now to allow Obama to continue in office and become President, when you have enough evidence to arrest him.

Arrest Obama now. It is irresponsible of you to wait any longer.

Sincerely yours,

John Ryskamp

I. FROM THE BLAGOJEVICH COMPLAINT

35. As described more fully in the following paragraphs, Mercy Hospital, which sought permission from the Planning Board to build a hospital in Illinois, received that permission through Rezko’s exercise of his influence at the Planning Board after Rezko was promised that Mercy Hospital would make a substantial campaign contribution to ROD BLAGOJEVICH. Rezko later told a member of the Planning Board that Mercy Hospital received the permit because ROD BLAGOJEVICH wanted the organization to receive the permit.

36. Levine’s criminal activities included his abuse of his position on the Planning Board to enrich both himself and Friends of Blagojevich. The Planning Board was a commission of the State of Illinois, established by statute, whose members were appointed by the Governor of the State of Illinois. At the relevant time period, the Planning Board consisted of nine individuals. State law required an entity seeking to build a hospital, medical office building, or other medical facility in Illinois to obtain a permit, known as a “Certificate of Need” (”CON”), from the Planning Board prior to beginning construction.

37. Levine, as well as Planning Board members Thomas Beck and Imad Almanaseer, testified under oath at the Rezko Trial.9 Beck testified that he asked Rezko to reappoint him to the Planning Board and that Beck thereafter followed Rezko’s directions regarding which CON applications Rezko wanted approved. Beck testified that it was his job to communicate Rezko’s interest in particular CONs to other members of the Planning Board, including Almanaseer, who were loyal to Rezko. Beck testified that he understood that Rezko spoke for the Blagojevich administration when Rezko spoke to Beck about particular CONs. Almanaseer testified that Beck instructed him that Rezko wanted Almanaseer to vote a particular way and that Almanaseer should follow Levine’s lead in voting on CONs. Almanaseer testified that before certain Planning Board meetings, he received notecards from Beck indicating how to vote on certain CON applications. Beck testified he provided these notecards to Almanaseer and certain other members of the Planning Board to communicate Rezko’s directions about certain CON applications.

38. During his testimony, Levine described a plan to manipulate the Planning Board to enrich himself and Friends of Blagojevich. The plan centered on an entity commonly known as Mercy Hospital (”Mercy”) that was attempting to obtain a CON to build a new hospital in Illinois. Levine knew the contractor hired to help build the hospital. In approximately November 2003, on behalf of the contractor, Levine checked with Rezko to determine whether Rezko wanted Mercy to obtain its CON. Rezko informed Levine that Mercy was not going to receive its CON. According to Levine, he asked Rezko whether it would matter to Rezko if Mercy’s construction contractor paid a bribe to Rezko and Levine and, in addition, made a contribution to ROD BLAGOJEVICH. Levine testified that Rezko indicated that such an arrangement would change his view on the Mercy CON.

39. Levine’s testimony regarding Rezko’s actions to change the Planning Board decision concerning Mercy’s application for a CON based on contributions for ROD BLAGOJEVICH is confirmed by attorney Steven Loren. Loren testified at Rezko’s criminal trial and, before that, in the grand jury.11 According to Loren, in approximately December 2003, Levine informed Loren that Rezko was against the Mercy CON. According to Loren, Levine relayed to Loren a conversation between Rezko and Levine during which Levine asked Rezko whether a political contribution to ROD BLAGOJEVICH would make a difference for Mercy’s CON, and Rezko responded to Levine that such a contribution might make a difference.

40. Thereafter, and confirmed by the testimony of Levine, Beck, and Almanaseer, as well as recorded conversations, Rezko switched his directions to Beck and informed Beck that Mercy was to receive its CON. According to Almanaseer, although he previously had been told by Beck that Rezko did not want Mercy to receive its CON, he was later told that there had been a change and that Rezko now wanted Mercy to receive its CON.

41. Mercy received its CON as a result of a controversial and irregular vote at a public Planning Board meeting.12 The vote brought significant publicity to the Planning Board and ultimately led to the disbanding of the Planning Board. Almanaseer testified under oath in the grand jury that not long after the Planning Board vote on Mercy’s CON he saw Rezko at a fundraiser. According to Almanaseer, he was still embarrassed about what had occurred at the Planning Board vote on Mercy’s CON and Rezko’s role in the vote. Almanaseer testified that he asked Rezko why Rezko had switched the vote on the Mercy CON. According to Almanaseer, Rezko stated: “The Governor wanted it to pass.”

II. FROM EVELYN PRINGLE’S “CURTAIN TIME” ONLINE ARTICLES

Tony Rezko is a private citizen. Therefore, the evidence presented in the trial focused on his influence over officials in getting members appointed to the Boards. Prosecutors did not discuss how the legislation got passed that enabled the Planning Board to be set up in a way that allowed for the appointment of members to rig the votes to begin with.

That part of the scheme will likely be detailed in future indictments, probably starting with Blagojevich. Blagojevich signed the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act with an effective date of June 27, 2003. However, before he could sign the act, a bill had to be passed by the Illinois House and Senate. As discussed fully in Curtain Time Part II, Obama was the inside guy in the senate who pushed through the legislation that resulted in the Act.

Obama was appointed chairman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. The minute the bill was introduced, it was referred to his committee for review. The sponsors of the bill also served on this committee with Obama. Within a month, Chairman Obama sent word to the full senate that the legislation should be passed.

On May 31, 2003, Senate Bill 1332 passed and specified that the “Board shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate.” The legislation reduced the number of members from 15 to 9, paving the way for the appointment of a five-bloc majority to rig the votes.

The corrupt members appointed included three doctors who contributed to Obama. Michel Malek gave Obama $10,000 on June 30, 2003 and donated $25,000 to Blagojevich on July 25, 2003. Malek also gave Obama another $500 in September 2003.

Fortunee Massuda donated $25,000 to Blagojevich on July 25, 2003, and gave a total of $2,000 to Obama on different dates. After he was appointed, Dr Imad Almanaseer contributed a total of $3,000 to Obama. Almanaseer did not give money to Blagojevich.

When the first pay-to-play scheme was put in play, and the application for approval of a new hospital was submitted, the Department of Human Services, along with four other Illinois agencies, sent recommendations that the project should be approved even though experts said the hospital was not needed.

During the trial, Rezko’s attorney presented an email exchange to the jury that hinted at Obama’s role in setting up the scheme. The exchange showed that Obama and seven other top Illinois politicians consulted on the legislation passed in 2003 and were involved in recommending the members for the board.

Matthew Pickering wrote the memo to Blagojevich’s general counsel, Susan Lichtenstein, on behalf of David Wilhelm, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, who headed Blagojevich’s 2002 campaign for governor.

Pickering said he and Wilhelm had “worked closely” over six months with state legislators. The memo recommended the appointees listed above and stated, “our attached recommendations reflect that involvement” with the political leaders.

The persons appointed to rig the votes, including those who contributed to Blagojevich and Obama, are cooperating in exchange for immunity or lighter prison sentences.

Feds shut down pay-to-play schemes

Only two pay-to-play schemes succeeded before the Feds swooped in and shut them all down. Blagojevich did not receive the $1.5 million from the Planning Board deal because the hospital was never built.

But Obama received $20,000 from the first kickback paid in the pension fund scheme and the straw donors used to funnel the $10,000 payments, Elie Maloof and Joseph Aramanda, also made $1,000 contributions to Obama’s failed run for Congress in 2000.

In addition, Aramanda gave $500 to Obama’s senate campaign on June 30, 2003. In the summer of 2005, Aramanda’s son landed an intern position in Obama’s Washington office.

Obama also received contributions for his senate campaign from the two persons appointed to rig the vote on the pension fund board. On June 30, 2003, Jack Carriglio contributed $1,000, and the other appointee, Anthony Abboud, donated $500 on June 30, 2003, $250 on March 5, 2004, and $1,000 on June 25, 2004.

The person chosen to funnel the kickback in a future scheme, Michael Winter, donated $3,000 to Obama on June 30, 2003.

All these people are also cooperating in exchange for immunity or lesser prison sentences but prosecutors pointed out during closing arguments that people who entered into agreements with the government are required to tell the truth or all deals are off.