With the Tony Rezko trial now under way, it is about time to delve into exactly who this guy is and what connection he has with Presidential candidate Barack Obama.  You may not have known it, but these two have a friendship spanning nearly two decades, and it is my intent to dig a little deeper.

Antoin "Tony" Rezko and Barack Obama first met in 1990 through one of Rezko's companies, Rezmar.  Rezko had a knack for finding future political talent and investing in it early.  Three years later in 1993, Obama took a job at the Chicago law firm Davis Miner Barnhill & Galland, which represented three community groups in partnership with Rezmar.  Through them, and with Obama's help, the law firm helped Rezko obtain over $43 million in government funds to 'improve' low-income apartments.  Years later, in one of Chicago's coldest winters in recent years, we would find out that a dozen different lawsuits came to light in which the City of Chicago had to force Rezmar to turn on heat for its tenants; some of them had gone over five weeks without heat of any kind.  Also, more than half of Rezmar's buildings went into foreclosure, and several had to be boarded up.  It turned out Rezmar had done the work on the cheap, according to a former employee who wished to remain anonymous.  Great use of government spending, eh?

At this point, Rezko had not only been sued by the City of Chicago for failing to heat his low-income apartments, but was also caught using a black business partner to obtain a minority set-aside to illegally get a fast-food franchise at O'Hare Airport.  By now, Rezko had become a pro at exploiting the black community.  Yet Barack had decided to move into politics with a run at State Senate, and despite knowing all of this, Obama would accept plenty of his donations for this and future runs.  The day his State Senate campaign started, Obama received $2,000 each from two of Rezko's fast-food businesses.  Rezko was not only a donor, but had become someone Obama could rely on to build his early political foundation.

When Obama decided to run against Democrat incumbent Congressman Bobby Rush in 2000, Rezko lined up another $1,000 each from himself, his wife, and four other employees at Rezmar, as well as bundling an unknown amount from other cohorts.  Apparently Obama saw no reason to return these donations at the time (he was short on cash), but conveniently returned it eight years later after having already raised over $100 million in his bid to become President.  Funny how ethics tend to matter less when you are strapped for cash.

Of course this is only the beginning of Rezko's fundraising for Obama.  When Obama began his campaign for United States Senate in 2003 and 2004, Rezko was there again to help Obama.  This time Rezko wasn't holding back.  He gave $11,500 of his own money, had his Rezmar partner-in-crime Dan Mahru give another $5,000, his wife and brother each gave $1,500, and three employees of Rezmar gave $3,500, $3,000 and $1,500 each.  Rezko also held a fundraiser on Obama's behalf and personally bundled for his Senate and Presidential Campaigns until Obama found it suddenly convenient to return his donations when people began to learn who Rezko was.

Fast forward to 2005.  Obama, now a sitting U.S. Senator was as close to Rezko as ever.  After his victory in the previous year, Obama needed a much nicer home.  And who better to talk to than the slumlord Tony Rezko? Obama purchased a Georgian revival mansion for $1.65 million and Rezko bought the adjacent vacant lot for $625,000 on the exact same day.  Obama, several months later in early 2006, would then buy a portion of Rezko's lot at cost for a mere $104,500, greatly increasing his current lot's value. 

The fact is, Tony Rezko and Barack Obama have been friends for almost twenty years.  Rezko's antics of exploiting the black and low-income communities in Obama's own district were enough to be sued by the City of Chicago, and now he has been indicted by the United States Department of Justice.  But apparently this was not enough for Obama to turn down his dirty money and connections.

A man who finds it convenient to excuse ethics when it helps propel his political career is not a man I want as my President.