Lon Monk testifies Rezko gave him $70,000 to $90,000, Blagojevich trial testimony, May of 2004, Health Planning Board Rigging with Obama help

“Why did the Illinois Senate Health & Human Services Committee, with Obama as chairman, create and push Bill 1332, “Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act,” early in 2003, which reduced the number of members on the Board from 15 to 9, just prior to rigging by Tony Rezko and Rod Blagojevich?”…Citizen Wells

“I believe I’m more pristine on Rezko than him.”…Rod Blagojevich

“The last thing Sen. Barack Obama and Gov. Rod Blagojevich needed was that letter written by convicted Illinois influence peddler Tony Rezko promising he’d never rat out his pals.”…John Kass, Chicago tribune

From the Chicago SunTimes May 17, 2011.

“Rod Blagojevich’s running buddy, onetime law school roommate and former chief of staff Lon Monk testified that he took $70,000 to $90,000 in cash payments from fundraiser Tony Rezko.

Monk said he took the money while he worked as chief of staff for Blagojevich and Rezko was a major fund-raiser.

Before his 2008 conviction, Rezko was a major political donor, forging ties with numerous politicos, including one Barack Obama.

The cash payments from Rezko started in May of 2004, according to Monk.

“I’d gone to him to recommend a car dealership where I could buy a particular car,” Monk said of Rezko. “He gave me that recommendation and at that time told me he wanted to help me buy the car.”

Rezko then helped him buy his car. He continued paying Monk about $10,000 in cash on different occasions. Monk did not deposit it because he didn’t want anyone seeing large cash deposits in his bank account.

Jurors heard the disclosure after Monk described how he, Blagojevich, fund-raiser Chris Kelly and Rezko were close and had met on occasion to discuss ways to make money off of state business. Monk’s testimony was not as detailed as it was in last summer’s trial, when he described Rezko at a drawing board describing ways to divvy up potential state deals. ”

Read more:

http://blogs.suntimes.com/blago/2011/05/testimony_tony_rezko_gave_blag_4.html

This may be as close as we come in this trial to linking Obama to the Chicago corruption due to the efforts of Patrick Fitzgerald and the US Justice Department to dilute the prosecution and protect Obama.

Look at the period of time from March – May 2004 and examine what Monk, Rezko, Levine and Obama were up to.

http://citizenwells.com/2011/03/15/justice-department-protecting-obama-evidence-evidentiary-proffer-blagojevich-prosecution-delayed-and-manipulated-collusion/