A former Illinois bank official, now claiming whistleblower status, says bank officials replaced a loan reappraisal that he prepared for a Chicago property that was purchased by the wife of now-convicted felon Tony Rezko, part of which was later sold to next-door neighbor Barack Obama.
In a complaint filed Thursday in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Kenneth J. Connor said that his reappraisal of Rita Rezko's property was replaced with a higher one and that he was fired when he questioned the document.
Mr. Connor, a real estate and commercial credit analyst at the Mutual Bank Corp. in Chicago, also noted in the complaint that the bank received a grand jury subpoena in October 2006 requiring it to produce information concerning Mrs. Rezko's purchase, including the bank's files on the property.
The complaint also said that the grand jury wanted information on Mrs. Rezko's checking account and loan file and that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) had audited the Rezko file - although Mr. Connor's lower reappraisal had been replaced with a higher amount.
"Connor's internal whistle-blowing activity at Mutual Bank implicates Mutual Bank and the potentially guilty officers thereof to prosecution under federal and Illinois statutes," said the complaint, filed by attorney Glenn R. Gaffney.
The complaint said Mutual Bank officials could be guilty of making false statements, willfully overvaluing property, bank fraud, witness retaliation, willful violation of a lawful subpoena, FDIC violations, and state banking regulations.
Now, riddle me this...why would high ranking officials at Mutual Bank risk jail time (these are all felony busts)and a lifetime ban on working in the financial service industries just to make a loan on a crooked land deal? Why would an established appraiser risk their license and livelihood to do so? What was in it for them and who promised it to them?
I have my own ideas on the answers to these questions, but it will be immensely entertaining to watch this all unfold.
2 comments:
The natives & long-term residents of Chicago & Cook County refer to the county as 'Crook' County. Have you seen the film 'Chicago' ? Some things never change !
He was even trying to extract a $ 50,000 'contribution' from an exec of a children's hospital which had received assurance of state backing.
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