Rezco case goes to jury

Chicago Tribune:

The federal corruption trial that has sent ripples through the administration of Gov. Rod Blagojevich has reached its final stage, and the fate of political insider Antoin "Tony" Rezko is now in the hands of the jury.

The panel that spent more than two months listening to testimony deliberated for about half an hour Tuesday afternoon after closing arguments ended.

Jurors began their work after lawyers on opposite sides of the case again clashed over the key evidence against Rezko. A prosecutor urged the jury to believe the former Blagojevich adviser was at the center of a crooked scheme to use his clout to enrich himself and his friends.

"This is a crime, ladies and gentlemen," said Assistant U.S. Atty. Christopher Niewoehner, speaking with an intensity the jury hadn't yet seen from the soft-spoken prosecutor. "This is a crime that involves the highest levels of power in Illinois."

...

The defense attorney spent most of his argument insulting the witnesses against Rezko as a way of attacking the facts that indicate his guilt; "... Stuart Levine, a drug-addled, memory-challenged member of two boards Rezko allegedly corrupted;" and, "Duffy suggested Driehaus was drunk when he met Rezko and his memory of the encounter was therefore unreliable;" and another was described as a "tax cheat." It doesn't say much for Rezko's cholce of friends and associates.

While the governor is mentioned in the article, Obama is not. His self described "bonehead" move on his house purchase with Rezko's help was small potatoes in this stew.