Jurors in the fraud trial of Antoin “Tony” Rezko heard him for the first time Friday on an undercover recording apparently discussing how to manipulate a state hospital regulatory board.
Several witnesses have testified that Rezko ran the panel behind the scenes, using his considerable clout with Gov. Rod Blagojevich to impose his will on board members. But the recording played Friday was the first time in his trial that Rezko’s own words appeared to bolster that reputation.
On the tape, Rezko was heard instructing hospital board vice chairman Stuart Levine about how the panel should be run. Rezko told Levine that everything was to flow through the board’s chairman, a man who prosecutors contend was under Rezko’s control.
“I have good reasons for doing things the way I’m doing,” Rezko could be heard to tell Levine. “You and I will still be doing things the way we do.”
Rezko’s lawyers will likely argue that he was making suggestions, not giving orders. But Levine, testifying for the fourth straight day, said Rezko was flexing control.
Levine has pleaded guilty in the case and has taken the stand against Rezko as part of a deal with prosecutors for a reduced sentence. On Friday, Levine said he also will be required to forfeit $5 million in ill-gotten proceeds, but that testimony could open a wedge for the defense to suggest prosecutors were generous to their star witness.
Levine said he would never be able to pay all that money. But even after selling homes in Highland Park and Florida, Levine said he and his wife, Sheri, had $4.2 million in other assets. And he stressed that she had done nothing illegal and therefore would be allowed under law to keep half their estate.
A source familiar with the case said the two are divorcing.
In other testimony, Levine began to explain how he came to control the board of the Teachers’ Retirement System, a $30-billion pension pool. Levine said William Cellini, a GOP power broker, packed the board with his friends to influence its decisions.
Levine said board members loyal to Cellini also arranged for the hiring of TRS executive director Jon Bauman because they believed they could control him.
In an interview Friday, Bauman said he was one of many finalists for the job after the board mounted a nationwide search. He said no “yes man” could survive in such a job.
“I am no one’s waterboy,” he said.
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