Antoin “Tony” Rezko’s lawyer quizzed Ali Ata on Friday about his long relationship with Gov. Rod Blagojevich, suggesting the former administration official needed no help from Rezko in gaining access to the governor.
Attorney Joseph Duffy challenged much of what Ata has said at Rezko’s fraud trial. Ata said that at a 2002 meeting with Rezko and Blagojevich, a $25,000 campaign check was laid in front of the governor and a state job was discussed.
When he testified for the government Thursday, Ata had made it sound like he was summoned to Rezko’s North Side office to meet the governor, Duffy said, when in fact he had known Blagojevich for more than a dozen years and had held a fundraiser for him.
“You didn’t have to go to Mr. Rezko’s office to meet the governor and give him a check,” Duffy said.
“I was told the governor would be there on that day and [to] bring a check,” Ata insisted.
Ata bristled at times under the cross-examination, showing more emotion than he had when prosecutors walked him through a series of allegations that painted Rezko as a political chieftain who brought in money, doled out positions and then supported a plan to dump Chicago’s U.S. attorney.
Duffy challenged Ata’s testimony that Rezko squeezed him for a secret ownership stake in an office building that landed a state lease, saying there were no documents to back up Ata’s assertion.
A spokeswoman for the state agency that oversees the renting of office space said Friday it is reviewing its records for the building, located at 59th Street and Ashland Avenue, but she declined to comment further. State law requires those seeking to lease or sell property to the state to divulge the names of all major owners and partners, meaning Rezko’s secret ownership would be a violation of the law.
Ata had told the jury he received his post after making a series of donations to the governor and then did Rezko’s bidding for fear of losing his job. But under questioning by Duffy, Ata, who was a real estate investor and an executive at Nalco Chemical, acknowledged he was worth $12 million when he took the Illinois Finance Authority post.
The real reason he was so interested in a state position was the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Ata said, testifying that he was questioned by the FBI as agents fanned out in terror investigations. Ata’s last name is similar to that of 9/11 hijacker Mohamed Atta.
That led to one of the more awkward moments of the trial, as Duffy asked whether it was true that Ata had nothing to do with the attacks.
“Come on, Mr. Duffy, let’s not go there,” Ata said after a pause, looking down and shaking his head.
Duffy quickly apologized, saying he was only trying to make a record.
Duffy asked what the prosecution wanted from Ata in giving him a deal that could save him from spending years in prison. But Ata would only answer that he was told to tell the truth.
The government is expected to conclude its case Monday.
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jcoen@tribune.com
