If you follow politics you will know many of these names in a developing story of corruption in the Chicago commercial real estate market. John Thomas, convicted of business fraud in New York, went to Chicago to “facilitate” commercial real estate deals. One of the people he did business with was Rezmar Corp. owned by Tony Rezko, the shady developer who gave neighbor Barak Obama the sweetheart deal on a piece of land.

Now the U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald, who also served as Special Counsel in the Valarie Plame affair. So you now have a very politically connected US Attorney running a sting operation on developers that are tied to a front running Presidential candidate Barak Obama in one of the most corrupt cities in North America, Chicago. Oh, and to top it off, when the Chicago Tribune first got the story, Fitzgerald pleaded with them to sit on it.

There is a chance that the mole John Thomas run by US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has the chance to break open an undercurrent in both Chicago politics and development and have an impact on the 2008 Presidential aspirations of Barak Obama.

But the case could send ripples through Chicago’s huge financial and real estate industries because Thomas’ business clients and associates include several well-known commercial and residential developers.

Among them is Rezmar Corp., which was run by Antoin “Tony” Rezko, the politically-connected entrepreneur who pleaded not guilty last fall after being indicted on federal influence-peddling and fraud charges.

Thomas’ Carnegie Realty Partners helped Rezmar Corp. obtain financing from Broadway Bank for an ultimately failed deal to build a 24-story condo high-rise on a vacant lot at the southwest corner of Chicago and Hudson Avenues, according to interviews and a civil lawsuit against Thomas by a former Carnegie officer.via  Chicago Tribune.

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