Back during the early days of McHenry County Blog I had a couple of talks with Kenneth Conner, who had a view of the Tony Rezko-Barack Obama real estate deal.

Now, Conner has written a book that people interested in the inside story will want to read.

A press release about the book follows:

“Rezko for Radicals” Book Highlights Obama Calling the Purchase of his Mansion a ‘Fire Sale’

Rezko for Radicals includes a Tony Rezko prison letter in which Rezko informs his trial judge that feds wanted him to cooperate against Barack Obama

The cover of Kevin O’Connell’s new book about Barack Obama’s home purchase.

In his new book “Rezko for Radicals,” author Kenneth J. Conner, formerly a real estate analyst at Tony Rezko’s bank in Chicago, presents a carefully researched and insider accounting of Rezko’s real estate transactions involving Barack Obama.

Conner details a meeting with the FBI in October 2007 in which he advised agents that the Rezko lot next door to the Obama Mansion was worth a maximum of $500,000. Rezko paid $625,000. Later it became known that another appraisal valued the Rezko lot at $490,860. (Cook County Case # 2008L011470.)

As reported by the Washington Times (p3, November 4, 2008) and online, Ken told the FBI agents he believed Rezko’s purchase of the lot for more than market value amounted to a payoff, bribe or kickback from Tony Rezko to Barack Obama of at least $125,000.

On the same day Rezko bought the lot, Obama bought the mansion next door from the same seller for $300,000 below asking price.

Ken advised the FBI that of the $300,000 reduction, at least $125,000 is attributable to Rezko’s overpayment.

Obama previously called his mansion purchase “a market based transaction” and insisted that that “everybody who’s looked at it has acknowledged as such” until going off script in an extended no-cameras interview and calling it “a fire sale,” as reported on March 3, 2008 by Lynn Sweet, Washington Bureau Chief for the Chicago Sun-Times.

Also while researching for Rezko for Radicals the author found a court file prison letter from Tony Rezko in which he complains to his trial judge that the feds are being “overzealous” in “pressuring” Rezko to cooperate against Rod Blagojevich and Barack Obama. (Case # 05 CR 691 – 4 in the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois; letter filed June 9, 2008)

Soon after the letter Rezko agreed to cooperate against Blagojevich.

Please order the new book Rezko for Radicals from Amazon here.

http://www.rezkoforradicals.com
@rezko4radicals

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The 2008 photo of President Barack Obama’s mansion is printed with permission of Marathon Pundit.