Obama shortens terms for 214 prisoners. Why not RUBASHKIN?

Mevater

Thu, Aug 04 2016, 11:04 am

Obama shortens terms for 214 prisoners; 67 had life sentences.

Any thoughts on why Rubashkin wasnt among them?

Does he feel that Rubashkin's crime far outweighed those whose terms he shortened? Is he more of a danger to society? Whats the message here?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

President Barack Obama on Wednesday cut short the sentences of 214 federal inmates, including 67 life sentences, in what the White House called the largest batch of commutations on a single day in more than a century.

Almost all the prisoners were serving time for nonviolent crimes related to cocaine, methamphetamine or other drugs, although a few were charged with firearms violations related to their drug activities. Almost all are men, though they represent a diverse cross-section of America geographically.

Obama's push to lessen the burden on nonviolent drug offenders reflects his long-stated view that the U.S. needs to remedy the consequences of decades of onerous sentencing requirements that put tens of thousands behind bars for far too long. Obama has used the aggressive pace of his commutations to increase pressure on Congress to pass a broader fix and to call more attention to the issue.

One of the inmates, Dicky Joe Jackson of Texas, was given a life sentence in 1996 for methamphetamine violations and for being a felon with an unlicensed gun. He told the ACLU in a 2013 report that a death sentence would have been preferable, adding, "I wish it were over, even if it meant I were dead."

Another recipient, Debra Brown of Tennessee, was convicted of selling cocaine in 2002 and sentenced to 20 years. Both Brown's and Jackson's sentences will now end Dec. 1, along with most of the rest of those receiving commutations Wednesday.

All told, Obama has commuted 562 sentences during his presidency — more than the past nine presidents combined, the White House said. Almost 200 of those who have benefited were serving life sentences.

"All of the individuals receiving commutation today — incarcerated under outdated and unduly harsh sentencing laws — embody the president's belief that 'America is a nation of second chances,'" White House counsel Neil Eggleston wrote in a blog post.

Eggleston said Obama examines each clemency application on its specific merits to identify the appropriate relief, including whether the prisoner would be helped by additional drug treatment, educational programming or counseling. He called on Congress to finally pass a criminal justice overhaul to bring about "lasting change to the federal system."

Presidents tend to use their powers to commute sentences or issue pardons more frequently at the end of their presidencies, and Obama administration officials said the rapid pace would continue during Obama's final months.

"We are not done yet," Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates said. "We expect that many more men and women will be given a second chance through the clemency initiative."

Though there's broad bipartisan support for a criminal justice overhaul, what had looked like a promising legislative opportunity for Obama's final year has mostly fizzled. As with Obama's other priorities, the intensely political climate of the presidential election year has confounded efforts by Republicans and Democratic in Congress to find consensus.

Obama has long called for phasing out strict sentences for drug offenses, arguing they lead to excessive punishment and incarceration rates unseen in other developed countries. With Obama's support, the Justice Department in recent years has directed prosecutors to rein in the use of harsh mandatory minimums.

The Obama administration has also expanded criteria for inmates applying for clemency, prioritizing nonviolent offenders who have behaved well in prison, aren't closely tied to gangs and would have received shorter sentences if they had been convicted a few years later.

Civil liberties groups praised that policy change but have pushed the Obama administration to grant commutations at a faster pace. The Clemency Resource Center, part of NYU School of Law, said more than 11,000 petitions are pending at the Justice Department and that the group believes 1,500 of them meet the administration's criteria to be granted.

But the calls for greater clemency have sometimes sparked accusations from Obama's opponents that he's too soft on crime, an argument that is particularly resonant this year as presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton trade claims about who is best positioned to keep the country safe.

"Many people will use words today like leniency and mercy," said Kevin Ring of the group Families Against Mandatory Minimums. "But what really happened is that a group of fellow citizens finally got the punishment they deserved. Not less, but at long last, not more."

http://hamodia.com/2016/06/20/.....eply/

debsey

Thu, Aug 04 2016, 11:45 am

The message here is simple - Jews fall under a different rubric. We always have, we always will. Halacha Hi B'Yaduah. There's nothing to think about or analyze.

FranticFrummie

Thu, Aug 04 2016, 11:57 am

It makes me furious that Rubashkin is getting more time in prison than the average rapist or murderer. Brock Turner, anyone?

I'd release people who were arrested for financial wrongdoing a lot sooner than I'd release drug dealers or gang members. If the financial criminals have served a basic amount of time, and paid all of their fines and back debts, then why not let them go?

Oh wait, most of them are white. Nevermind.

Scrabble123

Thu, Aug 04 2016, 11:58 am

Because Rubashkin's crime had nothing to do with petty drug crime......

Mevater

Thu, Aug 04 2016, 12:08 pm

Scrabble123 wrote:

Because Rubashkin's crime had nothing to do with petty drug crime......

Rubashklins crime had to do with him being unable to pay debts to banks, because his hands were tied by the government and he couldnt run the business as soon as they started the inquiry.

Do we really think he did anything far worse or far differently, than other large poultry and meat dealers and othr large businesses (falsifying assets to get loans was the main thing, I think)?

Bottom line, the people in power in Iowa needed a juicy story, and made one. Hed have paid all his loans if hed been allowed to stay in business.

The government crippled him and his business once they started the inquiry, and THEN blamed him for not paying his loans.

Scrabble123

Thu, Aug 04 2016, 12:56 pm

Again. His crime has nothing to do with the others that were released.... Why would he have been considered at this time? Maybe he deserved to be considered in and of himself, but he has nothing to do with this particular incident....

Amarante

Thu, Aug 04 2016, 1:11 pm

He hired a massive amount of undocumented immigrants - didn't even go through the motions of getting them to provide documents. The working conditions were terrible as well.

Bank fraud and manipulation.

The point of the commutation is that many people in the justice field think the law imposing long sentences is unduly harsh and doesn't serve any purpose. And of course, it is also applied in a discriminatory manner in that white offenders do not serve as long a sentence as AA offenders.

If you check sentences for people committing financial fraud on the scale of Rubashkin, there are equally long sentences imposed. Acts as a deterrent against fraudsters whereas as I stated above, there is no rational justification for jailing someone for a lengthy term for non violent drug possession.

Orchid

Thu, Aug 04 2016, 1:18 pm

Amarante wrote:

The Des Moines Register, turned from supporting his strict sentance to writing this editorial:
http://www.desmoinesregister.c.....5848/

The "manipulation" was committed by the prosecution. And had they not committed such manipulation and not interfered with the sale of the business at prevailing market rates, the bank would not have lost a single penny. Read the article.

Orchid

Thu, Aug 04 2016, 1:20 pm

Salient quote from the article:
"An unprecedented letter, recently sent to Kevin Techau, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Iowa, signed by 107 former high level Department of Justice officials, FBI directors, federal judges and prestigious law professors attests to the extraordinary prosecutorial misconduct which exacted the most possible punitive sentence for Rubashkin. Several former attorneys general, including John Ashcroft and even Michael Mukasey, who was the attorney general at the time the case was actually being prosecuted, are among the signatories of the letter."

Amarante

Thu, Aug 04 2016, 1:28 pm

Orchid wrote:

It is not an editorial. It is a piece by two writers and who knows what ties they have in terms of an agenda.

I haven't read anything that refutes the facts for which he was convicted including money laundering and fraud.

It is my understanding that documented conditions were so deplorable, including child labor, that it has brought about changes in terms of fulfilling the spirit of kosher.

m in Israel

Thu, Aug 04 2016, 1:29 pm

Amarante wrote:

He was never convicted with regard to the undocumented immigrants, so that really should have nothing to do with his sentence (IIRC the case was dropped "without prejudice" and the accusations about child labor were actually "expunged" which is basically the prosecutor admitting it was a mistake) Not sure what working conditions has to do with anything either.

He was convicted of bank fraud -- basically he authorized some funny accounting to make the value of the company seem higher than it was in order to get loans. I'd love to hear of some examples of people committing financial fraud on that scale who had "equally long sentences". (By "on the same scale" I assume you mean similar in the sense that no money was actually stolen. Obviously someone whose "bank fraud" consists of counterfeiting checks or stealing millions of dollars would have a more significant sentence)

I do agree that it is not really connected to the commutations being issued now, which if I understand correctly are being specifically targeted for those with drug related convictions.

FranticFrummie

Thu, Aug 04 2016, 1:33 pm

Amarante wrote:

He hired a massive amount of undocumented immigrants

~~Illegal aliens~~, ~~undocumented immigrants~~, ~~guest workers~~ - good grief, what is today's current PC word for people who didn't go through the proper channels?

You'd think that the Left would be praising Rubashkin through the roof for his open mindedness, forward thinking, and lack of discrimination in hiring. I mean, it's the great American promise, right? A chance to work for a living, and send money home? To stay off of welfare and support yourself? Why, they should remodel the Statue of Liberty in his likeness!

/sarcasm

BTW, the majority of non Jewish workers at AgriStar are Somali muslims, who are there to escape civil war in their country. What would you do, send them back?

Oh, and I dare you to find a slaughterhouse where the working conditions are "pleasant".

Amarante

Thu, Aug 04 2016, 1:37 pm

The judge imposed the sentence after hearing the evidence. If one commits fraud by cooking the books, one is certainly stealing and committing a crime.

However, the issue is solely why a certain group of criminals had sentences commuted versus one who committed a completely different category of crime.

Part f jurisprudential theory is deterrence. In terms of impact on society, massive bank fraud is a grater threat than non violent drug possession. Instead of lock get them up, send them to rehab which isxwhatchaooenaxdisproportionateoycti white offenders who are arrested with equivalent amounts of narcitcs c

I watch American Greed and many fraudsters do receive equally long sentences.

Mevater

Thu, Aug 04 2016, 1:39 pm

I totally understand someone as honorable and straight as Obama's hesitation to help out anyone involved in "white collar crime" Rolling Eyes

Read on please about the Obama Rezko relationship. I ask you, who deserves more jail time, Rubashkin or Rezko?

http://chicago.suntimes.com/po.....ouse/

Onetime Obama donor Tony Rezko released to halfway house
nkorecki
email
Antoin “Tony” Rezko, once a top donor to President Barack Obama and convicted under the investigation into former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, has been released to a halfway house in Chicago.

Rezko’s attorney, Joseph Duffy, said by returning to Chicago from a federal prison in downstate Pekin, his client is hoping to be near his family.

In 2008, Rezko was convicted of using his clout in the Blagojevich administration to wield power on state boards and attempt to extort money from firms seeking state business.

For those who think Mr Obama is squeaky clean and never involved in "white collar crime":

Tony Rezko
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Antoin "Tony" Rezko (born 1955) is an American businessman. He was a fundraiser for Illinois Democratic and Republican politicians. After becoming a major contributor to Rod Blagojevich's successful gubernatorial election, Rezko assisted Blagojevich in setting up the state's first Democratic administration in twenty years and as a result he was able to have business associates appointed onto several state boards. Rezko and several others were indicted on federal charges in October 2006 for using their connections on the state boards to demand kickbacks from businesses that wished to engage in dealings with the state. While the others pleaded guilty, Rezko pleaded not guilty and was tried. He was found guilty of 16 of the 24 charges filed against him and on November 23, 2011, he was sentenced to 10 1/2 years in prison.[1]

Early life and education[edit]
Tony Rezko was born in 1955 in Aleppo, Syria, to a prominent Syriac Catholic family.[2] After graduating from college there, Rezko moved to Chicago and earned an undergraduate and a master's degree in civil engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology in the late 1970s. He joined an engineering company, designing nuclear power plants, then left to design roads for the state Transportation Department, making $21,590 in his first year there.[3][4]

Career[edit]
While he was an engineer, Rezko started buying vacant lots and developing single family residences. He also began investing in fast-food restaurants, including the first Subway in Chicago. Many properties were in lower-income African American neighborhoods[2][5] where he met Jabir Herbert (J.H.) Muhammad, former manager of heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali and son of the late Nation of Islam leader, Elijah Muhammad. Rezko was asked in 1983 to support the successful mayoral candidacy of African-American Harold Washington. J.H. Muhammad's company, Crucial Concessions, hired Rezko in 1984 and won a food contract on Lake Michigan beaches and in many South Side parks. Rezko put together endorsement deals for Ali, became the executive director of the Muhammad Ali Foundation, and traveled the world with Ali for five years.[2]

In 1997, Crucial Concessions opened two Panda Express Restaurants at O'Hare, under the city's minority set-aside program. It lost those franchises in 2005, on the grounds that J.H. Muhammad was merely a front man for Rezko, who had been appointed trustee of Elijah Muhammad's affairs in the early 1990s. In March 2008 Muhammad sued Rezko, alleging that he had been swindled out of his home and business interests.[4][5][6]

In January 1989, Rezko and attorney Daniel Mahru, CEO of a firm that leased ice makers to bars and hotels, founded a real-estate development and restaurant holding corporation called Rezmar Corporation. Between 1989 and 1998, Rezmar rehabilitated 30 buildings, a total of 1,025 apartments, spending more than $100 million from the city, state and federal governments and bank loans. Rezko and Mahru weren't responsible for any government or bank loans or the $50 million in federal tax credits they got to rehab the buildings. Rezmar put just $100 into each project and got a 1% stake as the general partner in charge of hiring the architect, contractor, and the company that would manage the buildings. They selected Chicago Property Management, also owned by Rezko and Mahru, to manage the buildings, including selecting the tenants and making repairs. Rezmar also got upfront development fees of at least $6.9 million in all. Under its deals with the Chicago Equity Fund, Rezmar promised to cover all operating losses in any building for seven years, but had no obligation after that, although the Federal Government could recover the tax credits that Rezmar sold from the holders if the projects did not survive for fifteen years or more.[4] By 1998 the company had a net worth of US$34 million[7] and it then turned to purchasing old factories and parcels of land in gentrifying areas of Chicago and turning them into upscale condominium complexes.[4][8] Rezko was named "Entrepreneur of the Decade" by the Arab-American Business and Professional Association.[9]

Rezko's investment in restaurant food chains had started with a chain of Panda Express Chinese restaurants. In 1998, Rezko opened his first chain of Papa John's Pizza restaurants in Chicago and by 2002, he had twenty-six stores in Chicago, at least fifteen in Wisconsin, and seven in Detroit, part of the financing for these stores was through GE Capital.[3] By 2001, Rezko began to fall behind on his franchise payments and loans and he transferred the franchises to several business associates. In 2006, during a lawsuit with Papa John's over his franchise fees, Rezko renamed his Papa John's restaurants to Papa Tony's.[9] Rezko also had a lien filed against his home after losing a civil lawsuit to GE Capital.[3]

As his business ventures began failing, Rezko entered into several partnership with Iraqi-born business executive Nadhmi Auchi, including a massive 2005 real estate development project on Chicago's South Loop whose value was pegged by an observer familiar with the deal at $130.5 million.[10] In 2008, Rezko was imprisoned for his failure to disclose a $3.5m loan from Auchi.

Legal troubles[edit]
Rezko was later convicted on 16 charges of corruption and fraud and was sentenced to serve 10 1/2 years in prison.

Public corruption charges[edit]
In October 2006, Rezko was indicted along with businessman Stuart Levine on charges of wire fraud, bribery, money laundering, and attempted extortion as a result of a federal investigation known as "Operation Board Games."[11][12] Levine was once a top Republican fund-raiser who had switched loyalty in recent years.[13] Rezko and Levine were charged with attempting to extort millions of dollars from businesses seeking to do business with the Illinois Teachers System Board and the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board from 2002 to 2004. Levine pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against Rezko and others. While the charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison, Levine expects to receive about a 5-1/2 year sentence in return for his testimony.[14] The case was prosecuted by Patrick Fitzgerald.

Rezko pleaded not guilty, and the trial related to his charges from Operation Board Games began on March 6, 2008.[15] He was jailed shortly before the trial began when he received a $3.5 million wire transfer from Lebanon. Rezko had told the court that he had no access to money from overseas. Ten weeks into the trial, on April 18, Judge Amy St. Eve released Rezko, after friends and relatives put up 30 properties valued at about $8.5 million to secure his bond. Prosecutors opposed the motion for release, saying that Rezko was a flight risk.[16] On May 6, both the prosecution and the defense rested their cases. Government prosecutors spent 8 weeks presenting their case. Rezko’s lawyer, Joseph J. Duffy, chose not to present any witnesses, saying that he did not believe that the prosecution had proven the charges.[17] Prosecutors contended that they had shown Rezko's "corrupt use of his power and influence" to gain benefits for himself and his friends. Duffy argued that the prosecution had exaggerated Rezko's influence in state government, and attacked Levine's credibility as a witness.[18]

The case went to the jury on May 13 and after three weeks of deliberation, the jury found Rezko guilty of six counts of wire fraud, six counts of mail fraud, two counts of corrupt solicitation, and two counts of money laundering, but found him not guilty on three counts of wire and mail fraud, one count of attempted extortion, and four counts of corrupt solicitation.[19] According to CBS News the "high-profile federal trial provided an unusually detailed glimpse of the pay-to-play politics that has made Illinois infamous."[20]

While the jury was deliberating on the Board Games trial, an arrest warrant was issued in Las Vegas for passing bad checks in two casinos and failing to pay $450,000 in gambling debts that were accrued between March and July 2006.[21] Another casino had also filed a civil complaint for a total of $331,000 in 2006 and was given a judgment of default in 2007.[21]

Charges related to private business dealings[edit]
Rezko was indicted, along with a business associate, for wire fraud related to the alleged sale of his pizza business to a straw buyer at an inflated price in order to obtain millions of dollars in loans from GE Capital.[22] Rezko initially pleaded not guilty to these charges.[23] In 2011, Rezko would change his plea to guilty.[24] As part of a plea deal and his agreement to drop his appeal of his previous conviction, Rezko pleaded guilty to wire fraud and was given a 7 1/2 year sentence to run concurrently with the 10 1/2-year sentence he is presently serving for his previous conviction.[24]

Release from federal prison[edit]
In July 2015 Tony Rezko was released from federal prison to a halfway house in Chicago.[25]

Ties to politicians[edit]
Ties to Rod Blagojevich[edit]
Rezko's relationship with Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and his family were at the root of the federal corruption case which led to Rezko's conviction.[3] Rezko donated $117,652 to Blagojevich's campaigns,[5] and is credited by the prosecutor in his trial with having delivered bundled contributions totalling almost $1.44 million.[26] Since 1997, Blagojevich's wife, Patricia, has made at least $38,000 acting as Rezko's real-estate agent on several of his company's property acquisitions. When Blagojevich won the Illinois gubernatorial election in 2002, Rezko assisted Blagojevich in setting up the state's first Democratic administration in twenty years.[3] Rezko recommended many of his business associates and their relatives for positions within state government, three of whom were appointed to the state board that oversees hospital projects. the state's development board was run by another former Rezko business associate. Rezko and Republican fundraiser Stuart Levine were charged in a 24-count federal indictment for allegedly using Rezko's influence with public officials to demand millions of dollars in kickbacks from companies that wanted to do business with the state.[3][5] Levine pleaded guilty and served as the chief witness against Rezko at trial. Levine and several other witnesses implicated Blagojevich in the schemes.[27][28]

The last indictment in Operation Board Games before Blagojevich himself was indicted was that of William F. Cellini who was indicted for conspiring with Rezko to shake down Chicago-based Capri Capital to get a substantial contribution to Blagojevich in exchange for allowing Capri to manage $220 million in the Teachers Retirement System. After Thomas Rosenberg of Capri threatened to tell authorities, the plan was abandoned.[29] Capri has substantial investments in the Watergate complex and King Abdullah Economic City.

Ties to Barack Obama[edit]
History[edit]
In 1990, after Barack Obama was elected president of the Harvard Law Review, Rezmar Corp. offered him a job, which Obama turned down. Obama instead took a job with the firm of Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland,[30] which primarily worked on civil rights cases. The firm also represented Rezmar and helped the company get more than $43 million in government funding. The firm's former senior partner, Allison S. Davis, later went into business with Rezko and, in 2003, was appointed to the Illinois State Board of Investment by Governor Blagojevich at Rezko's request.[7][31] On July 31, 1995, the first ever political contributions to Obama were $300 from a lawyer, a $5,000 loan from a car dealer, and $2,000 from two food companies owned by Rezko.[32] Starting in 2003, Rezko was one of the people on Obama's U.S. Senate campaign finance committee, which raised more than $14 million.[7] Rezko organized an early fundraiser for Obama that Chicago Tribune reporter David Mendell claims was instrumental in providing Obama with seed money for his U.S. Senate race.[2] Obama in 2007-2008 identified over $250,000 in campaign contributions to various Obama campaigns as coming from Rezko or close associates, and said that he donated almost two-thirds of that amount to nonprofit groups.[33][34]

Real estate dealings[edit]
In 2005 Obama purchased a new home in the Kenwood District of Chicago for $1.65 million (which was $300,000 below the asking price but represented the highest offer on the property) on the same day that Rezko's wife, Rita Rezko, purchased the adjoining empty lot from the same sellers for the full asking price.[35] Obama acknowledged bringing his interest in the property to Rezko's attention,[36] but denied any coordination of offers. According to Obama, while the properties had originally been a single property, the previous owners decided to sell the land as two separate lots, but made it a condition of the sales that they be closed on the same date. Obama also stated that the properties had been on the market for months, that his offer was the better of two bids, and that Ms. Rezko's bid was matched by another offer, also of $625,000, so that she could not have purchased the property for less.[37]

After it had been reported in 2006 that Rezko was under federal investigation for influence-peddling, Obama purchased a 10-foot-wide strip of Ms. Rezko's property for $104,500, $60,000 above the assessed value.[7][35] According to Chicago Sun-Times columnist, Mark Brown, "Rezko definitely did Obama a favor by selling him the 10-foot strip of land, making his own parcel less attractive for development."[38] Obama acknowledges that the exchange may have created the appearance of impropriety and stated "I consider this a mistake on my part and I regret it."[37]

On December 28, 2006, Mrs. Rezko sold the property to a company owned by her husband's former business attorney. That sale of $575,000, combined with the earlier $104,500 sale to the Obamas, amounted to a net profit of $54,500 over her original purchase, less $14,000 for a fence along the property line and other expenses.[39][40] In October 2007, the new owners put the still vacant land up for sale again, this time for $1.5 million.[41]

Obama's letters[edit]
In June 2007, the Sun-Times published a story about letters Obama had written in 1997 to city and state officials in support of a low-income senior citizen development project headed by Rezko and Davis. The project received more than $14 million in taxpayer funds, including $885,000 in development fees for Rezko and Davis. Of Obama's letters in support of the Cottage View Terrace apartments development, Obama spokesman Bill Burton said, "This wasn't done as a favor for anyone; it was done in the interests of the people in the community who have benefited from the project. I don't know that anyone specifically asked him to write this letter nine years ago. There was a consensus in the community about the positive impact the project would make and Obama supported it because it was going to help people in his district." Rezko's attorney responded that "Mr. Rezko never spoke with, nor sought a letter from, Senator Obama in connection with that project.[42]

In the South Carolina Democratic Party presidential debate on January 21, 2008, Senator Hillary Clinton said that Obama had been associated with Rezko, whom she referred to as a slum landlord.[43] The L.A. Times indicated that its own review showed Rezko played a deeper role in Obama's political and financial biography than Obama has acknowledged.[44] Within days of the debate, a photo of Rezko posing with Bill and Hillary Clinton surfaced. When asked about the photo, Hillary Clinton commented "I probably have taken hundreds of thousands of pictures. I wouldn't know him if he walked in the door."[45]

Ties to other politicians[edit]
Rezko's first significant political act was hosting a fundraiser for Harold Washington during Washington's successful campaign to become Chicago's mayor.[5] He has since raised funds for many other politicians.[46] In addition to Blagojevich and Obama, prominent Democrats that Rezko or his company, Rezmar, have contributed money to, or fund-raised for, are Congressman Luis Gutierrez, a friend for over two decades,[47] Comptroller Dan Hynes, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn, former Chicago Mayors Daley and Washington, and former Cook County Board President John Stroger.[3] Rezko has also raised money for Republicans, including former Illinois Governors Jim Edgar and George Ryan.[2] The late Rosemont, Illinois, Mayor Donald Stephens and Rezko co-chaired a multimillion-dollar fund-raiser for President George W. Bush in 2003.[4][46]

Rezko headed the 2002 campaign finance committee for Stroger. Stroger appointed Rezko's wife, Rita, to the Cook County Employee Appeals Board, which hears cases brought by fired or disciplined workers. The part-time post pays $37,000 a year.[2] A Rezko company had a contract to maintain pay telephones at the Cook County Jail under Stroger. The Chicago Sun-Times puts Rezko's contributions to Stroger at $148,300.[citation needed]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Rezko

Tony Rezko
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Antoin "Tony" Rezko (born 1955) is an American businessman. He was a fundraiser for Illinois Democratic and Republican politicians. After becoming a major contributor to Rod Blagojevich's successful gubernatorial election, Rezko assisted Blagojevich in setting up the state's first Democratic administration in twenty years and as a result he was able to have business associates appointed onto several state boards. Rezko and several others were indicted on federal charges in October 2006 for using their connections on the state boards to demand kickbacks from businesses that wished to engage in dealings with the state. While the others pleaded guilty, Rezko pleaded not guilty and was tried. He was found guilty of 16 of the 24 charges filed against him and on November 23, 2011, he was sentenced to 10 1/2 years in prison.

http://www.wnd.com/2011/04/289529/

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/.....11483

Last edited by Mevater on Thu, Aug 04 2016, 1:41 pm; edited 1 time in total

marina

Thu, Aug 04 2016, 1:40 pm

Is there anything suggesting that Rubashkin's attorneys filed for clemency? Here's the denials list- he's not on it. https://www.justice.gov/pardon.....nials

That website will also offer more information on the process. Because Rubashkin is not on the list, I'd guess that he's either being processed or they haven't filed for it yet.

Last edited by marina on Thu, Aug 04 2016, 1:43 pm; edited 3 times in total

FranticFrummie

Thu, Aug 04 2016, 1:41 pm

I agree with you that rehab should be integral to the prison system. I worry that the people who have been released don't have access to this kind of help.

marina

Thu, Aug 04 2016, 1:45 pm

And also I feel like we would have heard if they filed for clemency. I feel like it would have been all over my newsfeed.

m in Israel

Thu, Aug 04 2016, 1:46 pm

Amarante wrote:

There was no "massive bank fraud". I am not justifying even "minor" fraud, but it is simply inaccurate to describe what he did as "massive bank fraud". I find it hard to believe that any objective observer would think the the type of bank fraud that Rubashkin was convicted of is a greater threat to society than selling drugs (most of those being released in this commutation were not simply "in possesion" of drugs, and some even had weapons related convictions as well). As an earlier poster mentioned, had the government not basically forced the company into bankruptcy there would have been no financial loss to anyone involved. And the loss that the bank (the only actual victim) actually incurred was not a result of his fraud but a result of the bankruptcy. I am not familiar with the show American Greed, but somehow I don't think the "fraudsters" you are referring to are people who filed false loan applications. If they are I'd be happy to see even ONE example. The judge actually imposed a sentence that was LONGER than the one requested by the prosecution, which is also extremely unusual (although not unheard of).

m in Israel

Thu, Aug 04 2016, 1:51 pm

marina wrote:

And also I feel like we would have heard if they filed for clemency. I feel like it would have been all over my newsfeed.

I also feel like there would have been some noise if his lawyers had filed for clemency. It is possible they intend to do so in the future, or maybe there are other factors that make them feel it is not the right move for him.

As I said before, this current wave of clemency does not really seem connected to the Rubashkin case as it seems to be targeting a very specific crime. So while I strongly believe the initial sentencing was completely wrong (and likely the result of bias), I don't think it is fair to say that him not being in this specific group of commutations has any real significance.

MrsDash

Thu, Aug 04 2016, 1:53 pm

FYI -

"Based in part on a $27 million loss figure, see U.S.S.C. § 2B1.1(b)(1)(L), the district court calculated Rubashkin's guideline range as 324 to 405 months. It then sentenced Rubashkin to serve 324 months."

His charges according to FACTUAL court records, NOT an opinion piece:

"Rubashkin was arrested in November 2008 and ultimately indicted in 163 counts. He was charged with fourteen counts each of bank and wire fraud, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343, 1344; nine counts of mail fraud, id. § 1341; ten counts of money laundering and aiding and abetting the same, id. §§ 2, 1956(a)(1 )(A)(I), (B)(I); twenty four counts of false statements to a bank, id. § 1014; and twenty counts of willful violations of orders of the Secretary of Agriculture under the Packers Act and aiding and abetting the same, 7 U.S.C. § 195, 18 U.S.C. § 2 (collectively the financial counts). He was also charged with sixty nine counts of harboring undocumented aliens for profit, 8 U.S.C. §§ 1324(a)(1 )(A)(iii), (A)(iv), (A)(v)(II), (B)(I); one count of conspiracy to do the same, id. §§ 1324(a)(1 )(A)(v)(I), (B)(I); one count of conspiracy to commit document fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 371; and one count of aiding and abetting document fraud, id. §§ 2, 1546(a) (collectively the immigration counts)."