Real estate developer Rezko $50M in debt

Seems like building new homes in Chicago during the last decade would have been a fine way to amass a healthy nest egg for a rainy day, but it didn’t seem to work for indicted real estate developer and political insider Antoin “Tony” Rezko, according to a story in today’s Chicago Tribune. Prosecutors announced in court today that Rezko is about $50 million in debt. The 62-acre South Loop site he planned to develop as the “Riverside District” is worth more than $50 million, as Rezko has claimed, but he didn’t mention that at least $27 million of the property belongs to someone else. Prosecutors said they planned to explore the finances of Rezko’s immediate family after it was revealed that his wife owns a valuable piece of land in Kenwood.

Federal prosecutors indicted Rezko, of Rezmar Development Group, on charges that he took kickbacks from investment firms seeking state business. Rezko, whose real estate company managed to build homes on some prime city parcels with projects such as The Mansions on Prairie, River Walk, River Park North and Hudson Tower, was one of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s best fundraisers. The indictment alleges that Rezko took hundreds of thousands of dollars from investment companies courting the state teachers’ pension system for business.

(Visited 54 times, 1 visits today)