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War Of Words Between Levine, Rezko Defense Lawyer

Judge Amy St. Eve Issues Stern Warning

CHICAGO (CBS) ― The star witness at political fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko's fraud trial waged a sneering, resentful war of words with the chief defense attorney Thursday and got a stern warning from the judge.

"At the rate we are going, you will still be on the stand in May," U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve told Stuart P. Levine, the government's key witness against Rezko.

Levine says Rezko -- who raised more than $1.6 million for Gov. Rod Blagojevich -- used his political clout to engineer corruption on two state boards with millions of dollars riding on their decisions.

Rezko, 52, is charged with scheming with Levine to pressure kickbacks out of a construction contractor and money management firms seeking to invest the assets of a $40 billion state fund that pays teacher pensions.

Defense attorney Joseph J. Duffy has tried to get Levine to admit that Rezko never told anyone to engage in corruption.

Levine, never overly warm to Duffy, raised the tension level Thursday when the attorney asked him about a transcript of a conversation about a finder's fee paid by a money management firm to a longtime Levine friend.

"I would be pleased to direct you to line 10," Levine said testily.

"Would you be pleased to answer my question?" Duffy snapped back.

"I would very much, Sir," Levine said.

"Thank you," Duffy said.

"You're welcome," Levine said sullenly.

At one point, Duffy asked Levine about a vote on the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board -- a panel that has life or death power over multimillion-dollar proposals to build new hospitals in Illinois. Levine says he and Rezko fixed a vote on the board.

When Duffy asked about the circumstances surrounding the vote, Levine retorted "it is critical that we define 'circumstances' and if you allow me to define circumstances you will have a complete answer."

St. Eve ordered Levine to just answer the question.

When jurors were out of the room, St. Eve ordered Levine to listen carefully to the questions, answer them and not wander off the subject.

"You are not here to engage in a conversation with him," she said.

Levine, 62, who was a member of both the health facilities and pension boards, has pleaded guilty and is on the stand as the government's star witness in hopes of getting a lenient sentence.

Duffy's questions Thursday were designed to suggest Rezko did not order Thomas Beck, then the chairman of the health facilities board, to push approval of a new hospital in Crystal Lake through the board in April 2004.

Levine acknowledged FBI tapes of phone conversations in which Beck repeatedly said he did not want even to bring up the Crystal Lake proposal at the April board meeting because it was too flawed.

But Levine said that at some point in the two days before the board met, Beck had obviously spoken with Rezko and done an about-face. Levine said he remembered seeing somewhere the transcript of a phone conversation between himself and Beck in which Beck said his position had changed.

Duffy challenged him to name any conversation in which Beck had made such a statement to him and they spent more than an hour going through transcripts of FBI wiretap tapes, trying to find the call in question.

But such a transcript didn't turn up and prosecutors had to sit by silently as the futile search went on.

Levine seemed to struggle to make the transcripts match his testimony that Rezko ordered Beck to approve the project.

At one point, he directed attention to a phone conversation between himself and the contractor who was to build the hospital once board approval was secured.

"We're fine," he is heard telling the contractor, Jacob Kieferbaum. He said that represented his assurance of a favorable vote by the board.

"That is an obvious statement that Mr. Kieferbaum understood and I understood," Levine insisted. But Duffy scoffed at that answer.

"I'm not interested in your interpretation," he said.


Drug Use Gets Levine Banned From Hotel
Meanwhile, testimony from Levine has gotten him banned for life from a luxury downtown hotel.

Levine is no longer welcome at the Swissotel Chicago, at 323 E. Wacker Dr., after testifying that he binged on drugs during several of his stays there.

In testimony earlier in trial, Levine admitted that he had drug parties with male friends at the Purple Hotel in Lincolnwood – which was previously a Hyatt, then a Radisson – but also at upscale locations like the Drake and Fairmont hotels.

Levine also said he used drugs at his plush office at the John Hancock Center.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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