Font Size

Politics

E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

Feds Investigate Governor's Wife's Business Deals

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

Recipient E-mail:*
- Your Name:*
- Your E-mail:*
Add a Message:
Send me a copy of this e-mail.

Type the characters in this picture:*

Click here to refresh with new letters

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

Print Share + Comments

Dec 7, 2007 3:05 pm US/Central

Feds Investigate Governor's Wife's Business Deals

CHICAGO (AP) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 1: Illinois First Lady Patti Blagojevich (File)
CBS

Close

numSlides of totalImages

Federal investigators are looking into real estate deals involving Gov. Rod Blagojevich's wife, including the sale of a $3.2 million home owned by one of the governor's campaign donors, according to a published report.

FBI agents asked real estate agent Mary Bennett to explain why she added Patricia Blagojevich, a licensed real estate broker, as a second agent in the 2004 home sale, the Chicago Tribune reported Friday.

Bennett told the Tribune she did so at the request of the homeowner, John H. Simpson, a Blagojevich campaign donor. The governor's wife received about $32,000 in the deal, Bennett said.

"I figured the seller wanted to throw her a little business," Bennett said. "Half a listing is better than none at all, so that's what I did."

No one has informed the administration that Patricia Blagojevich is under investigation, said spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff.

"But what is really sad is that someone has resorted to malicious rumors and innuendo to attack the governor's wife," Ottenhoff said in an e-mail. "This has sunk to an outrageous new low."

The governor and his wife have not been accused of any wrongdoing.

Simpson, an investment banker who declined to comment, has donated $97,000 to Blagojevich's campaign fund since 2002. Neither Simpson nor his firm has any state contracts, according to records.

cbs2chicago.com's Most Popular Pages