May 11, 2008 9:56 pm US/Central
Closing Arguments Set For Rezko Trial
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Antoin "Tony" Rezko leaves the Dirksen Federal Building April 18, 2008 after being freed on $8.5 million bond.
CBS
Tony Rezko is accused of using his political clout to line his pockets and those of his allies.
It's being called the biggest political corruption trial since former Gov. George Ryan's trial two years ago.
Monday morning the prosecution and defense will sum up weeks of complicated testimony. CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports on what you will hear.
Federal prosecutors likened defendant Rezko to the Wizard of Oz – the man behind the curtain pulling the strings of political corruption to further himself and his allies. Monday, prosecutors and Rezko's defense attorney Joseph Duffy will begin the arduous task of condensing eight weeks of testimony into compelling closing arguments.
CBS 2 legal analyst Irv Miller expects lawyers will focus on the government's key witness Stuart Levine – an alleged Rezko accomplice, who also admitted to massive drug and alcohol use.
"They are going to say because these witnesses corroborated what he said, he should be believed; the defense is going to say, 'hey, listen this guy is an admitted thief, admitted crook, he admitted he lied and he should absolutely not be believed whatsoever," Miller said.
The government charged Rezko with using his fundraising position with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to arrange payoffs and kickbacks for state-related business.
Prosecutors also used testimony to charge that he arranged "pay to play" deals, or money, in exchange for state positions.
Levine testified about much of that, but Miller says the judge will still advise jurors to use skepticism when considering his testimony.
"The judge is actually going to help out the defense; she's going to instruct the jury that they've got to look at this testimony with great care and caution because they got the deal of a lifetime," Miller said.
That deal is years of prison time instead of natural life.
Another likely focus for the jury will be the fact that Rezko's attorney failed to call one defense witness, stating: "We do not believe the government has met their burden."
Irv Miller says that helps simplify things for jurors. Arguments begin at 9 a.m. Monday.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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