Nov 14, 2006 7:32 pm US/Central
Gutierrez: Town Home Deal Not Linked To Rezko Tie
Report: Congressman Paid At Least $60,000 Less Than Neighbors For Town Home
CBS 2's Mike Flannery contributed to this report.
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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U.S. Rep.
Luis Gutierrez paid at least $60,000 less than his neighbors for a Chicago town home, but he says his friendship with the developer -- an indicted political fundraiser -- had nothing to do with his getting a financial break.
The congressman said last week that he would remain on Capitol Hill for two more years, then possibly run for mayor in 2011.
Gutierrez defended the deal to the Chicago Sun-Times Friday, one day after announcing he won't run for mayor of Chicago. He paid $434,900 for his town home on the city's North Side, while his neighbors paid between $495,000 and $660,000, sometimes for smaller residences, records show.
Fundraiser
Antoin "Tony" Rezko has pleaded not guilty to charges he plotted to squeeze millions of dollars in kickbacks out of investment firms seeking state business. He also has pleaded not guilty to obtaining a $10.5 million loan from GE Capital through defrauding a group of investors.
Gutierrez, 52, told the Sun-Times he didn't talk to Rezko about the deal. Instead, the sale was handled by a salesperson for Rezko's company, Rezmar Corp.
"I walked in with my wife -- as any other consumer could have -- and purchased the unit at the listed price, with no considerations," he said. "In fact, the price had gone up from $399,000 to $434,000 within two or three weeks of the first showing."
He closed on the home in March 2003 and sold it last March for $610,000, netting a 40 percent profit -- far larger than other neighbors who have sold.
He characterized the deal he got on his home as a "pre-construction" discount because he agreed to buy in September 1999, before the 17 units were built. He said the homes were priced at $304,900 to $519,000 at the time and that other buyers also got discounts. No one paid as little as he did, however.
Rezko's family has donated more than $19,000 to Gutierrez's campaigns over the years.
Revelations about the congressman's real estate dealings with Rezko come not long after the Chicago Tribune reported that another politician --
Sen. Barack Obama -- closed on a $1.65 million Chicago home last year the same day Rezko and his wife bought a vacant lot next door.
In January, Obama paid Rezko $104,500 for part of his lot to balance the space between his house and a fence dividing the properties.
Obama has said the financial arrangements he and Rezko made were ethical and proper.
A spokesman for Gutierrez said he was in Washington Tuesday evening, preparing for his new role as a subcommittee chairman when Democrats take control of Congress in seven weeks.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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