Serbs in high positions in US politics:



Governer of the state of Illionis - Rod Blagojevich http://www.rodforillinois.com/index....-C3B5569420E0}


Senator George Voinovich - http://voinovich.senate.gov/public/index.cfm

Serbian Caucus in 110th US Congress (Bicameral)
(Source URL: http://www.serbianunity.net/projects/Information/caucus/index.html)

Blago is a crook - so 50% of high ranking serbs in politics are criminals?

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Liberals believe it is okay to kill babies
but not terrorists.

He's not 50%, he is only high ranking... Why is he a crook?

So 50% of high ranking serbs in politics are crooks.

http://media1.suntimes.com/multimedi...2.imageContent

__________________
Liberals believe it is okay to kill babies
but not terrorists.

You call this a source?

That's a politician you can be proud about.

http://voinovich.senate.gov/public/i...vich.Biography







Unfortunately, Blagojevich isn't.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Blagojevich

Although Blagoejvich was elected on a promise to end the corruption in Illinois government which led to the federal indictment and conviction of former Governor George Ryan and others, his administration has been plagued by similar controversies.[12] Polling completed in November 2007 put Blagojevich's approval rating among Illinois voters at 31.5%. In the same poll, 52% of voters said that they would vote to recall the governor if the Illinois Constitution allowed it.[13]

[edit] Federal Investigations

On December 30, 2005, it was reported that a leasing deal reached for occupants of the remodeled Illinois Tollway oasis had come under investigation by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. This is in addition to other investigations in the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Department of Corrections and the Department of Children and Family Services.[14] Investigations into other programs related to Illinois' Tollway System, specifically the delivery of I-Pass transponders, have also been announced.[15]

On June 30, 2006, it was revealed that state Attorney General Lisa Madigan had received a letter from United States Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, stating that Fitzgerald is looking into "very serious allegations of endemic hiring fraud" in the Blagojevich administration, and thanking Madigan for turning over her office's investigation to the federal authorities.[16]

In September 2006, it was revealed that Blagojevich had accepted a $1,500 check from Mike Ascaridis, whom the governor described as one of his closest friends, in 2003.[17] The check was given two weeks after Ascaridis' wife, Beverly, received a state job at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Mrs. Ascaridis received this appointment despite having failed a state hiring exam.[18] Blagojevich initially asserted that the check was written as a birthday gift to his oldest daughter. He then later said it was a gift for his younger daughter's christening.[19] U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald[20] and the FBI[21] are investigating the matter.

On October 2, 2006, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that a company that contributed close to $120,000 to Blagojevich's 2002 gubernatorial campaign won a no-bid contract. Even though the contract was awarded by the Illinois' Capital Development Board [22], the board still reports to the Governor.[23]

[edit] Tony Rezko indictment and trial

On October 11, 2006, Blagojevich fundraisers and businessmen Antonin "Tony" Rezko and Stuart Levine were indicted for participation in a scheme to obtain kickbacks from investment firms seeking business from two state boards. Levine pleaded guilty two weeks later and agreed to testify against Rezko.[24][25]

The governor's wife, Patricia Blagojevich, was a business partner of Rezko's for at least a decade. In 2004, she received over $38,000 in real estate commissions from him.[26]

In October 2006, it was revealed that Mrs. Blagojevich, a licensed real estate broker, earned $113,700 in commissions from Anita and Amrish Mahajan. These were the only commissions earned by Mrs. Blagojevich this year. Anita Mahajan owns a urinalysis company that holds a no-bid contract with the state Department of Children and Family Services. Amrish Mahajan is president of a bank that has two requests pending before state regulators to acquire two out-of-state banks.[27]

On November 27, 2006, a day after the indictment of lawyer Melvyn I. Weiss, "Friends of Blagojevich" returned a $10,000 contribution his campaign received from Milberg Weiss, records show that Blagojevich has not returned another $40,000 from Melvyn Weiss and other lawyers in Weiss' firm. Weiss paid $5,000 toward lodging, meals and entertainment for Blagojevich and others with him during the December 2003 trip to New York.[28]

In December 2007, Blagojevich campaign boss Chris Kelly was indicted on federal charges of tax fraud.[29] The charges against Kelly were not related to the governor or any political work. However, Kelly has been listed as a "co-schemer" in court filings related to the Rezko case. According to prosecutors, Kelly was involved in pressuring prospective state contractors for "finder's fees" or political contributions.[30] At the time of Rezko's indictment, Blagojevich described his relationship with Kelly: "They're two different people, by the way, and it's a different relationship. Chris and I are much closer. Chris is the head of my political campaign. That's someone I talk to a lot more frequently."[31]

Blagojevich was widely rumored to be the unnamed "Public Official A" mentioned in the Rezko indictment. The governor repeatedly denied that he was Public Official A, but on February 26, 2008, the judge in the case issued a ruling which confirmed his identity. A pretrial ruling in the case from U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve named the Blagojevich campaign and confirmed that Blagojevich was the intended beneficiary of at least one of Rezko's extortion attempts. Blagojevich was not charged in the indictment, although prosecutors have asserted in other court filings that he told a top Democratic fundraiser that he could steer contracts, legal work and investment banking in order to help with fundraising. [32] [33]

During the Rezko trial, Blagojevich's name came up frequently - first during testimony from Levine, who testified of Rezko's influence with the governor. Blagojevich was not charged in the case, but prosecutors sought to prove that his top advisers were involved in widespread kickback schemes. Levine mentioned Blagojevich by name at least 30 times in one day of testimony, and said under oath that he the governor told him, "[Y]ou stick with us and you'll do very well for yourself". Levine took the comment to mean that there was money to be made if he did the administration's bidding. A Blagojevich spokesperson denied that the governor was involved in any illegal activity, saying "Stuart Levine's assertions about the governor are wrong. As we've said before, that's not how the governor does business."[34]

On April 3, 2008, Levine testified that Blagojevich was aware of a shakedown involving businessman and movie producer Tom Rosenberg in 2004. Levine said that when Rosenberg threatened to go to the authorities over what he saw as an extortion attempt, Rezko and the governor worked out a "damage control" plan. Rosenberg would get the contract, but would get no further business from the state. Levine told the jury that Blagojevich approved of this plan and told Rezko that the contract was "the last thing that Mr. Rosenberg should get from the state". Blagojevich's office responded by again denying that any such conduct took place. "We don't endorse or allow the awarding of contracts based on campaign contributions. We never have. We never will." a spokesman for the governor said.[35][36]

Joseph Cari, Jr., the former finance chairman of the Democratic National Committee, testified that Blagojevich was at one time attempting to form a national fundraising presence in hopes of a run for President of the United States. Cari said that the governor told him that "contracts, legal work, investment banking work and consulting work" would be awarded to "people who helped". The governor's office again issued a denial after Cari's testimony.

On June 4, 2008, Rezko was convicted on 16 of the 24 counts against him. Facing decades in federal prison, it became clear that Rezko could cut his prison time significantly if he were to cooperate in ongoing investigations of other public figures, potentially including Blagojevich.[39]

__________________

"Seek truth from facts"

--Deng Xiaoping

On April 22, the former head of the Illinois Finance Authority (IFA) became the first person to accuse Blagojevich of personally offering a position in his administration in return for campaign contributions. Ali Ata pleaded guilty to one count of tax fraud and one count of making false statements to federal authorities.[40] In exchange for Ata's cooperation with the investigation, prosecutors dropped charges that he had used his IFA position to help Rezko sell his pizza franchises - a scheme for which Rezko was indicted separately from the bribery case.[41] In the plea agreement, Ata admitted to meeting with Rezko several times regarding fundraising efforts for Blagojevich's campaign, and discussing the possibility of a position with a state agency in return for the contributions. He further stated that Blagojevich was present at one such meeting in 2002, in which Ata presented a $25,000 campaign contribution. According to the plea agreement, Blagojevich expressed his "pleasure" with Ata's fundraising and "asked Rezko if he (Rezko) had talked to the Defendant [Ata] about positions in the administration, and Rezko responded that he had". Ata was eventually appointed to the IFA post, and further admitted to giving Rezko about $125,000 in bribes before and after his appointment.[40][42] Ata repeated these allegations on the witness stand at Rezko's trial.[43] The governor's office issued another denial, and continued to deny that Blagojevich was "Public Official A", despite Judge St. Eve's earlier confirmation. Prosectors later said that Ata was also prepared to testify that Rezko sought and received a $25,000 bribe in 2002 which Rezko claimed would be used to pay for repairs to Blagojevich's home.[44]

In the wake of Ata's guilty plea and accusations against Blagojevich, what had previously been only rumors of impeachment gained credibility when two State House Democrats told the Chicago Sun-Times that a decision on an impeachment resolution could be near. State representatives Jack Franks and John Fritchey said that the revelations made impeachment a real possibility. Fritchey, the representative from Blagojevich's home district in Chicago, explained that "We now find ourselves in a very different environment, where an individual has pled guilty to being a co-conspirator in transactions involving the governor." [45][46] Previously, a Republican group had urged impeachment proceedings due to "near-criminal mismanagement of the state's finances".

__________________

"Seek truth from facts"

--Deng Xiaoping