[Vision2020] Fraudulent Property Appraisals — Change You Can Believe IN

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Complaint hits Rezko land deal
Fired official says appraisal replaced
Jerry Seper (Contact)
Saturday, October 18, 2008

A former Illinois bank official, now claiming whistleblower status,
says bank officials replaced a loan reappraisal that he prepared for a
Chicago property that was purchased by the wife of now-convicted felon
Tony Rezko, part of which was later sold to next-door neighbor Barack
Obama.

In a complaint filed Thursday in the Circuit Court of Cook County,
Kenneth J. Connor said that his reappraisal of Rita Rezko's property
was replaced with a higher one and that he was fired when he
questioned the document.

Mr. Connor, a real estate and commercial credit analyst at the Mutual
Bank Corp. in Chicago, also noted in the complaint that the bank
received a grand jury subpoena in October 2006 requiring it to produce
information concerning Mrs. Rezko's purchase, including the bank's
files on the property.

The complaint also said that the grand jury wanted information on Mrs.
Rezko's checking account and loan file and that the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corp. (FDIC) had audited the Rezko file — although Mr.
Connor's lower reappraisal had been replaced with a higher amount.

"Connor's internal whistle-blowing activity at Mutual Bank implicates
Mutual Bank and the potentially guilty officers thereof to prosecution
under federal and Illinois statutes," said the complaint, filed by
attorney Glenn R. Gaffney.

The complaint said Mutual Bank officials could be guilty of making
false statements, willfully overvaluing property, bank fraud, witness
retaliation, willful violation of a lawful subpoena, FDIC violations,
and state banking regulations.

Mr. Gaffney, contacted at his office, declined to elaborate but
confirmed that the complaint had been filed.

"It says what it says," said Mr. Gaffney of Glendale Heights, Ill.

According to the complaint, Mr. Connor reviewed the appraisal of the
Rezko property by another firm, Adams Appraisal, which had set the
value at $625,000. Mr. Connor's complaint said that he told his bosses
in a report that the property had been overvalued by at least $125,000
and that a "reasonable and fair evaluation" should have been no
greater than $500,000.

Later, the complaint states, Mr. Connor observed that his lower
appraisal was not in the Rezko file and that he notified his
supervisors that it had been replaced. He said, according to the
complaint, the new file had been reviewed by the FBI and "if the FBI
were to ask me about such matters, I would tell them the truth. I
never rescinded my original findings."

Critics of Mr. Obama's dealings with Rezko charge that the senator may
have gotten a deal on his property purchase, noting that Mrs. Rezko
paid the full asking price for her property on an adjacent lot. Both
of which were sold by a single seller. Mr. Obama bought his house for
$1.65 million — $300,000 below the asking price.

When the property was sold, Mr. Obama knew Rezko was under
investigation on fraud charges.

The complaint said the Rezko loan was approved by Mutual Bank
President and CEO Amrish Mahajan and others so that Mrs. Rezko could
buy a 9,090-square-foot vacant parcel of real estate. It said that in
January 2006, Mrs. Rezko and Mr. Obama, along with his wife Michelle,
signed an agreement to sell a 10-foot strip of the property to the
Obamas. At that point, according to the complaint, Mr. Connor's firm
asked him to conduct the reappraisal.
The complaint said Mr. Connor is seeking $4.2 million for compensatory
damages, plus unspecified punitive damages.

Rezko was a key supporter and donor throughout Mr. Obama's political
career, with the Illinois Democrat estimating that Rezko raised
$250,000 for his various political campaigns, though not for his
presidential bid. The two were friends who talked frequently about
politics and occasionally dined out together with their wives.

Rezko was convicted this summer on federal charges of using his clout
with state government to squeeze kickbacks out of firms wanting to do
business with the state. The charges did not involve Mr. Obama. Rezko
is now cooperating with federal prosecutors in a continuing probe of
corruption in Illinois government.

Mr. Obama consulted Rezko, a real estate developer, before buying his
home in 2005.

As a state senator, Mr. Obama wrote letters endorsing government
support of a Rezko housing project for senior citizens. Obama aides
say he was simply supporting a project that would help residents of
his district, not doing a favor for a friend.
Jennifer Haberkorn contributed to this article.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/18/whistleblower-hits-obama-friends-appraisal/