A witness talking about kickbacks in the Tony Rezko trial says insider controlled deals.
Longtime investor Sheldon Pekin said Rezko associate Stuart Levine promised to line up future deals with him on a $30 billion dollar investment board if Pekin kicked back money. Pekin's firm won a $50 million investment from the Teachers' Retirement Systems board.
So Pekin shared with Levine's designees a $375,000 fee.
But Levine's promise didn't come through. Pekin ran into some trouble with another investment attempt, he said today.
Pekin asked Levine, who served as a board member, why that firm wasn't on the agenda for the next board meeting.
“Back off,” Pekin said Levine told him. "He said to back off, not to pursue it."
Did Levine explain why?
“I received no suitable explanation.”
Prosecutors have said that proposed investment set off red flags to officials within the retirement system.
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