‘The Fix Was In’: Obama Donor Gets Sweetheart Real Estate Deal in Chicago
by Bob GoughWith much-publicized ties between President Barack Obama, the SEIU labor union and the ACORN volunteer organization, it would be a safe assumption that someone with a business relationship with not just one, but both of those groups would have an inside track on doing business with an Obama associate.
Credit: Christopher Woodward
But in the world of big money Democratic Chicago politics, there is a difference between white-collar clout and blue-collar clout.
Chicago real estate developer Thomas Bennett thought he had a deal in hand to purchase the old Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) building at 626 West Jackson, just blocks from Union Station. Bennett thought he was paying a fair price for the property as he had a written commitment from two tenants –SEIU and ACORN- to occupy office space in the building.
Bennett-Accepted Letter of Intent re Purchase of 626 West Jackson –
Bennett was dealing with Chicago Housing Authority Chairman Marty Nesbitt on the attempted purchased and put forth an offer of $9 million for the building.
“Occupancy in leasing or their purchasing a few floors that was the model but they were going to occupy,” Bennett said. “When you go in the market with a client, they know what their growth needs would be for a 10-year period. Absent that commitment, I’m not looking at that building. What made this a pragmatic deal was I had commitment from two credible users (SEIU and ACORN). Those don’t come down the road every day. It allowed me to put together a competitive bid. No way was someone going to compete with my bid.”
But Bennett didn’t put forth the winning bid. A company called Sterling Bay properties had the top bid. Actually, top bid is not the proper description. Sterling Bay won with a $7.7 million bid, $1.3 million less than Bennett’s $9 million offer.
“During my dealings, The CHA explained how important a quick, no-due-diligence close was to them,” Bennett said. “Yet they allowed the winning bidder to control the property for 5+ months before closing.”
You go with the highest bid with a party that has a good chance of closing the bid. As a life-long Chicagoan, this was disappointing. After the meeting, I put it in the rearview mirror and tried to move on.”
But later Bennett discovered Nesbitt also had another role: treasurer of the Obama Victory Fund.
Sterling Bay made a substantial campaign contribution ($28,500) to the Obama Victory Fund within months of the deal closing in late December 07. This $28,500 donation was after about $16,000 worth of campaign donations by Sterling Bay principals (Scott Goodman, Andrew Gloor and Craig Golden) to various Obama campaign funds going back to his U.S. Senate bid in 2004.
626 W Jackson – Sterling Bay Contributions – Timeline –
“Nesbit was clearly stonewalling, but he eventually got back to me,” Bennett said. “I wanted to meet days around Labor Day 2009…I couldn’t get on his calendar until after Thanksgiving (2009). I asked him ‘What did the building trade for?’ and he said $7.7 million, $1.3 million less than what we offered in the revised bid. That’s a substantial drop.”
“I went to my final CHA board meeting where Marty Nesbitt called me out in a very disrespectful manner in a room full of taxpayers. He said ‘You’re making a fool of yourself’ and I was amazed at how tolerant people were of this. At CHA they knew what was going on and they didn’t care. The fix was in.”
Credit: Christopher Woodward
Bennett went looking for the sale records for the building at the Cook County Recorder of Deeds Office and the City of Chicago Department of Revenue.
“(In August 2009) two bureaucrats in the office told me there was nothing listed about the sale price,” Bennett said. “I wondered why the property was being traded in such a non-transparent event. That’s when I contacted Marty Nesbit to see what was going on. That went nowhere. I have every right to know what it traded for.
He didn’t learn of the sale price until he finally tracked down Nesbitt in early September 2009. While Bennett couldn’t find a sale price immediately after the sale, the information was available when QuincyNews.org met with Bennett on a trip to Chicago a few weeks ago in November 2009.
“I just said thank you,” Bennett said. “(Nesbit) clearly doesn’t appear to be a Tom Bennett fan. Clearly there was steering going on. They were using every trick in the book to slant the process in favor of their desired winning bidder.”
Bennett was willing to move on, but something keeps nagging him about the deal.
“I put in the highest bid…a credible deal…and I lost to a party with a track record of contribution to Obama’s campaign and Nesbitt has a track record of being Obama’s money guy,” Bennett said. “Look at how political fundraising has evolved. This appears to be a very corrupt quid pro quo involving campaign contributions.”
“When the fix is in, the fix is in.”
Phone calls to the Chicago Housing Authority were not returned. A CHA spokesman issued a no comment in a 2007 piece in the Chicago Sun-Times on the matter.
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223 Comments
Are any of you surprised at this? This is how business is done in the People's Soviet of Chicago- Richie Daley, sole proprietor.
The CHA, Chicago, Obama, Daley, who is this naive guy Bennet.
He must have inherited that $9 million he used for this bid.
Yes, transparency at its best. Nothing like finally having your suspicions confirmed about what Obama and his buddies are really like. And where was the press in 2008? Too busy licking "The One" and digging through Palin's trash cans to do any decent vetting of our now illustrious president. I will never forget what the news media didn't do – their job.
Change you can belive in. If your name is Capone.
CHAnge…you can believe in. Too funny. You can't make this stuff up.
As Blago says: "The CHA Building is an f-in' valuable thing."
Well, not exactly, but that's what he would have said.
The real question is why a guy like Bennett would want to climb in bed with SEIU/ACORN/Project Vote.
AAhh, transparency. Is there anyone alive today that doesn't understand that when a politician says 1 thing he/she is probably doing the opposite?
Bennet gets the Inspector Louis Renault award … "Iam shocked, schocked I tell you"
And yet one STILL cannot call Obama what he REALLY is lest one's post be deleted.
What more can one expect from the Messiah II and his minions. This is just another example of how dishonest any and everything has to do with our president. Barry Barack, Acorn and SEIU strike again. And you thought the government was of and for the people.
What comes around, goes around.
These people will eventually pay for this illegal activity.
You can cheat people without getting slimmed yourself.
Ask them how they sleep, especially now that the deal has come to light.
How quickly will our Attorney General Holder prosecute this ??? sadly never !!!
Well, this is no surprise and just the beginning of how corrupt Obama is – He's deceitful, manipulative and a liar – and it only gets worse.
I think we could save a lot of money if we just built a wall around Chicago and called it a penitentiary.
The people are waking up fast. Americans wont play this game and will simply make a clean sweep in the next election. Progressives are very evil people that always think they know better than others. In their minds the end justifies the means. It's going to get much uglier before this is over.
Chicago Politics at their finest. The bidding process (or lack of) is becoming a joke in the public sector. If there was full disclosure of the conflicts of interests, I'm not sure anything could be done except leaving the names off the bids and evaluating the pros and cons from their offers. This assumes that the CHA actually reviewed the other bids.
Rodney Dangerfield (Thornton Melon) was accurate in his description of how to do business…
"First of all, you have to grease the local politicians."
as my mom used to say, what can you expect from a pig but a grunt. Obama and his cronies have been corrupt from the beginning and will be until the end
Obama and his buddies are the most corrupt politicians we have ever had, and that is saying alot!
I guess Mr. Bennett needed to be reminded who's wearing the Jack Boots, and upon who's throat they belong…Poor bastard.
Mr Bennett's whining about his lost bid however is kind of like somebody calling the cops because somebody stole their bag of weed…Keep your nose clean, and keep your dealings forthright, and there is usually little to worry about…!
I tried.
Computer fried.
This happens all over the place. We lost a bid to operate the Thousand Island Resort many years ago because of a literal last minute (morning of the deadline date) offer from arelative of a NY state representative. The guy had zero experience in operating such a property and promptly proved it by turning a fine resort into a pig sty.
Better to not play in the mud with politicians if one can avoid it.
Weiss, Moran, Capone, Daily, and Obama.
And yet, as obvious as this is, there will be nothing done.
Kathryn, Kathleen and Chris, this is exactly why I hate Chicago and refused to move there.
You keep getting in put where the sun doesn't shine, and keep believing the people of Chicago are good.
Here Mark, let me take a stab at it. This administration is nothing more than a bunch of ghetto gangsters. They know less about integrity than they know about economics, except of course when it comes to pimp economics, the use of others for one's own benefit.
I suspect that very few of the morons who voted for this trash can read, but on the chance that any are reading this, "Shame on all of you. Get educated. Stop being useful idiots. Stop voting based on slogans and color! Stop destroying our country!"
A serious culling should occur.
[...] Read more…. [...]
Now we know what "change" BHO meant, from honesty to corruption. LOLROF
The real story here is the lack of a story in the mainstream media – this should be a 60 Minutes piece, instead, we have nothing. As conservatives, we neeed to AVOID the mainstream media, that means no network TV, no Hollywood (what is 'Avatar' but US bad indian good movie?) etc. We've done it and are happier as a result – who needs that poison? Thank God people are waking up, but NOTHING will change until the mainstream media has been defanged – and that means it needs to be REPLACED. Support conservative media!
Mark – I will. He's a snake oil salesman.
I would say a crook , but unfortunately I don't have the hard evidence at my fingertips, so I can't openly make that accusation, but I think his associations and dealing are suspect at the VERY LEAST. I don't think there's any question left that he is a sleazy politician just like most of the rest of them. So much for "changing how business is done" in politics.
Obama = ACORN
Every single thing he is even remotely related to is thoroughly corrupt.
P.S. Eli is right – this is going to be ugly, but the ugliness will be all from the liberals, as they see their power slipping. AVOID mainstream media – I wish talk radio would promote that message…..
Hello…Hello…. Mainstream media? Anybody home?
The Palin Justice Dept. will investigate EVERYTHING come January 2012!!!!!!!!
how do they sleep? like babies. when you have no conscience, no morals, and no ethics, it's easy…
It seems that every minute of everyday more corrupt government crap bubbles to the surface. When is enough, enough? This will never end until we end it. As the saying goes, "There's no time like the present."
Surprised no. Sickened yes.
When do we get to round up these thugs …………….
I wonder how Barry O will spend the unspent stimulus money – look for it in a democratic campaign treasure chest near you. These guys are corrupt to the core. The only Change barry understands is the change he gets from some tax payers hands or the change he puts into one of his croney's pockets
This is like the old "Electric Authority" building in Moscow that was actually a den of spies and kgb torturers…
How many of you posters voted for this asshole? If so, shame on you for having been duped by him and his friendly media. You should have done better homework to see thru his charade. It's your own fault. There was 40+ million of us who already knew that this guy was really bad and voted for Mc Cain. While Mc Cain had his warts, at least he is honest. You believe got snookered and now you are mad. Look in the friggin mirror and promise to do better next time.
So, on the one hand, Obama is a crook in Acorn's and the unions' pockets–that's why he took time out from his campaign and presidency to personally make sure the CHA accepted someone else's bid…to fix a $ 9million local property sale. Of course, the article makes no express factual connection to Obama at all, and any implied connection would be that he acted against his own 'gang members' as some of you so quaintly put your ghetto-spin on it. Either way, one more instance of you teabagging wingnuts going 'round the bend…
I`m sure Obama is not invoved in this.Just a right wing attack.It was Bush`s fault.HALIBURTAN,Karl Rove,it`s racisim,you don`t like a black president.
Cross-blogged at http://www.repubx.com – the first in news and home to IntelliFETCH Search – check it out!
why are you censoring comments?
JimBob – you are getting one side of the story. I understand the wanting to bash Obama over everything, but I am a lender/developer in real estate and have dealt with Chicago developers in work outs and foreclosures before. We are missing a major part to this story. You can think everyone is on the take and everyone is underhanded except this lowly Chicagoan developer, but you'd be foolishly sticking your head in the sand. You don't just lose to a lower bid. There is something more to the story that isn't being told here.
see the book titled Media Malpractice.
repeat every day. Politicians are corrupt. They lie and steal. This is who you trust to tell the truth about 9/11, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Al Qaeda, your tax dollars, Goldman Sachs Bailouts etc.
To s.ay "Oh well we should have been bore careful" isn't good enough. We need to investigate Obama and his cronies and throw them in prison if they were involved in illegal activities. For that matter, prosecute every scumbag who holds public office and has practiced any type of illegal activity. New times call for a new set of rules. Libs wanted to prosecute Bush. It you can find out he did something comparable to Obama, throw his butt in the clink. Status Quo has got to go!
KEEP on LYING OBAMA and all of your dirty little friends. Karma is a funny thing … ask your new buddy and personal golf coach Tiger! We will all continue to pray for you – not that you need any divine intervention to continue FAILING. Nice job whacko's – Hoax and Chains and FUBO
Anyone who read Fredoso's excellent The Case Against Barack Obama knew that he was up to his eyelashes in crooked Chicago politics and influence peddling. Without doubt the most fraudulent individual to occupy the Oval Office, leaving even Clinton in the dust.
You mean a propped up stuffed shirt, that was ill prepared to be a US Senator let alone the President of the United States?
This transaction should be stopped until the policy can look into this. It looks like crime may have been commented against the Chicago Taxpayer.
Were is Liz Madigan States Attorney on this one.
Anyone else notice that the revolving fix was in? Future occupants and tenants, SEIU and ACORN??
All These Commie thugs need to be exported permanently, all of them starting with the community organizer in chief!
I suspect we will find this is standard operating procedure for the SEIU dealt Marxist rot that has taken over in DC.
About as quickly as Molasses moves on a cold Winters day…………………………Hanzo
whats wrong with everyone? can't you see this is Bush and big businesses fault!
Here Mark, let me take a stab at it. This administration is nothing more than a bunch of ghetto gangsters. They know less about integrity than they know about economics, except of course when it comes to pimp economics, the use of others for one's own benefit.
I suspect that very few of the morons who voted for this trash can read, but on the chance that any are reading this, "Shame on all of you. Get educated. Stop being useful idiots. Stop voting based on slogans and color! Stop destroying our country!"
what do you expect look what we have in the house .can't wait until he is the hell out..,
What a crook. Somebody should just hand Obama the violin case with the tommy gun inside. maybe he's not reading the teleprompter but repeatedly checking the exit doors for a rival gang hit.
"There is something more to the story that isn't being told here. "
Ya think…?
Stop your WHINING! That's just how we roll THE MACHINE – htttp://www.LIVESHOT.cc
YES WE CON!
YES WE CON! http://www.FATBOY.cc
HOW THE MSM WILL PORTRAY THIS…."No news here folks, move along….None of your business anyway…" Our top story tonight, President Obama lassoes the moon!"
When are these people going to jail……Where is the FBI or the Justice Dept. ?
How long are the American people going to stand for this corruption and outright theft?
Ought to be a criminal lawsuit in this, ASAP
Can you smeeeeeell what Barack is cookin'?
This needs to be publicly investigated at the Congressional level. If the DC crooks of my former party stonewall, the Republicans should hold their own public hearing on this. The corrupt Chicago criminals involved here need to be arrested, indicted, arraigned, tried, convicted and incarcerated after paying a collective 10 million dollars in fines. ACORN and SEIU are criminalized organizations, as are CHA officials. These people are among the at least 10,000 corrupt Democrats who need arresting and jailing once civilized Americans throw out our corrupt President's DC/Chicago-style criminals in November.
Nothing to see here. Move on. It looks much cleaner than expected for some reason.
Not only did Obama outright lie about changing how the government fundamentally operates, but he is the worst abuser of all preceding presidents when it comes to making sweetheart deals! This is probably the most corrupt presidential administration in history and there have been corrupt administrations before this one for sure! However, we must remember that organized crime was always the best in Chicago in the honor of Alphonso Capone! However, I think it's Irish this time?
Sure! losing to a lower bid is not out of the ordinary Joey and let's leave Obama out of this deal (he wouldn't know what was going on in all this… party of the first and party of the second part thing anyway). But come on Joey…… the CHA, Mayor Daley and campaign contributions?
KSM & his bunch will be arriving from Cuba soon. That doesn't sound like a bad idea.
Since this is now news, would it be inappropriate to challenge the sale in the Illinois state court? Doesn't the Chicago Housing Authority act as an agent of the state, and would they not (theoretically at least) be responsible to act in the best interest of the state? I know that graft, corruption, fraud and other words are simply synonyms for Chicago, but where are the viable news agencies like the National Enquirer, Daily Tribune, New York Times, MSNBC, CNN, and Marvel Comics when we need them to get out the news in an honest and forthright manner? Maybe Richard Burris will look into this after he finishes buying whatever properties he wants when he returns in December. By the way, has anyone looked into real estate sales by the rest of Obama staffers?
As I said previously, this is the most corrupt presidency in history and Nixon even had to leave office! I guess in honor of Alphonso Capone, the mob does it best in Chicago! Talk about blackmail!
Ya, but first let me call the other three Republicans in this town, so we can get out of here.
They can now do as they like; we gave them permission by that landslide “mandate” election.
Like another loser so famously said: “You lost, get over it.”
Well if this were under Bush you'd have Olberman lighting himself on fire every Monday through Friday. But because it's Obama, instead we should focus on how terrible George Bush was, and at how dumb Sarah Palin is. Quick, what’s that over there?
Chicago deserves the Cubs.
God damned lying thieves; especially bama!!!
Will NBC discuss this sleaze??? How about CBS, NYT, ABC?? Of course not.
For all of you new comers out there – to the Chicago Way – - let me remind you:
1. YOU VOTED HIM IN, and
2. MILLENIUM PARK = SIX HUNDRED MILLION IN STEALING.. S. T. E. A. L. I. N. G.
when are YOU PEOPLE IN CHICAGO GOING TO WAKE THE F UP?
i left twenty five years ago and NEVER went back once
RIGHT ON!!!!!!!
IMPEACH THE WHOLE ADMINISTRATION! This doesn't surprise me but it makes me grossed out more than I was before as to why Americans who voted for this lot of crooks didn't figure this was going to happen before the election.
Well known Chicago business/politics dictum: We don't want nobody, nobody sent.
As Jesse says, "I am somebody." That's how it works because the cash on the table means nothing.
Chicago Motto: Ubi Est Mea — Translation: Where's Mine?
Did you ever have any doubts.
Obama provers once again that he favors OBAMA and not the United States of America.
Way to go their OBIWON
We might as well just refer to ourselves as a 3rd world country…..We are already behaving like them in so many ways…..What really "Galls" me is that these a$$holes carry-out all this corruption in "Plain sight" and then get away with it!! Joe-6-Pack would be doing a 20 yr stretch at Joliett for this CRIME!!! What a terrible example of 'Character & Integrity' we are sending to the next generation!!
Oh, the final and most important part of this play is that the building will be flipped so the buyer can quickly realize the $1.3 million they underpaid for the property. They aren't in the game just to collect rent. This is how Chicago works. We need a boatload of independent prosecutors.
Wow Wow Wow…does any honest person in the US have a chance against the corrupt and lying Obama administration. Somewhere somehow the real of law must come into play. it realy does disgust me to constantly read of the power plys of this new administration. This is NOT the America I know and love.
I totally concur!!! I have shunned EVERY bit of mainstream BS and am a much happier, more well informed person. It is POISON! The day of reckoning is coming!
Again folks, WE ARE BIG BROTHER, NOW! Before the internet / information age, we would likely not have known about this and many other stories. Washington just did what it wanted. NO MORE. Get your friends, relatives- even people you don't like, involved in knowing what is going on in our government. It's so unbelievably corrupt that I truly resent having to pay taxes!! You should see the numbers on HOW MANY of our representatives went to the Global Warming Summit, (FOR A COMPLETE HOAX, NO LESS), and how much EACH ONE of them spent on hotel, airfare, food, etc. It's staggering.
How many people got sweetheart deals around Obama?? Countless. Acorn, Chicago Thugs, Do-Nothing-Suck-Off-The-Taxypayer-Union workers and on and on. Not all unions are corrupt but too many are. It is my understanding that unions paid 60 MILLION to Obama's campaign.
I've been reading about the middle ages a lot recently and honestly, our present government is not a lot different from the way it was run then. Our representatives are PUBLIC SERVANTS, NOT THE ELITE CLASS!!! They make way too much money and don't you DARE tell me that "we have to pay them enough to get the best and brightest" because if you think Pelosi, Reid, Schumer, Charley Rangel, etc., are the best and brightest, THERE IS NO HOPE for saving this country!
This is one of the reasons I'll be moving out of Chicago in the next 10 months. In addition to 10.250% sales tax, $16,000 a year property tax bill, and nothing the bunch or ignorant crooks running my local mafia….uhhh, I mean "local government". 7 years in this great city, but the stench is getting to be too much….
Marty Nesbit should get the Nobel prize for this. Maybe someone can nominate him.
Obamanomics: Handing out YOUR tax dollars to buy votes and
pay for political favors. The Chicago way is now the Belway way.
Mike
Because he probably figured dealing with Obama people, having SEIU and ACORN backing would be good for brownie points. And it probably would've, if the other bidder hadn't made a pile of campaign contributions.
What I want to know is why this cr@p is never reported on the three major news networks? What a joke!!!! Corruption at it's finest.
WOW BATMAN WHO WOULD HAVE THUNK IT. AND TO THINK I WAS THE ONLY ONE TO KNOW HE WAS A CROOK. OH WELL I AM FROM NEW JERSEY MAYBE THATS WHY.
Wake up America – this is a mere sampling of the kind of corruption that Obama and his henchman will bring to every agenda pursued by this administration: bribary, deceit, thuggery and vindictiveness.
It's like Capone and his cronies never died.
Democrats should be ashamed of themselves.
Don't hold your breath.
OBAMA NOMICS. A building that is worth 9 million gets sold for 1.3 million less to YO Buddies, and you wonder why our ecomony is in the dirt, LOL. Chicago, Chicken on the Car, Car on the Go…I thought you people from Chi Town were smart and tough. More like stupid and fools, LOL. Ho by the way I have some beach front property in Alaska if you want for a great price…..
The Famous Ellie Light?!?!? The "traveling nurse".?..you are a repeated joke! Here's a little 'note-to-the-wise', people are laughing at you…and not in a good way!
The culture of corruption in the OhBymmer Wrecking Crew is arrogant, astonishing, astounding. Somewhere, somehow, OhBummer or a relative or a crony will get something more out of this besides the $28K campaign war-chest bribe.
You hit the nail on the head with that!
You asking how many of us voted for him? Not me – not on your life.
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