The 50-year-old Purple Hotel, once a destination for celebrity guests like Perry Como, Michael Jordan and Barry Manilow, will be razed later today. It has been closed since 2007.
April 1, 2008 BY NATASHA KORECKI AND CHRIS FUSCO Staff Reporters
Daylong, drug-fueled parties at the Purple Hotel in Lincolnwood and sometimes in Springfield. Snorting crystal meth and "Special K." Stuart Levine, the star witness at businessman and political fund-raiser Tony Rezko's corruption trial, told jurors Monday the drugs would make him "euphoric" and lower his inhibitions as he partied all night with five other men.
"I would stay out all night," said Levine, testifying that he hid his behavior "in order to deceive my family."
Stuart Levine (inset) testified that he took part in daylong, drug-fueled parties at the Purple Hotel (shown in 2006) in Lincolnwood. (Sun-Times Library/AP) RELATED STORIES Blog: Eye on Rezko More on the Tony Rezko trial REZKO TRIAL HIGHLIGHTS Star witness Stuart Levine admitted to frequent drug parties and described a meeting at which he said he and Tony Rezko agreed on a split of illicit kickbacks. Today: Levine is expected to talk about a shakedown scheme involving powerful political insiders.
It was the second time Levine's drug use came up in his testimony. But Monday he gave jurors a more extensive look at drug abuse he said cost him $1 million over four years and offered a peek into what Rezko's lawyers have labeled Levine's "secret life." They've said they plan to use Levine's drug use to attack his credibility.
Levine said at times he'd take leftover drugs from parties to his offices at the Hancock Building and in his Deerfield office and snort "a couple of lines."
"I'd prepare them in lines a ½-inch long and very, very narrow," Levine testified, adding that he paid for all the drugs at the parties, spending about $1,000 each time.
He said he took the drugs at his Highland Park home only "on very rare occasions." Why? "I didn't wish to be caught," he said. "We had a housekeeper, children and my wife all coming in and out of the house."
His admissions about drug use came on the same day Levine described an April 2004 meeting with Rezko in which he said the two men divvied up millions of dollars in kickbacks for state business. Levine testified he reserved a private room on the fourth floor of the exclusive Standard Club downtown. Levine said he asked the waiter not to interrupt and drew up in his notes how he'd split a series of fees paid by firms seeking to do state business.
Levine had many of the firms lined up to get hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of investments from state boards, including one on which Levine sat. Levine said he wanted to cut Rezko in on finder's fees from these firms because "I wanted to further ingratiate myself."
The 62-year-old Highland Park businessman has pleaded guilty to corruption and fraud involving state boards. Rezko, 52, of Wilmette, is accused of scheming with Levine to split kickbacks tied to those boards.
By the end of the meeting at the Standard Club, Rezko agreed to $3.9 million as his cut in a series of illicit kickbacks, Levine testified. Prosecutors showed a receipt from that night and played tapes showing Levine made arrangements to meet with Rezko.
"I told Mr. Rezko that there was an opportunity for a lot of money to be made," Levine said. "I wanted Mr. Rezko to understand the magnitude of what could be done with these companies."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Niewoehner asked how Rezko reacted.
"He asked me what needed to be done in order to accomplish them," Levine said.
"Did Mr. Rezko ask you if it would be legal for him to receive those fees?" Niewoehner asked.
"No, sir," said Levine.
More highlights from Levine’s testimony Monday Star witness Stuart Levine also testified Monday that:
• He worked with political power broker William Cellini to convince Tony Rezko and Christopher Kelly, another adviser to and fund-raiser for Gov. Blagojevich, that three major state pension funds shouldn’t be consolidated into one, as Blagojevich budget chief John Filan had proposed. At first, Blagojevich seemed to back Filan, Levine said Cellini told him. But ultimately the pension boards weren’t consolidated.
In exchange for their killing the consolidation plan, Levine said he agreed to work with Rezko and Kelly to help direct state business for investment firms that the two of them would choose.
“What is your understanding of why Mr. Rezko and Mr. Kelly would recommend investment firms?” Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Niewoehner asked Levine.
“In order to reward campaign contributors” to Blagojevich, Levine replied.
• He held sway over state Teachers’ Retirement System board decisions because he controlled the agency’s executive director, Jon Bauman. Levine, who headed the TRS board’s personnel committee, said he let Bauman write his own job-performance reviews, which enabled Bauman to get bigger raises and other perks.
But Levine said he grew frustrated with Bauman in 2004, when Bauman didn’t act quickly on investment moves Levine was pushing.
“Jon has a couple of personality traits that are problematic: arrogance and stupidity,” Levine said in a secretly recorded call in April 2004.
In an interview Monday, Howard Feldman, an attorney for Bauman, defended his client, who remains TRS’ executive director.
“The board met and considered the evaluation of Mr. Bauman’s performance,” Feldman said. “They renewed his contract. And, in fact, not a single dollar was lost or an inappropriate investment made.”
• When he relayed to Rezko concerns he had about a new ethics ordinance that Blagojevich had pushed through the General Assembly in 2003, “Mr. Rezko told me nobody of any consequence was going to pay attention to the ethics ordinance. It was there just for show.”
Blagojevich, who isn’t facing any criminal charges, has said he “is not following” the Rezko trial, and “it would be inappropriate for me to comment on a trial I'm not a party in.”
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