Luis Gutierrez made $420,000 on real estate deals with political contributors (FBI involved)

U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez made $420,000 on a series of speculative real estate deals, some involving political contributor and Chicago real estate developer Krzysztof Karbowski. And, the FBI is at least looking into some of Gutierrez' past activities:

Gutierrez sent a letter to Mayor Richard Daley seeking support for a controversial project built by one of the congressman's political donors who also had lent him money. The newspaper reported that federal authorities investigating zoning matters have shown interest in the Gutierrez letter... The FBI has obtained the letter Gutierrez wrote in July 2004 to Daley. Gutierrez, a former alderman and 1st Ward Democratic committeeman, wrote the letter on behalf of developer Calvin Boender. Months earlier, Boender had lent the congressman $200,000 in a land deal...

The level of interest is key, and it would be great if they're specifically trying to get Gutierrez on something.

Nitty gritty details here, and note that one of the contributors Gutierrez did a deal with was Tony Rezko, former bagman for Barack Obama.

Politics · Mon, 12/08/2008 - 21:38 · · Importance: 9