Showdown at Clout Corner: Rezko, pals made millions on Home Depot deal
The mayor wouldn’t let Rezko, Dan Mahru and Ali Ata build townhomes at Addison and Kimball on Chicago’s Northwest Side.
Rather than fight City Hall, Rezko and his partners sold the 10-acre site to Home Depot — represented by developer Michael Marchese, a friend of the mayor’s.
Rezko and his partners paid $7.9 million for the vacant land in September 2001. Eleven months later, they sold it to Home Depot for $12.5 million — a 40 percent profit.
The sale infuriated neighbors who didn’t want a busy store on the corner where an envelope factory had operated for decades.
Now, the deal is under federal investigation, a source familiar with the probe said. “There’s a further case against Tony Rezko. It involves this property,” the source said.