March 30--More than a decade after he was indicted and fled overseas, a former associate of convicted political insider Antoin "Tony" Rezko was back in a federal courtroom in Chicago on Tuesday to plead guilty to charges stemming from a sports betting operation he ran in the 1990s.
But proceedings for Alber Najjar were abruptly halted after questions were raised about whether the Syrian-born businessman was a U.S. citizen. If not, he likely faces deportation upon conviction of a felony.
"I think that it would be very wise to make sure," U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman said after Najjar's lawyer, Edward Genson, asked for more time to look into his client's residency status. Guzman reset the case to next month.
Najjar, 61, was arrested in the island nation of Cyprus last October, records show. He was extradited to Chicago last month and has since been held without bail at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in the Loop.
Court records show Najjar was indicted in April 2004 on charges accusing him of failing to declare more than $2.8 million of income stemming from a sports betting operation he ran in Chicago. A warrant was issued for Najjar's arrest that June after he failed to appear for arraignment.
Two years after he fled, Najjar was mentioned in a Tribune article detailing the close circle of Rezko business investors and their relatives who had received jobs and appointments to influential state posts under the administration of then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Najjar was an investor in several of Rezko's food and real estate businesses and also ran his own import company and another business from offices leased in Rezko's headquarters building on North Elston Avenue, the Tribune reported. Najjar's daughter was also an employee of the state's Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
In 2008, while Rezko was on bond awaiting trial on corruption charges, Najjar's name again made news after it was revealed that Rezko had concealed a $3.5 million wire payment from Lebanon that he'd used to pay debts as well as reimburse friends who'd posted their homes and other collateral for his bail. About $20,000 had been paid to Najjar, the Tribune reported.
The wire payment led to the federal judge revoking Rezko's bond.
A longtime political fundraiser and power broker, Rezko was convicted of wire fraud and bribery as part of the massive investigation dubbed Operation Board Games, which ultimately ensnared Blagojevich himself. A jury found that Rezko had conspired with Republican businessman Stuart Levine and other political insiders to extort kickbacks from firms seeking state business.
Rezko was sentenced to 10 1/2 years in federal prison. He was released to a halfway house last June.
Najjar appeared in court Tuesday dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit and glasses. He glanced briefly toward the courtroom gallery, where about a dozen family members were sitting in support.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick King told the judge Najjar faces up to six years in prison on the two counts he intended to plead guilty to. If finalized, his 18-page plea agreement calls for restitution of about $1.1 million.
jmeisner@tribpub.com
