Levine needed Rezko's help persuading Blagojevich to resist an effort to consolidate several state boards. In return, they agreed to divide kickbacks. Meanwhile, Levine pressured board consultants to give Blagojevich large campaign contributions in return for state business.
During Rezko's trial this year, his attorneys tried to discredit Levine, saying he had a $25,000-a-month drug habit and routinely gathered with five male friends at the Purple Hotel in suburban Lincolnwood to go on binges using LSD, cocaine, crystal meth and even an animal tranquilizer known as ketamine.
Jeffrey Steinback, an attorney for Levine, said, "I'm extremely fond of Stuart, and I am proud of the commitment he's made to cooperate, despite the personal cost."
The Path to Blagojevich
Throughout the Democratic presidential primaries, Rezko's trial on fraud, money-laundering and bribery charges offered a sobering picture of state business under the Blagojevich administratio