Disgraced Chicago businessman Tony Rezko was quietly moved out of solitary confinement last December, the U.S. Marshal in Chicago confirmed. Rezko, who has been cooperating with prosecutors in a massive corruption investigation, was moved after complaining about the conditions of his imprisonment. The move is something of a reward for his cooperation. (Chicago Sun-Times)
A campaign ad from former Sen. Tom Daschle’s 1986 Senate run shows that the South Dakotan once prided himself on driving his own beat-up Pontiac around Washington D.C. Obama’s nominee for the Secretary of Health and Human Services withdrew his nomination after tax problems relating to his use of a car and driver provided by a private equity firm came to light. (ABC News)
An upcoming report by the Migration Policy Institute will target a popular program run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The program, designed to capture illegal immigrants with outstanding criminal records, padded its numbers by shifting its focus towards easier targets. (New York Times)
Wells Fargo, a U.S. bank and one of the largest recipients of bailout money, cancelled a Las Vegas junket amid criticism that the company was misusing bailout money. The company had booked 12 nights each at two popular Las Vegas hotels and initially defended the event because it included a four day sales conference. (Associated Press)
A senior Homeland Security official in Boston has been indicted for encouraging her housekeeper, a known illegal immigrant, to remain in the U.S. Lorraine Henderson was the Boston area port director for Homeland Security and was responsible for much of New England. Henderson allegedly continued to employ the woman even after a fellow agent warned her against doing it in 2006. (Associated Press)
Lawyers for former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik will try to have some of the charges against their client thrown out citing the statute of limitations. Kerik is charged with lying to the White House, filing false tax returns, and accepting free apartment renovations in exchange for recommending the same company for city contracts. Defense lawyers have argued more broadly that the White House vetting process was too vague to accuse Kerik of lying. (Associated Press)
