Steve Rhodes, "Jeopardy," Chicago Magazine, December 2005
Dave McKinney, "Biden Has Deep Ties To Rezko Accomplice," Chicago Sun-Times, 8/25/08
Joseph Cari Was A Senior Managing Director For Integration Capital & Trade Inc. "Cari is a senior managing director of Integration Capital & Trade, an investment company with offices in New York and the Middle East, according to the company's Web site. A former finance chairman of the Democratic National Committee, he is cooperating with the feds in their probe of state government corruption." (Tim Novak, "Travelin' Man," Chicago Sun-Times, 1/3/08)
- Integration Capital & Trade Inc. Provides Investment Banking Services To Merchant Family Groups And US/EU Middle Market Companies. "ICT is a first-in-class financial advisor and arranger of investments (i.e. investment bank) for merchant family business holding groups ('Merchant Family Groups') which are middle-market organizations in the GCC countries of Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait, and middle-market companies from the United States ('US') and European Union ('EU') seeking investment from joint venture or agency relationships with Merchant Family Groups in order to meet the growing need for Western technology and know-how in the GCC." (Integration Capital & Trade Inc. Website, www.integrationcap.com, Accessed 8/25/08)
Joe Cari Pleaded Guilty To One Count Of Attempted Extortion In The Rezko Trial. "Levine's plans largely involved having asset management firms pay finder's fees to consultants he would select in exchange for Levine arranging business with the Illinois Teachers' Retirement System, the pension panel on which he served. One $80 million deal involved JER Partners of Virginia. Levine worked the JER arrangement through Democratic fundraiser Joe Cari, who has pleaded guilty to one count of attempted extortion in the case." (Bob Secter and Jeff Coen, "Levine Details Attempts To Get Kickbacks: Witness Says He Tried, Failed To Get Kickback," Chicago Tribune, 4/2/08)
- "In 2005, Cari Admitted To Taking Part In An $850,000 Kickback Scheme That Prosecutors Say Was Part Of A Larger Political Fund-Raising Operation For Gov. Blagojevich Overseen By Rezko, Who Was Convicted In June Of Wide-Ranging Corruption Involving State Deals." (Dave McKinney, "Biden Has Deep Ties To Rezko Accomplice," Chicago Sun-Times, 8/25/08)
- "Cari Alleged That Former Pension Board Member Stuart Levine Had Told Him That A Public Official -- The Latest 'Public Official A' -- And Two Associates Were In On The Scheme. Sources Cited In Other Chicago Media Have Said That Blagojevich Is The Public Official Whom Levine Accused, And That The Two Associates Were Blagojevich Fundraisers Antoin 'Tony' Rezko And Christopher G. Kelly." (Kevin McDermott, "Blagojevich inquiry has parallels to Ryan case," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 9/10/06)
- "Cari Has Pleaded Guilty To Aiding Levine In The Attempted Extortion Of A Virginia Investment Firm Whose Business Was Supposed To Be Contingent On The Awarding Of A Lucrative Finder's Fee To An Associate Of Rezko. Cari Detailed The Scheme For Jurors Tuesday As Prosecutors Sought To Corroborate Levine's Earlier Testimony." (Chris Fusco, "Rezko Witness: Gov Dreamed Of White House," Chicago Sun-Times, 4/16/08)
Cari Is Now Awaiting Sentencing. "Levine's plans largely involved having asset management firms pay finder's fees to consultants he would select in exchange for Levine arranging business with the Illinois Teachers' Retirement System, the pension panel on which he served. One $80 million deal involved JER Partners of Virginia. Levine worked the JER arrangement through Democratic fundraiser Joe Cari, who has pleaded guilty to one count of attempted extortion in the case." (Bob Secter and Jeff Coen, "Levine Details Attempts To Get Kickbacks: Witness Says He Tried, Failed To Get Kickback," Chicago Tribune, 4/2/08)
- Cari Pleaded Guilty In Exchange For A Shorter Sentence. "Now, both Levine and Cari are headed to prison, where they will dial their own calls on a pay phone they will stand in line in to use. Caught by the feds, they both pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate in exchange for shorter sentences. Six years for Levine. Maybe two years for Cari." (Carol Marin, "Rezko Trial Shows Who's Dialed In," Chicago Sun-Times, 4/16/08)
In 1987, Joesph Cari Served As A Political Adviser For Biden. "Joseph A. Cari Jr. of Chicago, general counsel of the Illinois Democratic Party, ended up on a different Senate payroll, that of the Senate Narcotics Caucus. Biden arranged for Cari, who will chair his presidential campaign in Illinois, to be paid $ 13,000 over a 15-week period. According to Cari, the $ 13,000 was paid for a 54-page memo on crime legislation that he wrote for Biden." (Howard Kurtz "Campaign Blurs Roles of Biden Aides; Hill, Political Duties Overlap in '88 Bid" The Washington Post, 6/21/87)
In 2005, Cari Was To Host A Biden Fundraiser, But He Never Attended Due To His Involvement In The Rezko Trial. "On the day Cari's name first surfaced in the federal probe of the state Teachers Retirement System, the former finance chairman for the Democratic National Committee and for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee was to have hosted a Biden fund-raiser in Chicago. Cari was a no-show at that July 25, 2005, event." (Dave McKinney, "Biden Has Deep Ties To Rezko Accomplice," Chicago Sun-Times, 8/25/08)
- Biden: "All I know is Joe Cari is a friend, and he's an honorable guy, but I don't know anything beyond that." (Dave McKinney, "Biden Has Deep Ties To Rezko Accomplice," Chicago Sun-Times, 8/25/08)
Biden Received Advice From Cari Regarding Running For President In 2008. "When the Delaware senator began contemplating his own 2008 presidential run, he initially was helped by Chicago lawyer Joseph Cari Jr., who also served as Biden's Midwest field director in his failed 1988 bid for president." (Dave McKinney, "Biden Has Deep Ties To Rezko Accomplice," Chicago Sun-Times, 8/25/08)
Cari Contributed Campaign Money To Biden, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, And Dick Durbin. "Obama campaign downplayed the significance of Cari's contributions to Biden, noting that Cari was a prolific donor to an array of other politicians, from Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) to Illinois' other Democratic senator, Dick Durbin." (Dave McKinney, "Biden Has Deep Ties To Rezko Accomplice," Chicago Sun-Times, 8/25/08)
FLASHBACK: Cari Served As Fundraising Chairman For Al Gore's Presidential Campaign. "He [Cari] was Gore's fundraising chairman during the 2000 presidential campaign." (Dan Morain and Evan Halper, "The State," Los Angeles Times, 5/29/06)
- Joseph Cari Served As Finance Chairman Of The Democratic National Committee In 2000. "State Board of Elections filings show that Joseph A. Cari Jr., another HealthPoint managing director, contributed $2,350 to the joint campaign committee McCall formed with running mate Dennis Mehiel. Cari should be well-versed in the rigors of raising money for politics: He was finance chairman of the Democratic National Committee in 2000." (Jay Jochnowitz, James M. Odato and Elizabeth Benjamin, "Chaplain Plans Slew Of Lawsuits," The [Albany] Times Union, 3/3/03)
In 2005, Joseph Cari Contributed At Least $1,400 To Obama. (Center For Responsive Politics Website, www.opensecrets.org, Accessed 8/25/08)
In 1995, Joseph Cari Contributed $1,000 To Biden. (Center For Responsive Politics Website, www.opensecrets.org, Accessed 8/25/08)
NOTE: "Earlier This Year, In A Bid To Distance Obama From Rezko, The Illinois Senator's Campaign Fund Gave Away To Charity An Amount Equal To What Had Been Contributed To The Democratic Presidential Hopeful By Cari, Cherry And Licata." (Dave McKinney, "Biden Has Deep Ties To Rezko Accomplice," Chicago Sun-Times, 8/25/08)