Marathon Pundit: Just as with mob loans, Giannoulias quiet about SUV purchased from money losing state investment fund

Monday, May 04, 2009

Just as with mob loans, Giannoulias quiet about SUV purchased from money losing state investment fund

While he was campaigning for Illinois State Treasurer three years ago, Alexi Giannoulias never fully explained a couple of loans to mobster Michael "Jaws" Giorango made by his family-owned bank.

That financial institution, Broadway Bank, also bankrolled over $10 million in mortgages to a reputed new mafiya family.

Giannoulias, who touted his banking credentials during the 2006 campaign, is quiet about that.

There is another item the Democrat is silent about, as the Chicago Tribune reports:

While parents come to grips with major investment losses in a college savings program, public records show that Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias' office spent Bright Start proceeds to buy a $26,000 SUV he uses as his state car.

The purchase is surfacing as the politically ambitious Giannoulias continues to face criticism for his oversight of the Bright Start investment program, which lost $85 million last year.

It's the first time since the program was launched nearly a decade ago that money from it was used to buy a state vehicle, the treasurer's office acknowledged.

Giannoulias refused to comment for this story, but his spokesman defended using Bright Start funds to buy the black 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid. Scott Burnham said the SUV is not exclusively driven by Giannoulias but is part of a pool of a dozen cars used by workers to travel the state promoting treasurer's office programs, including Bright Start.