Chicago Trib: What Alexi knew, his damning non-denial about loans to criminals

Let's face it: Alexi Giannoulias knew he loaned money to criminals, including a mob pimp. That's the "extent" of it.

From a Chicago Tribune editorial:

What Alexi knew
His damning non-denial about loans to criminals

After Sunday's "Meet the Press" debate with Rep. Mark Kirk, Alexi Giannoulias' campaign put out a batch of things their candidate said, under the title, "10 Quotes, 10 Reasons to Vote for Alexi." Here's a quote that was not included: "I didn't know the extent of their activity."

Giannoulias was responding to a question from NBC's David Gregory about his bank's loans to organized crime figures back when he was a loan officer at the family business. As the Tribune reported in April, Broadway Bank had lent millions of dollars to Michael "Jaws" Giorango and his business partner Demitri Stavropoulos by the time Giannoulias arrived at the institution. During his time as a loan officer, the bank kept giving them loans — even when they were about to go to federal prison on felony convictions.

Confronted with these embarrassing facts, the candidate has squirmed to put the best face on them. "If I knew then what I know now, these are not the kind of people that we do business with," he said Sunday. But when Gregory asked, "Did you know that they were crime figures that you were loaning to?", Giannoulias couldn't fudge his way to safety. "I didn't know the extent of their activity," he said.

That is a roundabout way of saying: "Yes."

The Trib goes on to explain that criminals rarely advertise their lawbreaking and besides, Giannoulias and Broadway knew enough to show Jaws and Stavropoulos the exit.

I don't want a Mob Banker representing me in the US Senate.

Giannoulias, by the way, was the senior loan officer at Broadway Bank.

The Mark Kirk campaign released a web video this morning that the Giannoulias camp doesn't want you to see.



Technorati tags: Illinois illinois politics Senate Alexi Giannoulias business banking finance politics news legal Democrats Chicago republicans elections