Antoin "Tony" Rezko (born 1955 in Aleppo, Syria) is an American political funraiser, restaurateur, and real estate developer in Chicago, Illinois convicted on several counts of fraud and bribery in 2008. Rezko has been involved in fundraising for local Illinois Democratic and Republican politicians since the 1980s. He focused primarily on Chicago-area Democrats; for example, Rezko was one of Barack Obama's first financial contributors. After becoming a major contributor to Rod Blagojevich's successful gubernatorial election, Rezko assisted Blagojevich in setting up the state's first Democratic administration in twenty years. Rezko was able to have business associates appointed onto several state boards. Rezko and several others were indicted on federal charges in October 2006, for using their connections to the state boards to demand kickbacks from businesses that wanted to do business with the state. While the others plead guilty to the charges, Rezko plead not guilty and was found guilty of 16 of the 24 charges filed against him.