The family bank of Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias loaned a pair of Chicago crime figures about $20 million during a 14-month period when Giannoulias was a senior loan officer, according to a Tribune examination that provides new details about the bank's relationship with the convicted felons.
Broadway Bank had already lent millions to Michael Giorango when he and a new business partner, Demitri Stavropoulos, came to the bank in mid-2004. Although both men were preparing to serve federal prison terms, the bank embarked on a series of loans to them.
Alexi Giannoulias took a senior position at the bank at about the same time and used it as a launching pad for his political career. But as he campaigns to step up from state treasurer to the U.S. Senate, he has tried to distance himself from the bank's business with the pair and has been reluctant to detail his role.
Broadway is now suing to recover millions of the pair's delinquent loans as the bank struggles to avoid a federal takeover. While Broadway lawyers now criticize Giorango's business practices, the newspaper's examination of court files, land records and public bank documents raises questions about the bank's decisions to make loans to men with criminal histories.
"Banks are not supposed to be doing business with criminals," said banking consultant and former Texas Banking Commissioner Catherine Ghiglieri. "The onus is on the bank to make sure they know who they are dealing with."
Public records do not show which bank officials negotiated or approved any of the loans. Giannoulias declined to be interviewed by the Tribune or to review public records outlining the bank's loans.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/elections/ct-met-giannoulias-bank-loans-20100401,0,5574130.story
