Venture capitalist. An assistant for a cable sitcom on Spike TV. Amateur podcaster on the fortunes of the Chicago Bears.
Richard J. “R.J.” Vanecko, a nephew of Mayor Daley, is all of that — in addition to being at the center of a 7-year-old homicide investigation that’s now itself the subject of an investigation by the city of Chicago’s inspector general’s office.
- Vanecko’s most current address — the one he used when he updated his Illinois driver’s license and voter registration two years ago — is a South Loop apartment building that his oldest brother’s investment firm bought with city pension money it’s managing. But according to interviews with people who know him and an industry website, Vanecko, 36, now lives in Southern California, where he’s pursuing a career in the entertainment business.
This means that Richard (the one who got away with manslaughter) was living in a building owned by brother Robert (the one who got away with millions in pension money). A building he bought with Chicago Police pension funds. Technically, the investment firm is the landlord, but it's police pension money paying the bills.
So we wonder, was Richard paying any rent? Was he paying the going market rate or was he scamming a discount (or free) from his brother's largess? We're thinking this was the 1212 S. Michigan address, which isn't exactly a low rent building. We're also thinking this could be part of the reason the Venecko/Daley investment saw little-to-no-return on the Police Pension monies.
So we wonder, was Richard paying any rent? Was he paying the going market rate or was he scamming a discount (or free) from his brother's largess? We're thinking this was the 1212 S. Michigan address, which isn't exactly a low rent building. We're also thinking this could be part of the reason the Venecko/Daley investment saw little-to-no-return on the Police Pension monies.