CHICAGO, US - A LONG-TIME friend and fundraiser of presidential hopeful Barack Obama was accused by prosecutors on Monday of using his political clout to demand kickbacks, win government contracts and place associates in key state jobs.

While Mr Obama is not accused of any wrongdoing and has subsequently donated all the money raised by alleged influence-peddler Antoin 'Tony' Rezko to charity, prosecutors have said that some of the kickbacks ended up in the Illinois Democratic senator's campaign coffers.

Mr Obama is also under fire for entering a land deal with Rezko in 2005, when it was widely known that the real estate developer was under federal scrutiny, something Mr Obama later called a 'boneheaded' move.

That could change if Rezko is convicted of 24 counts of fraud, solicitation of bribery, attempted extortion and money laundering.

'This trial is about Tony Rezko's corrupt use of power and influence to benefit himself and his friends,' prosecutor Reid Schar said in closing arguments.

Rezko, who was the second largest fundraiser and a key advisor to Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, was pulling the strings in a corrupt scheme of pay-to-play politics, Mr Schar told jurors.

He used his influence and power to trade state jobs and lucrative contracts for campaign contributions and hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks, Mr Schar said.

'The time has come for accountability for Tony Rezko's corrupt actions,' he told jurors.

'We ask you to provide that accountability for the best and most compelling reason I can give you: the evidence has proven him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.' But Rezko's defence team said the government's case rests entirely on the unreliable testimony of a drug-addicted conman, Stuart Levine, who lied to save his own skin when the FBI caught wind of his schemes.

'There's not a single charge in here other than Stuart Levine's criminal acts and that should shock you,' defense attorney Joseph Duffy said of the charges against Rezko.

He also tried to downplay Rezko's clout with the governor and belittled the government's argument that Rezko could 'get anything done that he wanted done.' 'He spent more time fundraising for Saint Jude hospital, George Bush and Barack Obama than he did for Governor Blagojevich,' Mr Duffy said of the time when the alleged schemes took place.

Mr Blagojevich, a Democrat, has not been charged with participating in the scheme and denies any wrongdoing.

Rezko, who pleaded not guilty, did not take the stand during the trial which started March 3 and his defence team did not call any witnesses. -- AFP