Posted on 09/12/2009 1:57:04 PM PDT by tcrlaf
Two sources with knowledge of the situation told the Tribune today they have been notified that Christopher Kelly, a key figure in the federal corruption probe into former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, is dead.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office today confirmed that a body identified as Christopher Kelly was brought to the morgue from Stroger Hospital. The office would not provide any details, including his age, address and manner of death, because the family had not yet arrived at the office.
Kelly’s attorney, Michael Monico, declined to comment today when reached by a Tribune reporter.
Kelly is a former confidant and top fundraiser for Blagojevich, who was accused of using his office to leverage campaign donations and benefits for himself and his family.
Kelly, who was indicted alongside Blagojevich in April, pleaded guilty this week in a separate federal case.
On Tuesday, in a surprise move just a day before his scheduled trial, Kelly, owner of a roofing business, pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud as part of a kickback scheme to illegally obtain $8.5 million in work at O'Hare International Airport.
At the time, Kelly, 51, said he was under pressure from federal prosecutors to cooperate in their investigation of Blagojevich, but he refused.
Kelly faced a sentence of almost 5 years in prison on top of the roughly 3 years in prison he got in June for his guilty plea to tax offenses.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsblogs.chicagotribune.com ...
The ratio of useful dose to poisonous dose is like ten times less for Tylenol than for aspirin.
10-4. Suppose we just wait for the toxicology report.
The LD50 for aspirin is 8 times lower than acetaminophen. That’s what counts.
Excellant observation....this guy was only 51 yr old.
The timing is very suspicious, that’s for sure...
If the Made Guys wanted to send a message, it was normal to put about 8 .22 hollow points into the mark's head, stuff him into the trunk of his own car, and park it in long term parking at O'Hare. You could always tell winter was over when bodies started being found because of the odor...
I'm sure Kelly's demise was just an O.D. After all, who would want to shut him up?
The [medical examiner's] office said that Kelly died from salicylate intoxication.
Salicylates include aspirin and its chemical relatives. The important point is that these are drugs taken orally. So this is most likely a suicidal overdose. There is the remote possibility, however, that the deceased's food and/or drink could have been laced with the drug, but in that case one might expect that he could have detected a bad taste and discontinued eating or drinking before he had ingested a fatal dose.
Did anyone see Glenn Beck today? This is EXACTLY the kind of crap he’s talking about. America’s biggest problem isn’t the deficit, or healthcare, or the economy, it’s CORRUPTION.
Who ordered the hit? Ostammer or Michelle?
No, most likely Rahmbo.
I like Rahm for ordering the hit.
He can’t be cross-examined ‘cuz he’s dead so nothing he said comes in at Blago’s trial.
No. His death means nothing he spilled comes in at trial because he can’t be cross-examined. The evidence he gave can be used for investigative purposes to try to develop other sources, but the particular evidence he gave will have to be developed another way, which it very possibly can’t be, in order to be used at trial.
Read the story. He was caving.
More like Rahmacide, imo.
They can tie him up and force it down his throat. If it was suicide, he was prpobably given an offer he couldn’t refuse - do yourself or we do you and your whole family.
Trying to lace somebody’s food with that much aspirin would make it taste absolutely horrible. I remember as a kid getting aspirin as a tablet that was melted in a spoon of water (supposed to work faster that way). Blech, I could not follow that up with water fast enough.
Not a method I would choose to punch out.
Unusual yes. I'm not so sure of it's effectiveness.
I understand acute aspirin overdose to have a mortality rate of 2%. Chronic overdose is more commonly lethal with a mortality rate of 25%;
Well if they bothered to get a sworn affidavit it could be used as evidence but only on things he knows directly and then it is limited because as you say, they can’t cross examine him. That is the very reason witnesses are killed.
A high dose of aspirin masks which common poison? HINT:smells like almond extract, IIRC.
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