Sources say they've been notified key Blagojevich probe figure is dead (The Chicago Way)

Chicago Tribune ^ | 9/12/2009 | Jeff Coen

[Velveeta]

Two sources with knowledge of the situation told the Tribune today they have been notified that Christopher Kelly, a key figure into the federal corruption probe into former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, is dead.

[maggief]

er, 139.

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/09/mayor-kellys-girlfriend-is-lawyered-up-not-talking.html

Autopsy inconclusive in ex-Blagojevich aide’s death

Country Club Hills mayor Dwight Welch said today that the girlfriend of Christopher Kelly has “lawyered up” and is no longer talking to police investigating the Saturday death of the former top Rod Blagojevich adviser.

Meanwhile, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said this afternoon following an autopsy that a determination of cause and manner of Kelly’s death was “pending further studies,” meaning officials need to conduct additional investigations to officially rule whether Kelly committed suicide.

At a morning press conference, Welch also said police are searching for a man who went to Oak Forest Hospital while Kelly was being treated in the emergency room and claimed to be Kelly’s friend. The man, described by the mayor as a white male with gray hair, was looking for Kelly’s black Cadillac Escalade, which apparently was used to take Kelly to the hospital.

Welch said police were called from Oak Forest Hospital at 2:58 a.m. Saturday to interview Kelly and his girlfriend, who identified herself as Clarissa Flores of Chicago. She told police she was Kelly’s girlfriend and had driven Kelly to the hospital. He was later transported to Stroger Hospital at 4:15 a.m. and pronounced dead at 10:46 a.m. Saturday.

“Based on what the victim said to the officer at the hospital we are fairly certain of that [that it was an attempted suicide],’’ said Welch.

Welch said the police who responded to Oak Forest found the girlfriend and a man claiming to be an acquaintance in the waiting room as Kelly was being treated for an apparent overdose. The girlfriend made an initial statement to police but has since gotten an attorney and stopped talking to investigators.

Flores’ attorney, Terry Gillespie, was irate over Welch’s comments to the media, describing it as “unconscionable grandstanding.”

Welch had complained that police are not being “given the whole truth” by Kelly’s girlfriend, who he identified as Clarissa Flores-Buhelos, and made a point of displaying her driver’s license to reporters, even spelling out her name, giving her address and showing her date of birth.

“Flores has lawyered up, she’s hired an attorney and is no longer speaking to the police,’’ Welch said.

Reached by phone today, a distraught-sounding Flores declined to comment, other than to sigh and say “You know” when asked how she’s doing.

(excerpt)

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

http://nusports.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/flores_clarissa00.html

bio

[LucyT]

Thanks, maggief.

Ping.

New information here. Time permitting, begin at #101 and read to end of page.

[maggief]

Interesting choice of attorneys retained by Ms. Flores.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/blago/2009/03/gillespie_joining_blago_legal.html

Gillespie joining Blago legal team

[thecodont]

1982 aspirin cyanide killings in Illinois?

http://www.abacrimtrial.com/competitions/13_6anewsarticleaccused-9-15.pdf

[MHGinTN]

That was a case where the murderer tampered with packaging to place cyanide in capsules, wasn’t it? ... I was referring to the use of high levels of salicylate in the body, then poison ingested and the aspirin levels mask the autposy discovery of the killer toxin.

[STARWISE]

~~Story gets more and more “good fellas” ... PING!

[bray]

In Chicago people have been known to back into icepicks 8-10 times???

Pray for America

[STARWISE]

“Inside the Escalade was Flores’ wallet and identification – apparently at the press conference the Mayor of Country Club Hills Dwight Welch “made a point of displaying her driver’s license to reporters, even spelling out her name, giving her address and showing her date of birth.” If true, that is about as unprofessional as it gets.”

http://citizensagainstproobamamediabias.wordpress.com/2009/09/13/update-christopher-kelly-death-investigation/

~~~~

Think about this ........ a SMALL TOWN CHICAGO SUBURBAN TOWN *MAYOR* ... immediately and SO unprofessionally ... freely releasing all this highly personal and private information to the public .. showing her license, giving her address, mouthing off like a tough guy .... before he or anyone knows what’s happened!!!

He’s not a police detective or any kind of cop. Where the h$ll does he get off with such despicable conduct ?? Is he ‘connected’ to a Machine network?

If I were her attorney, I’d be throwing the book at this jamoke. He’s in a league with Fitzie.

[Bahbah]

This is the most bizarre story.

[Girlene]

Autopsy inconclusive in ex-Blagojevich aide's death

"Country Club Hills mayor Dwight Welch said today that the girlfriend of Christopher Kelly has "lawyered up" and is no longer talking to police investigating the Saturday death of the former top Rod Blagojevich adviser.

Meanwhile, the Cook County medical examiner's office said this afternoon following an autopsy that a determination of cause and manner of Kelly's death was "pending further studies," meaning officials need to conduct additional investigations to officially rule whether Kelly committed suicide."............................

..............."Welch had complained that police are not being "given the whole truth" by Kelly's girlfriend, who he identified as Clarissa Flores-Buhelos, and made a point of displaying her driver's license to reporters, even spelling out her name, giving her address and showing her date of birth."......................



Seems they are checking cell phone records and will check the Escolade's GPS to see where it had been. They are also trying to get medical records on Kelly. Here's two pieces of conflicting information from Welch:

........"Based on what the victim said to the officer at the hospital we are fairly certain of that [that it was an attempted suicide],'' said Welch."............

Then the article goes on and states this:

..............""She told our officers that it was an attempted suicide," said Welch, who later denied a published report from Associated Press that said Kelly told a police officer that "he did take an overdose" before his death. "..........

[melancholy]

a determination of cause and manner of Kelly's death was "pending further studies," meaning officials need to conduct additional investigations to officially rule whether Kelly committed suicide."...........

IOW, we'll be told by "the powers that be" what to say!

That IS the Chicago way.

[hoosiermama]

HOW is Stroger connected to the Hospital and how did HE die?

Chicago’s Cook County government. They probably would have succeeded, too, had Mr. Obama taken their side. Liberals and conservatives came together and nearly ousted Cook County Board President John Stroger, the machine boss whom court papers credibly accuse of illegally using the county payroll to maintain his own standing army of political cronies, contributors and campaigners.

The since-deceased Stroger’s self-serving mismanagement of county government is still the subject of federal investigations and arbitration claims. Stroger was known for trying repeatedly to raise taxes to fund his political machine, even as basic government services were neglected in favor of high-paying county jobs for his political soldiers.

[hoosiermama]

John Stroger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaStroger served on the Chicago Metropolitan Healthcare Council and the board of South Shore Hospital. The new Cook County Hospital was renamed the John H. Stroger, Jr. Cook County ...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stroger · Enhanced viewTodd Stroger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaTodd H Stroger (born January 14, 1963) is the current Cook County, Board president and former alderman for the 8th Ward in Chicago. Stroger is a member of the Democratic Party.

Early life · Public service · Aldermanic career · County Board ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Stroger · Enhanced view

[SatinDoll]

I regularly took 3000 to 4000 mg of aspirin daily. I’m still here with no after affects. Oh, and it was doctor approved.

[STARWISE]

His son, Todd, was “placed” as Cook Cnty president
and is very unpopular with everyone except his fellow
pols and family ‘placed’ in Cnty positions. Pay to play
rules .. throughout the city, county, suburbs, state...
the IL Combine, as Kass calls it = both parties.

[maggief]

(no link)

John Stroger : 1929 - 2008 - Gentleman politician always ‘about people’ - Path from precinct captain to party stalwart made John Stroger a health-care champion and a target for critics of old-style politics
Chicago Tribune (IL) - Saturday, January 19, 2008
Author: Gary Washburn, TRIBUNE REPORTER\ Tribune reporters Mickey Ciokajlo, Robert Becker and Jeffrey Meitrodt contributed to this report.

John Stroger , who rose through the ranks of local Democratic politics from assistant precinct captain to powerful ward boss to become the first African-American elected Cook County Board president, died Friday after a long illness.

Mr. Stroger was best known for his efforts to expand county-provided health services to the poor, exemplified by the hospital that bears his name. But his tenure also was marked by criticism that he was an old-style politician who put a priority on using government to help his friends and family members.

“Every Democratic official elected in the last 40 years throughout the state owed President Stroger because he could deliver,” said William Beavers, a longtime friend, political ally and current County Board member.

A week before the March 2006 primary, Mr. Stroger suffered a debilitating stroke. Though the extent of his illness was shrouded in secrecy and became the source of controversy, he won the primary but never recovered and never appeared in public again.

Months later, Mr. Stroger formally retired from the County Board presidency. Democratic Party leaders picked his son Todd, a Chicago alderman at the time, to replace him on the ballot, and Todd Stroger won election that fall.

Mr. Stroger , 78, died at 8 a.m., according to Todd Stroger ‘s office.

(snip)

Mr. Stroger died at Warren Barr Pavilion, a long-term care facility at 66 W. Oak St., said Gene Mullins, a family friend and spokesman. Mr. Stroger had shuttled between his home and the facility as his doctors and nurses advised, Mullins said.

He had been in stable condition “and he just suffered complications from the stroke,” Mullins said, declining to provide details. Another friend who last visited him several months ago said Mr. Stroger had to communicate with hand signals.

(snip)

[Candor7]

This Kelly hit is the second Obamafia hit. In Washington DC, Lientenant Quarles Harris Jr., a key witness in the investigation of access to Obama’s Dept of State Passport records, was gunned down in a professional style hit. I wonder what others we don’t know about?

http://dcshrines.blogspot.com/2008/05/lieutenant-quarles-harris-jr-shrine.html

(Google has blurred the location of Harris’s sidewalk
memorial, so people will just forget him.)

[GOPJ]

This sounds like another Chicago politics “teachable moment.”

Yeah, never let a crisis go to waste.