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.

[thouworm]

I was posting my #70 while unbeknownst to me, you were posting #68. Our #68 & #70 posts are the same, but they BOTH differ from your post #49, which is what I was referring to. "where officials alerted authorities of his whereabouts about 3 a.m.."

I thought that was a rather odd statement to begin with, as is "ended up at Oak Forest." I also wondered whether being transferred by private ambulance is typical.

========

Kelly was found in a lumber yard near 173rd Street and Cicero Avenue in Country Club Hills late Friday, said the town’s mayor, Dwight Welch. Kelly ended up at Oak Forest Hospital, where officials alerted authorities of his whereabouts about 3 a.m., Welch said.

Kelly then was transferred by private ambulance to Stroger Hospital at 5:15 a.m. He was treated by doctors and pronounced dead at 10:46 a.m., said hospital spokesman Marcel Bright.

Police found vomit in the lumber yard parking lot, Welch said.

“We are treating this as a death investigation—it’s a possible homicide or suicide, but it’s a high-profile case so we have a homicide level investigation,” Welch said.

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2009/09/sources-say-theyve-been-notified-key-blagojevich-probe-figure-is-dead.html

49 posted on Saturday, September 12, 2009 8:40:34 PM by Velveeta

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Kelly was found in a lumber yard near 173rd Street and Cicero Avenue in Country Club Hills late Friday, said the town’s mayor, Dwight Welch. Kelly arrived at Oak Forest Hospital at 11:15 p.m. Friday, said Marcel Bright, a Stroger Hospital spokesman.

At Oak Forest, he was treated and stabilized and doctors determined he needed additional treatment at Stroger, so he was transferred there by private ambulance, Bright said. Kelly arrived at Stroger at 5:15 a.m.

Kely was treated by doctors and pronounced dead at 10:46 a.m., said hospital spokesman Marcel Bright.

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2009/09/sources-say-theyve-been-notified-key-blagojevich-probe-figure-is-dead.html

68 posted on Saturday, September 12, 2009 10:26:56 PM by Velveeta [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 66 | View Replies | Report Abuse]

=========

Kelly was found in a lumber yard near 173rd Street and Cicero Avenue in Country Club Hills late Friday, said the town’s mayor, Dwight Welch. Kelly arrived at Oak Forest Hospital at 11:15 p.m. Friday, said Marcel Bright, a Stroger Hospital spokesman.

At Oak Forest, he was treated and stabilized and doctors determined he needed additional treatment at Stroger, so he was transferred there by private ambulance, Bright said. Kelly arrived at Stroger at 5:15 a.m.

Kely was treated by doctors and pronounced dead at 10:46 a.m., said hospital spokesman Marcel Bright.

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2009/09/sources-say-theyve-been-notified-key-blagojevich-probe-figure-is-dead.html

Posted by Jeff Coen, Jeremy Gorner, Kim Janssen at 3:10 p.m.; last updated at 7:49 p.m.

70 posted on Saturday, September 12, 2009 10:33:05 PM by thouworm

[LucyT]

Wonder who owned the lumberyard?

What was the business that Blago’s wife’s father was involved in?

[azishot]

Kely was treated by doctors and pronounced dead at 10:46 a.m., said hospital spokesman Marcel Bright.

Hmmmm...I wonder HOW he was treated?

[thouworm]

Key Blagojevich adviser Christopher Kelly dead

September 12, 2009

BY NATASHA KORECKI, MARK J. KONKOL AND ART GOLAB Staff Reporters

The man federal prosecutors pressured to cooperate in the corruption probe of ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich died of an apparent aspirin overdose on Saturday, law enforcement sources said.

Christopher Kelly, 51, of Burr Ridge, was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital at 10:46 a.m. An autopsy is scheduled for today, a Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office spokeswoman said.

Christopher Kelly, a key figure in the federal corruption investigation of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, is dead, sources said.

Kelly pleads guilty to kickback scheme Bank forecloses on Kelly home Gambling adviser a high-roller

Kelly was Blagojevich’s “go-to guy” who once was the mastermind of the ex-governor’s lucrative campaign fund.

Kelly’s death comes just four days after he pleaded guilty to a scheme involving $8.5 million in fraud at O’Hare Airport. It was the second conviction he notched this year -- he still faced trial along with the ex-governor, in June. Kelly had been indicted three times since 2007 but refused to become a cooperating witness. When he pleaded guilty to the O’Hare scheme Tuesday, Kelly spoke of feeling intense pressure by prosecutors to abandon his loyalty to Blagojevich and cooperate with the feds.

Chicago police are investigating Kelly’s death. A source familiar with the investigation told the Chicago Sun-Times that Kelly, who is married, called a woman identified as his “girlfriend” and told her that he took some pills and was going to kill himself.

The woman picked up Kelly near 170th and Cicero in Country Club Hills, where Kelly reportedly vomited. Police were taking samples of the vomit and searching for evidence, the source said.

The girlfriend then drove Kelly to Oak Forest Hospital, dropped him off and called police to report she did so, the source said.

Oak Forest Hospital does not have a trauma unit and was unable to treat Kelly, who then was rushed to Stroger Hospital in an ambulance.

Blagojevich released a statement through his publicist.

“I am deeply saddened to hear that Chris has died. My heart goes out to his wife Carmen, his three daughters Grace, Jacqueline and Claire and his entire family. They are in our prayers,” Blagojevich said. http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/blagojevich/1767469,christopher-kelly-blagojevich-dead-091209.article#

[Velveeta]

I think you’ve clearly illustrated how early reports can be confusing.

[Velveeta]

Wonder who owned the lumberyard?

Don't know - will have to do some digging.

[Velveeta]

Fascinating. The girlfriend didn’t bother to stick around.

[Velveeta]

Latest Tribune update:

Kelly dies of possible overdose

***Authorities say death may be suicide but are investigating it as homicide***

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-christopher-kelly-dead-13sep13,0,3919783.story

[1COUNTER-MORTER-68]

Sounds just like Al Capone...

[thouworm]

When I first saw this news hit FR, I started grabbing screenshots because I knew it could potentially be a big story. However this is my first use of the program. I haven’t looked at them yet. But this was the very thing I thought might happen.

It could be as innocent as the reporters not wanting to mention the girlfriend out of compassion for the wife. After I posted that item I re-looked at how they worded their factual statements.

Also, our Chicago Tribune Clout blog has changed again, but still does not include the girlfriend, BUT the “front page” Chicago Tribune article has the girlfriend info. (Both pieces have one journalist in common, so perhaps he was over-ruled in the blog article.)

The other thing that jumped out was how quickly these Chicago articles were to suggest suicide. Could be info from the girlfriend, but “aspirin” overdose? so quickly. Also, a lot of “framing” as to why he might want to die and comments about statements he recently made.

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Authorities said Kelly was in his 2007 Cadillac Escalade in the parking lot of a lumber yard at 173rd Street and Cicero Avenue in Country Club Hills — a few miles from his Markham office — Friday night when he began vomiting. Sources said a girlfriend of Kelly’s drove him to nearby Oak Forest Hospital of Cook County. The Escalade remained there Saturday afternoon, guarded by police.

A hospital spokesman said Kelly arrived at 11:15 p.m. and was treated and stabilized. But doctors determined he needed more care and transferred him to Stroger Hospital in Chicago, about 25 miles away.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-christopher-kelly-dead-13sep13,0,3919783.story

[Salvation]

The Chicago Way or Obamacide?

[maggief]

“Wonder who owned the lumberyard?”

(no link - sorry for the lack of formatting)

Death and taxes - one and the same?
SouthtownStar (Chicago, IL) - Sunday, December 7, 2008
By Becky Schlikerman staff writer

Farid “Fred” Ellian is considering moving his 8-year-old auto shop out of Country Club Hills and into Chicago. He said the property taxes in Country Club Hills are making it difficult for his auto-repair business to stay afloat. Taxes “kill you,” Ellian said. The property taxes for Ellian’s Lightning Auto Repair business totalled almost $45,000 for 2007, which are paid this year. That’s up from almost $39,000 for 2006. When he saw that increase, Ellian was taken aback. “It’s like somebody stabbed you,” he said. “It takes the wind out of you.” Residents of Country Club Hills have been rallying against the 44 percent increase in the portion of their tax bill that goes to the city of Country Club Hills. But small businesses are also feeling the pinch.

Forest Lumber Company isn’t seeing as much profit because the company has had to adjust to pay the taxes, said Sharon Reimer, one of the owners. It’s especially worse for the building material store because the cater to customers who have been hit hard by the sluggish industry, said Larry Reimer, another owner. “It’s a slow market and because we’re in Country Club Hills, we’re getting hit even worse,” Larry Reimer said. For Sharon Reimer, Larry’s mother, her business’ almost $49,000 tax bill isn’t as shocking as the cut the city is taking. This year, the city’s portion of her store’s tax bill was more than $18,000 that’s up from about $12,500 last year. Usually the school districts take the biggest cut, but not in Country Club Hills. “Why do they get more than schools?”

(snip)

nancially wrong to move right now,” Reimer said. But he hopes the city limits how much more it raises taxes. If not, businesses like his won’t be there, he said. “You can’t keep taxing people because there won’t be any,” Sharon Reimer said.

(snip)

[maggief]

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=320986

Mayor Dwight W. Welch of south suburban Country Club Hills provided most of the information available about the death Saturday night.

“He supposedly committed an overdose in our city at about 3 a.m. Saturday morning,” said Welch in a telephone interview.

At least some of the city’s facts came from Oak Forest Hospital, a south suburban county facility, where Kelly was taken before being transferred to Stroger, he said. Hospital staff called the city authorities and apparently relayed what they had been told by whoever brought him to the hospital.

The overdose reportedly occurred in the parking lot of a lumber yard in Country Club Hills, Welch said.

Interviewed on NBC Channel 5, Welch referred to a girlfriend of the married Kelly as supposedly the person who took him to the hospital. Asked about the reported girlfriend, the mayor told the Daily Herald authorities are interviewing and looking for a number of people who might be witnesses.

---

RELATED???

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/burris/1614432,w-john-ruff-roland-burris-death-060909.article

Political consultant John Ruff dies in auto accident
Comments

June 9, 2009

BY DAVE McKINNEY Sun-Times Springfield Bureau Chief

SPRINGFIELD — A key figure in the perjury investigation of U.S. Sen. Roland Burris died in an automobile accident Monday, authorities in far west-suburban Kendall County confirmed Tuesday.

John Ruff, of Sandwich, Ill., was killed shortly before 3 p.m. when his 2001 BMW convertible crossed an oncoming lane of traffic and collided with a tree while he was driving eastbound on Rogers Road near Oak Brook Road in unincorporated Plano, said Kendall County Sheriff’s Deputy Richard Pearson.

(snip)

Ruff, a health-care and political consultant, raised the prospect of a possible quid pro quo between Blagojevich and Burris, recounting a telephone conversation with Burris’ business partner Fred Lebed, who allegedly told Ruff on the date of Burris’ appointment, “We’ll have to do some things for the governor.”

(snip)

[Elle Bee]

Does anyone know how many aspirin one would have to ingest to die of 'aspirin poisoning'?

I'd never heard of it before

.

[musicman]

Velveeta, Thanks for the ping on this!!

[Oorang]

Thanks for all the info. I doubt this was just a suicide. Thugs R us and all.

[STARWISE]

~~Chicagocide ? .... PING!

[444Flyer]

And all that Jazzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

[maggief]

(no link)

Burris witness’ death accidental - Family puzzled by his missing briefcase
Chicago Sun-Times (IL) - Friday, July 17, 2009
Author: Matt Hanley, Beacon News; Sun-Times Media Group
A Kendall County coroner jury ruled Thursday that the death of a key figure in the perjury investigation of Sen. Roland Burris was an accident.

John Ruff , 42, of Lake Holiday, died June 8 when his BMW Z-3 ran off Rogers Road on the far western edge of Kendall County.

Police said the crash is a case of inattentive driving.

Ruff ‘s family, however, still has some questions about the crash. Ruff was a witness in a perjury case involving President Obama’s former Senate seat.

The family wants to know what happened to Ruff ‘s briefcase.

“Yes, it could have been a total accident, but if he was run off . . .” said Ruff ‘s sister, Kathy Boydstun. “There were some people very angry when he came forward.”

(snip)

But in March, Ruff raised the prospect of a possible trade-off between Blagojevich and Burris. Ruff recalled a conversation with Burris’ business partner, Fred Lebed, who allegedly said he had discussions about Burris’ interest in the Senate appointment with Blagojevich representatives as early as October.

That information contradicted Burris’ claim that neither Burris nor his representatives spoke with Blagojevich or his representatives before Dec. 26. Lebed accused Ruff at the time of being on a “witch-hunt” and fabricating that story.

“There is more to be discovered,” Ruff told the Chicago Sun-Times.

(snip)

The family believes the crash might have been an accident, but they’re puzzled by a work briefcase they say is missing. Boydstun said her brother took the briefcase everywhere and kept important documents in it. The briefcase was not recovered from the car and has not turned up in Ruff ‘s home or home office, Boydstun said.

[maggief]

Ping to #99.