Blago's 'go-to guy' dead
ASPIRIN OVERDOSE? | Fund-raiser pressured by feds to cooperate
The man federal prosecutors pressured to cooperate in the corruption probe of ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich died of an apparent aspirin overdose 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, 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.
Kelly was Blagojevich’s “go-to guy” who once masterminded the ex-governor’s lucrative campaign fund.
Kelly was Blagojevich’s “go-to guy” who once masterminded 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 International Airport. It was his second conviction this year — and 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.
A source familiar with the investigation told the Chicago Sun-Times that Kelly, who was married, called a woman late Friday identified as his “girlfriend” and told her that he took some pills and was going to kill himself.
The woman picked up Kelly at a lumberyard near 173rd St. and Cicero in Country Club Hills, where Kelly reportedly had vomited. Police were taking samples of the vomit and searching for evidence at the lumberyard, the source said. State Police evidence technicians were also called in to search the area near the lumberyard.
The girlfriend then drove Kelly to Oak Forest Hospital, dropped him off and called police to report that she did so, the source said.
Saturday night, police were still unable to find “Kelly’s girl,” Country Club Hills Mayor Dwight Welch said.
Oak Forest Hospital does not have a trauma unit, but doctors were able to stabilize Kelly. Doctors later decided Kelly could be better treated at Stroger Hospital, where Kelly was taken about 5:15 a.m. Saturday and later died, Cook County hospitals spokesman Marcel Bright said.
A black Cadillac Escalade believed to belong to Kelly was left at Oak Forest Hospital, a source said. Chicago Police detectives were stationed near the SUV Saturday, and Country Club Hills confiscated the vehicle Saturday night.
Welch said his police department will lead the investigation, which will be treated as if it were a homicide.
“That means no stone will go unturned. We’re doing it by the book, step one all the way through. We’re checking the GPS on the phones of everyone involved,” the mayor said. “We’ll be able to pinpoint exactly where people were.”
Welch would not say whether detectives found a suicide note.
Kelly faced nearly eight years in prison and was to report to the downtown federal lockup by Friday. He was on a curfew, which included a requirement he be at his home between midnight and 6 a.m.
While Kelly had preliminary discussions with the government about flipping on Blagojevich as recently as this summer, he never signed on to any cooperation agreement with the feds.
He pleaded guilty to tax fraud charges earlier this year. That scheme was tied, in part, to Kelly’s known gambling addiction. He admitted that he converted business funds to pay off gambling debts but did not report it properly to the Internal Revenue Service. Some of the illicit funds out of the O’Hare fraud also went to pay gambling debt, along with other debt Kelly had incurred, including a loan from convicted businessman Tony Rezko.
Blagojevich, in a statement released through his publicist, said: “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.”
Kelly faced racketeering and extortion charges along with the ex-governor.
His death is not expected to change the trial’s scheduling, but how or whether it would affect defense or prosecutorial strategy remains to be seen.
Allan A. Ackerman, a member of Blagojevich’s legal defense team, told the Associated Press that he doubts Kelly’s death “will have any impact on the government’s case at all.”
Kelly’s lawyer, Michael Monico, said late Saturday that he could not answer any questions about his client’s death.
Spokesmen from the FBI and U.S. attorney’s office declined comment.
Contributing: Casey Cora and Tina Sfondeles