Legal Commentary

Blagojevich Co-Defendant Dies, Was Scheduled to Surrender Next Week

By Jeralyn

Christopher Kelly, a co-defendant and former top fundraiser for former Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich, has died of salicylate intoxication.

Kelly pleaded guilty earlier this year to tax fraud charges in a 2007 case. He was sentenced to 37 months and scheduled to surrender in November, 2009. According to documents on PACER, the judge recommended in its sentencing order that he serve his sentence at Yankton, S.D. and that he be allowed to participate in a residential drug and alcohol program.

Kelly was charged in a wire fraud/money laundering case in early 2009. He pleaded guilty last week. The plea agreement (pdf) called for a 57 month sentence to run consecutive to the 37 month sentence. The judge either sentenced him immediately or denied him bond pending sentencing, as he was ordered to surrender to the U.S. Marshals Service on Sept. 18, 2009. His bond conditions were also modified for the short period between his plea and September 18, 2009, to include a provision that he have no contact with three persons (unnamed in the order) and that he spend every night between midnight and 6:00 a.m. in his house. [More...] (Update: From what I can gather, he was not sentenced immediately. The Court either advanced his surrender date in the 37 month case, or more likely, denied him bond pending sentencing in the case in which he just pleaded guilty, giving him until Sept. 18 to wrap up his affairs. According to PACER, the Government moved to modify the conditions of his bond in the case in which he just plead and he agreed to the modification. The court modified the terms as I wrote above, ordering him to surrender on Sept. 18. There is no recent change in the surrender date on the docket for his 37 month case.

None of his plea agreements involved cooperation with the Government. He still faced charges in the Blagojevich case. R.I.P., Mr. Kelly.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on September 12, 2009 (boomark / email).