They’re All Criminals, You Know

9:11 pm, 12/13/07

They're All Criminals, You Know

"Roofing contractor" Chris Kelly, "the other half" of the Blagojevich administration's "gruesome twosome", is indicted. Kelly is also brother to a woman who got was conveniently given a job running the Bureau of Real Estate Professions five days after getting her real estate license, and the man who threatened to sue Blagojevich's father-in-law for accusing the two of them of corruption, a claim that the reams of available evidence suggests to be profoundly correct.

The U.S. attorney's office charged Christopher Kelly with understating his personal and business income by more than $1.3 million over five years, concealing his efforts to disguise shifting corporate funds to pay gambling debts. Mr. Kelly stepped down about a year ago as head of the governor’s political campaign fund.

Mr. Kelly, who ironically had represented Gov. Blagojevich in early talks several years ago about expanding gaming in Illinois, was not indicted for any impropriety regarding state government, noted his attorney, Michael Monico.

"This case doesn't involve any political action or any fundraising. This is strictly about his personal life," Mr. Monico said. "Mr. Kelly has paid millions of dollars in taxes. This is a dispute over whether he should have paid more. We strongly feel he paid what he owed."

Coincidentally, the case against Al Capone didn't involve murder, bootlegging, or racketeering, either.

Mr. Kelly, 49, was charged with one count of obstructing and impeding the Internal Revenue Service, five counts each of filing false individual and corporate income tax returns and one count of illegally structuring a monetary transaction.

On at least one occasion, he hid the use of corporate funds to pay a gambling debt to someone named in the indictment only as "Individual A" by falsely ordering that the payment be listed in BCI records as a loan to "Individual A."

On other occasions, he allegedly improperly recorded payments or disguised them as checks payable to himself, his children and his wife.

In a statement, Gov. Blagojevich said: "I am saddened to hear these allegations about Chris' personal life. I know the pain it must be causing him and his family. My thoughts and my prayers are with them during this difficult time. In fairness to Chris, I believe it is important to let the legal process play out and not rush to judgment."

Blagojevich knew about the "allegations" regarding Kelly's personal life as far back as 2003, when GamblingMagazine.com and, by extension, this blog reported them. He also knew about his father-in-law's "allegations" regarding both of their personal lives. Having the gall to express any sort of surprise at all is jaw-dropping.