Blago Pal Suddenly Assumes Room Temperature

How convenient. A major figure in the Blagojevich fiasco suddenly assumed room temperature:

Ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's former chief fundraiser died Saturday at a Chicago hospital, a hospital spokesman said.

Christopher Kelly, 51, arrived at Cook County's Stroger hospital by ambulance at 5:15 a.m. Saturday and was pronounced dead at 10:46 a.m., said spokesman Marcel Bright.

Bright did not know whether Kelly was conscious when he arrived in the emergency room or where he was transported from. He said the body was still at the hospital, but was to be taken to the morgue where an autopsy was to be performed.

Kelly, a suburban roofing contractor, was Blagojevich's longtime fundraiser and had been indicted on three separate federal cases, including the one that alleges Blagojevich sought to sell or trade President Obama's former seat in the U.S. Senate.

Let me guess....he committed suicide by shooting himself in the back of the head three times....He hung himself and then tied his own hands behind his back.

Don't be surprised if you find out later that his autopsy is "inconclusive" and then his remains are cremated immediately.

And one less guy will be around to sing like a canary about Blago and the Machine. Funny how that always seems to happen in Chicago.

Ah yes, the Chicago Way.

More:

Kelly raised millions of dollars for Blagojevich's campaigns and was among his closest advisers. He had pleaded not guilty to charges included in the federal indictment alleging Blagojevich sought to sell or trade President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat.

Kelly, who admittedly loved to gamble and ran up big debts at Las Vegas casinos and elsewhere, was part of Blagojevich's tight inner circle along with convicted influence peddler Tony Rezko. Rezko is believed to be cooperating with federal prosecutors after being convicted of taking part in a $7 million payoff scheme.

Kelly was due to report next Friday to start serving a three-year federal prison sentence after pleading guilty to tax fraud charges that included writing off thousands of dollars in gambling debts as business expenses.

Hmmm. Another Tony Rezko associate suddenly dead.