It’s often been observed that one reason why voter fraud is widespread is that it is hardly ever prosecuted. Jim Hoft, who has a site called Gateway Pundit, wrote to alert us to what could be a very important story, involving a Democratic office-holder in East St. Louis, Illinois, who allegedly tried to quash a voter fraud investigation by having a witness murdered:
Kelvin Ellis, a top administrator at East St. Louis City Hall, was indicted yesterday for plotting to kill a witness in the year long East St. Louis, Illinois federal vote fraud investigation.
Ellis, 55, who once served a prison term after abusing a city post, is now the director of regulatory affairs, which puts him in charge of housing inspections. He also is a precinct committeeman with close ties to the community’s Democratic Party leaders.
The indictments accuse Ellis of trying to have an unidentified witness killed. Court documents say he is a target of an ongoing vote fraud inquiry. He also is accused in a separate indictment of income tax evasion.
The investigation became public last year when more than a dozen subpoenas were delivered to city Democratic Party leaders after the November election.
According to one of Ellis’ indictments, the investigation began at least a month earlier. A female witness told agents on Oct. 5 that Ellis, “had committed election fraud and other potential criminal offenses.” Ellis learned the same day of the substance of what she had said, the indictment states.
In the following days, Ellis spoke repeatedly with an unidentified person, first discussing plans to discredit the witness, perhaps through a bogus drug sting, court documents say. The indictment includes excerpts of what appear to be recordings of these conversations between Ellis and the other person.
“I want her credibility destroyed,” Ellis is reported to have said. She is “trying to destroy us. No telling what she’s saying.”
As the weeks passed, the conversations turned more sinister, with Ellis saying on Nov. 19, “I want her … taken out, however we have to do it.”
Ellis was convicted in 1990 of extortion.
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