It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
[quote]
Murder plot charge stems from voting probe
BY MICHAEL SHAW AND DOUG MOORE
Post-Dispatch
Friday, Jan. 21 2005
Kelvin Ellis, a top administrator at East St. Louis City Hall, plotted to kill a witness in a federal vote fraud investigation, according to indictments opened Friday, which also accuse Police Chief Ron Matthews of apparently unrelated crimes.
Matthews is accused of helping a former auxiliary police officer with a felony record regain a pistol that had been taken from him, and of lying about it. That auxiliary officer, Ayoub S. Qattoum, and Matthews’ secretary, Janerra Carson-Slaughter, also were charged.
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.
Qattoum is charged with conspiracy, obstruction of justice, gun violations and making a false statement. He was detained pending a hearing Friday. He has a passport from Jordan, and officials were not able to determine his native country. U.S. Attorney Ron Tenpas said Qattoum is not a U.S. citizen.[/quote]