Chris Kelly indicted again

Christopher Kelly, a former campaign manager to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, received another federal indictment today, this time alleging he rigged roofing contracts with two major airlines to pay for gambling debts and a house, among other things.

We wrote about him a little more than a year ago, when his first indictment said he used corporate funds from his roofing and consulting firms to pay illegal gambling debt and bookies.

The most recent indictment says he allegedly funneled more than $1.18 million in proceeds from fraudulent contracts (see U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's news release here). He’s the president and owner of a roofing firm, which allegedly rigged bids to steer $8.5 million in “inflated contracts” for roofing work done on American Airlines and United Airlines facilities at O’Hare International Airport. The scheme allegedly helped Kelly pay $383,000 in personal gambling debts, $700,000 for a personal loan to buy a house and $40,000 in personal expenses. The scheme also granted $450,000 to a president of the consulting firm allegedly involved in the activities.

Kelly was charged with 11 counts of mail fraud and six counts of money laundering. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The feds also are seeking the $1.18 million involved in the money laundering counts, $1.6 million involved in the contract fraud, as well as Kelly’s Burr Ridge house. He’ll be arraigned at a later date.