Illinois Mayor dead, shot to death in his car

The mayor of a decaying village near St. Louis known for its strip clubs and beset by financial troubles and embezzlements was shot and killed early Thursday. Washington Park police Detective Kim McAfee said John Thornton, 52, was shot twice in the chest at close range in his car shortly before 6 a.m., and he died later at a hospital.

Last September, former Thornton aide Linda Connor was sentenced to three years in federal prison and ordered to repay the village nearly $370,000 that she admitted she had embezzled or intentionally misapplied from April 2005 through 2007, causing the employees' pension funds to be underfunded. Last summer's bankruptcy filing showed that the village owed the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund $26,346.50. In March of last year, former payroll clerk Dorothy Triplett was sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing nearly $144,000 from the village in 2006 and 2007. A judge has ordered her to repay the money. In October 2006, Takisha Walker was sentenced to nearly three years in federal prison and ordered to repay the more than $170,000 she pilfered from the village to cover personal expenses for herself and others.

news.yahoo.com...

I wonder if the mayor was involved in similar corruption, or if he was trying to clean up the area and pissed off the wrong people.

reply to post by sickofitall2012


Unfortunately, this is what happens when a person in a high place such as this mayor, grows a conscience and goes "turncoat" against the very ones that more than likely put him into power.

This is precisely what happened to John F. Kennedy.

Edit to add;
Quick note: Illinois, which is my home state, is also the most corrupt state in the United States. (which is no excuse)

~ Zeus


[edit on 1-4-2010 by Zeus2573]

Yeah sounds like the wanna-be local mafia nailed him.

With all of these surrounding crimes of embezzlement and such, just seems like he knew something he should not have known about.

I hope they catch whoever did this and throw the book at them.

I'm sick of this kind of lawlessness. The people want justice!

[edit on 1-4-2010 by muzzleflash]

reply to post by muzzleflash


They are looking for a person with a head injury, because when he shot the mayor, he hit a tree, and the killer went threw the windshield. I guess he didn't put on his seat belt.

Originally posted by sickofitall2012
reply to post by muzzleflash

 

They are looking for a person with a head injury, because when he shot the mayor, he hit a tree, and the killer went threw the windshield. I guess he didn't put on his seat belt.

Wow! The shooter went through the windshield? Yep, shouldn't be to difficult to find him. However, if muzzleflash is correct about the Mafia being involved, (which he probably is) they will probably find the shooter dead pretty soon. Or, he will disappear completely. Which serves him right. This is the way the Mafia works.

It's good to know that the shooter went through the windshield, he's got to be hurtin' for certain.

~ Zeus

[edit on 1-4-2010 by Zeus2573]