Marathon Pundit: Ex-Blago fundraiser Kelly charged with money laundering

If onetime Rod Blagojevich adviser and fundraiser Christopher Kelly thought his legal problems were behind him when he pleaded guilty to tax evasion last month, he was mistaken, as the Chicago Sun-Times tells us:

Under the new charges, Kelly is accused of paying $450,000 in kickbacks to a consultant in a scheme to fraudulently obtain approximately $8.5 million in inflated contracts for projects involving the two largest airlines at O'Hare International Airport, federal authorities said.

Prosecutors say Kelly funneled more than $1.1 million in ill-gotten funds through his company, BCI Commercial Roofing, Inc. He did it, they say, to pay for his gambling debts and other personal debts.

Kelly and Blago were once close friends and in 2006, Blago was confident that Kelly, unlike Tony Rezko--who was first charged that year--would not be indicted:

Q: Are you confident that Chris Kelly is not going to be indicted?

A: Yeah. Yes. They're two different people, by the way, and it's a different relationship. Chris and I are much closer. Chris is the head of my political campaign. That's someone I talk to a lot more frequently. I'm confident, yes.