On a cold rainy night last December 19, a small plane crashed on approach to Akron OH killing the pilot and only occupant, one Michael Connell. Michael Connell of course had attracted some noterieity due to the fact he was Karl Rove's long time IT guru and had been called on to testify in a law suit that alleged vote tampering in Ohio in 2004 (King Lincoln Bronzeville Neighborhood Association v. Blackwell). Connell had fought the subpoena but it had become apparent that he would have to testify. He had in fact given a deposition in the week prior to the 2008 election.
in July of that year a request (link here) had been made to US Attorney General Michale Mukasey that Connell be given protection based on an alleged threat made by Karl Rove to retaliate against Connell and his family if he did not take a fall in his testimony. So when he died in a plane crash just a few days before Christmas, questions were raised about how and why that happened.
What better way to remove a potentially troublesome witness than to eliminate him at a time when the story would receive little attention and fade quickly from the news cycle? A plane crash due to tampering might be very hard to detect. Connell was a very experienced pilot and his plane was equipped to fly in bad weather and icing conditions, so it seems natural that questions were raised. There were even reports at the time that he'd been warned not to fly, that his plane might be sabotaged.
For a short while the story did receive attention in the blogosphere (here is one example), but it soon tapered off as no new information surfaced. It was expected that the FAA would investigate the cause of the crash and that report might shed more light on the story. We all moved on the the inauguration of Barck Obama and worries about our cratering economy.
Last April even his sister raised questions about what happened. (link here)and here.
The FAA is required to issue a report within a year indicating a probable cause for such a crash. It is now nearly a year later, and to date no such report has been issued as best I can tell. The deadline is two weeks from Saturday, and once again if a report is issued in late December, whatever it contains is likely to receive little notice.
So I'm curious. What gives? Why has this story with so many unexplained angles disappeared almost without a trace? My inquiring mind wants to know.