But in a bizarre twist...

[mikelewis]

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041208/NEWS03/412080350

I just came across this and thought I'd pass it along. Look at the bolded section.

WORK-FOR-COCAINE ALLEGATIONS
Defiance man indicted for voter-signup fraud

By VANESSA WINANS
BLADE STAFF WRITER

The Defiance man who gained national and international attention during the presidential campaign for allegedly registering voters in exchange for crack cocaine, has been indicted for false voter registration.

Ten felony counts by the Defiance County grand jury were filed against Chad Staton, 22, on Monday.

And, in a strange twist, the Toledo woman who claimed she had given him crack for the voters he registered, was found dead the same day in her home from an apparent drug overdose.

Georgianne Pitts, 41, was found dead in her home, Toledo police said yesterday. The police crime log said her death appeared to be an overdose, but the Lucas County coroner's office, which conducted an autopsy Monday, did not release the cause of death pending toxicology test results.

When officers went to her Woodland Avenue home, they found her on a couch in the living room covered by a blanket, as though she died in her sleep, police said.

Defiance County prosecutor Jeffrey Strausbaugh did not return phone calls yesterday seeking comment on the case against Mr. Staton and how the death of Pitts could affect it.

The charges against Mr. Staton were made in connection with a pre-election scandal that made national headlines and attracted interest from the international press.

Mr. Staton allegedly filled out more than 100 voter registration forms, claiming he had registered Dick Tracy and Mary Poppins, among many others in Defiance. He told police he gave the registrations to Pitts, who was working as a volunteer for the NAACP National Voter Fund.

Defiance County Sheriff David Westrick said yesterday there is a warrant for Mr. Staton's arrest, and that he remained at large.


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This is here obit - http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/dclassifieds?Dato=20041212&Kategori=CLOBITUARIES1&Class=6&Type=CAT0360&Lopenr=4988633&Selected=1

Mrs. Georgianne Mitchell Pitts, 41, passed away Monday, December 6, 2004, in her home. She was a graduate of Macomber-Whitney Vocational High School and was employed as an outreach social worker for Cordelia Martin Health Center.
She leaves to cherish her memory, her mother, Mrs. Geraldine Mitchell; son, Quinton A. Mitchell; daughters, Quintella N. and Gennesse D. Mitchell, and Cherelda E. and Blossom Pitts Mitchell; brothers, George Jr. (Tamika) and Ervin L. (Felicia) Mitchell; and a host of other loving relatives and kind friends.

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This is the cause of death

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050219/NEWS02/502190352&SearchID=73200668896029
But in a bizarre twist, the woman to whom he gave the forms, Georgianne Pitts, 41, of Toledo, died in early December. The Lucas County coroner's office ruled her cause of death as an accidental overdose of a prescription medication.

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Question - Why would his attorney allow him to plead guilty when the only witness to his crime died?

On the 15th he plead not guilty
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041215/NEWS02/41215006&SearchID=73200669255592

and then 4 days later he pleads guilty
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050219/NEWS02/502190352&SearchID=73200669321868

I wonder why? Doesn't this seem a bit off somehow?

The only proof they had was the voter registrations that were delivered to Cleveland which is about 2 hours away from Defiance. The registrations were sent from Cleveland to Definace with a note describing how the signatures all appeared similar. The batch was somehow identified to have come from the NAACP voter fund and was traced to Staton. Staton is arrested and then later indicted on the same day the only link between him and the voter fund accidentally kills herself. Something seems wrong with this picture but I'm not sure what. Maybe it seems a bit too convenient or bizarre, I don't know. Anyway, I thought I'd pass it along.

Mike