Mayor John Thornton
Posted on 04/01/2010 11:50:26 AM PDT by Zakeet
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.
McAfee said police suspect the mayor had been driving around Washington Park, a 5,300-resident town in southwestern Illinois, after working an overnight shift on a second job when the killer fired at him.
There was no immediate word on any suspects or charges.
[Snip]
Washington Park filed for rarely used Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection last July, citing assets of less than $50,000 and debt of more than $1 million. Chapter 9 allows governmental units to restructure.
[Snip]
Thefts from the village's coffers haven't helped.
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.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
What did he know and when did he know it
Such a shame. I’m sure it is a model Democrat city and people don’t have to travel all the way to Detroit or even East St. Louis.
Mmmmmm,Mmmmm,Mmmmmm
These amish communities are wretched hives of scum and villany.
Absolutely NO MENTION of Party affiliation.
That means DEMOCRAT, of course.
Literally.
How about a bookeeper and an accountant who don’t know each other?
Who’s watching the store? They’ve got assets of less than $50000 and they miss theft of funds nearing half a million?
Yep, typical mobbed up Amish town.
Mayor John Thornton
Prolly just forgot to make a payment to the boyz.
Washington Park filed for rarely used Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection last July
You won’t be able to call it “rarely used” for much longer I betcha
RIP.
Can anyone cite a successfull, decent city or major town that is predominately run by black Americans? Also include those run by white liberal Dems as well. Scant totals, if any!
WOW! That’s just like in the novel “Unintended Consequences” by John Ross! Same area! Maybe CWII really is starting...
From the St. Louis paper. Sounds like the guy was a decent person.
WASHINGTON PARK — Illinois police say the man shot to death in his car early Thursday morning in Washington Park was that town’s mayor.
Mayor John Thornton, 52, had just left work as an overnight-shift foreman at a sanitation district when he was shot twice in the chest, at close range, about 5:45 a.m. Thursday. A motive for the shooting is unclear.
Reached at her home this morning, his daughter confirmed his death but declined further comment. Thornton leaves behind a wife and six children.
Thornton was driving down 47th street in Washington Park when he was shot, Washington Park Detective Kim McAfee said. The killer had been in the mayor’s personal car with him when it hit a tree, McAfee said. The killer then ran to a red Chevrolet and drove off, McAfee said.
Police arrested a man, believed to be the getaway car’s driver, about two hours later. Detectives with the Illinois State Police are questioning the suspect, who is about 20 years old. A second suspect, the gunman, is still on the loose.
McAfee said the driver knows who the shooter is. “He’ll tell us who it is,” McAfee said.
The mayor’s car crashed into a tree at 48th and Caseyville streets. When police arrived at Thornton’s car, Thornton was unresponsive in the front seat. They called for an ambulance. Thornton was taken to Kenneth Hall Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Witnesses told police that two men — one armed with a gun — drove away in a red Impala with a white hood. Just before 8 a.m. Thursday, police in the Roosevelt housing project in East St . Louis arrested one suspect at an apartment there and led him away in handcuffs. No word on the second suspect.
Washington Park is a village in St. Clair County and has a population of about 5,400 residents. The village, home to several strip clubs, has had its share of troubles. Last year, Washington Park filed for bankruptcy a second time, citing a combination of court judgments, embezzlements and drastically reduced revenue from strip clubs.
McAfee, the Washington Park detective, was asked by reporters at the scene to comment on a possible motive for the shooting. McAfee said the mayor was known to check the community early in the morning, to make sure police were out. Thornton was the type of person to stop if flagged down and give money to the needy along the streets, McAfee said.
A police officer from another jurisdiction apparently had stopped the getaway car earlier this morning and took down the names of about four people inside, McAfee said. McAfee indicated that the car stop was made before dispatchers had a chance to put out details on the murder. The Post-Dispatch is trying to pin down the time and purpose of the car stop.
McAfee said Thornton almost certainly knew the killer.
“I’m not going to say he (the killer) was on drugs but when you’re on drugs and drinking, life doesn’t mean anything to you,” McAfee told reporters.
The mayor’s son, John Thornton Jr., came to the scene and talked with police and reporters about his father. He said Thornton was a beloved mayor who would have helped anyone in need. He said his father had just gotten off work about 5 or 5:30 a.m. from his job with Metro East Sanitary District and may have come upon someone in need.
“He was just a people-person. If you needed something, he’d give it to you with no hesitation,” the son said.
Thornton Jr. pleaded with suspects who are still on the run to surrender to authorities. “You took a good man, you took a husband, a father, a great leader. Just turn yourself in. Bring peace to the family.”
The mayor, Thornton Sr., also worked as a foreman for the Metro East Sanitary District. He’d worked there about 20 years, said Thornton’s boss, Bob Shipley, the executive director of the sanitary district.
Shipley said Thornton Sr. worked the overnight shift manning a pumping station in East St. Louis. His shift went from 10 p.m. Wednesday until 6 a.m. Thursday. But he was able to leave early because his relief came in about 5 a.m., Shipley told the Post-Dispatch.
Shipley praised Thornton’s work ethic and friendly demeanor.
“He’s a real great guy, very good worker, nice gentleman,” Shipley said. “He and his crew just finished a Cahokia project and did an outstanding job.”
McAfee, the Washington Park detective, was asked by reporters at the scene to comment on a possible motive for the shooting. McAfee said the mayor was known to check the community early in the morning, to make sure police were out. Thornton was the type of person to stop if flagged down and give money to the needy along the streets, McAfee said.
A police officer from another jurisdiction apparently had stopped the getaway car earlier this morning and took down the names of about four people inside, McAfee said. McAfee indicated that the car stop was made before dispatchers had a chance to put out details on the murder. The Post-Dispatch is trying to pin down the time and purpose of the car stop.
McAfee said Thornton almost certainly knew the killer.
“I’m not going to say he (the killer) was on drugs but when you’re on drugs and drinking, life doesn’t mean anything to you,” McAfee told reporters.
The mayor’s son, John Thornton Jr., came to the scene and talked with police and reporters about his father. He said Thornton was a beloved mayor who would have helped anyone in need. He said his father had just gotten off work about 5 or 5:30 a.m. from his job with Metro East Sanitary District and may have come upon someone in need.
“He was just a people-person. If you needed something, he’d give it to you with no hesitation,” the son said.
Thornton Jr. pleaded with suspects who are still on the run to surrender to authorities. “You took a good man, you took a husband, a father, a great leader. Just turn yourself in. Bring peace to the family.”
The mayor, Thornton Sr., also worked as a foreman for the Metro East Sanitary District. He’d worked there about 20 years, said Thornton’s boss, Bob Shipley, the executive director of the sanitary district.
Shipley said Thornton Sr. worked the overnight shift manning a pumping station in East St. Louis. His shift went from 10 p.m. Wednesday until 6 a.m. Thursday. But he was able to leave early because his relief came in about 5 a.m., Shipley told the Post-Dispatch.
Shipley praised Thornton’s work ethic and friendly demeanor.
“He’s a real great guy, very good worker, nice gentleman,” Shipley said. “He and his crew just finished a Cahokia project and did an outstanding job.”
Definitely a under statement.
(A more wretched hive of scum and villainy you can’t imagine.)
Gotta love it when STAR WARS is quoted to describe a suburb of St. Louie.*LOL*
I even read it in an Obiwan Kinobe voice.
This is sad and I’m afraid the first of many.... not murdering the mayor, but the financial problems.... and chapter 9’s.
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