The death of Michael Connell

[Ron Ecker]

RoveCyberGate.com

UPDATE: 12/20/08: Michael Connell Killed: VR Demands Full State And Federal Investigation

Michael Connell, the Bush IT expert who has been directly implicated in the rigging of George Bush’s 2000 and 2004 elections, was killed last night when his single engine plane crashed three miles short of the Akron airport. Velvet Revolution (“VR”), a non-profit that has been investigating Mr. Connell’s activities for the past two years, can now reveal that a person close to Mr. Connell has recently been discussing with a VR investigator how Mr. Connell can tell all about his work for George Bush. Mr. Connell told a close associate that he was afraid that the George Bush and Dick Cheney would “throw [[him] under the bus.”

A tipster close to the McCain campaign disclosed to VR in July that Mr. Connell’s life was in jeopardy and that Karl Rove had threatened him and his wife, Heather. VR’s attorney, Cliff Arnebeck, notified the United States Attorney General , Ohio law enforcement and the federal court about these threats and insisted that Mr. Connell be placed in protective custody. VR also told a close associate of Mr. Connell’s not to fly his plane because of another tip that the plane could be sabotaged. Mr. Connell, a very experienced pilot, has had to abandon at least two flights in the past two months because of suspicious problems with his plane. On December 18, 2008, Mr. Connell flew to a small airport outside of Washington DC to meet some people. It was on his return flight the next day that he crashed.

On October 31, Mr. Connell appeared before a federal judge in Ohio after being subpoenaed in a federal lawsuit investigating the rigging of the 2004 election under the direction of Karl Rove. The judge ordered Mr. Connell to testify under oath at a deposition on November 3rd, the day before the presidential election. Velvet Revolution received confidential information that the White House was extremely concerned about Mr. Connell talking about his illegal work for the White House and two Bush/Cheney 04 attorneys were dispatched to represent him.

An associate of Mr. Connell’s told VR that Mr. Connell was involved with the destruction of the White House emails and the setting up of the off-grid White House email system.

Mr. Connell handled all of John McCain’s computer work in the recent presidential campaign. VR has received direct evidence that the McCain campaign kept abreast of the legal developments against Mr. Connell by reading the VR dedicated website, www.rovecybergate.com.

VR demands that the Ohio Attorney General and the United States Justice Department conduct a complete investigation into the activities of Mr. Connell and determine whether there was any foul play in his death. VR demands that federal law enforcement officials place the following people under protective custody pending this investigation. Heather Connell who is the owner of GovTech Solutions, Randy Cole, the former President of GovTech Solutions, and Jeff Averbeck, the CEO of SmartTech in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Both GovTech and SmartTech have been implicated in the rigging of the 2000 and 2004 elections and the White House email scandal. Our prior request to have Mr. Connell protected went unheeded and now he is dead.

http://www.velvetrevolution.us/prosecute_rove/

[William Kelly]

RoveCyberGate.com

UPDATE: 12/20/08: Michael Connell Killed: VR Demands Full State And Federal Investigation

Michael Connell, the Bush IT expert who has been directly implicated in the rigging of George Bush's 2000 and 2004 elections, was killed last night when his single engine plane crashed three miles short of the Akron airport. Velvet Revolution ("VR"), a non-profit that has been investigating Mr. Connell's activities for the past two years, can now reveal that a person close to Mr. Connell has recently been discussing with a VR investigator how Mr. Connell can tell all about his work for George Bush. Mr. Connell told a close associate that he was afraid that the George Bush and Dick Cheney would "throw [[him] under the bus."

A tipster close to the McCain campaign disclosed to VR in July that Mr. Connell's life was in jeopardy and that Karl Rove had threatened him and his wife, Heather. VR's attorney, Cliff Arnebeck, notified the United States Attorney General , Ohio law enforcement and the federal court about these threats and insisted that Mr. Connell be placed in protective custody. VR also told a close associate of Mr. Connell's not to fly his plane because of another tip that the plane could be sabotaged. Mr. Connell, a very experienced pilot, has had to abandon at least two flights in the past two months because of suspicious problems with his plane. On December 18, 2008, Mr. Connell flew to a small airport outside of Washington DC to meet some people. It was on his return flight the next day that he crashed.

On October 31, Mr. Connell appeared before a federal judge in Ohio after being subpoenaed in a federal lawsuit investigating the rigging of the 2004 election under the direction of Karl Rove. The judge ordered Mr. Connell to testify under oath at a deposition on November 3rd, the day before the presidential election. Velvet Revolution received confidential information that the White House was extremely concerned about Mr. Connell talking about his illegal work for the White House and two Bush/Cheney 04 attorneys were dispatched to represent him.

An associate of Mr. Connell's told VR that Mr. Connell was involved with the destruction of the White House emails and the setting up of the off-grid White House email system.

Mr. Connell handled all of John McCain's computer work in the recent presidential campaign. VR has received direct evidence that the McCain campaign kept abreast of the legal developments against Mr. Connell by reading the VR dedicated website, www.rovecybergate.com.

VR demands that the Ohio Attorney General and the United States Justice Department conduct a complete investigation into the activities of Mr. Connell and determine whether there was any foul play in his death. VR demands that federal law enforcement officials place the following people under protective custody pending this investigation. Heather Connell who is the owner of GovTech Solutions, Randy Cole, the former President of GovTech Solutions, and Jeff Averbeck, the CEO of SmartTech in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Both GovTech and SmartTech have been implicated in the rigging of the 2000 and 2004 elections and the White House email scandal. Our prior request to have Mr. Connell protected went unheeded and now he is dead.

http://www.velvetrevolution.us/prosecute_rove/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...isrc=newsletter

[Ron Ecker]

http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?Content...49-707712b1f8c7

http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2008/3320

Edited December 22, 2008 by Ron Ecker

[Evan Burton]

I'd be interested in finding out what the other aircraft problems were, but despite all training people still regularly run out of gas. Not only experienced recreational pilots, but even airliners... just google the Gimli Glider.

[Ron Ecker]

Why would a plane that has run out of gas be "fully engulfed in flames"? Or did it have a fire on board and run out of gas simultaneously? Some days it doesn't pay to get up (in the air).

[Len Colby]

The part about the shift in the Ohio vote count jibes with my memory but it would be interesting to see an account that can cite sources. One thing that is suspicious even to me are the various occasions when vote counts conducted by Republican controlled companies differed from projections in that party’s favor.

I don’t think the crash was caused by a lack of fuel because as Ron pointed out most accounts have the wreckage engulfed in flame. However according to the aero-news article he linked “there were reports of freezing rain in the area at the time of the accident.” That is partially confirmed by the Accu-Weather site which said temps that day were 45 – 26 F that day with almost an inch of rain. Crash time was “about 6 pm” which would have about an hour after sunset thus temps were likely below freezing especially at altitude.

http://www.accuweather.com/us/oh/akron/443...=1&metric=0

A few questions for Evan, Matthew or other with aviation experience:

- how high up would the plane likely to be 2 ½ - 3 miles from the runway on final approach? The plane was a Piper Saratoga.

- how much lower than ground temp would you expect it to be at that altitude?

- Is there anyway of verifying what the temp at a specific time at a specific altitude?

It should be pointed out that even highly experienced multi-pilots airline flight crews to make screw ups that lead to deadly crashes. After debating Fetzer about the Wellstone crash I take claims by conspiracy theorist that crash pilots we “accomplished”. His license indicates otherwise it was only issued 6/19/2006 only a little over 2 years ago and was the lowest type license and rating, private/single engine

https://amsrvs.registry.faa.gov/airmeninquiry/

Enter info about YOURSELF on the 1st page then search for MICHAEL CONNELL his middle name was Louis. The FAA removes dead pilots from the database so I don’t know how much longer the page will remain available

[Evan Burton]

Why would a plane that has run out of gas be "fully engulfed in flames"? Or did it have a fire on board and run out of gas simultaneously? Some days it doesn't pay to get up (in the air).

Counterintuitively, the most dangerous part is actually the fuel vapour (for ignition). That's enough to then set fire to other flammable items in the aircraft. The military don't like leaving aircraft on the line with nearly empty tanks, as it actually increases the risk of something going awry. Ask anyone who has ever ttaken a fuel tank out of a car to do some welding on it. I learnt that as a kid, during my first job. I washed the tank out with soapy water a number of times and let it air overnight. My boss then showed me that even with all that, it could be dangerous. He put the blowtorch to the neck of the tank... and flames shot out like a jet for about 3 seconds.

Also, you can be out of gas but still have fuel in the tank. Aircraft manuals will always refer to the 'usable fuel' in a tank.

[Christopher Hall]

RoveCyberGate.com

UPDATE: 12/20/08: Michael Connell Killed: VR Demands Full State And Federal Investigation

Michael Connell, the Bush IT expert who has been directly implicated in the rigging of George Bush’s 2000 and 2004 elections, was killed last night when his single engine plane crashed three miles short of the Akron airport. Velvet Revolution (“VR”), a non-profit that has been investigating Mr. Connell’s activities for the past two years, can now reveal that a person close to Mr. Connell has recently been discussing with a VR investigator how Mr. Connell can tell all about his work for George Bush. Mr. Connell told a close associate that he was afraid that the George Bush and Dick Cheney would “throw [[him] under the bus.”

A tipster close to the McCain campaign disclosed to VR in July that Mr. Connell’s life was in jeopardy and that Karl Rove had threatened him and his wife, Heather. VR’s attorney, Cliff Arnebeck, notified the United States Attorney General , Ohio law enforcement and the federal court about these threats and insisted that Mr. Connell be placed in protective custody. VR also told a close associate of Mr. Connell’s not to fly his plane because of another tip that the plane could be sabotaged. Mr. Connell, a very experienced pilot, has had to abandon at least two flights in the past two months because of suspicious problems with his plane. On December 18, 2008, Mr. Connell flew to a small airport outside of Washington DC to meet some people. It was on his return flight the next day that he crashed.

On October 31, Mr. Connell appeared before a federal judge in Ohio after being subpoenaed in a federal lawsuit investigating the rigging of the 2004 election under the direction of Karl Rove. The judge ordered Mr. Connell to testify under oath at a deposition on November 3rd, the day before the presidential election. Velvet Revolution received confidential information that the White House was extremely concerned about Mr. Connell talking about his illegal work for the White House and two Bush/Cheney 04 attorneys were dispatched to represent him.

An associate of Mr. Connell’s told VR that Mr. Connell was involved with the destruction of the White House emails and the setting up of the off-grid White House email system.

Mr. Connell handled all of John McCain’s computer work in the recent presidential campaign. VR has received direct evidence that the McCain campaign kept abreast of the legal developments against Mr. Connell by reading the VR dedicated website, www.rovecybergate.com.

VR demands that the Ohio Attorney General and the United States Justice Department conduct a complete investigation into the activities of Mr. Connell and determine whether there was any foul play in his death. VR demands that federal law enforcement officials place the following people under protective custody pending this investigation. Heather Connell who is the owner of GovTech Solutions, Randy Cole, the former President of GovTech Solutions, and Jeff Averbeck, the CEO of SmartTech in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Both GovTech and SmartTech have been implicated in the rigging of the 2000 and 2004 elections and the White House email scandal. Our prior request to have Mr. Connell protected went unheeded and now he is dead.

http://www.velvetrevolution.us/prosecute_rove/

Ron-

What grounds does VR have to demand that anyone be place into protective custody, unless they want to be so protected?

Legally, you have to demonstrate that someone is incapable of taking care of himself before a court will declare a conservatorship or guardianship.

As for me, I will take a pass on any small aircraft, irrespective of who is flying it and of whom I may offend by declining the offer to fly.

It's a lot of fun, as I am sure riding a Harley is, but it doesn't pass my risk-benefit test.

Glad to see you posting and Merry Christmas.

Chris

[Len Colby]

According to the Akron-Beacon-Journal the weather wasn’t good at the time of the crash:

Charles Starkey, a former Navy pilot and director of safety for a Cleveland-area private jet company, said Friday night's cloud cover and misty, cold conditions presented challenges for even the most experienced pilots.

In a 30-minute time frame around the crash, the weather deteriorated quickly as visibility around the airport diminished from nine miles to a little over one mile with a low ceiling.

In such cases, pilots typically are forced to rely on the plane's instruments rather than their own vision, which can contribute to crashes, Starkey said.

''It's easy to get disoriented, especially if you're not very experienced at it,'' he said. ''You've got to ignore the various things your body can be telling you and rely on your instruments. It's very challenging.''

http://www.ohio.com/news/36521859.html

Some sites have reported that he was threatened by Karl Rove but according the article he was allegedly threatened with prosecution. Also he gave his deposition over a month ago, if he was going to “sing” why didn’t he do so then? If he was killed to shut him up why not do so before? He did speaking willingly, he only did so after being order to by a judge:

Mr. Connell was subpoenaed in the 2006 case against former Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, alleging that voter fraud helped steal Ohio votes and swing the 2004 election for President George W. Bush.

[…]

Mr. Connell tried to fight the subpoena, but a judge ruled against it and he gave a deposition on Nov. 3.

It was through the fight over the subpoena that attorneys who brought the case learned that Mr. Connell and his wife had allegedly been threatened with federal prosecution by Rove.

http://www.ohio.com/news/36521859.html

Even according to the Velvet Revolution site quoting the lawyer behind the suit he denied engaging electoral fraud under oath, so what indications are there other than anonymous hearsay that head been threatened or was going to make damaging admissions?

“Mr. Arnebeck said that Connell denied that there were “any” problems at all with any voting systems and he never heard of any fraud. He said he did not “know of any vulnerabilities” to voting systems in Ohio. In other words, he said that everything’s fine, no one did anything wrong, and everyone should trust people like him to count their votes.”

On election day Arnebeck said was going to file a RICO suit “Once the dust clears from today’s election” but as of the today, 49 days after election , no such suit seems to have been filed.

http://www.velvetrevolution.us/prosecute_rove/

On December 21 a local TV reported that he “denied under oath” that he rigged “the 2004 election for President Bush”

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Killed_GOP_p...e_had_1222.html

Some sites claim he feared for his life and even cancelled 2 flights because of suspicion his plane had been sabotaged, but this raises an obvious question, if true why did he continue flying a private plane when buying a tickets on commercial flights would be cheaper?

The local TV station reported:

“Connell though was apparently told by a close friend not to fly his plane because his plane might be sabotaged. And twice in the last two months Connell, who is an experienced pilot, canceled two flights because of suspicious problems with his plane.”

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Killed_GOP_p...e_had_1222.html

The reporter didn’t disclose his source but he spoke to Arnebeck and his language closely parallels that from a Velvet Revolution press release that looks like a news report:

“VR also told a close associate of Mr. Connell's not to fly his plane because of another tip that the plane could be sabotaged. Mr. Connell, a very experienced pilot, has had to abandon at least two flights in the past two months because of suspicious problems with his plane.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20081220/pl_u...l_investigation

[Evan Burton]

- how high up would the plane likely to be 2 ½ - 3 miles from the runway on final approach? The plane was a Piper Saratoga.

I don't have anything to hand that would tell me what specific approach a Saratoga would fly (it depends on a couple of factors) but on average you'd be flying a three degree slope, and I'd expect to be at about 1000 - 1200 feet AGL.

- how much lower than ground temp would you expect it to be at that altitude?

"Standard" lapse rate is 2 degrees Celsius per 1000 feet, but that is an average for planning purposes.

- Is there anyway of verifying what the temp at a specific time at a specific altitude?

Not really, unless there was a Pilot Report or data from a radiosonde balloon.

Edited December 24, 2008 by Evan Burton
Added Celsius

[Michael Clark]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Connell

Michael Connell

For other people named Michael Connell, see Michael Connell (disambiguation).

Michael Louis Connell (November 30, 1963 – December 19, 2008) was a high-level Republican consultant who was subpoenaed in a case regarding alleged tampering with the 2004 U.S. Presidential election and a case involving thousands of missing emails pertaining to the political firing of U.S. Attorneys. Connell was killed when the plane he was flying crashed on December 19, 2008.

LifeEdit

Connell was originally from Illinois and lived in Bath Township, near Akron, Ohio.^[1] His company also maintained a website for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth527 group during the 2004 election.^[2]

Request for protectionEdit

In July 2008, the lead attorney in the King Lincoln Bronzeville Neighborhood Association v. Blackwell case, Cliff Arnebeck, sent a letter^{[citation needed]} to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey seeking protection for Connell as a witness in the case, saying he had been threatened. Arnebeck wrote, “We have been confidentially informed by a source we believe to be credible that Karl Rove has threatened Michael Connell, a principal witness we have identified in our King Lincoln case in federal court in Columbus, Ohio, that if he does not agree to 'take the fall' for election fraud in Ohio, his wife Heather will be prosecuted for supposed lobby law violations."^{[citation needed]} Arnebeck claims that months later, his source called back and warned that Connell's life was in danger.^[3]

He was served with a subpoena in Ohio on September 22, 2008,^{[citation needed]} in a case alleging that vote-tampering during the 2004 presidential election resulted in civil rights violations. Connell, president of GovTech Solutions and New Media Communications, was a website designer and IT professional and created a website for Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell that presented the results of the 2004 election in real time as they were tabulated. At the time, Blackwell was also chairman of the Bush-Cheney 2004 reelection effort in Ohio. Connell refused to testify or to produce documents relating to the system used in the 2004 and 2006 elections, lawyers said.^{[citation needed]} "Connell...was apparently told by a close friend not to fly his plane because his plane might be sabotaged, and twice in the last two months Connell, who is an experienced pilot, cancelled two flights because of suspicious problems with his plane." according to Blake Renault of the Cleveland CBS News station covering the crash.^{[citation needed]}

DeathEdit

At about 6 p.m. on December 19, 2008, Connell was killed, at the age of 45,^[1] in the crash of a single-engine 1997 Piper Saratoga private airplane, which he was flying, which occurred in Lake Township, between 2.5 and 3 miles short of the runway at the Akron-Canton Airport near Akron, Ohio. Connell was alone in the plane and had been returning from the College Park Airport in Maryland, near Washington, D.C..^[4] The plane crashed on its final approach to the airport's main runway, between two houses, one of which was vacant. Connell had flown the plane from the Akron-Canton Airport to the College Park Airport on December 18, 2008 and, according to the Stark County, Ohio coroner, Connell had on his person a receipt for a breakfast he had purchased in Washington, D.C. on December 19, 2008.

On December 31, 2008 it was reported that air traffic controllers had noted prior to the crash that Connell was off course, that they had been in communication with him regarding this, and that he had been trying to get back on course at the time of the crash. There were reported to have been no signs of mechanical problems with the plane.^[5]

The National Transportation Safety Board published its final report into the accident that killed Connell on January 28, 2010. The board concluded that Connell had lost control of the aircraft as a result of disorientation while turning in cloud. During a pre-flight briefing Connell had commented that he wanted to return to Akron before the weather "went from bad to worse". Several other pilots in the vicinity had reported severe icing at the time of the crash; Connell's aircraft was not equipped or approved to fly in icing conditions.^[6]