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People want to know where the money went

06:33 PM EST on Monday, January 9, 2006

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Two years ago, Ken Seitz died from ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Since her brother's death, Lynda Seitz has made sure to gather friends and family each time the Todd Kelly Foundation held a walkathon.

“We went to support research for ALS because it is, I mean, it’s a catastrophic illness… It has a terrible effect on the family,” she says.

Lynda thought she was supporting research towards the devastating disease that killed her brother, but Kentucky State Police are beginning to believe Kelly was just simply supporting himself.

In fact, fundraisers have been held in Kelly’s name continuously throughout the city since he announced his illness in 2000. The Phoenix Hill Tavern held benefit concerts where Kelly received 100 percent of the door.

“It went to help him with uninsured meds, rent. He was stressing over all the bills, you know, he had because the medicine was so expensive,” says Phoenix Hill Tavern GM Frankie Rogers.

State police told me that their investigation shows that Kelly is not taking any medications at all, even though he's told people he has ALS plus bone cancer and has even claimed to need brain surgery.

“I think the saddest part is that I don’t want it to stop people from wanting to donate and to help people who are really sick because there are a lot of people out there who really need the help,” Rogers says.

On Friday, Kelly told me he would supply us with a list of ALS patients who had received money from his fundraisers. On Monday he told me he was advised not to talk to the media. The management at WDJX tells us they can't comment on the Todd Kelly case, either.

The Kentucky chapter of the ALS Association issued a statement about the Kelly investigation: “Mr. Kelly's activities are in no way connected to the vital work that we continue each day to improve the lives of people with ALS, their family and their caregivers. Mr. Kelly does not have any affiliation with our Walk to D’feet ALS."

Web story produced by Jay Ditzer.

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