Via ProRev

NY POST PAGE SIX - Hunter S. Thompson’s mysterious death really a suicide? There are some serious irregularities surrounding the demise of the gonzo author, who was found shot to death in the kitchen of his Woody Creek, Colo., ranch on Feb. 20, and local cops seemed to have done a lackluster job of investigating.

Police reports obtained by the Rocky Mountain News note that cops arriving on the scene heard shots being fired, that Thompson’s son, Juan, was allowed to be alone with the body, and that there was something odd about the gun Thompson supposedly used to kill himself.

Before his death, Thompson seemed in good spirits and was not known to be depressed. And considering his long-winded style, the absence of a note seems strange - he’d typed only the single word “counselor.”

There were no eyewitnesses to the shooting, only an “earwitness” - Thompson’s wife, Anita, who was on the phone with him at the time and who later drank scotch with the corpse. Her account of the incident is inconsistent: She alternately has said that she heard a loud, muffled noise and that she heard nothing but clicking.

The behavior of Juan, who was in the house at the time of the shooting, also was unusual. Pitkin County Deputy Sheriff John Armstrong said that when investigators arrived on the scene they heard shots, but Juan assured them he had merely been firing off a salute to his dead dad.

Say WHAT? His son was firing a gun and the cops just ignored it?

Investigator Joseph DiSalvo also let Juan enter the kitchen alone and drape a scarf over the body.

And in his report, Deputy Ron Ryan noted the semi-automatic Smith & Wesson 645 found next to Thompson’s body was in an unusual condition. There was a spent shell casing, but although there were six bullets left in the gun’s clip, there was no bullet in the firing chamber, as there should have been under normal circumstances.

DiSalvo said he did not check the gun, adding, “I think a bullet from the magazine should have cycled into the chamber” unless there was a “malfunction.” A spent slug was found in the stove hood behind the body.

The police didn’t check the gun? Something way strange is going on here.

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Antonio Villaraigosa, a genuine progressive, former State Assembly Speaker and union organizer, and current City Council member, has gotten 33% of the vote in the LA mayoral race. Current mayor Jim Hahn, in a slap upside the head, looks to finish a distant second at 24%, forcing a runoff in May.

In the 2001 election, in a disgusting move, Hahn slimed Villaraigosa at the last moment with stomach-turning ads, practically calling him a gang member. Hahn won the race, however Villaraigosa is far stronger this time. At best, Hahn has been an ineffective mayor, and through ineptness (or worse) has somehow managed to alienate the constituency his father, the hugely popular former LA County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, had built over decades.

Two things Hahn touted as his primary achievements— his successful fight against San Fernando Valley secession and his replacement of Police Chief Bernard C. Parks with William J. Bratton — alienated many of the Valley and African American voters who had been crucial to his 2001 election.

More broadly, Hahn — who, based on early returns, appeared likely to become the first incumbent mayor in 32 years not to win reelection without a runoff — never established the sort of record Angelenos seemed to be looking for.

Likely voters polled by The Times last month said what they wanted most in a mayor was honesty and strong leadership.

While Hahn has insisted on his own integrity, his popularity has suffered as a result of criminal investigations into alleged influence peddling in city contracting.

From reader Green Lisa, who works for the county during elections.

My section, the Vote by Mail section, is the one you’ll be hearing about in the news today –we have to certify all the 24,000 VBM and provisional ballots to figure out if Hahn or Hertzberg will be in the runoff against Antonio. still too close to call this morning!!

Hahn is leading by 5,000ish votes, so it is unlikely Hertzberg will have enough in those 24,000 still outstanding, but we’ll see. it may be an exact duplicate of 4 yrs ago: Hahn vs. Villaraigosa on May 17th.

Let’s hope LA elects Villaraigosa, who, as mentioned, is far stronger this time around.

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