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Ex-DJ sentenced to 15 years for fraud
Judge cites harm to true charities

By Jason Riley
jriley@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal



Todd Smith, the former WDJX-FM disc jockey known on the air as Todd Kelly, admitted in court yesterday that he made a "big mistake," apologizing to his family and the community for faking Lou Gehrig's disease and spending more than $120,000 raised for research on himself.

"I deceived the good people of this Louisville community," said Smith during his sentencing in Jefferson Circuit Court.




Reading from a prepared statement, Smith, said he was "truly sorry" and asked to be given a chance to "right the wrong I did," promising to repay the money he took. "Hopefully the Louisville community will one day give me a second chance so I can start to make things right," he said.

Smith, the former promotions director of WDJX who announced in 2001 that he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, has already been sentenced in federal court to 84 months in prison on charges of wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering. In August, he pleaded guilty in state court to several charges of theft and agreed to a 10- to 15-year prison sentence that will be probated for five years, as long as he pays restitution of more than $74,000 at 12 percent interest.

Yesterday, Michael Ferraraccio, Smith's lawyer, asked Judge Mitch Perry for the minimum 10-year sentence, noting Smith had no prior criminal history and already faces seven years in federal prison. But Perry decided on the maximum 15-year sentence, telling Smith that what he'd done will have a "chilling effect on charitable giving for who knows how long."

Prosecutors allege that Smith began raising money in late 2002 for the Todd Kelly Foundation, which was formed about a year after he announced he had been diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, which paralyzes and eventually kills its victims.

On the Web site for his foundation, he promised that "over 80 cents of every dollar you give goes straight to scientific research." He later announced he had cancer in both legs and that eventually he would have to have them amputated.

But ALS patients and their families noticed that Smith's illness didn't seem to be progressing, and media raised questions about whether he was really ill. Kentucky State Police and later the FBI started investigations, and Smith was indicted in state court in May 2006 and in federal court last year.

After the sentencing yesterday, Eleanor Beckmann, vice president of the ALS Association's Kentucky chapter, said Smith's actions have caused people to question the legitimacy of the association. She said her organization hopes to eventually receive the money Smith took and use it for research.

And she put little stock in his apology. "I don't believe it," Beckmann said. "I think he feels no remorse for what he did. He just got caught."

Reporter Jason Riley can be reached at (502) 582-4727.