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WASHINGTON (AP) - The Census Bureau on Friday severed its ties with ACORN, a community organization that has been hit with Republican accusations of voter-registration fraud.
"We do not come to this decision lightly," Census director Robert Groves wrote in a letter to ACORN, which was obtained by The Associated Press.
In splitting with ACORN, Groves sought to tamp down GOP concerns and negative publicity that the partnership will taint the 2010 head count.
"It is clear that ACORN's affiliation with the 2010 census promotion has caused sufficient concern in the general public, has indeed become a distraction from our mission, and may even become a discouragement to public cooperation, negatively impacting 2010 census efforts," Groves wrote.
Stephen Buckner, a census spokesman, confirmed the letter, but declined additional comment.
ACORN spokesman Scott Levenson did not immediately return a request for comment.
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Kaelke was at the office Tuesday afternoon, but ACORN officials would not let her speak to a reporter.
Since she claimed on the video to have killed her husband, two San Bernardino police homicide detectives interviewed her at the office Tuesday.
Police said they have been in contact with Kaelke's former husbands and the homicide claims do not appear accurate.
"At this point, we can't prove that there's anything to her statement," said San Bernardino police Sgt. Dave Dillon. "We can't show that ever happened."
One of her ex-husbands, Ronald Kaelke, 66, of Newberry Springs, said he was unaware of any investigation or that his ex-wife had made any claims of murder.
The couple divorced in 1987, but attempted to reconcile and lived together from 2002 to 2005, Ronald Kaelke said in a telephone interview. In 2007, the couple traded allegations of domestic violence and received separate restraining orders against each other, he said.
"As far as her murdering an ex-husband, that's news to me," Ronald Kaelke said. "She's definitely got problems and goes off the wall sometimes."
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