Lake Zurich man acquitted in perjury case

A Lake Zurich man accused of lying about a past DUI in court was acquitted of perjury charges Tuesday.

Cook County Circuit Court Judge Kay Hanlon found 39-year-old Bradley Baldino not guilty after determining the prosecution did not meet its burden of proof.

Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Adam Klugman introduced transcripts from Baldino's December hearing on DUI and reckless driving charges following a May 2009 accident in South Barrington. Baldino, of the 600 block of Ivy Court, was convicted in December of reckless driving and sentenced to one year of conditional discharge and a $1,000 fine, said a spokesman from the Cook County Sheriff's Department.

Klugman, who did not prosecute Baldino in December, pointed to the transcript, in which Baldino admitted receiving supervision for a 2008 DUI in Lake County. That transcript includes questions from a judge (not Hanlon) to Baldino about any other DUI or alcohol-related charges he may have incurred elsewhere. It indicates Baldino swore under oath that he had no other alcohol-related charges, said Klugman - who challenged that statement by introducing evidence that Baldino received probation in Placer County, Calif., following a 2006 conviction for DUI.

Defense attorney Michael Norris said his client believed the California charge concluded with a suspended sentence not a conviction.

"It appears to me that Mr. Baldino did not intentionally lie to the court," said Norris, pointing out that his client - having admitted one conviction - had no reason to lie about another.

"It's very clear to me that Mr. Baldino had been convicted of a prior DUI charge," Hanlon said, pointing out Baldino's no contest plea to the California charge.

"Technically, the defendant did commit perjury under the statute," in that he made a false statement, Hanlon said.

Reading from the transcript which she described as "very confusing," Hanlon noted that at one point prosecutors referred to both Colorado (which Baldino claimed he had never visited) and Nevada as the location of the DUI. Baldino denied being arrested in either state. There was also some discrepancy regarding the social security number which prosecutors say belonged to Baldino.

In the end, it all added up to an acquittal for the visibly relieved Baldino, who left the courtroom without comment.