Prominent Naperville attorney accused of fraud again
A Naperville law firm filed an amended lawsuit Tuesday accusing prominent zoning attorney and former partner Bill Brestal of fraud.
The complaint filed in DuPage County court alleges Brestal paid himself unauthorized bonuses and compensation through 2007 and used company credit cards for gambling and family cruises, among other personal expenses.
Judge Bonnie Wheaton dismissed an earlier version of the suit this month after Brestal’s attorney argued the allegations fell outside a 5-year statute of limitations. The firm contends in its latest complaint, which again seeks more than $1 million in damages, that it didn’t immediately learn of the alleged fraud because of Brestal’s “intentional concealment.”
Brestal, who negotiated many of Naperville’s landmark developments in a career spanning more than three decades, has denied wrongdoing. He officially left the firm, then known as Dommermuth, Brestal, Cobine and West, in 2011.
The case is due back in court April 24.