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Schaumburg settles 11th suit against disgraced former cops

Schaumburg officials Tuesday settled an 11th lawsuit filed against one or more of the three former undercover police officers arrested in January 2013 on multiple drug conspiracy charges.

Under the settlement, the village will pay $19,000 to plaintiff Danielle Williams without admitting any wrongdoing on the part of itself or any past or present employees.

Williams' suit accused former undercover officer Terrance O'Brien of falsely claiming to have found drugs in her jacket during a February 2009 search of her Bloomingdale apartment. The suit also alleged that O'Brien falsely claimed that Williams admitted selling drugs.

Her lawsuit named only O'Brien as a defendant, though others have also named fellow former officers Matthew Hudak and John Cichy, Schaumburg attorney Jim Sotos said. All the lawsuits allege some combination of false arrest, illegal search or malicious prosecution committed by some combination of the three former officers, he said.

With 11 settlements approved so far, Schaumburg has paid a total of $198,500 to the plaintiffs, Sotos said.

The village believes that every settled case was defensible in court based on evidence independent of the testimony of the three arrested officers, Sotos said. But settling costs the village less in legal fees than proceeding to trial, he said.

Five lawsuits against the three former officers are still pending while one was dismissed by its plaintiff, Sotos said.

O'Brien and Hudak have already pleaded guilty to felony charges and are serving prison sentences, while Cichy is awaiting trial.

Cases worked by Schaumburg officers under review

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