Peterson may face criminal charge for official misconduct

Prosecutors are reviewing an internal Bolingbrook Police investigation to determine whether a former sergeant suspected in his wife's disappearance could be criminally charged for what the department alleges were instances of official misconduct.

Police Lt. Ken Teppel declined Monday to provide any details of Drew Peterson's alleged misconduct, but a "Good Morning America" report that it included allegedly using police computers to find information on friends of Peterson's missing wife brought strong denials from Peterson's attorney.

Stacy Peterson, 23, disappeared in late October and authorities have named her 53-year-old husband a suspect in what they have said is a potential homicide. Prosecutors also are reviewing the death of Drew Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, and have said the drowning, deemed accidental at the time, may have been a homicide staged to look that way. Peterson has not been named a suspect in her death.

Attorney Joel Brodsky said Monday that Peterson denies using department computers or databases to gather information about his wife's family or friends or in any unauthorized way. Brodsky said he has written in a letter to Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow that charging Peterson with doing so would constitute "vindictive prosecution" because others have not been charged with a practice Brodsky says is widespread.

"Our investigation reveals that it was common practice of members of the Bolingbrook Police Department and employees, where people would run family members, cousins and such to see if there were any active warrants or see if there was anything on a daughter's new boyfriend," Brodsky said.

Teppel would not confirm whether the internal affairs investigation launched after Stacy Peterson was reported missing Oct. 29 had anything to do with Peterson's alleged use of department computers. But he disputed Brodsky's contention that the practice is widespread and unchecked.

"Guys have been fired over this," Teppel said. "The last one (in March 2006) was a dispatcher who was terminated for handing that information over to a repo man."

Teppel added that the department could lose the state certification that allows it to run names if it does so in the way Brodsky described.

Whatever the allegations against Peterson, they were serious enough that the then-sergeant was notified Nov. 9 he'd been suspended without pay and ordered to report with his attorney for an internal affairs interview Nov. 13.

Also Nov. 9, authorities named Peterson a suspect in Stacy Peterson's disappearance and announced they were exhuming Savio's body to conduct an additional autopsy.

Teppel said that on Nov. 12, a man who said he was Peterson's brother brought a resignation letter from Peterson to the station. Chief Ray McGury refused to accept the resignation, saying he wanted Peterson fired.

But Peterson did not show up for the Nov. 13 interview and refused to cooperate, claiming, according to Teppel, that he's not obligated because he is no longer an employee.

The village's police and fire commission subsequently accepted Peterson's resignation, clearing the way for Peterson to begin collecting a $6,000-a-month pension.

Teppel said that after that ruling, the department gave the internal investigation to Glasgow. Glasgow spokesman Chuck Pelkie would not discuss the investigation other than to say there were no charges as of Monday.

Brodsky on Monday also discussed a weekend Illinois State Police news release that said someone they believed was Drew Peterson asked two truck drivers to take a package to an undisclosed location hours after Peterson's wife disappeared.

Brodsky said it is not unheard of for people wanting to transport illegal contraband to ask truckers to drive it to locations for pick up because, he said, trucks aren't stopped and searched as much as other vehicles.

The attorney speculated a truck driver who had been so sought out had seen Peterson in the news and "all of a sudden sticks Drew's face onto this guy who approached him in the truck stop."

"And now we've got some bologna lead we've got to chase down," he said.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.