Drew Peterson asks public to help with his legal defense

Drew Peterson is asking the public for financial help with his legal defense.

The former Bolingbrook police sergeant suspected in his wife's disappearance has set up a Web site to collect money from people who believe he deserves a defense without going broke.

"For the cost of a few cups of your morning coffee, you can help to ensure that Drew can afford to support his ongoing legal defense, find his missing wife, and divert any remaining funds into a trust for his children," the site says.

Peterson's attorney, Joel Brodsky, said Tuesday any money collected on DefendDrew.com will go into a trust account over which Peterson will have no control.

Brodsky said the money will be used first to pay for legal fees and then to hire a private investigator to look for 23-year-old Stacy Peterson, who vanished in late October.

Any remaining money will be put into a trust for Peterson's four dependent children, the Web site says.

The Web site crashed Tuesday evening after receiving more than a million hits within six hours, Brodsky said. He said it was being moved to a more powerful server to accommodate the traffic.

The level of interest demonstrated many people support his client, Brodsky said.

"We knew that support was out there -- it just wasn't being registered," he said.

Investigators from several agencies continued their underwater search of a canal in Romeoville on Tuesday, said Trooper Mark Dorencz. Authorities have not said why they are searching the canal.

A spokeswoman for Stacy Peterson's family, Pamela Bosco, said she was shocked to learn about the plea for money. She said the funding priorities should be rearranged to hire a private investigator first.

"His best defense is to find Stacy," Bosco said. "Let's put that as a priority, Drew."

The site, which collects money through PayPal, appeals for sympathy for Peterson and his children, who "may end up impoverished" by the cost of mounting a defense. The site says "media sensationalism" surrounding the story has caused the family hardship. It stresses Peterson's years of public service as a police officer.

The investigation of the disappearance has prompted the exhumation of the body of Drew Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio. Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow has said after examining evidence he believes Savio's death was a homicide staged to look like an accident. Results of the new autopsy have not been released.

Peterson has not been named a suspect in Savio's death. On Monday, a former pastor told Fox News Channel's Greta Van Susteren that Stacy Peterson once confided in him that her husband admitted killing Savio.

Brodsky said Tuesday the Web site was his idea, but Peterson approved it. He declined to estimate a cost for Peterson's legal defense, to say how much the site is attempting to raise or to reveal how much Peterson already has paid him.

"Drew is not asking for the public to foot his bill in total," Brodsky said. Costs include a $10,000 upfront fee for a forensic expert retained to review the Savio autopsy report when it is released, Brodsky said.

Without the public's help, Peterson could lose his home to pay his legal bills, Brodsky said.

"It's hundreds of detectives against Drew," Brodsky said. "I don't think anybody could withstand that type of onslaught."

Brodsky said he would be in court Wednesday seeking the return of vehicles, computers, guns, ammunition and other items seized by police from Drew Peterson's home. The property Peterson wants returned includes eight handguns and three long guns, Brodsky said.

"By federal law, retired police officers are allowed to carry weapons in all 50 states," Brodsky said, noting that Peterson has not been charged with a crime. "Why shouldn't he have them back?"

The Website: www.defenddrew.com.