Attorney claims witness got "breaks" from police, prosecutors

A key witness against a McHenry man accused of lying about his knowledge of the suspected murder of a McHenry County teen received numerous breaks from police and prosecutors for his cooperation, the accused's lawyer says in court documents filed Wednesday.

Now the attorney for Mario Casciaro wants a judge to grant him permission to cross-examine the witness about those purported benefits if and when he testifies against his client.

Casciaro, 25, faces eight counts of perjury alleging he repeatedly lied to a grand jury investigating the 2002 disappearance of Brian Carrick. The 17-year-old Johnsburg boy vanished Dec. 20 of that year after working a shift at a grocery story where Casciaro was his supervisor.

Authorities believe Carrick was murdered, but no one has been charged with killing him. Instead, only Casciaro and a second man accused of concealing a homicide currently face charges.

A central piece of evidence in the case against Casciaro is a secretly recorded conversation he had with 25-year-old Johnsburg resident Alan Lippert. In the recording, authorities say, Casciaro contradicts his grand jury testimony claiming that he doesn't know what happened to Carrick, doesn't know where his body was disposed of and never told another man to "scare" Carrick.

Investigators obtained the recording after Lippert agreed to wear a wire and approach Casciaro. Since then, Casciaro lawyer William Gibbs states in court documents, prosecutors have dismissed a 2007 drunken driving charge and a 2006 marijuana charge Lippert was facing.

More recently, Gibbs claims, Johnsburg police failed to act against Lippert when he was accused of causing a disturbance at a residence.

All that calls into question Lippert's motives and the credibility of any testimony he might offer, Gibbs claims.

In past court filings the McHenry County State's Attorney's Office has said received Lippert no special considerations other than being let out on a recognizance bond after his 2007 DUI arrest.

A hearing on the defense request is scheduled for Feb. 25. Casciaro, who is free on bond, could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted on the perjury charges.