DuPage investigator to be jailed after admitting taking drug raid money

A former top DuPage County sheriff crime scene investigator will begin serving a 30-day stint in jail later this month for pilfering money seized in drug raids.

Paul Dunklau also must serve two years' probation and pay $9,565 in restitution for pocketing the money during a six-year period.

Dunklau, 50, of Naperville, pleaded guilty Nov. 25 to a misdemeanor charge of attempted official misconduct.

A DuPage County grand jury indicted Dunklau in 2007 of theft and official misconduct charges. Prosecutors agreed to reduce the allegations to a misdemeanor in exchange for the guilty plea.

Dunklau was accused of stealing drug money confiscated from January 2001 to March 2007. He was snagged when an audit in 2007 found several hundred dollars missing from the sheriff's seized property section.

Dunklau was a 23-year sheriff's veteran known for his meticulous work. He voluntarily resigned after learning of the criminal investigation.

Dunklau was a supervisor of seized property while serving as a lieutenant. The money came from closed criminal cases and should have been put into the county's general fund.