Munoz' wife says she was abused for long time

Ald. Ricardo Munoz had nothing to say to reporters as he walked out of Domestic Violence Court Thursday after posting bond on his $2,500 bail on a misdemeanor domestic battery charge.

His wife, whom police say the veteran alderman struck during an altercation on New Year's Eve, grudgingly told reporters that the incident was not the first.

"This is been going on for a long time. I didn't come forward sooner because of his public image, and I didn't want this," said Betty Torres Munoz, gesturing to the row of reporters, cameras and microphones in front of her car.

"I finally came forward because I need a new life. I can't go through this anymore," Munoz's wife added after saying that the media attention surrounding the case already was like being "victimized twice."

Munoz, who had been in police custody since he was arrested Wednesday at his Little Village ward office, made appearances at two separate, brief hearings. Led into a bond hearing by a sheriff's deputy, Munoz kept his hands clasped behind his back and took a long look into a courtroom gallery packed with reporters.

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