Prosecutor wants defense attorney removed from case

A prosecutor moved Monday to have a Waukegan attorney disqualified from representing a Wauconda man charged with child molestation.

Assistant State's Attorney Ari Fisz claims that Robert Ritacca made improper contact with Tiffany Horak, the wife and co-defendant of Ritacca's client.

Tiffany and Carl Horak were charged in January with predatory sexual assault of an 8-year-old boy and had different attorneys representing them.

Tiffany Horak, who was represented by the county's public defender's office, pleaded guilty in July and agreed to testify against her husband in exchange for a 14-year prison term.

In a motion filed Monday, Fisz said that Ritacca went to visit Tiffany Horak in the county jail in early August and exchanged letters with her after she was sent to prison.

That contact was improper, Fisz claims in his motion, because Ritacca did not receive permission from Tiffany Horak's attorney before speaking with her.

The rules of professional conduct for attorneys require lawyers who know a person is represented by an attorney to receive permission from the attorney before speaking to the person.

Fisz claims that Ritacca was attempting to convince Tiffany Horak to withdraw her guilty plea and refuse to testify against her husband.

Ritacca denied doing so Monday, and said he had only contacted Tiffany Horak because she was scheduled to be a witness against his client.

"What the state is saying there is not true," Ritacca said about the motion. "I never talked to her about her case, I talked to her about her statements."

Circuit Judge Fred Foreman scheduled arguments on the motion for Sept. 29.