Retired cops subpoenaed, alleged torture probe into Burge ramping up
Retired detectives named in a decades-old Chicago Police torture scandal have been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury -- a clear sign a criminal investigation into former Cmdr. Jon Burge and others is ramping up, sources said today.
Five to 10 detectives received subpoenas last week to appear June 19 before the grand jury. The probe is headed by Sergio Acosta, civil rights coordinator in the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago, the sources said.
(Brian Jackson/Sun-Times)
DEPARTMENT: He was fired for alleged abuse of a suspect who said Burge and others punched, smothered and shocked him.
LAWSUIT: City agreed to pay nearly $20 million to 4 alleged torture victims.
STATE CRIMINAL PROBE: Special prosecutors found evidence of brutality under Burge but couldn't bring charges because of statute of limitations.
FEDERAL CRIMINAL PROBE:
It appears to be ramping up.
A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office declined to comment, but pointed to a statement U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald made last September announcing his office is engaged in a criminal investigation into the matter.
In January, the city approved a nearly $20 million settlement with four former Death Row inmates who claimed Burge and more than 20 officers who worked with him in the 1970s and 1980s coerced murder confessions from them.
A special Cook County prosecutor investigated the torture claims, but in a controversial final report found Burge and other detectives could not face criminal charges in state court because the statute of limitations expired.
Federal investigators stepped in. They are focused on sworn statements Burge and other detectives made in 2003.
If they can show those statements are false, authorities could charge the retired officers with obstruction of justice, sources said. The federal statute of limitations does not expire until November — five years after the sworn statements were made, the sources said.
Burge denied any torture took place in written answers to questions submitted to him in 2003 in a lawsuit filed by one of the Death Row inmates, Madison Hobley.
Hobley is the subject of a separate federal investigation into a fatal 1987 fire that led to his conviction in state court. He spent 16 years on Death Row for the crime, but was pardoned in 2003 by then-Gov. George Ryan because of the torture allegations.
Retired Chicago Police Detective William Pedersen, one of the defendants in a torture lawsuit brought by former Death Row inmate Aaron Patterson, said he was not one of the officers who received a federal subpoena last week.
But he heard that other retired detectives were subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury.
“When is this going to end?” said Pedersen, who denies he tortured Patterson.
As usual, Burge politely answered a reporter’s call today, but would not comment beyond a few pleasantries.
“Carol, number one, you know I can’t talk to you and I’ve told you that 28 times before. So no comment,” he said.
Asked how he was doing, Burge joked, “I never had a bad day in my life, though I’ve been know to fib occasionally.”
Flint Taylor, one of the attorneys representing the Death Row inmates in lawsuits against the city, said “we’re very pleased to hear" about the subpoenas.
He said federal investigators are doing a comprehensive investigation into the torture allegations and he hopes it will lead to the indictment of Burge and the other officers.
Attorney Joseph Roddy confirmed he was hired to represent retired detectives who received federal subpoenas. He would not comment further.
Fraternal Order of Police President Mark Donahue also declined comment.