Thursday, December 13, 2012
The lawyers still representing wife-killer Drew Peterson say former defense counsel Joel Brodsky "single-handedly deprived Drew of his right to effective assistance."
A devastating 32-page court filing not only blames defense attorney Joel Brodsky for single-handedly blowing Drew Peterson's murder trial, but paints the lawyer as a delusional, petty, fame-hungry liar. "Attorney Brodsky expected that Drew Peterson would be his ticket to the legal elite," says the memorandum filed late Thursday. "Regrettably, he was poorly equipped to try a case of this magnitude, resulting in hornbook errors and a smorgasbord of ethical violations." The memorandum says "Brodsky single-handedly deprived Drew of his right to effective assistance" and claims Brodsky "lied to Peterson, misrepresenting his qualifications, going so far as to tell Peterson that he, Brodsky had successfully tried murder cases and other serious …
Monday, December 10, 2012
The trial of New Lenox man Joseph Messina concluded Monday afternoon.
Nearly six months after it started, the trial of a New Lenox man charged with punching a Joliet man into a coma drew to a close Monday afternoon. But the fate of Joseph Messina won't be known until Will County Judge Sarah Jones hands down her verdict Jan. 3. Messina, 24, waived his right to have a jury decide his guilt or innocence before the trial started in June. Messina allegedly punched 29-year-old Eric Bartels in the face outside the Mokena bar 191 South in July 2009. When Bartels fell, his head struck the the concrete and he suffered a fractured skull. A half-dozen witnesses, including two men working for a car service and a 191 South bouncer, testified to seeing Messina throw the fateful punch. But one of Messina's closest friends, …
Friday, December 7, 2012
The star witness in the Mokena coma punch trial can testify without fear of facing criminal charges.
The judge in the Mokena coma punch case cleared the way for Thursday's bombshell witness to keep testifying without fear of prosecution on perjury or obstructing justice charges. The witness, Steve Raymond of Frankfort, then returned to the witness stand to recall how he told the police "a lot of lies," including how he never saw who threw the fateful punch that put a Joliet man in a coma in July 2009. On Thursday and Friday Raymond changed his story and said it was his friend Mike Glielmi who punched 29-year-old Eric Bartels in the face outside the Mokena bar 191 South. Another of Raymond's friends, Joseph Messina, 24, of New Lenox, was charged with attacking Bartels and spent nearly two months in jail before bonding out. Yet Raymond kept…
Thursday, December 6, 2012
The lawyers for New Lenox man Joseph Messina are blaming one of his friends for punching a Joliet man into a coma, but his buddy's pleading the Fifth.
A bombshell witness took the stand in the case against New Lenox man Joseph Messina and accused one of their pals of throwing the fateful punch that put a Joliet man into a coma. Steve Raymond, of Frankfort, blamed mutual friend Michael Glielmi of punching Eric Bartels into a coma in July 2009. "This is what people don't know," Raymond said. "I saw Mike Glielmi punch Eric Bartels." For his part, the 24-year-old Glielmi showed up in court with Joliet attorney Steven Haney, who said his client would plead the Fifth Amendment if called to testify. "The advice is he's going to invoke his right to remain silent," Haney told Judge Sarah Jones. Haney told the judge it was his "understanding" that Glielmi could be charged if he answers questions …
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
The trial of a New Lenox man charged with punching a Joliet man into a coma more than three years ago was back in court Wednesday.
The trial of a New Lenox man charged with punching another man into a coma started more than five months ago, and on Wednesday it was back on with testimony from three state police scientists. The scientists were questioned about blood evidence in the case against 24-year-old Joseph Messina, who allegedly beat a man into a coma outside the Mokena bar 191 South back in July 2009. Messina's trial began in June but the high-profile murder prosecutions of wife-killer Drew Peterson and Christopher Vaughn—the Oswego man who executed his wife and three children—forced the postponement of his case. Now, with both Peterson and Vaughn going down guilty, the Messina case is back on. Messina, who is free on a $250,000 bond, allegedly knocked 29-year-…
Friday, November 30, 2012
The convicted quadruple-killer got a quick start to his new life behind bars.
Will County didn't waste any time ridding themselves of Christopher Vaughn, packing the man who executed his entire family off to prison the day after his sentencing. Vaughn, 38, was shipped up to Stateville Correctional Center to start serving the four life sentences handed down by Judge Daniel Rozak on Tuesday. According to Department of Corrections Records, the former Oswego resident made it to Stateville Wednesday. Vaughn declined to make a statement at his sentencing hearing and sat stone-faced as Rozak told him he would never get out of prison alive. Vaughn's father-in-law, Del Phillips, later said he had hoped Vaughn "would open up and say why" he killed his wife, Kimberly Vaughn, and three children—Blake, 8, Cassandra, 11, and …
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Christopher Vaughn got separate life sentences for the murders of his wife and three children.
Right before a Will County judge dropped four life sentences on Christopher Vaughn, his grief-stricken mother-in-law wondered aloud why he couldn't have abandoned his wife and three children instead of killing them all. "What a coward," said Susan Phillips, the mother of Vaughn's slain wife, Kimberly Vaughn. "If you do not want your family, divorce is always the first option, or even just walking away," Phillips said from the witness stand during Christopher Vaughn's sentencing hearing Tuesday morning. Christopher Vaughn, 38, wanted to shed his family so he could start a new life in the Yukon wilderness with an unwitting stripper. In June 2007, he packed his 34-year-old wife and their three children—Blake, 8, Cassandra, 11, and Abigayle, …
Monday, November 26, 2012
The Drew Peterson media circus prevented Vaughn from getting a fair trial, his lawyer said, and the wife-killer's attorneys didn't help things either.
First, he killed one wife, then he was named a suspect in the disappearance of another, and now Drew Peterson's very existence has mucked up Christopher Vaughn's murder trial, the Oswego man's lawyer said Monday. Vaughn's lawyer, George Lenard, said the specter of Drew Peterson hanging over the Vaughn case is just one of the reasons his convicted quadruple-killer client needs a new trial. Besides the problem with Peterson, whose own murder trial was taking place in the courtroom next-door to Vaughn's in August and September, Lenard claimed Vaughn's case was corrupted when prosecutors succeeded in "indoctrinating" one of the jurors. Lenard also said a prosecutor insulted him during the closing arguments and he accused the jury of "improper …
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Christopher Yeoman of Lemont faces second-degree murder charges in connection with the death of a man he allegedly punched at a Romeoville stoplight.
A Lemont man charged with throwing a fatal punch during a June 2011 confrontation at a Romeoville stoplight is set to go before a jury in April. Christopher Yeoman, 40, was initially charged with only misdemeanor battery when he was arrested for allegedly punching 64-year-old Frank Egas after the two stopped for the traffic light at the intersection of 135th Street and Route 53. Yeoman and Egas first crossed paths near the intersection of New Avenue and 135th Street about 4:30 p.m. on June 2, 2011, where they engaged in a "traffic altercation," police said. The situation escalated as they drove west on 135th, and the men got out of their vehicles after stopping for the light at Route 53, police said. Yeoman punched Egas in the face, …
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Wife-killer Drew Peterson's longest serving lawyer is serving him no longer.
A teary-eyed Joel Brodsky denied he had been crying, then repeatedly insisted he was not fired from wife-killer Drew Peterson's defense team. "I'm doing what's in my client's best interest," Brodsky said of quitting Peterson's case after sticking by the disgraced Bolingbrook cop for nearly five years. Brodsky tried to "temporarily" withdraw from Peterson's case during a Tuesday morning hearing in front of Judge Edward Burmila, but the judge cut him off and told him "there's no such thing" as a temporary withdrawal. With that, Brodsky was gone from the case for good. And as he departed, two other lawyers joined up. New attorney John Heiderscheidt declined to comment on the case after the hearing. The other Peterson lawyer to come on board, …
Bob Jamesly
3:19 pm on Saturday, December 15, 2012
Peeing on each other! Wow! How satisfying is that to witness? Had my doubts that the Drewfus would be convicted, but lo and behold his attorneys did the work of the state. He had it all in Bolingbrook, and threw it all away. Gotta hurt! Now he has nothing but a handful of allegations to work with. And they will fool nobody. Greenberg had a hand in the bad representation. Might as well just quit … more ›