(CHICAGO) -- Four veteran police officers suspected of shaking down Polish immigrants outside taverns were charged with felonies Tuesday after three of them were videotaped stealing cash from an undercover FBI agent, officials said.
One day in April, the agent was robbed by one of the officers and then was shaken down a half hour later by two other officers on the same block, sources said.
Officers Steven G. Miller, 55; James P. Petruzzi, 47; Michael W. Simpson, 52, and William J. Tortoriello, 50, were arrested Tuesday morning at their Northwest Side homes -- without the usual courtesy of advance notice.
“The superintendent wanted to treat them like any other thieves,” a top police source said.
Assigned to the Jefferson Park District on the Northwest Side, the officers targeted dozens of Polish immigrants on Belmont and Milwaukee avenues, ordering them to “empty their pockets” after approaching them on sidewalks or stopping their cars, police sources said.
Miller stopped an undercover agent posing as a Polish immigrant in the 5100 block of West Belmont on April 9, authorities said. Miller allegedly took the agent’s wallet, removed some money and then returned it, sources said.
A half hour later, Simpson and Tortoriello approached the same agent in the same block, authorities said. Simpson stayed in the car while Tortoriello patted down the agent, took his wallet, removed money and gave it back, sources said.
Tortoriello had shaken down the same agent on March 12, also in the 5100 block of West Belmont, authorities said.
“We adamantly deny the charges; the burden will be on the state to prove them,” Simpson’s lawyer, Tamara Cummings, said.
The department had tried to fire Simpson in 1985, but he was found not guilty of administrative charges, said a police source, who did not provide details. Cummings said she was unaware of any past disciplinary actions against Simpson.
Petruzzi was the only officer not accused of stealing from anyone. On Feb. 5, he and Simpson, his partner, allegedly filed a bogus accident report unrelated to the shakedowns.
Simpson and Petruzzi were riding in a squad car when it was struck by another vehicle in the 3000 block of North Newcastle in the Grand-Central District, authorities said. But the two claimed the car was parked in the Jefferson Park District when it was struck, sources said.
“My understanding is that this was an ongoing investigation. If this is the extent of their charges, it really bodes well for my client,” Petruzzi’s lawyer, Rick Beuke, said. “People know him as a hard-working, aggressive police officer. He’s considered a valuable asset wherever he’s worked.”
Police moved Tuesday to suspend the officers without pay. Five other officers remain under investigation after being placed on desk duty. The department plans to try to fire them on administrative charges. A top police official said he expects more criminal charges in the case.
Tuesday’s charges were the result of a nearly two-year investigation by the police Internal Affairs Division and the FBI.
The nine officers are suspected of stopping Polish immigrants, threatening them with deportation and going through their wallets. Undercover agents posed as immigrants and videotaped several of the officers. Some of the officers used the loot to support their gambling habits, sources said.
The officers arrested Tuesday were not given any warning by the department so they could surrender with their lawyers, customary in criminal cases against officers, a police source said.
Miller was picked up at his home at 6:30 a.m., his lawyer, Marc Martin, said.
“He was supposed to go in for outpatient surgery for a herniated disk,” Martin said.
Miller was charged with theft and official misconduct; Petruzzi with disorderly conduct and official misconduct; Simpson with theft, two counts of official misconduct and one count of filing false police reports, and Tortoriello with two counts of theft and two counts of official misconduct, police said.
They were released Tuesday after posting bail. Judge Neil Linehan set bond for Miller and Petruzzi at $25,000, and for Tortoriello and Simpson at $35,000.
The shakedown investigation came to light in August after the head of the Fraternal Order of Police publicly raised questions about surveillance equipment that officers had found in two police vehicles.
When the FOP asked whether the department was randomly snooping on officers, the department responded that the devices were being used in a targeted probe against specific officers.
At a news conference, First Deputy Supt. John Thomas said the union disclosure “did not have any impact at all” on the probe. Asked why the officers were not charged with robbery, which carries a stiffer penalty than theft, he insisted the charges were proper.
Thomas also said it “would take a quantum leap of faith” to conclude that the shakedowns were part of an organized conspiracy.
Word of the officers’ charges was greeted enthusiastically by several Jefferson Park officers and a sergeant.
“Good,” the sergeant said. “We’re all being brushed with the same paint. It’s giving us all a black eye. . . . We have a lot of good officers. Now we’re all embarrassed to be from 16 (the Jefferson Park district).”
Edward Moskal, president of the Polish National Alliance, said he was satisfied with the police department’s reaction to the alleged shakedowns.
Police have distributed 65,000 fliers explaining to Polish immigrants what to expect during traffic stops. Police Supt. Terry Hillard’s office also worked with the Polish National Alliance to air public service announcements on proper police procedures.
“The superintendent is doing exactly what he promised,” Moskal said. "(But) it is a sad commentary for the police to do this to our community. We’ve been getting calls that some of the Asians have been getting harassed, too.”
John Milkowski, co-owner of Bristol tavern at 3084 N. Milwaukee and a Polish immigrant in 1968, said he hopes the officers “get what they deserve.”
“I hope it sends a message to the police not to pick on the Polish immigrants and contractors unless they break the law like everybody else,” he said.
(iSyndicate; Chicago Sun-Times; Nov. 22, 2000) Terms and Conditions: CopyrightO 2000 LEXIS-NEXIS, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights Reserved.