Jun 13, 2007 9:07 pm US/Central
More Misconduct Charges Filed Against Chicago Cop
CHICAGO (STNG) ―
A Chicago Police officer pleaded not guilty Wednesday to new charges alleging that he and two other officers from the elite Special Operations Section stole $450,000 from a man's South Side home in 2004.
A new indictment adds one count each of armed robbery, armed burglary, home invasion, aggravated kidnapping, theft, residential burglary, kidnapping, aggravated unlawful restraint, official misconduct and unlawful restraint against Officer Jerome Finnigan, according to Cook County State's Attorney's office spokesman Andy Conklin. Finnigan pleaded not guilty to all the new charges.
Prosecutors asked Cook County Criminal Court Judge John J. Fleming to increase Finnigan's $3 million bond, but the judge declined, Conklin said.
The new charges allege Finnigan and two other officers did not have probable cause or a search warrant when they raided a home in the 4900 block of South Luna Avenue, where they found grocery bags containing $450,000. The charges allege they took the money, which they split among themselves.
About 10 a.m. on Sept. 18, 2004, Finnigan and two unnamed officers stopped and searched a Mexican man at a gas station near Central and the Stevenson Expressway, according to a court proffer. The officers persuaded the man to tell them his home address, as well as give officers his cell phone, driver's license and car keys, the proffer said.
One officer drove the man to a different location while Finnigan and the other officer went to the home. The man's wife was home when the officers ransacked it without giving any explanation, charges allege.
The officers did not find any narcotics or contraband, according to the proffer, but did find shopping bags containing $$450,000 in cash the couple received from the sale of property in Mexico, according to the proffer. The three officers later split the money, prosecutors allege.
The man and his wife did not report the incident because they feared reprisal by police, but did contact an attorney, according to the proffer. The couple provided the state's attorney's office with a copy of the deed and land contract, showing the sale of land for $450,000 in September 2004.
The two unnamed officers were not charged as of Wednesday, according to Conklin. He did not know what caused the officers to allegedly target the man.
Finnigan was charged earlier this year on similar offenses with several other police officers. Fleming set a status hearing for all the cases on July 13, Conklin said.
(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2006. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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