West Suburban Bureau

Peterson Says Wire Recordings Will Clear Him

Attorney Repeats Claim That Couple Who Wore Wire Is Out For Money

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Drew Peterson said on national television Thursday morning that he thought conversations recorded by his former friends would clear him of any suspicion in the death of his third wife and disappearance of his fourth.

"Bring it on," Peterson said on the CBS Early Show. "I'm sure that it's going to clear me of anything."

Paula Stone and Len Wawczak have been friends with Drew Peterson for more than a dozen years, and they say they recorded their conversations with him for seven months for Illinois State Police. They say they gathered enough so that Peterson could be arrested in the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson.

Among what they claim Peterson said was that he wished he'd had his third wife, Kathleen Savio cremated. Savio was found dead in a bathtub four years ago, and her death was ruled a homicide after exhumation last year.

But Peterson said he had never heard about the recordings from police or other authorities; only through the media. His attorney, Joel Brodsky, reiterated a claim that Stone and Wawczak had financial motives.

"These people have dire financial problems. They've been evicted from their home. Paula has filed bankruptcy five times in the last nine years; Lenny filed bankruptcy twice in 2004," Brodsky said. "I can imagine a book, My Nine Months with Drew Peterson. They could try to sell their story; they could try to sell something to the National Enquirer."

Peterson claimed that Stone had been out to profit from him financially in the past.

"I signed a hat for her; I brought her a hat back when I made a trip to New York," Peterson said. "I sign it, the next thing you know it's on eBay with a bid for $10,000."

Wawczak and Stone have said they believed Peterson was responsible for Stacy's disappearance, and that they fear for their lives, which Peterson called "comical."

"I can't see Lenny being afraid of anybody; I find him one of the most obnoxious people on the planet," Peterson said, "and definitely not with Paula."

Later, Peterson told CBS 2's Joanie Lum: "If you think of it, it's pretty ridiculous. The whole thing's pretty ridiculous. That's all I can say."

Brodsky added that he did not believe the tapes even existed.

"I'm still of the opinion that there are no tapes, because if they were really informants with tapes that had incriminating evidence on them, the Illinois State Police would never allow this to happen. The prosecutors will never allow them to go public," Brodsky said. "But if there are tapes, play them – not snippets. Release them unedited."

Stone and Wawczak have denied they are in financial trouble. Wawczak said the National Enquirer offered him $7,500 for his story, and he would not take it. On a blog in which he posed as a young woman "Ashley" who purported to be interested in dating Peterson, Wawczak on Thursday also openly disputed the claims about financial problems.

Wawczak said the hat Peterson mentioned had been put on eBay to benefit Kathleen Savio and Stacy Peterson's families, and he wrote on the blog, "I will be proving you wrong again Joel about me being evicted - you as a Lawyer should know that if this was the case that there would be court proceeding against me in will county ( the county I live in ) and there isnt [sic]."

CBS 2's Joanie Lum contributed to this report.

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