6 | CHICAGO SUN-TIMES | THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2011

WHOKILLEDDAVIDKOSCHMAN?|AWATCHDOGSINVESTIGATION

STATES ATTORNEY BLOCKS PROBE OF HER OFFICE

County IG sought to open inquiry on missing file in Daley nephew case
BY TIM NOVAK AND CHRIS FUSCO
Staff Reporters

After calling for an investiga tion of how the Chicago Police De partment handled David Kosch mans homicide, Cook County States Attorney Anita Alvarez now is blocking county Inspector General Patrick Blanchard from investigating how her office han dled the case involving Richard J. R.J. Vanecko, a nephew of Mayor Daley and William Daley, Presi dent Obamas chief of staff. Blanchard sought to in vestigate the R.J. Vanecko states attor neys office after reports in the Chicago Sun Times revealed that the pros ecutors office has been unable to find any paperwork on the 7yearold case even though a top prosecutor determined there wasnt enough evidence to warrant filing criminal charges against Vanecko. When this came to light, I thought it would be appropriate for our office to open an inquiry, Blanchard said. But the states attorneys office rejected our re quest to open an inquiry, which would have meant interviews and document requests. Asked why Alvarez didnt coop erate with Blanchard, her press secretary, Sally Daly, cited pro tocol. We have not received any official communication from the Cook County inspector general regarding any investigation or any official request for an investiga tion from that agency, Daly said. Blanchard a lawyer who spent 15 years in the states attor neys office before being appoint ed Cook Countys inspector gen

Cook County States Attorney Anita Alvarez discusses the investigation of David Koschmans homicide in her office with WMAQ-Channel 5 and the Chicago Sun-Times in March. | RICHARD A. CHAPMAN~SUN-TIMES
eral in 2008 acknowledged he never put his request in writing. But he said he had several meetings with top Alvarez staff ers including her chief of staff, Dan Kirk and they told him he doesnt have the legal authority to investigate the states attorneys office. They told him that, even though Cook County taxpayers finance the states attorneys of fice, the agency technically is a branch of the state government, so its outside his jurisdiction, Blanchard said. Daly declined to respond to questions about the jurisdictional issue. She said it would be inap propriate to comment because Alvarez is cooperating fully with an investigation by City of Chicago Inspector General Joseph Fergu son, whos looking at how the po lice handled the Koschman case. As a city official, Ferguson has no authority to investigate the states attorneys office. Vanecko punched Koschman during a drunken confrontation in the early hours of April 25, 2004, on Division Street. Koschman hit his head on the street and died of brain injuries 11 days later. At the time, Alvarez was chief of staff to thenCook County States Attorney Richard Devine, her predecessor. Devines office closed the case without filing any charges after his felonyreview chief, Darren OBrien, met with detectives on May 20, 2004. OBrien and the police concluded then that it was unclear who had hit Koschman but whoever it was had acted in selfdefense. The police kept the case open and reinvestigated it after the Sun Times asked earlier this year for

all police reports on Koschmans death. On March 1, the police closed the case exception ally, concluding that Vanecko punched Koschman in the face but shouldnt be charged because he did so in selfdefense. OBrien created a file that list ed witnesses to the confrontation, according to sources. The states attorneys office says it cant find any records. Alvarez has said its possible the office never created any file on the case. Devine said he cant explain why the states attorneys office has no paperwork. Normally, if some matter is presented to the states attorneys office some kind of investiga tion or review theres a record thats part of the system. I know it was brought to my attention, said Devine, who now works for a law firm whose clients include Vaneckos older brother, Robert Vanecko. The states attorneys office also says it has no records to show when the police sought its con sultation on the Koschman case. Such calls are usually recorded in the states attorneys felony review logs. Those logs show there were 2,268 calls from police officers to prosecutors between April 25, 2004 the day Koschman was punched and May 20, 2004 the day detectives and OBrien decided there wasnt enough evi dence to charge anyone. But none of those calls involved Koschmans case, according to Paul Castiglio ne, the states attorneys execu tive assistant for policy. Alvarezs office has refused to release the felonyreview logs. Ronald E. Yawger, the sincere tired detective who was assigned to the case after Koschman died, said he remembers calling the felonyreview office asking for a prosecutor to review the case.

That review was handled by OBrien, then the felonyreview chief, rather than one of his as sistants. OBrien has said he handled only highprofile cases, usually about a dozen a year. I called felony review, and they sent him out, Yawger said of OBrien. OBrien went to Area 3 police headquarters at Belmont and Western on May 20, 2004 the day that six witnesses were brought in to view lineups. One of the lineups included Vanecko, and the other lineup included two of his friends Kevin McCarthy and Craig Den ham who had been with him. No one was able to identify Vanecko, according to the police. Vanecko declined to talk with OBrien and the police. OBrien did interview Denham, McCar thy and McCarthys wife, Bridg et, along with four Koschman friends who had been out with him. OBrien didnt interview two bystanders who witnessed the confrontation between Koschman and the Vanecko group. OBrien has said he then dis cussed the case with Bernard Murray, who was chief of the crim inal prosecutions bureau under Devine. Murray said he doesnt specifically recall that conversa tion but that he has no reason to question that it happened. The SunTimes has reported that Koschmans friends and one of the bystanders say Yawger and other detectives incorrectly portrayed Koschman in police reports as having been the ag gressor. Also, one of Koschmans friends said he believes he did pick Vanecko out of the lineup, though the police said he didnt. On March 24, citing those dis crepancies, Alvarez called on the Illinois State Police to investigate the Chicago Police Departments handling of the case. At first, the state agency agreed to do that but then backed out on April 5.