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Recent Blog Posts

Tinley Park Man Accused of a Hate Crime against Bank Worker

 Posted on September 14, 2012 in Criminal Defense

On September 2nd, a representative of a bank visited a foreclosed home near the 6200 block of West 179th Street of Tinley Park. This man was working on the outside the home when he was verbally abused from a neighboring home. His name was not released but he is a 51 year old African American man. The resulting altercation caused a Tinley Park man to be charged with a felony hate crime.

The neighbor accused of slinging racial slurs at this man is 47 year old Joseph Berndt, who resides at 17903 S. Highland Avenue. He also yelled at this man and accused him of breaking into the foreclosed property next door. Unfortunately, when this agent tried to explain his professional capacity to Berndt, he was answered by a beer can and a brick as well as racial slurs and insults.

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Barrington Doctor Found Guilty of Medicare Fraud

 Posted on September 11, 2012 in White collar crime

An investigation across the USA has discovered more than 90 people who have defrauded the Medicare system. The total amount of falsified billings comes to be nearly $300 million dollars that could have been used for other people’s medical bills. “The defendants charged in this takedown are accused of . . . jeopardizing the integrity of our health care system and our nation’s most critical health care program for personal gain,” Attorney General Eric Holder said during a news conference.

Dr. John Natale, a 62-year-old vascular surgeon was charged with two counts of making false statements, two counts of health care fraud and one count of mail fraud. Natale is a surgeon who specialized in repairing abdominal aortic aneurysms, or the weakening of this artery. These charges stemmed from six different surgeries during 2003 and 2004 when he allegedly falsified post-operation reports for his personal gain. Dr. Natale prepared at least two reports which detailed fictitious surgeries or elaborated surgeries to be more complicated than they should be. These surgeries supposedly occurred while he was working at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights.

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Evanston Police Uncover Teen Burglary Ring

 Posted on September 08, 2012 in Theft

The police department in Evanston responded to an alert that a group of boys was trespassing in a neighborhood and from that they were able to expose more criminal activities. It was around 6:30 pm on August 14th, when some boys were trying to break into a car near the 100 block of Clyde Avenue. The police arrested three boys between the ages of 8 and 10, all who live in Chicago. When they were detained, they had the key to the car, a watch, an iPod and a TV, which they stole from a residence in that neighborhood.

As these children were being questioned by the police, they revealed that two older teenage boys had set up this burglary. Two sixteen year old boys approached these three kids near the intersection of Damen Avenue and Howard Street the day before the burglary. These two teenagers intimidated these younger children to steal for them with threats of violence. During the heist, these two kids boosted the children through windows and acted as lookouts while the children were in the house. It is believed that these two teenagers are responsible for a string of burglaries that have occurred in the Evanston area.

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Illinois to Rethink Juvenile Justice Recidivism and Lockup Aftercare

 Posted on September 05, 2012 in Juvenile Crimes

George Timberlake, a retired Illinois judge and the Report Commission’s chairman, says the group observed more than 250 prisoner review board hearings and analyzed the files of about 400 young people whose parole was revoked.

He says many of the juveniles who ended up back in custody didn’t commit new crimes, but instead were found guilty of technical violations of a parole order, such as skipping school and staying out late.

“How many teenagers do you know who are where they are supposed to be when they are supposed to be there?” Timberlake says. “Certainly, they need to be educated that time matters and it affects other people’s schedules, but doesn’t mean they need to be back in prison because of it.”

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Juvenile on Drugs Shoots Relative by Accident

 Posted on September 02, 2012 in Criminal Defense

Drugs can cause many unnecessary tragedies. This seems to be the case in a recent case where a 16-year-old shot and critically wounded his younger relative. The shooting was reported by the Chicago Tribune. According to police, the young man was packaging drugs while under the influence of narcotics. He was carrying a gun which misfired and the shot hit the man’s fifteen year-old female relative. The drugged juvenile then left the crime scene, got rid of the gun and phoned his mother who was able to convince her son to surrender. The juvenile was arrested and taken into custody only a few hours after the incident. The unlucky teenage girl was taken to a hospital in a critical condition.

The young man may be facing many types of charges, from drug charges to felony charges to weapons charges. Whatever they may be, the penalties are likely to be severe, especially if the wounded girl does not recover from her injuries. In this case, the drug-influenced accident could ruin the lives of two young people. The girl’s fate is in the hands of medical professionals, but the young man requires legal help. An experienced criminal defense attorney can affect the outcome of any ensuing legal proceedings and help minimize the consequences of this accident.

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Ex-Hospital Employee Accused of Harassing Patients

 Posted on August 30, 2012 in White collar crime

In 2010, 52 year old Michelle Morrison was fired from her position of senior account representative at Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital in Hoffman Estates. Two years later, authorities have accused her of launching a harassment campaign against patients of the facilities. Morrison has been arrested and charged with three counts of forgery. Her bail was set at $50,000.

CBS Chicago reported that Morrison stole copies of confidential patient records, as well as hospital stationary, when she was fired. Police say that between February of 2011 and June of this year, she sent six letters to patients, threatening to expose their psychiatric information and treatment to their family and friends. She is also alleged to have told these patients that the electroshock therapy they received didn’t work and that it was medically recommended that they have frontal lobotomies.

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Woman Charged with First-Degree Murder After Domestic Dispute

 Posted on August 27, 2012 in Criminal Defense

Nora P. Peterson, 34, has been charged with first degree murder in the death of her live-in boyfriend, 55-year-old Michael N. Mielczarek. Peterson, who lives in Eligin, is accused of striking the victim in the head with several items, including a frying pan. Police say the blows caused Eligin to fall and strike his head on the floor. If you or someone you know is involved in domestic violence, contact a Lake County domestic violence attorney to prevent the situation from escalating. A lawyer can help you with restraining orders, orders of protection, pressing charges or defending yourself against accusations.

The alleged attack occurred during a domestic dispute. Peterson called 911 when she realized that Mielczarek was not breathing. He was transferred by ambulance to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy was performed and cause of death was determined to be by blunt force trauma to the head.

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Attempted Murder Suspect Extradited to Chicago After 18 Years

 Posted on August 24, 2012 in Criminal Defense

According to a recent Chicago Tribune article, the Chicago Police Department has succeeded in extraditing 55-year-old Jose Hernandez Saldana from California on attempted murder charges from 1994. Saldana is currently being held in the Cook County Jail without bond.

On September 15, 1994, Saldana allegedly shot Carlos Munoz at the home of Saldana’s estranged wife, who had a protection order against Saldana. After fingerprints tied Saldana to the attempted murder, an arrest warrant was issued for Saldana, but he fled before appearing in court. State and federal authorities at the time were told that Saldana had fled Chicago for his native Mexico, and they closed Saldana’s fugitive case in January, 1996, when investigators were unable to locate him there.

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Do you invite criminal summons on failing to pay off a debt?

 Posted on August 21, 2012 in Criminal Defense

Millions of consumers in the US suffered job loss as well as wage deduction, especially after the recent economic meltdown. People fail to pay back their bills on time as they undergo financial crisis. When they default on credit card payment, the accruing high interest on the principal balance makes it unaffordable to pay off. Therefore, these debt stricken consumers usually negotiate settlement with the creditors or hire services of adebt managementcompany to get rid of debt.

Yes, you may have heard it right that many serious issues can emerge if you fail to pay off the debt. However, not paying off the debt may not invite criminal summon unless the debt is a result of criminal fraud. Basically, disputes regarding debts are treated as civil matter with the creditors in the civil court.

Complete information on summon as well as complaint:

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Two Juveniles Arrested for Burglarizing Affluent Neighborhood

 Posted on August 18, 2012 in Theft

Last Friday August 10th, two young boys were taken into custody after a neighbor noticed a burglary in process. It was around 12:40 that the police in Naperville were called to the 3500 block of Scottsdale Circle. Scottsdale Circle is south of the golf course of the well-off neighborhood of White Eagle.

The homeowner who made this discovery was not comfortable waiting for the police to appear. This good-neighbor chased and detained the vagrants but wasn’t able to hold them long enough to be taken into custody. Although the two escaped his grasp, he was able to provide a description that ultimately brought in the kids.

It took less than an hour for the Naperville police to call for outside assistance. They contacted the Aurora police and the DuPage County sheriff who provided more manpower and K-9 units. With that added help, the chase only lasted 30 more minutes until both the suspects were detained around 1:50 pm. One was on Schoger Road while the other was found near Bay Harbour Road in Naperville. Names have not been released due to the age of those apprehended.

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