The Justice Department announced last week that former Chicago Police Department Commander Jon Burge, 63, of Apollo Beach, Fla., was sentenced to 54 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for lying in a deposition in a civil case about torture and abuse of suspects by Chicago Police Department officers. Burge’s sentence was an upward departure from the recommended Guidelines’ sentence.
Burge was convicted last June of two counts of obstruction of justice and one count of perjury stemming from false answers he gave in a civil case in 2003. In those answers, Burge denied ever using, or being aware of other officers using, any type of improper coercion, physical abuse or torture with suspects who were in custody at Chicago Police Department’s Area Two. However, evidence at trial showed that Burge abused multiple victims in Area Two, suffocating them with plastic bags; shocking them with electrical devices; and placing a loaded gun to their heads.
In a 23-year career with the Chicago Police Department, Burge rose through the ranks to commander before being fired in 1993 over allegations of abuse. Special prosecutors were appointed in 2002 to investigate claims of abuse by Burge and others. A four-year investigation concluded that the abuse was outside the statute of limitations. It was a pending civil suit that was the basis for the federal charges in this case.
“Burge abused his power and betrayed the public trust by abusing suspects in his custody, and then by lying under oath to cover up what he and other officers had done,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The department will aggressively prosecute any officer who violates the Constitution.”
“Today, we put to rest the decades of denials that torture of suspects in police custody occurred,” said Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. “This sentence delivers a measure of justice, which Burge obstructed for so long.”
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Weisman and April Perry from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois and Trial Attorney Betsy Biffl from the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Get the latest breaking current news and explore our Historic Archive of articles focusing on The Mafia, Organized Crime, The Mob and Mobsters, Gangs and Gangsters, Political Corruption, True Crime, and the Legal System at TheChicagoSyndicate.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Affliction!
Best of the Month!
- Mob Hit on Rudy Giuilani Discussed
- Mafia Wars Move to the iPhone World
- The Chicago Syndicate AKA "The Outfit"
- Aaron Hernandez: American Sports Story - The Truth About Aaron: My Journey to Understand My Brother
- Village of Stone Park Place Convicted Mob Felon on Pension Board, Trustees Hide and Sneak Out Back Door, When Asked About It
- Prison Inmate, Charles Miceli, Says He Has Information on Mob Crimes
- Hank Muntzer Sentenced to Prison on Felony and Misdemeanor Charges for Actions During Insurrection and Attack of the US Capital on January 6, 2021
- Growing Up the Son of Tony Spilotro
- Mafia Princess Challenges Coco Giancana to Take a DNA Test to Prove She's Granddaughter of Sam Giancana
- Son of Mob Hit Man Takes Witness Stand
I REALLY DONT THINK THATS FAIR! WHERE IS THE JUSTICE?54 MONTHS FOR SOMETHING THAT WAS PROVEN AND TRUE,MY BROTHER WAS ONE OF THEM VICTIMS AND WAS NOT THE SHOOTER WAS NEVER IDENTIFIED AND WAS LIED TO. HE WAS TORTURE(GUNS TO HIS HEAD) DENIED ALL HIS RIGHTS,A LAWYER,PHONE CALL, FOOD, RESTROOM AND EVEN WATER. MY BROTHER HAS BEEN INCARCERATED FROM 19YRS. FOR SOMETHING HE DIDNT DO.. HOW CAN MY FAMILY AND OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS HAVE JUSTICE WHEN OUR INNOCENT PEOPLE IS STILL LOCK-UP,AND HALF THEIR LIFVES ARE GONE? WHERE'S THE JUSTICE? HOW CAN WE HAVE PEACE?
ReplyDelete