PROSECUTORS DROP CHARGES AGAINST EX- COP ACCUSED IN DRUG RING
In a stunning reversal, DuPage County prosecutors on Tuesday cited “insufficient admissible evidence to proceed” and dropped all charges against a former Schaumburg cop accused of running a drug- dealing operation with two fellow officers.
Former tactical officer John Cichy, now 35, was arrested in January 2013 along with fellow former officers Matthew Hudak, now 34, and Terrance O’Brien, now 51, and accused of forcing an informant to sell narcotics the officers had confiscated. Both the other officers pleaded guilty and are serving prison sentences of 26 and 24 years respectively.
Cichy’s trial, on charges that could have landed him in prison for between 15 and 36 years, was scheduled to begin Tuesday.
Instead, DuPage State’s Attorney Robert Berlin announced he would not pursue the prosecution after consulting with top members of his staff.
“The evidence against Mr. Cichy is different than his codefendants, and recent developments in this 5- year- old case led me to this decision,” Berlin said. “The developments in Mr. Cichy’s case will have no impact whatsoever in the pleas and sentences involving Mr. Hudak and Mr. O’Brien.”
Above all else, Berlin said, “my office has a continuing moral, ethical and legal obligation to ensure the credibility of a prosecution. Cases evolve from the date of the arrest to the trial date. If at any point during this time the evolution of a case is such that the facts and circumstances will no longer result in a successful prosecution, the law demands that the prosecution cease.”
Cichy’s attorney, Jay Fuller, called the decision “one of the most incredible situations” he has ever seen.
“At different points in this investigation, I was told by the state’s attorney’s office that because of the black mark on law enforcement, this was one of the most important cases they have in their caseload,” Fuller said, “Now for them to dismiss it is certainly an incredible situation.”
Fuller said he was informed the morning that the charges would be dropped, which led to a “tearful” phone call to Cichy. The complete basis for the dismissal, however, remains a mystery to him and attorneys representing O’Brien and Hudak, who also were in court Tuesday.
“The only basis I know is that there was a problem with their informant and that is the reason why they were not proceeding forward today,” Fuller said.