The former Bolingbrook, Illinois cop was sentenced to 38 years in jail for killing his wife Kathleen Savio in 2004.
Drew Peterson’s fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, disappeared in late October, 2007. She was last seen on October 28 (See The Cardinal Map fo Peterson Bolingbrook Home, Search Area for Stacy Peterson). The missing person brought attention to him has a suspect of the mysterious death of his third wife, Kathy Savio, who was found dead in a dry bathtub in her home in 2004. He was indicted for her murder in 2009, and was convicted of the murder of Kathy Savio on September 6, 2012.
Peterson had a 30-year career as a police officer, including a career as a military police officer. He began working with the Bolingbrook Police Department in Illinois in 1977. In 1978, he was assigned to the Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad in Will County, and in 1979, he received a “Police Officer of the Year” award from the department.
Peterson was fired from the Bolingbrook Police Department in 1985 after a board of police and fire commissioners found him guilty of disobedience, conducting a self-assigned investigation, failure to report a bribe immediately, and official misconduct. Indictments alleged he solicited drugs in exchange for information. The charges were later dropped and Peterson won reinstatement with the Bolingbrook Police Department in 1986.
At one point in the trial for the murder of Kathy Savios, registered sex offender Jeffrey Pachter told the jury how Drew Peterson took him for a ride in 2004 in a Bolingbrook squad car and offered him $25,000 to find someone to kill Kathleen Savio. Pachter was also known for gang and drug activity on Joliet’s east side. The defense attempted to grill Pachter’s credibility and added that Drew Peterson was alway kidding around with people. Bolingbrook is about eight miles north of Joliet — both cities in Will County.
In a rare public outburst of anger, Drew Peterson proclaimed his innocence in the death of his third wife. Moments later, the Chicago-area police officer was sentenced to 38 years in prison for Kathleen Savio’s death.
Defense attorney Joseph “The Shark” Lopez appears on the My Fox Chicago the day before the sentencing of Drew Peterson, and the day of the bid for retrial.
Joseph Lopez, a veteran trial attorney nicknamed “The Shark.” He is known in legal circles and among mafia buffs for representing some of Chicago’s most notorious mobsters.
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