JUDGE CONDON NEEDS MORE EDUCATION

(click on the pic)

I’d like to ask you, Judge Condon, why you think Kroncke and Schroeder are good officers? Just because you and only you made the decision that we all knew you were going to make, to allow the coerced, fake confession as evidence? Of course, YOU are on the prosecution’s side, judge, you all know each other, go to the same parties, so it is not surprising that you would not want to ruin their case. Its political, that’s why. It would be bad politics to go against the prosecution.

Where is your sense of shame? Did you not see the whole tape? You did not see Kevin Gaughan jump back at one point or the way he was sitting, clearly frightened? You did not see Kroncke jump, run around the room, slam papers, point his finger, throw Kevin into a cell, punch a guy out? You saw Kroncke brush Kevin’s shoulder?? Please! Watch the tape again, judge. Or did you even bother to watch it, since you obviously decided to make this decision ahead of time?

Look at all the cases that you and Bianchi and Owens presided over that were turned over on appeal. Look at the shameful ways you behave, not caring about justice or right and wrong. You would put any person in jail, no matter if he’s innocent and guilty, just to win a case! You should all be disbarred. Don’t worry, by the time this is all over with, I am sure the FBI will get involved in your wrongdoings. This will not go on.

And shame on you reporters of the Northwest Herald. What a crappy article! Just the other day was an article and a website where one can view the tape for oneself. Are you saying you saw this tape and still believe the lies that Condon and Bianchi stated to you people? What is this? You don’t do any of your own investigating, but just print whatever the people you interview tell you, true or false? Just the day before there was an article where the events on the very same tape were discussed in a contradictory manner.

All lies. From the prosecutors to the judge to our community paper. You people have no shame!

WOODSTOCK ILLINOIS
OCTOBER 15, 2006

Illinois State Police William Kroncke’s Lies Exposed

Illinois State Police William Kroncke’s Lies Exposed

William Kroncke, who is a Illinois State Police investigator, has been in the process of lying so often, that it is safe to say he must either be a habitual liar, or a ruthless individual concerned less with the law then with doing favors for friends and abusing various people.

Take a look at some of what William Kroncke has done:
- He was caught on tape punching a prisoner in handcuffs and slapping Kevin Gaughan, who came in to file a complaint.
- He has lied and covered up facts of an investigation he supposedly conducted into the shooting of a suspect by a Marengo police officer.
- He has lied on the stand constantly and repeatedly. Under oath.
- He has even stolen evidence that was supposed to be handed over to the defense in a case!

Considering all these facts, it shouldn’t surprise us that William Kroncke would lie about his military service record as well. Since getting transferred to Chicago, Kroncke has told people, including possible suspects, that he was an Army Ranger, who had fought in various wars and held many medals. However, Kroncke appears to be just like Jack Genot. When his military record is examined, it shows that Kroncke did not serve in the Army at all or been anywhere near a battlefield. Instead, he was a financial officer without any clearances in the National Guard! In other words, while Kroncke was able to commend respect from his superiors in the Chicago area because of his military and war service, the fact is that he never even served! I imagine that if his superiors, many of whom are themselves real military heroes and real Rangers, knew that Kroncke lied about being a Ranger and was just a piddly financial officer, a clerk, then he would get a lot less respect. Maybe they wouldn’t stand up to protect this liar and poor excuse of a human being when he habitually lies, hits people, and does wrong. Maybe they will look the other way when all these lies finally catch up with him. I would think at the very least, this must be very embarrassing for Kroncke himself, as there is no excuse for this kind of lie.
Jack Genot has made a public apology and a fellow alderman asked him in Council to resign. Though he did not do so. Maybe we should all demand that the Illinois State Police finally get rid of William Kroncke. It is not safe or wise to give a habitual liar and violent individual, who also covers up for his lies, a badge and especially, a gun. I would write the Illinois State Police Headquarters in Chicago and demand Kroncke’s resignation. We will all be safer in the future. Especially those of us in Marengo.

Illinois State Police
Woodstock Illinois
Marengo Illinois

October 4, 2006

Barbarians of the Justice System

Lou Bianchi, Nichole Owens - McHenry County Illinois Court

We Americans believe that we have the most just system of law in the world. People are “assumed innocent” until proven guilty and have a right to a trial by a jury of their peers. Prosecutors are supposed to prosecute those against whom there is evidence and who they themselves believe to be guilty. This is the ideal upon what our justice system in this country is based. In fact, more than an ideal, we, the citizens of this country, believe that if we are falsely accused of a crime, then this will be caught and remedied. Supposedly, innocent people do not wind up in jail in the United States.

This has, unfortunately, not been the case in McHenry County. There’s justice for the rest of the country and there’s “McHenry County justice”. Meaning what?
- People are falsely arrested and then indicted by a grand jury because of false evidence given against them.
- The prosecutor, Nichole Owens, is ambitious and willing to see innocent people go to jail for crimes they did not commit in an effort to forward her own agenda.
- There are few judges and they make decisions that are pro- prosecution, and are later turned over by an appeals court.
- State investigators lie on the stand in order to protect themselves and their friends.
- People are beat up and arrested if they complain about the system.

Why is this happening? Because of two people who are here to put criminals behind bars and protect the rest of us in McHenry county are more concerned about getting ahead then about truth and justice. Nichole Owens has screwed up case after case in Boone County. The people who she prosecuted and who were found guilty, and the decisions made in her cases, were later overturned in Appellate court. She was booted out of there and is now in our McHenry County. She likewise has started prosecuting the innocent while those who belong in jail go free. In the Gaughan case, there was evidence from the beginning that Brian and Kevin Gaughan were not guilty of any of the charges brought against them by her office. It was and still is obvious to anyone looking at that case that Officer Crawford of Marengo beat up one of the Gaughans, who was injured. Crawford was the one against whom charges should have been brought against. Instead, Owens wants to prosecute people she knows are not guilty, as dropping the charges now would mean admitting some very obvious mistakes. There are 23 witnesses for the Gaughans and a videotape showing how Kevin Gaughan was hit and interrogated in order to get him to drop his complaint. The witnesses against the Gaughans? Crawford and Given, both forced to resign from Marengo PD. In fact, not only Crawford, but Given should have been prosecuted as well. She has stolen confidential information and given it to the NW Herald, yet has been allowed to get away with her crimes. Owens also insists on prosecuting the police officers involved in an altercation with Ron Hallet. The only reason charges are being brought up against these officers in the first place, was so State Investigator Kroncke could show that he wasn’t biased toward the police in the Gaughan case. So, four innocent people are prosecuted for crimes they did not commit, the videotapes which are essential, same as in the Gaughan case, have “mysteriously disappeared”. I am certain that if there are guilty charges in these cases, they, like the Boone County cases, will be overturned later by the Appellate Court.

The sad thing is that nothing is being done about Owens and Bianchi. They are allowed to go on their rampage, putting innocent people in jail and costing them hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend themselves. State’s Attorney Lisa Madigan, nor anyone else, wants to get involved or cares about what is going on in this county. The only hope that I can see coming is to have people like you and me get together to try to fight some of the injustices. Because next time it might be you whose being falsely accused and tried. Next time you who read this might have a state officer like William Kroncke lie about you on the stand. Until people decide to take action, nothing will be accomplished. We are lucky that people like the Gaughans have decided to fight these injustices. In the end, I hope to see Owens and Bianchi make enough mistakes, so that they are forced to pay for their actions.

Woodstock Illinois Sept 24, 2006

How Far Will They Go?

The Northwest Herald printed that the arrest rate is up, but that crime is down. Hmmm… I wonder if this is because of all the people who have been falsely arrested and tried by the State’s Attorney’s Office.Supposedly, Marengo was one of the communities that has seen a decrease of crime since last year….Marengo, huh? I wonder if this is because now that Crawford and his girlfriend Given were forced to resign, there are a lot less false arrests and fake crimes being committed. What about the murder of the 83 year old women? Was that solved? We’ll never find out, as the possible suspect was shot. Maybe the serious crimes, like drug dealing and murder did not go down, just that there were a lot less false arrests this year?

Lou Bianchi says that there is a lot of work to do and arrests to make. Why? I wonder..

The increase in workloads is because Nichole Owens is trying very hard to make a name for herself here in this county, and people are getting falsely arrested. The innocent are sent to prison, even if they are police officers, while bad police officers go unpunished and are able to get a job in other counties. True crime is being ignored..

I wonder how many of these arrests led to convictions and how many of the convictions are going to be overturned in the appeal process?

Bianchi also states that there will be a lot more work for the State’s attorney’s office.

I am sure there would be a lot less work without the false arrests. Look at Nichole Owens record in Boone county. People were falsely arrested and charged, and if convictions were obtained, they were overturned in appellate court. The same process is now occurring here in McHenry County. It is only a matter of time before Nichole Owens will find herself out of a job because of prosecutorial misconduct.

And what are supposedly our biggest problems in McHenry County? Sexual abuse and alcohol misuse!! What? Did I hear that right?

Is that what we need to worry about while there are meth use and other problems, with many people in the county living in poverty?

McHenry County judges have huge caseloads, according to Bianchi.

Maybe we need some new judges, as the ones who are handling the current cases seem to agree with the prosecutors, issue bad judgments, and then have those judgments turned over in an appeal.

What is the situation here in McHenry County?

Because of Nichole Owens, case after case is being prosecuted, whether the suspect is innocent or guilty. Owens doesn’t care about little things like innocence or guilt. She wants to make a name for herself. She will keep prosecuting people, engaging in misconduct, and sending innocent people to jail by using investigators who lie on the stand and other forms of ruthless actions, unless something is done.

McHenry County unfair trail, Nichole Owens

K.C.’s Cabin Spring Grove IL

Ryan Hallett admitted that he drank as many as 14 drinks at other places before he arrived at K.C.’s Cabin which lead to a beating from an off duty officer after pulling out a pocket knife and holding a woman hostage.

Ryan Hallett was no saint.

Ryan Hallett admitted that he intentionally walked by the officers and exchanged words which provoked the incident.

Ryan Hallett admitted he took out his pocket knife and waved it at an off duty officer.

Ryan Hallett kicked one police officer in the nuts.

Ryan Hallett threatens life Jessica Thelen and others.

Ryan Hallett was a drunk and out of control.


All liars: William Kroncke, Virgil Schroeder, Joe Perez, Nichole Owens, “Big Daddy” Lou Bianchi

Illinois State Police William Kroncke, Virgil Schroeder, Joe Perez, and Nichole Owens more than likely had these witnesses Heather Miller, Melissa Cross, and Greg Fisher lie on the stand. This is not the first time that these four have used their magical charms.

I thought that Nichole Owens was a head hunting witch for drilling Jessica Thelen on the stand like that. Nichole Owens yelled and harassed her the whole time. Jessica Thelan did what she had to in order to get away from the drunken madman, Ryan Hallett.

Questions

William Kroncke, who coached the accused before their Grand Jury proceedings? Seriously, the accused were told what questions they were going to be asked and how they should answer them. What! Nichole Owens, is that legal? I am questioning your creditability, like I do not think you ever had any.

Why did the McHenry County Presiding Judge Sharon Prather refused to allow testimony from a defense expert? Was it because he was expected to say that the former police officers were justified in their use of force to defend themselves from a knife-wielding Hallett? I though the jury should have heard the statements. Is the system here in McHenryCounty so corrupt that they knew this expert could have had some influence on the jury?

Fear of lawsuits lead to a misleading article in Marengo IL

Wow! Is this a misleading article! Talk about the NW Herald being too cowardly to tell the truth but yet still writing something just to say "they covered it".
1. Watch the tape. What do you see? I see State Police Officer Kroncke punching Hedio and knocking him out for 43 minutes. And believe me, I've watched the tape many, many times. I also see Kevin Gaughan jumping back the moment Kroncke hits Hedio.
Also, I certainly wouldn't say anything to protect Officers DiGiovanni and Mahlke, who were holding Hedio against the wall. I certainly have nothing at all good to say about the MPD or those two, but they didn't punch Hedio out!! Just watch the tape!
It is interesting. In this case, its actually NOT the Marengo Police who are mostly at fault for what happened. I certainly wouldn't be saying this to protect them.
Why did the NW Herald say that they did? Because of fear of lawsuits and pressure from State Police lawyers who are protecting Kroncke. They are cowards. They should have not even come up with an article at all, rather than one that has false information in it!
2. Nowhere it is mentioned that Kevin Gaughan was slapped two times. Why? Because Kroncke slapped him. And the NW Herald cannot mention Kroncke's name or actions, because of fear of lawsuits.
3. Kroncke and Schroeder's names aren't mentioned at all, in fact. Again, fear of lawsuits by the cowardly NW Herald.
4. Yes, very true. Hedio was not provided with medical attention and everyone ignored him and went about their business. However, I should mention that, again, if you watch the tape, you can see that Mahlke kicks Hedio into the cell, not really nudges him with his foot. Again, I've watched the tape more than once, many times. But you can see it for yourselves.
5. Let me ask this one. If the NW Herald is such an honest, independent source of news in McHenry County, why won't they come out with the truth?
And why is it that the Gaughans were not allowed to take out a small ad a year and a half ago looking for other people with cases against the MPD, but William Kaper is allowed two full page ads every single week for his very obvious political agenda against the City of Cary?
I think we need to all question this supposed independent source of news for our County. Because most of the time we are not getting the full story.

Marengo IL
July 9, 2006

William Kroncke Investigating Marengo Police Abuse

William Kroncke is a State Police Investigator whose job it was to investigate incidents of police abuse in Marengo. In the events in question, Kroncke was investigating the incident of Scott Crawford and attempting to find if he was guilty of police brutality against the brothers Kevin and Brian Gaughan. How did Kroncke do this?
Well, he started by asking Kevin Gaughan, the person who was making the complaint against the officer in question to go down to the Marengo Police Department with him. This is the place where the incidents of police abuse took place in the first place. One would have thought that a separate setting would have been more appropriate.
The problem, of course, was that William Kroncke had no intention of finding out what happened that October night or what Scott Crawford did to Kevin Gaughan and his brother Brian. If you watch the tape of the interview, Kroncke is seen yelling and screaming the whole time. He waves a chair around, bangs the table, and even does the unthinkable – hits Kevin Gaughan in the face and knocks out a prisoner who is brought into the police department.
http://marengogazette.blogspot.com/
Why does he do this?
According to Kevin Gaughan, Kroncke was attempting to get him to sign a false confession having to do with the burglaries that took place in a nearby subdivision, Doral Ridge. That is fairly obvious from the tape, as Kroncke waves the paper with the confession over and over again in front of Kevin Gaughan’s face, screaming, yelling, and attempting to describe to him what will happen if this confession is not signed. William Kroncke is quite a dramatic personality, so these actions are very easy to see and hard to mistake for something else. He also wants Kevin Gaughan to retract the complaint he had made against Officer Scott Crawford, who beat up his brother at the Settlers Day Carnival that year. When Kevin refuses to do so, he hits him in the face. Kevin Gaughan is placed into a jail cell two times in order to scare him, as well.
Does this take place all the time in the Marengo Police Department?
Apparently so. A man named Orest Hideo spent many days in the hospital after being taken down to the police station last November. He is the man that Kroncke punches out on the tape in question. Why was he arrested again in November, months later after the events in question? We don’t know. Another boy, Steven Beisner, was also placed into a jail cell after being interrogated by the Marengo Police. He was told that he would go to jail and should get ready to find a boyfriend there. Beisner was only 14 years old at the time. He also was a victim of Officer Scott Crawford.
This is a very scary situation. The State’s Attorney’s Office in McHenry County will not look into this matter. We need whoever reads this to contact Attorney General Lisa Madigan to look into this and help the Gaughans, who have serious charges still against them which they are innocent of.

Lisa Madigan
IL Attorney Generals Office
100 W. Randolf St
Chicago, IL 60601
312-814-3000
www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov


July 4, 2006

Timeline Of Crawford Events

Concerns raised

April 2000: Officer Scott Crawford hired by the Waukegan Police Department.

April 2002: Crawford resigns from the Waukegan department amid allegations that he punched and kicked an 18-year-old man in November 2001 after he was handcuffed during the course of an arrest. A federal lawsuit filed against Crawford and the city of Waukegan is settled for an undisclosed sum.

February 2003: The Marengo Police Department hires Crawford.

June 2003: Crawford is the subject of an internal investigation for excessive use of force, which exonerates him.

February 2004: An internal investigation into Crawford’s handling of a warrant arrest prompts a memo expressing “comments of concern” but does not evolve into a formal complaint.

October 2004: Brian and Kevin Gaughan are arrested on numerous charges at Marengo’s annual Settlers’ Day festival, including aggravated battery to a police officer. They accuse Crawford of using excessive force, a charge he is cleared of by an Illinois State Police investigation. In March 2005, the Gaughans are charged with felony counts of filing a false report.

April 2005: The Marengo department places Crawford on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of three internal investigations related to him lying on his employment application, creating a “hostile” work environment and his role in a high-speed chase.

June 2005: The department suspends him and schedules a hearing to ask for his termination. The hearing has yet to take place.

July 2005: A federal lawsuit will be filed against Crawford and the city of Marengo on behalf of the Gaughan brothers for civil rights violations, excessive use of force, malicious prosecution and negligent hiring. The suit will also name three others as plaintiffs who allege Crawford of abuse and name two other officers as defendants.

Source: Daily Herald interviews, documents

This is July of 2006. What has been accomplished since this time? Crawford has resigned. He was offered $30,000 as a severance package. Given has resigned. Both have received a good reference and can still go on to work at other police departments. Neither has had criminal charges brought against them.
Despite mounting evidence against the police officers involved and the way the State Police investigated this matter, including videotapes that were released on this website: http://marengogazette.blogspot.com/, the charges against the Gaughans have not been dropped. Instead they are still facing the same charges while the court in McHenry County issues continuance after continuance in order to delay the trial.
We need people in Illinois to write Lisa Madigan, the Attorney General, in order to have her look into this matter. Please help us out.


Lisa Madigan
IL Attorney Generals Office
100 W. Randolf St
Chicago, IL 60601
312-814-3000www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov

July 10, 2006

We Need More Support For The Gaughans

Originally, I expected that people in our town – Marengo, IL, would jump in to offer support for the Gaughan family once they saw the injustice of the situation and how much the Gaughans need their help now. Five years ago, when we first started running the Marengo Message Board http://lenasbooks.proboards28.com/index.cgi, a case had come up with a local resident, Paul Shirmer. Paul fell asleep while driving a semi truck in the state of Georgia. He crashed his truck into a UPS truck, killing both the driver and his own son. He was charged with manslaughter by the Georgia prosecutors. People in Marengo poured in with their support.
What happened with the Gaughan case? People do not want to get involved. The prosecutors in this case are local and the officials who are against the Gaughans are town officials. It doesn’t sit well with people and I have been unable to gather any sort of support for the Gaughans and their situation.
I first became involved with the Gaughans in a somewhat unusual way. The father, Brian Gaughan Sr., got in contact with us through our message board and told us a very strange story which I was reluctant to believe. He said his sons were falsely arrested by Officer Scott Crawford, who beat up his older son and put his face through a wall. That now they faced various charges against them, and that he, as a former police officer himself, could not believe what kinds of crimes are being perpetrated in Marengo. I felt bad for the person who contacted me, but did not at first believe much of what he told me. The following week I talked to a friend in town who had connections with the Police Chief and town government officials. I asked her who this person was. I only had his first name and very little other information, yet she was able to tell me who it was and to please stay far away from him, as the whole town is against him and whoever has anything to do with him will have a lot of problems of their own. In the following months, I was able to find out that many more people have been attacked by Officer Crawford and had false charges brought against them. The only difference is that not one of them fought back. They all took the easy way out and pleaded guilty to lesser charges.
Because the Gaughans chose to fight the false charges that were made against them. Because of this they have faced arrests, intimidation – look at the video on this website for instance, http://marengogazette.blogspot.com/, and false arrest for further charges that the State’s Attorney’s Office managed to dig up. We in Marengo really need your help. There is little help from people of this town, who simply deride our efforts and complain about our ongoing support of the Gaughan family. Please write to Lisa Madigan, Attorney General in Illinois to have her look into this situation:


Lisa Madigan
IL Attorney Generals Office
100 W. Randolf St
Chicago, IL 60601
312-814-3000
www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov


July 9, 2006

Officer Crawford Seems Like A Nice Guy to Area Papers

“Crawford seems like a nice enough guy. He's married and has been honorably cited in the three years he's worked in Marengo.” This is a quote from the NW Herald that was obtained from information that Scott Crawford gave them. It shows how this officer not only lies on the stand, lies at grand jury hearings, intimidates people, and falsely charges people, but that he lies so much, he will even lie to the local news media.A nice enough guy? Yeah, if you think its nice to grab someone whose in handcuffs, lift them up repeatedly by the handcuffs and drop them on their face, and put their head through the wall afterward. Then charge them with aggravated battery and assault on a police officer. How about holding down a small 14 year old girl down, after having tackled her to the ground and pulling up her shirt to expose her breasts? A parent who was there tried to pull the shirt back down, but was stopped by Crawford. How about pepper spraying and hitting a 14 year old boy because our “nice” Officer Crawford thought the boy was 18 and wouldn’t show him his ID? Or many, many other such incidents, too many to count.
Married? To whom? No, Officer Crawford would like the papers to think he is married. But actually he just has a girlfriend and a child. He isn’t married. And he cheated on her with Officer Given besides. I personally have received information that the Marengo Police were having trouble with Officer Crawford and an another Officer(Given) meeting in coffee shops instead of doing their jobs. So much for a nice married man.
How about honorably cited? With what? No, if he was cited at all, it was for wrongdoing. Officer Crawford was suspended several times while working as a police officer in Marengo. We should all be thankful he finally resigned and work to undo the damage he has done in Marengo. The Gaughan brothers still have false charges they are fighting after their encounter with Crawford months back. The State’s Attorney refuses to drop the charges and the State Police are friends with the Marengo Police. Crawford is one of the witnesses who will be testifying against the Gaughans, even though his testimony, as you can see from the lies above, is unreliable.


May 16, 2006

Officer Crawford Of Marengo Resigns

Officer Crawford resigned from the Marengo Police Department for the following reason: he lied on his job application, took part in an improper high-speed chase, and fostered a hostile work environment in the Marengo Police Department. At the Fire and Police Commission Hearing in Marengo, Officer Crawford decided to resign before the commission would question him about the following charges. What did the charges involve that he was so reluctant to be questioned about?
I don’t know what kind of high speed chase Crawford might have been involved in, but the charge about lying on his job application involves the reasons on why he resigned from the Waukegan Police Department. The reason he resigned is because he was caught on video tape beating up a prisoner who was in his custody, in handcuffs. I imagine he did not want the Marengo Police to know about this interesting fact before he was hired. What did he do to create a hostile work environment? He harassed a female police officer, Officer Bass, and called her house repeatedly with threatening phone calls after she got promoted ahead of him.
What else did Scott Crawford do that the Marengo Police Department and the City of Marengo do not want us to know about?
He brutally attacked numerous young people in Marengo. One 14 year old boy, Steve Beisner, was brutally beat up because Crawford thought he was 18 years old and the boy could not produce an ID. He threw him against the wall, punched him in the stomach numerous times, and pepper sprayed him over 3 times, until he could not breathe. Paramedics had to be called and the boy was taken into intensive care with burns over his face and neck, as well as other serious injuries. Crawford should be thankful that he is still alive. The total number of people who Crawford beat up, then falsely charged numbers into the two digits, though there may be far, far more who did not come forward yet. Crawford was suspended numerous times. Another little fact that the Marengo Police would not want people to know about.
This is a person who the prosecutors in the Gaughan case want to use as a witness against them. Would you consider his testimony reliable?


May 28, 2006

We Need Your Help

I would like all who read this gazette to please write to Lisa Madigan to look into the police situation in Marengo and at the way the Gaughan case is being handled. I think we've seen that the State's Attorney's Office and the State Police are all on one side and will not treat this situation fairly. We really need your help. I'd like everyone who reads this to please write to Lisa Madigan and ask for help with this situation and to at least look into it. You've seen the videotape? Is it right for the State Police, the State's Attorney, and Crawford/Given/Riley to get away with their actions and for the Gaughans to have false charges brought against them that they then have had to fight with much opposition for years?
Here is the address:


Lisa Madigan
IL Attorney Generals Office
100 W. Randolf St
Chicago, IL 60601
312-814-3000

Prosecutors in the Gaughan Case

This is some of the stuff that prosecutors in the Gaughan case had to say:

"We are concluding that we are still going ahead with the trial," Lou Bianchi said, McHenry County State’s Attorney.
"It shows, obviously, what I knew it would," Crawford said Friday, about the State’s Police report which clears him of wrongdoing.
However, Lou Bianchi would not release the document, saying that it would be unethical. Unethical!?
How about this? Is this State Police investigation ethical?
http://marengogazette.blogspot.com/

Is hitting and yelling at an 18 year old to make him drop a complaint against a police officer instead of investigating the officer in question ethical?
Is arresting people who filed a complaint “for filing a false complaint” by knocking down their doors and holding guns to their heads while yelling at them ethical?
How about ignoring the 23 witnesses that the Gaughans have? Is that ethical? Oh, wait, they claim they did not know about the witnesses and after that it was too late to investigate. But that, in fact, isn’t true. Brian Gaughan Sr., the boys’ father, told the police, prosecutors, and whoever would listen about the 23 witnesses right from the beginning and urged them to investigate. This was not done.
Why are they continuing to go ahead with the trial despite abundant evidence that both of the Gaughans are innocent and Crawford is at fault? Well, it’s a little too late to say that they made a mistake after prosecuting the Gaughans for almost two years, isn’t it? It will make Lou Bianchi, Nichole Owens, and the others look bad. It will make them seem responsible should they be named in the Gaughans’ multi-million dollar lawsuit. Instead, they are hoping that the Gaughans will go broke while fighting these charges and this is why they make false statements like the ones above to the local papers.

Officer Scott Crawford Of Marengo

The Gaughans spent almost 2 years fighting the false charges against them. It all started when Brian Gaughan, Kevin Gaughan, and their younger brother Patrick were at a Settler’s Day Carnival. Patrick, who was 15 at a time, saw a man who had stolen his skateboard. Brian went up to the man and started arguing with them. They both used quiet voices and were not disturbing anyone. However, Officer Crawford, who was standing off to the side and smoking a cigarette, got more and more upset at the argument. Finally he came up to the two men and told them to leave. After Brian Gaughan and his brothers turned around and started walking away, Brian said “one, two, three” softly, his back turned to Crawford. Crawford then grabbed Brian from behind, threw him on the ground and handcuffed him. He proceeded to torture him, grabbing him by the handcuffs and pulling him up by them, then dropping him back down on his face, in the process causing Brian Gaughan wrist and upper arm damage. After this was done, Brian was on the ground, screaming, with his hands still cuffed behind his back. Hundreds of people saw the incident and twenty three of them came forward as witnesses. Seeing his brother in obvious pain, Kevin ran up to him and bent down next to him, attempting to help him. At this point Officer Kelly Given grabbed Kevin from behind and arrested him. Officer Crawford took Brian Gaughan, lifted him up by the handcuffs yet again and put his face through the police station wall. Later on a bill would be sent to Brian Gaughan Sr., the boys’ father, to pay for the wall that was broken with his son’s face.
The Gaughans have spent years and over $140,000 fighting these charges. No end seems to be in sight, as the judge in the case issues continuance after continuance, in order to cost the Gaughans more money and to prevent this from going to trial. The State Police refused to investigate this incident and found Officer Crawford not guilty of wrongdoing. The reason for this is that the State Police Officers in this case were friends of the Marengo Police Officers. You can watch what this investigation involves on this website:
http://marengogazette.blogspot.com/. After that, the Gaughans had their door broken down by the police, who had their guns drawn, in order to arrest them for filing a false complaint against a police officer. This is an endless ordeal and we need as much help as possible from you who read this. Please write to Lisa Madigan, Attorney General of Illinois:
Lisa Madigan
IL Attorney Generals Office
100 W. Randolf St
Chicago, IL 60601
312-814-3000


July 9,2006

William Kroncke Investigates Scott Crawford

State Police Officer Kroncke is responsible for hitting a person whom he was interviewing. Officer Kroncke asked Kevin Gaughan to come into the police station with him in order to file a complaint against Officer Scott Crawford. While the Gaughans thought Kroncke would be investigating Crawford, Kroncke interrogated Kevin Gaughan for almost six hours. He asked Kevin Gaughan to sign a confession stating that he had committed the burglaries in Doral Ridge. When Kevin refused, he was harassed, hit in the face, and threatened. Officer Kroncke placed Kevin in a jail cell two times in order to scare him and actually knocked out a prisoner in handcuffs in front of him, so as to make him think that this would happen to him next. This is the way Kroncke investigates complaints against police officers. He should not be allowed to keep his job after what he did during this interview. Here is the tape of parts of the interview for those who are interested:
http://marengogazette.blogspot.com/

June 18, 2006

Caught on Tape

Officer Crawford worked in Waukegan, IL prior to being hired by the Marengo Police Department. He was forced to resign from Waukegan after a $30,000 lawsuit where he was caught on videotape hitting a prisoner who was in his custody. The man he hit, Jose Gonzales, was a Mexican immigrant. Scott Crawford accused him of stealing a car, which happened to be his own, and after he arrested him and put him in handcuffs, he went back and hit the handcuffed man two times in the face. The incident was caught on tape by vigilant neighbors who saw the incident.
This is very important, as this police officer was hired in Marengo in 2003. A thorough background check would have turned up the fact that this officer was fired from his last job. However, in Marengo, the police and fire commission does the background checks and the person doing them at the time was a retired postal worker! So, this officer was hired in Marengo and went on to brutally attack various young people, including Kevin and Brian Gaughan. Up to that time, whoever had false charges brought against them pleaded guilty and plea bargained. The brothers decided to fight back, with serious consequences. More charges were added against them as a result, including aggravated assault, disorderly conduct, damage to state property(this was when Officer Crawford put Brian Gaughan’s face through a wall), and filing a false complaint against a police officer. Officer Crawford has been forced to resign from the Marengo Police Department, but not because of these incidents. Instead he was offered a severance package of $30,000. The two brothers are still fighting the charges falsely made against them. Nothing is being done by the State’s Attorney’s Office to drop the charges, even though the Gaughans have over twenty witnesses who saw the incident and will testify for them in court.

July 7,2006

McHenry County Justice

It has been on my mind how our justice system here in McHenry County has unfairly imprisoned people and charged them with crimes. I can’t help but wonder if this is a case particular to McHenry County or if it happens everywhere. Unfortunately, I have found an example that we can refer to, and that is what happened in New Orleans. The way people accused of crimes in New Orleans have been treated is truly horrifying. An organization from New Orleans called Safe Streets, Strong Communities did a study on how many days people were kept in jail without trial.They found the average number was 385 days. One person had been locked up for 1,289 days. None of these people have been convicted of any crime. Many of these arrests were for simple misdemeanors. Now, I cannot help but wonder how this could have been allowed to take place. Can you imagine if you got arrested (falsely or not)for, let’s say, disorderly conduct. Let’s suppose you were arguing with your husband or wife and someone called the police. Do you think it is right for you to be locked up for the next year awaiting a trial?
But, wait, you might say, what does this have to do with McHenry County? Well, look at the Gaughan case. The Gaughans were originally arrested over a year and a half ago. Almost two years. Yet the State’s Attorney issues continuance after continuance in order to postpone the trial. They do this because they know this will wind up costing the Gaughans yet more money and they are hoping that they will go broke and be unable to fight the false charges against them. Luckily, they are not sitting in jail as this is taking place. But there is no excuse for the constant delays, and if a person does not have the money to pay bail, then they would have to wait all this time in jail for a trial on charges that are not serious enough to even warrant that much jail time. What makes this even worse is that the only two witnesses against the Gaughans are both former disgraced cops who resigned in lieu of being fired. Both committed crimes which neither was charged with because of the State’s Attorney not wanting to bring charges against them. Instead they continued with the charges against the Gaughans. The firing of these two cops has cost Marengo tax payers over $100,000 so far. A few months ago the city administrator, Scott Hartman, said Marengo was in the red because they had spent over $100,000 involving a police lawsuit. Well, what the city spent that 100G on was the investigation, and the removal of Crawford and Given. None of that money was spent on the civil rights lawsuit. That is being paid entirely by the City’s insurance company, which has not even started using that money for anything yet. On top of that, the $100,000 that the City spent does not even count the $30,000 that Crawford received to resign nor any of the money Given might have received for her resignation. So, we are all paying the price for the police department’s and the State’s Attorney’s incompetence, not just those directly involved. I think this is something that we should all think about, as it might be ourselves or our children who might one day be at the mercy of the justice system here in McHenry County, as well as the rest of us, who will surely be stuck footing the bill.

July 5, 2006

Police Wrong Doing

This week, both CBS and the Northwest Herald were given very interesting information. A tape of a State Police officer punching, yelling, slapping, and intimidating people in the Marengo Police Department was handed to them, as well as an interview with Brian Gaughan Sr., and Kevin Gaughan concerning the events on the tape. But because of threats of lawsuits from State Police lawyers, CBS producers decided to show a watered down version of what they originally planned. They neither mentioned the State Police officer’s name, William Kroncke, nor described in detail what happened on the tape that they ran. The Northwest Herald was even more cowardly, refusing to run an article already written and planned for Friday morning due to fears of lawsuits by the State Police and pressure by the State’s Attorney’s Office. The article that did come out on Saturday morning was not much more than a watered down version of the original. It even had a quote on top implying that the State Police did not believe the video was what it seemed.
Now, our Marengo Gazette is a small, online enterprise connected with our Marengo Message Board. We do not give in to pressure from town governments, State’s Attorney’s offices, or threats of lawsuits. Therefore, I will put parts of the tape online for all of you to look over and to see for yourselves what really happened.

Now, first of all, the two State Police officers on the tape are William Kroncke and Virgil Schroeder. From what I understand, Kroncke is a millionaire whose father-in-law has a lot of political clout. This is how he is able to commit crimes that you see on this tape and get away with it. I did not see Schroeder do anything particularly exciting on the tape other than to sit at his desk and stare off into space. However, he made no move to stop his partner or to prevent Kevin Gaughan from being mistreated for 5 and a half hour.

The tape contains footage which makes it pretty clear what has transpired during the 5 hour interrogation. You can watch parts of it and see for yourselves.
First of all, there is the scene where Kroncke slaps Kevin Gaughan. It is interesting to watch, as there is very little to excuse these actions. Kevin Gaughan was there to make a complaint of police brutality against Scott Crawford. He wasn’t there because he committing any sort of crime or did anything wrong. This is important to note, because the State Police asked him to come down to the Marengo Police Station in order so they could take the complaint and investigate Crawford, not to be interrogated. This is not what happened. William Kroncke attempted to force him to sign a false confession, claiming that Kevin committed the car burglaries in Doral Ridge. He was yelled at, harassed, and slapped in the face, told that his father would lose his job and would go to jail and that his whole family would suffer if he did not sign the document in front of him, dropping the complaint against Crawford. Needless to say, this was not an investigation of Crawford, this was an attempt to cover up his crimes. I need not say, I’m sure, that if the State Police really wanted to conduct an investigation into the complaint, they would have met with Kevin Gaughan in an independent setting and not in the Marengo Police Station, where the Officer in question still was employed. Obviously they were not interested in seriously investigating the incidents with Crawford in the first place, otherwise why meet there? It seems clear that the only reason Kroncke and Schroeder were brought in was because the Marengo Police Department wanted a way to cover up Crawford’s crimes. After all, Sgt. Joe Perez, who is head of the investigation, was a long time resident of Marengo and friends with those in the department, so it seems that this must not have been too hard to arrange.


(Click a video to play)

The scene where Kroncke hits Kevin is very hard to misconstrue. Watch it for yourselves. I believe Kroncke’s lawyer said that Kroncke was brushing the lint off of Kevin’s shoulder! Well, as you can see, he actually does hit him. And just in case there is any doubt about that, Kevin puts a hand to his face afterward. It is also interesting to watch what Kroncke’s partner Schroeder does: he gets up and walks nowhere, just making a complete circle. It’s obvious that he suddenly stood up like this because he simply could not believe what his partner just did. If you watch the clip as a whole several times, it will become very obvious what took place. Kroncke’s lawyer’s excuses sound just like what they are - excuses to cover up his crimes.
The most interesting part of the tape, of course, is the part where Kroncke punched out the prisoner that the Marengo Police brought in, Orest Hideo. What you can see is Hideo being brought out of the police car, into the police department, where he clearly starts saying something to Kevin before the Marengo Police put him against the wall. What he told Kevin was not to talk to the police without a lawyer. Kroncke then got off his chair and punched the handcuffed prisoner out. After Hideo is on the floor, Officer Mahlke kicks him into his cell. There is no mistaking this action either. You can see it yourselves right on the tape, regardless of what anyone might say. Just so all of you know, Officer Mahlke is also the Chief of Wonder Lake. I would think the citizens of Wonder Lake might be interested to know that their new Chief approves of prisoners in custody being punched, and that he kicks them when they’re down.


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Also, note the time on the bottom of the screen right after Orest Hideo is punched out. He is unconscious in his cell for 43 minutes. His hands are cuffed behind his back and no one calls for medical attention. Afterward, you can see the Marengo Police cleaning up his blood off the floor.


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Later on the tape, there is yet an another interesting occurrence. There is an awful lot of blood. At one point, one of the Marengo Police Officers comes back and notices that it had not all been cleaned up. Officer Mahlke gets more paper towels and cleans up the rest of it. In fact, he grabs a whole bunch of towels from a paper towel dispenser, wipes the blood off with his feet, and throws the bloodied towels in the garbage. There is no way that you can watch this and not see what has taken place. And it is just as obvious who punches the prisoner out – William Kroncke. He gets up off his chair, walks up to the Marengo police officers, who are holding Hideo against the wall, raises his arm, punches, and then Hideo falls to the floor and there is blood. I cannot see what else could have possibly happened on the tape. It seems very obvious and hard to misconstrue. Of course, the Marengo Police are just as responsible for not protecting the prisoner who is in their custody. From what Kevin Gaughan has described, they laughed about the whole incident among themselves. You can also see Officer Mahlke kicking the unconscious prisoner into a cell after he is knocked out. Apparently, this is something that must have gone on quite often at the Marengo Police Department and no one thought anything of it. Certainly, no one was angry at Kroncke for knocking the prisoner. No one thought to check on Hideo while he was in the cell, handcuffed and unconscious, or to provide him with medical attention.

What happens in some of the other scenes on the tape? Well, I watched the tape as a whole and unfortunately it is impossible to put it all online. However, I think watching the whole thing gives one a whole different perspective on what went on. Also on what kind of person William Kroncke is. For one, it becomes obvious how ridiculous the excuses the State Police lawyers make for Kroncke really are. It’s next to impossible to watch the whole tape and not see it as anything less than intimidation and further police brutality. William Kroncke is clearly a very scary and intimidating presence. But its even more than that – this is a person who seems almost as if he is insane and should not be given a gun and a badge! He should not be allowed to perform a job as an officer or an investigator after treating a witness who is supposed to have given him information about a police brutality incident in this way. Clearly, he isn’t investigating anyone, he’s breaking the law in order to help out the Marengo Police by forcing Kevin Gaughan to drop his complaint. For five and a half hour this person screams, makes gestures with his arms, threatens to do to Kevin what he has done to the prisoner in handcuffs, sticks Kevin into a jail cell, threatens Kevin’s family and friends. He picks up a chair that still has a coat on it, for goodness sakes, and swings it around over his head. What kind of normal person would do something like this? And he never lets up with the screaming, yelling, hand swinging, and holding out the paper for Kevin to sign for the whole 5 and a half hours. You can see Schroeder just sitting there staring off into space. He makes no gesture to stop the tirade, and is therefore also responsible for what happened. The most telling part was when Kevin asks to go the bathroom. You would think that after almost 5 hours Kroncke would rest and relax during this little break in order to get ready for more screaming and yelling? Nope. He goes up to the cell where Orest Hideo has now regained consciousness and starts harassing and baiting him until Hideo yells something back. Then Kroncke calls the Marengo police officers into the room, who threaten to pepper spray Hideo. It is apparent from Kroncke’s gestures that he tells them that Hideo had started yelling himself. However, when you watch the tape, you can see that Kroncke started baiting him first, when Hideo was just sitting quietly on the cot. But that’s even beside the point. Kroncke could not sit still for a few minutes while the person he was harassing for many hours went into the bathroom! What kind of person is this? Are we supposed to take this person’s word for what happened in any investigation at all, whether it’s the shooting conducted by a Marengo Police Officer or Crawford hurting people? He can’t even keep his temper after 5 hours of screaming! Needless to say, he also seems to have few morals, as he has no problem at all knocking out a prisoner completely unrelated to the case he was investigating just to intimidate Kevin Gaughan so that he would think something like this could happen to him. He has no trouble harassing the prisoner in question for no apparent reason whatsoever and then telling the police officers on duty that the prisoner was the one who caused the problem. Clearly, besides appearing to be mentally ill, William Kroncke lies and makes things up just to get his way in whatever matter is at hand. This much is obvious from his behavior on this tape.


(Click a video to play)

Kroncke isn’t the only person committing crimes in this video. At the very end, Officer Riley and County Officer Umbenhower sit down with Kevin Gaughan and try to get him to admit to them that he was the one who committed the burglaries in Doral Ridge. Of course, both of these Officers knew that this wasn’t true, as they already had a suspect in custody who really did commit the burglaries. He is in the upper quadrant of the film, sitting in a jail cell. So, there was no reason for them to harass Kevin and try to get him to admit to crimes he did not commit. It should also be noted that this incident took place after Kevin Gaughan had been interrogated for over five and a half hours. I don’t know if Officer Riley was hoping that Kevin by this time would be worn out by all the screaming and yelling and would therefore confess, or what they hoped would happen. But it is clearly wrong for a police officer to accuse someone of something that they did not do, when the Officers in question know for sure that this person did not do it.


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One final interesting look at an another incident that transpired: While Kevin was locked up in the jail cell, Orest Hideo was taken out of his cell. Watch the cardboard that is put up to block Kevin’s view of what is about to take place. Why do you think they needed to do that? I can only imagine. But a Marengo Officer notices it and looks at it in great confusion, after which the cardboard is taken back down again. Apparently Kroncke and the others think better of it. Why is this of any significance? Well, in November of last year, Orest Hideo was arrested by the Marengo Police, brought to the police department, and then wound up in the hospital for days. I wonder if beatings are a regular occurrence in the Marengo Police Department? The cardboard seems to indicate so. This is something that one would expect to find in a third world country, not in the United States. We should all be ashamed and outraged that our police department lets these things go on and that the people in this town go and defend the police department regardless of these doings.

Scared to Tell the Truth

A few nights ago on the news, it was mentioned that The Northwest Herald would have a complete story on the videotape of State Police Officer Kroncke hitting a prisoner in handcuffs and knocking him out for almost an hour. Kroncke also repeatedly slapped Kevin Gaughan, who was there to file a complaint against Marengo police officer Scott Crawford. This was all caught on tape. It took over a year for the courts to release the tape to the Gaughans under a subpoena. Now, this tape and an exclusive interview with the Gaughans was given to both CBS, channel 2 and the NW Herald. Viewers all across Illinois, and indeed, the country, would be allowed to see acts of police brutality that were shocking and demand action.Is this what happened?No, the State Police lawyers intimidated CBS and the NW Herald and threatened to sue them if they came out with the contents of this tape. The State’s Attorney’s Office for McHenry County put pressure on our supposedly independent newspaper for McHenry County, the NW Herald, to not publish the article. They did publish it, but it was a watered down version of the what they originally planned to publish. First of all, there were no interesting articles on the front page that day, except an event that was completely out of the County and in Elburn. So, there was no reason not to put this shocking and interesting event right in front for everyone to read. Instead, it winds up in the local section, which few people view. At the top of the article there is an announcement that the State Police say the video is not what it seems. In what way? I watched the video, as you may too, and there is no other way that I can see to interpret the events that take place on it. Sure enough, in the article there is also a quote from the state police, saying what? Why, that they believe that the video is not what it seems, of course!! How does THAT prove that point is beyond me. There was no reason for the NW Herald to put such an asinine quote in their article, instead of intelligently describing what had taken place in the video and interviewing the Gaughans about the events of that day. I can’t believe that the NW Herald took something that could have made a fantastic front page story, full of interesting details, and made it into THIS pathetic little article. Why did they do it? Fears of lawsuits and pressure from the State’s Attorney’s office and the State Police. Its ridiculous. This is supposedly an independent paper that serves McHenry County. Yeah, right! Apparently, the news they provide is biased toward those in authority. We have contacted the NW Herald and received a response back that they are “still working on it”. Still working on what? They have not come out with anything since they told us this and it has been over a week. I don’t think they plan on doing so.Here is a site where you can view the tape in question:

http://marengogazette.blogspot.com/

June 30, 2006

Lie Detector Tests in Marengo

Here is how things are done in McHenry County. The Marengo Police Department routinely gives citizens lie detector tests. So does the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department and the Illinois State Police. Right? So, why is it that when there were questions of police misconduct, all three of these agencies refused to give their officers lie detector tests? They claimed that lie detector tests were not effective and therefore were nonsense. They refused to administer them.Officer Scott Crawford was accused of lifting Brian Gaughan by his handcuffs and causing serious harm, after which he threw his face into a police station wall, actually breaking the wall. He then charged Brian Gaughan with aggravated assault, damaging state property, and other serious charges. His brother, Kevin Gaughan, ran to Brian Gaughan’s side after he was down on the ground and screaming in order to see if he was alright. He was also charged with assault and other felonies. Officer Crawford charged the brothers in order to avoid taking responsibility for his actions. Why would the Marengo Police refuse to administer a lie detector test to him? State Police Officer William Kroncke, who attempted to have Kevin Gaughan drop his complaint against the Marengo Police Department by yelling and hitting him, as outlines in this video, has also not taken a lie detector test.:http://marengogazette.blogspot.com/But here is something interesting. Brian Gaughan Sr., the boys’ father, took his sons at his own expense to take lie detector tests. They both passed. Notice, the police departments in question refused to administer the tests to either brother. Their father had to take them at his own expense to take those tests. Don’t you think they have something to cover up? Otherwise why not administer the tests. Surely, both the Marengo and the State Police administer lie detector tests to any and all other suspects whom they think are guilty of a crime. I suggest the reason they did not want to use lie detector tests in this case is that they knew that the Gaughans would pass and that the officers involved in the police brutality would fail.
June 15, 2006

Kelly Given Was Forced To Resign

Marengo Police Officer Kelly Given resigned on May 2, 2006. This is very good news, as she has used her police dog to brutally attack a 14 year old girl, Nichole Surber. Two weeks previous to this date, Officer Given has submitted sealed arrest records of this girl, for publication by the Northwest Herald. This is illegal and a felony, yet the Marengo Police Department did not bring charges against Officer Given, but instead allowed her to resign. I wonder if they plan of giving her a good reference as well, so that she can then be hired by an another department?
Officer Given has caused the Marengo Police Department numerous embarrassment and harm. Mainly due to her incompetence as a canine officer, the Marengo Police Department has had to get rid of Quanto, the police dog, for whom a large amount of taxpayer funds was spent for acquisition and training. Marengo claims that there were not enough funds for the dog, which is not true, as the only cost for keeping a police dog after he is trained involves veterinarian visits and food.
During the incident with Nichole Surber, who was arrested for underage drinking at a high school football game, Officers Given and Crawford sat on her chest, allowed the police dog to bite her, which resulted in scars Surber carries to this day, and pulled her out of the police car by her feet, which resulted in her head hitting the roof of the car, and purposely exposed her breast to onlookers. Two weeks later, Officer Given grabbed Kevin Gaughan hard by the arms while he was bending over his injured brother, pulled him away, and charged him with aggravated battery, even though she very well knew he did nothing wrong. She also falsely testified against both of the Gaughan brothers before a grand jury hearing. Why did she do so?
I have information from various reliable sources that she was dating Scott Crawford and had a need to protect him. In fact, I believe her relationship with Crawford effected her home life, causing her fiancée to leave her. This is the reason, I believe, that she sent in the sealed police report on Nichole Surber to the local paper, who were then immoral enough to print an article on the report. Luckily, because of the serious nature of such an action, she was forced to resign. Not so luckily, the State’s Attorney’s Office has not been willing to bring charges against her, due to the need to cover up their own questionable actions in bringing charges against the Gaughans and others who were falsely convicted.

June 14, 2006