CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Special prosecutor Lawrence Oliver II announced more than a dozen charges Wednesday against two former Cook County assistant state's attorneys, who were accused of misconduct in a man's wrongful murder conviction.
After being tortured into a false confession, Jackie Wilson spent 36 years behind bars for the 1982 murders of two Chicago police officers. Wilson’s case, and that of his brother, Andrew Wilson, was among the first documented allegations of torture by disgraced Chicago Police Department Cmdr. Jon Burge.
During Jackie Wilson’s third and final trial in 2020, Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Nicholas Trutenko gave a shocking testimony.
"[Trutenko] revealed publicly, for the first time, that he had a continuous, 30-year friendship with former jailhouse informant, William Coleman, who was a key witness in Jackie Wilson's second trial," Oliver said Wednesday.
Oliver, a former federal prosecutor who was appointed in July 2021 to investigate allegations of misconduct, said Trutenko concealed key information from Wilson for decades. He added that Trutenko’s legal aid, former Assistant State’s Attorney Andrew Horvat, was complicit.
“[Trutenko] went as far as to affirmatively deceive Jackie Wilson’s defense team and the court,” Oliver said. “Andrew Horvat, for his part, although a newcomer to this 40-year saga, also was very complicit in furthering the concealment.”
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Horvat had been assigned to represent Trutenko while Trutenko was serving as a witness, and Oliver said Horvat allegedly warned a special prosecutor not to ask Trutenko about his relationship with Williams, saying “it’s not illegal or unethical, it’s just weird.”
“Well, that was not true,” Oliver said. “It was both illegal and unethical.”
Oliver said Horvat was well aware of the extent to which Trutenko had a relationship with Coleman. In his attempt to keep the special prosecutor from asking questions about Trutenko and Coleman’s relationship, Oliver said Horvat furthered the concealment.
The special prosecutor said a grand jury handed down 14 charges against Trutenko and Horvat, including perjury, obstruction of justice, violations of the local Records Act and official misconduct.
Oliver said the Cook County State's Attorney's Office was fully cooperative in their investigation, and that his investigation found no evidence that other staff of the State’s Attorney’s Office had committed criminal acts.
A report on Oliver’s review of the office’s handling of the case would soon be made public, he said.
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(The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.)
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