Drew Peterson: My Attorney Made Me Do It

Poor Drew Peterson. The guy who a few days ago said "I'm a media sensation" now whines about how he's suffering with the media attention.

That, of course, is after he did the People Magazine gig.

But, when asked why he was talking to the media almost non-stop, Peterson once again sloughed off responsibility. He claimed his attorney "made" him.

Astute reporters asked why he had done so many interviews before attorney Joel Brodsky, who himself has serious credibility issues, "made" him do interviews. No real answer there.

It's obvious that there's now a whirlwind of repackaging Drew Peterson. In this interview, he says that he's a jokester, and that he hides his pain with jokes and laughing.

When directly asked "what is your hurt and pain?" Peterson doesn't hesitate a millisecond with his answer.

"My hurt and pain is all the media in front of my house," he snapped.

Luckily, a reporter reminded him of missing fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, and asked him if he felt any pain about that. Oh yea, Peterson, quick to catch up, said. Sure thing.

Peterson also had a good laugh when he said: "I'd really like to mess with you guys (ed: the media) but I'm being held back."

Peterson and Brodsky are messing with the media. Brodsky, who briefly lost his law license in a scandal involving a client's funds, couldn't wait to run to the media with the anonymous letter claiming the sighting of Stacy in Peoria.

The game is afoot, as Sherlock would say. And Brodsky's game is to market Drew as a really nice guy whose suffering from the media--not the missing wife--is immense. The second offensive ploy is to tar Stacy's reputation. The second tactic is standard sleazy fare when a woman is the victim.

As for Peterson's claims that his attorney "made" him do all those interviews: give us a break. Peterson, despite that one firing, brags he's been a cop for more than 30 years. He's a father.

He knows the word "no."

But Peterson, showing his scorn for the women in his life, the public, the police, and the media, isn't going to give up the media spotlight. After all, he likes "messing with" people.

Still to come: the result of investigations into Peterson's actions as a Bolingbrook police sergeant. Although Peterson raced to grab retirement, officials have said that serious charges of misconduct on the job could divest him of his $72,000 a year pension.

The photo of Peterson is by John Smierciak of the Chicago Tribune. Smierciak has done some excellent work in covering this case.