Drew Peterson Tried to Hire Truckers to Transport Package After Stacy Peterson Disappeared

This just in: the Illinois State Police have taken the extraordinary step of issuing an alert saying that former Bolingbrook cop Drew Peterson and another male approached truckers and asked them to transport a package to an undisclosed location.

"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACTS:
December 1, 2007 Trooper Mark T. Dorencz #4848
Safety Education Officer
Illinois State Police - District 5
(815) 726-6377 Ext. 271

JOLIET – On October 29, 2007 at approximately 3:30 am, two truck drivers were approached by two men at a truck stop in Bolingbrook , IL. One of the two men is believed to be Drew Peterson and the other described as a white male, early 50’s, salt-and-pepper hair, with a stocky build. The two men requested the truck drivers to transport a package to an undisclosed location. Upon reaching the location, the men would regain possession of the package and continue transporting it to a location not accessible by semi-trailers.

Anyone having a similar encounter is asked to contact the Illinois State Police at
815-740-0678 or America’s Most Wanted Hotline at 1-800-CRIME TV."

As Peterson tried to block a prayer vigil for missing fourth wife Stacy Peterson in his neighborhood, momentum continues to build in this increasingly bizaare case. His attorney, Joel Brodsky, whose own past includes loss of his law license for forging a check, continues to smear everyone else involved in Peterson's life.

Dr. Michael Baden remains firm that Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, was beaten and her death posed to look like a drowning. Found allegedly drowned in a dry bathtub, Savio had for years pleaded for help, to no avail, in dealing with Peterson's abuse. She, like other women in Peterson's life, had told others that Peterson bragged he could kill her, and as a cop, could make it look like an accident and get away with it.

The list of deaths, disappearances, and tragedies linked to the former Bolingbrook police officer continue to mouth. His step-brother, Thomas Morphey, tried to commit suicide after Peterson got him to help move a large container out of the Peterson home the day Stacy Peterson disappeared. Morphey, shaken, went to a friend and said that he was afraid he had just helped Peterson dispose of Stacy's body.

Here's a list of cases that 64 full-time Illinois investigators, the FBI, the Navy, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers--the military brought in to help with searches--are analyzing that are linked to Drew Peterson:

Fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, who told clergy that Peterson had killed Savio, and who told family and friends that she was afraid Peterson would kill her and make it look like an accident.

Third wife, Kathleen Savio, whose body was exhumed for new autopsies after Stacy Peterson's death. When her body was found, Peterson had falsely called in a "welfare check," then gave false information to medical techs about a non-existent heart condition, and managed to get the tub cleaned up without adequate investigation. In essence, he labelled it an accident.

During Savio's marriage, Peterson was having an affair with a young woman, whose brother protested. The brother was found dead, and labelled as a suicide. The officer first on the scene? Drew Peterson.

A local man, Jeffrey Archer, dated one of Peterson's ex-wives, angering Peterson. According to police documents, he was found dead in Sanitary Shipping Canal, one mile east of Routes 83 and 171- Cook County. That area has also been searched for any trace of Stacy Peterson's remains.

The lid is only now being slowly pulled back off a very nasty pot of years of alleged Peterson misconduct, on and off the job. Before he rushed to retirement after Stacy's case hit the media spotlight, he had earlier been suspended for misconduct on the job.

Two decades earlier, he'd been fired for a series of actions, including revealing the name of an undercover narcotics officer to a known killer. Peterson, adept at talking his way out of trouble, managed to get his job back.

Peterson has been named as a suspect in Stacy's death. Savio's case is being re-examined.

The archives contain numerous articles with background on this developing story.

The Blue Barrel: Popping the Lid on Drew Peterson, Kathleen Savio & Stacy Peterson?

The blogosphere is electric with reports that police may be ready to name who helped former Bolingbrook cop Drew Peterson move a large blue plastic barrel out of his house right after fourth wife Stacy Peterson disappeared. Chips off that barrel, large enough to contain Stacy's body, were discovered in Peterson's SUV.

The Chicago Fox affiliate broke the news . The blue barrel, reportedly about a 55 gallon drum size, was moved from the Peterson bedroom to parts unknown.

More strange news from the Peterson bedroom (other than having a blue pool chemicals barrel as part of the decor): Stacy's nightstand is reported to be missing. Stacy, Peterson's fourth wife, is also missing, not that Peterson seems to be too upset about that.

Peterson is, however, really upset about media coverage of Stacy's disappearance, and everything else that keeps surfacing. Yes, this is the same guy who posed for the cover of People Magazine and who's been yapping away at media for weeks now. He's already said he's misunderstood, that Stacy ran away due to PMS, and that he's a "good guy."

But when it came to the grand jury investigating Stacy's disappearance and the death of third wife Kathleen Savio, Peterson got lockjaw. He "took the fifth," citing his Fifth Amendment rights to not make self-incriminating statements.

Among the grand jury witnesses, one from beyond the grave: third wife Kathleen Savio, whose body was exhumed for more autopsies. She's the wife who mysteriously drowned in a dry bathtub, leaving Peterson free of child support payments and richer by more than a million dollars in life insurance and co-owned property.

She'd filed 18 abuse reports, had pleaded for help, and warned anyone who would listen that Peterson had bragged that he could kill her and make it look like an accident. Among the documents in the Savio case: an emergency room report from a head injury when Peterson knocked her against a table.

Mix together: missing child bride Stacy, who was afraid and wanted a divorce, a controlling and abusive husband, a fight between the two, the disappearing nightstand and then, appearing center stage: that blue barrel carried into and out of the bedroom. Stacy, too, had warned that she thought Peterson would kill her.

Noted forensic expert Dr. Michael Baden, who performed a post-exhumation autopsy for Savio's family, said Stavio's death was a homicide. There seems to be a lot of suffering, abuse, blood, and even death around Peterson.

New reports that put Peterson at the scene of the deaths of two men who had angered him are also on the radar. In fact, Peterson found one that was allegedly a suicide. What linked them together? Women Peterson was dating or had dumped. In one case, a brother who warned his sister to avoid Peterson; the other a man who'd dated his second ex-wife, Viki Connell.

Bolingbrook Police Chief Chief Ray McGury is the man who inherited the Peterson mess--and he's furious. Peterson raced to grab his $72,000 a year retirement, knowing that he was under internal investigation for police misconduct in addition to having a missing wife and a mysteriously dead former wife. McGury had suspended Peterson in September, wanted him fired, and hopes to have him arrested on charges that would nullify his pension.

This isn't the first time around for Peterson and internal investigations, either. At one point, he was fired for betraying an undercover officer to a known killer, and for reportedly taking drugs and possibly money for inside information on police investigations. But Peterson managed to get his job back.

Peterson, who ran bars in his off-duty hours, also managed to attract women. A former fiancee, Kyle Piry, said that he stalked her after she heeded her instincts and broke things off. She also said that he mis-used his power as a cop to harass her, even arresting her once at work for unpaid parking tickets. Peterson says he can't remember Piry. Piry said that she thinks he's capable of murder.

The tentacles in this monster of a case keep sprouting. Peterson reportedly was hanging out with fired Oak Brook cop Randy Mucha around the time of Stacy's disappearance. Mucha got the ax for lying, misconduct including harassing civilians, and oh yes--costing the town $2 million in lawsuits. Mucha, borrowing a leaf from Peterson's old book, is suing to get his job back.

Speaking of the courtroom, Peterson's attorney Joel Brodsky is busy tarring Stacy's reputation (never mind her kids' feelings) and re-framing Peterson as a victim of a "witch hunt." Brodsky himself isn't too clean: he briefly lost his law license for financial irregularities in signing checks for a dead client. There's also a domestic abuse report filed on a Joel Brodsky of the same age, and his own failed lawsuit in which he tried to declare bankruptcy to avoid paying lawyers who'd worked for his children during Brodsky's divorce.

In the middle of all the decades of dramas and pain: six children, two of whom are now adults. Still in the Peterson home: the two children of Kathleen Savio, and the two children of Stacy Peterson.

With the FBI now involved, along with dozens of Illinois State Police investigators, the Peterson case is casting very long shadows. Lurking in them, a key question: how did Peterson wear a badge for so long?

Seeking answers: Greta Van Susteren, who's followed the Peterson case determinedly. She also has a confidential tip line that's getting plenty of action. Stay tuned to Greta for new developments.