Former attorney for Drew Peterson: murder-for-hire scheme a setup

JOLIET — Drew Peterson’s former defense attorney made public Wednesday letters he says are from a prison inmate that allege Peterson is being set up on new murder-for-hire charges filed against him earlier this month.

Joel Brodsky, a Chicago attorney, sent to the Randolph County Public Defender’s Office – and posted on his Facebook page – letters he said are from an Illinois Department of Corrections inmate and detail an alleged plot to set up Peterson with a murder-for-hire indictment.

In the letters, the inmate claims he spoke with another inmate who approached Peterson and said he knew people who could “take care” of Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow, whose office successfully prosecuted Peterson in the death of his third wife.

However, the letters allege the second inmate planned to contact the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office to entrap Peterson with a murder-for-hire indictment.

The letter writer said he tried to contact Peterson’s attorney Steve Greenberg several times about the alleged plot.

Brodsky said Randolph County Public Defenders hadn’t contacted him Wednesday afternoon and he doesn’t expect them to reach him.

“The letters are fairly self-explanatory,” he said.

The Will County State’s Attorney’s Office deferred calls concerning the letters to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. Randolph County Public Defender James Kelley was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

When asked about the letters, Illinois Attorney General’s Office spokeswoman Maura Possley said “we’re going to present our case in court.”

Peterson, 61, was convicted for the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, in September 2012, and also is a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, who has been missing since October 2007.

On Feb. 9, the Illinois Attorney General’s office and the local state’s attorney’s office filed in Randolph County murder-for-hire charges against Peterson in what they allege was a plot to kill Glasgow.

Peterson is serving his 38-year murder sentence at Menard Correction Center in Randolph County.

Brodsky wrote on his Facebook page Wednesday that the letter writer was “ready to turn over to Mr. Peterson’s team of public defenders” the entire plot written in a series of jailhouse notes “as soon as they ask.”

Brodsky said he received two letters on Jan. 15 and Feb. 16 from the inmate, whom Brodsky said on his Facebook page he doesn’t represent.