Ironically, it was reported in the Will County Newspaper, "The Herald" that led to an arrest in Hammond, regarding a guard at the Adult Retention Center in Joliet...a guard wanting to pay off an inmate for two names of someone who could kill an ex-girlfriend's boyfriend...the arrest was made in Hammond.
You can thank the P-T and NWI-Times for not printing anything worthy, except sports, and not-interested columns...
Papers in other suburbs report more crime in Joliet, Chicago, EC., and far southwest suburban areas, than the P-T or NWITimes.com.
Just so you know:
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/2135887,Joliet-jail-guard-murder-for-hire_JO040110.articleCharge: Joliet jail guard paid to have man killed
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April 2, 2010
By BRIAN STANLEY
bstanley@stmedianetwork.comJOLIET -- A guard at the county jail allegedly paid an inmate to arrange the murder of the man dating his ex-girlfriend.
Keith A. Smith, 29, of 907 Prescott Drive, was arrested by FBI agents Wednesday afternoon in Hammond, Ind., and booked into the facility he has worked at for nearly three years on a charge of solicitation of murder for hire. If convicted, he faces 20 to 40 years in prison. Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow speaks at a press conference Thursday to announce the arrest of correctional officer Keith A. Smith (inset) on a charge of solicitation of murder for hire in Joliet.
(Ryan Thompson/For Sun-Times Media)
Keith A. Smith, 29, of Joliet, a guard at the Will County jail for three years, has been charged with soliciting an imate to arrange for the murder of an ex-girlfriend's boyfriend.
(Submitted)
It was March 25 when Smith "approached an inmate and indicated he would give him $300 for the names of two individuals who would murder the boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend for $1,500," Assistant Will County State's Attorney Robert Lorz said at Smith's bond hearing.
On Friday, Smith reportedly deposited cash into the inmate's commissary account at the jail and was given a name and phone number the next day.
Smith did not know he would actually be speaking to an undercover FBI agent, who had been brought into the case at the request of State's Attorney James Glasgow and Sheriff Paul Kaupas.
Glasgow said once the case was brought to his attention, investigators reviewed Smith's activities and interactions with this inmate at the adult detention facility.
"The sheriff has a system of checks and balances in place at the jail. Some of (a correctional officer's) procedures are documented on video and supervisors track irregularities, (such as) if a correctional officer was in a pod they aren't assigned to," he said.
The undercover FBI agent was used so there was no chance he'd be recognized as a law enforcement officer by the jail guard.
Smith reportedly spoke to the undercover agent "several" times and those conversations were recorded under an eavesdropping order, Lorz said in court.
On Wednesday, Smith drove to Indiana and gave the agent "$800, (the intended victim's) name, a photo of him, a Google map to his house and a schedule of when he and the ex-girlfriend were expected to be coming and going before he was arrested," Lorz said.
Broken trust
"When you have a betrayal of the public trust by a sworn officer it's a case that strikes at the heart of the criminal justice system. The public has to trust us," Glasgow said Thursday.
Glasgow said the sheriff's office and jail staff assisted and cooperated completely with the investigation, but Kaupas said he "took no pleasure" in reporting Smith's alleged crime.
"It's very disappointing to me and the members of the sheriff's department that a fellow employee crossed over the line," he said. "The only satisfaction is this investigation successfully concluded without anyone being harmed."
Glasgow said Smith and his former girlfriend "did not have a lengthy relationship." The inmate who was reportedly asked to find the hit man has been transferred to another jail.
"Smith is currently on suspension without pay," Kaupas said. "We have already made arrangements for him to be transferred to another facility."
$2 million bond
Smith was hired at the county jail in October 2007 and holds an accounting degree from Lewis University, his attorney, Cosmo Tedone, told Judge Marzell L. Richardson at Thursday's bond hearing.
Appearing via video from the jail, Smith sat silently, staring down during most of the proceedings. The red shirt he was wearing indicated he was being housed in the medical unit where he would be kept isolated from the general inmate population.
"After Mr. Smith's arrest, he made a collect call to his mother from the jail. When she asked, 'What have you done?' he said 'I tried to get (his ex-girlfriend's) boyfriend taken care of,'" Lorz said.
Smith's parents and a young woman stood behind Tedone as the attorney attempted to have the bond set at $150,000, noting Smith's clean work record and the assistance he provides his parents by living with them.
After Richardson agreed the state had shown probable cause to arrest Smith, Lorz asked that his bond be set at $10 million.
The judge decided Smith's bond would be set at $2 million, meaning he would need to post $200,000 cash, and that he would not be allowed to contact the man he allegedly intended to have killed.
Tedone asked the judge to have a special prosecutor appointed since the state's attorney's office represents the sheriff's department.
The judge said he would consider the request if it was submitted in writing later, but felt "on its face, I'm not sure another prosecutor is required" and set an April 28 court date.
Who in the heck would pay 1,500 to have someone killed without realizing the sharp-shooters would expect tens of thousands to put their lives in jail?What a dumbie.
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