By David Heinzmann and Todd Lighty
The Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO — Federal agents arrested Chicago Police Officer Jerome Finnigan at his home this morning on new charges stemming from a probe of the Police Department's special operations section, according to law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation.
The charges were filed under seal and are being kept secret until a court hearing planned for this afternoon, sources said.
The arrest happened early this morning. But at 9:45 a.m., agents were still at Finnigan's house on the Southwest Side, and they were going through his Volvo SUV parked in the driveway.
Randall Samborn, a spokesman for U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald, declined to comment on the arrest. FBI spokesman Ross Rice also declined to comment.
Finnigan's lawyer, Michael Ficaro, could not be reached for comment this morning.
Finnigan already faces state charges alleging that he and six other SOS officers robbed and kidnapped people over several years while they were supposed to be combating gang and drug crime in the city's toughest neighborhoods.
The Tribune reported in August that federal prosecutors were joining the Cook County state's attorney's investigation of SOS, and that the probe would also look into the Chicago Police Department's internal affairs division, which was aware of the allegations against Finnigan and several other officers for at least four years but took no action.
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Posted by: Inspector
The Chicago Police Officer arrested this morning is charged with trying to hire a hitman to kill at least one fellow police officer in the latest twist in the Chicago Police corruption probe.
The charges against Jerome Finnigan were already very serious. The former Chicago Police officer is at the center of a corruption probe. Now, Finnigan is accused of trying to hire a hitman to take out one or even several of his former colleagues, who were also on the Chicago Police Department's special operations team. "When the person who seeks to hire someone to kill a witness against him is a police officer, it doesn't get anymore serious than that," said Patrick Fitzgerald, US attorney.
The feds say they have unraveled a murder-for-hire plot hatched by a former Chicago Police officer.
Agents arrested 44-year-old Jerome Finnigan outside his Southwest Side home Wednesday morning after allegedly capturing cell phone conversations in which Finnigan and "cooperating witness number two" -- also a former Chicago Police officer -- discuss hiring street gang members to kill another former officer, "cooperating witness number one," for $5,000.
In recordings made last week, prosecutors say Finnigan refers to the planned hit as a "paint job."
Finnigan and five other members of an elite Chicago police unit, the SOS team, were arrested last year for allegedly shaking down drug dealers.
Finnigan was in court Wednesday, his ankles in shackles. Neither he nor his defense attorney would make any comment. But prosecutors say further charges may be coming.
In the recordings, Finnigan allegedly talks about taking out several other officers who he thought were cooperating with authorities.
"There were three other police officers that he believed to be cooperating in the investigation and he talked about killing them as well," Fitzgerald said.
Chicago Police Interim Superintendent Dana Starks released a statement saying: "Today's federal arrest further illustrates that the public's trust cannot be violated. No one is above the law, especially a police officer and misconduct on any level will not be tolerated."
"This is another chapter in a truly sordid story," said Richard Devine, Cook County state's attorney.
In court Wednesday, prosecutors urged the judge to keep Finnigan in jail until Monday because they said there could be further charges between now and then that could influence his decision on the matter of bond. The judge complied.
Meanwhile, the feds say they still have an ongoing investigation into the original corruption probe. No word on when charges might stem from that probe.
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