CHICAGO, Ill. — A former Chicago police officer was sentenced to 75 years in prison Wednesday for masterminding a plot to have his business associate killed to collect on a $500,000 insurance policy. Edward Leak, 45, a nephew in the family that owns Leak and Sons Funeral Home on the South Side, was convicted in Cook County Circuit Court of first-degree murder last month for ordering the killing of Fred Hamilton in 2004. The sentencing took place on what would have been Hamilton's 40th birthday. In an emotional courtroom scene, Hamilton's sister testified about how her brother's death had impacted their entire family, while Leak's ex-wife and father took the stand to ask for mercy and paint a picture of a giving man. "Instead of us all going out to dinner and celebrating, we're going to the cemetery," said Jacqueline Hamilton Chaney, the victim's sister. "I'm happy, and I'm glad it's over." Leak's family, meanwhile, was outspoken in its support of him, vowing to appeal Circuit Judge Diane Cannon's verdict. "The sentence does not come as a surprise to us based on the injustices that took place in this travesty of a trial," said Linda Leak, Edward Leak's sister. Prosecutors said Leak orchestrated the murder plot with co-defendant John Brown, whom he hired to kill Hamilton. The state presented records of 240 phone calls that were made between Leak and Brown in the month leading up to the shooting, nearly 30 on the night of the murder alone. Cell tower records showed that Leak's phone was in use near the shooting. Leak denied to police that he knew Brown until he was confronted with the phone records, prosecutors said. But defense attorneys said Leak had merely enlisted Brown's help in tracking down Hamilton, a limousine driver for the funeral home who they said had stolen money from the family business and skipped out. Brown decided on his own to kill Hamilton in a plot to get the insurance money, the defense contended. "We're pleased with the sentence," said Assistant State's Atty Thomas Mahoney. "Based on all the facts of the case, we think it's appropriate." The defense attorneys also said they were pleased that Leak averted a sentence of natural life in prison. Tribune staff reporter Kayce T. Ataiyero contributed to this report
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