http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/1075977,2_1_AU26_PETERSON_S1.articleA 'look,' a phone call, then the cops cameJuly 26, 2008Recommend
By JOE HOSEY
jhosey@scn1.comAt noon Friday, Paula Stark heard from a TV reporter that Drew Peterson was bragging about sleeping with her.
Stark and her husband, Len Wawczak, shared a laugh over that in their Bolingbrook home, saying it wasn't true.
Lenny Wawczak (left) confronts Drew Peterson in the parking lot of a strip mall in Bolingbrook Friday afternoon. Police were called to the scene, and both went to the station to give statements.
(Janet Lundquis/STNG)
But an hour later, when their son, Len Jr., called to say Peterson was giving him a dirty look at a Bolingbrook barbershop, Wawczak had enough.
Wawczak and Stark -- the Bolingbrook couple who said this week that for seven months they wore a wire when they were with Peterson, their neighbor and former friend -- got in their van so Wawczak could confront the former Bolingbrook cop, who has been under a cloud of suspicion since his fourth wife disappeared last fall.
What followed was another sordid chapter in the Peterson saga, an expletive-filled, Jerry Springer-esque parking lot dustup -- witnessed by reporters -- that resulted in Wawczak, 41, shoving Peterson in the back and getting arrested on a battery charge.
"I wanted to let Drew know he's not going to mess with my family," Wawczak said after his wife posted his $100 bond. "The next time, I will knock his (expletive) out.
"It was the best 100 bucks I've ever spent. I'd do it again."
ConfrontationWawczak and Stark have been under a media siege since the news broke Wednesday that they secretly taped Peterson for State Police investigators probing the Oct. 28 disappearance of Stacy Peterson and the 2004 homicide of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio.
Peterson, who police labeled a suspect in Stacy's "potential homicide," denies having anything to do with either case.
Wawczak and Stark hadn't seen Peterson since the news of their clandestine police help broke. Peterson and his attorney have gone on national TV to call them liars.
Then came the barbershop phone call from Len Wawczak Jr.
The 20-year-old was getting his hair cut at a Bolingbrook shop on North Schmidt Road when Peterson walked in, looking for a free trim he had been promised.
Len Jr. called his parents, telling them Peterson just gave him dirty looks, they said.
Peterson denies that.
"I was just getting my hair cut, and I saw the kid in the chair," he said later. "I kind of figured he would call his dad."
Wawczak, intent on confronting Peterson about the dirty looks, first waited for Peterson around the corner from the barbershop, but then found a spot between some cars to lie in wait. When Peterson emerged with a fresh new haircut and beard trim, Wawczak popped out and pounced.
"Hey, (expletive)," he called out. "You ain't nothing but a murderer. I'll beat the (expletive) out of you. Say something!"
"Hit me," Peterson said calmly, putting his hands behind his back. "I'm going down."
"You ain't nothing but a punk, Drew!"
"Someone call the cops," Peterson told a growing crowd of gawkers, including barbershop patrons, capes still tied around their necks. One began videotaping.
"Take the cool sunglasses off," Wawczak said, trying to knock them off Peterson, who dodged him.
"I ain't Stacy, (expletive)," Wawczak taunted. "You sissy."
"I don't have to deal with this boy," Peterson said and walked away. Wawczak then pushed Peterson's back.
Police calledPeterson, who later said his back hurt, brushed it off and got into Stacy Peterson's Pontiac Grand Prix. Wawczak walked away, saying, "I proved my point. You're nothing but a (expletive)."
Peterson made a cell phone call and emerged from his car. The crowd yelled for Wawczak to return.
"Knock his (expletive) out," someone shouted.
"I got 50 bucks of his bond right now," said another.
Peterson and Wawczak then stood across a car from each other, and Wawczak confronted him about Peterson's purported claims about his wife.
"Say right now you (expletive) my old lady! I'll come around right now and drop you like you want," Wawczak said.
Peterson denied saying it -- as eight police cars arrived. Peterson spoke with officers before getting in the Grand Prix and driving to the police station where he once worked to give his account.
Wawczak rode in the front seat of a squad car to the station, where he was arrested and charged with battery. After his wife posted his bond, he was unrepentant.
"If I knew I was getting arrested, I would have knocked the (expletive) out," he said.
Wawczak is due in court Sept. 10. He said he'll leave Peterson alone -- as long as Peterson doesn't mess with his family.
"Then I'm going for the Mike Tyson TKO," he said.
Janet Lundquist contributed to this story.
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