07/26/08 - SATURDAY'S THREAD - Discussion Board

[HeDidIt]

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/69554


Drew Peterson: Our Cowardly Lion

Rebekah Price
July 25, 2008
Looking more and more like an old tanned version of the Cowardly Lion, Drew Peterson once again permeates our news with his tiresome, half-hearted denials of admitting to anything regarding his latest wife´s disappearance on tape. Joel (Why-won´t-this-go-away) Brodsky looked particularly weary in his uncharacteristic milquetoast defense of Peterson. Even Joel is starting to look like he does not believe Drew. And why should he? Most everyone else caught on within hours and days of Stacy Ann Peterson´s disappearance. Brodsky certainly is not that thick. His initial quick assessment through cash-colored glasses of a potential celebrity trial and stellar outcome, not to mention the book and movie deal, must be fizzling out.

Former colleagues of Peterson´s, the husband and wife team of Paula Stark and Len Wawczak, report they have secretly taped conversations with Peterson since the Illinois State Police contacted them last November. They allege Drew provided incriminating language potentially implicating himself in the disappearance and probable murder of Stacy. They reported Peterson mentioned he should have cremated Stacy. <--Should say Kathleen Hmmm. As they say, give ´em enough rope and they´ll hang themselves. Brodsky and Peterson characteristically slimed them by alluding the couple is gaming for a "big payday", to cash in on the Drew Peterson notoriety. Ad nauseam.

A young "lady" calling herself "Ashley" has been providing much fodder on the internet by sharing email and IM conversations she has supposedly had with Drew. Her blogs bring a variety of responses ranging in touting her as some sort of hero to a nut cashing in on her 15 minutes of fame. (The latter certainly reflects the opinions of the Brodsky-Peterson Burlesque.) Whatever the reason, one thing is for sure: much to the public´s dismay, Drew Peterson just won´t go away.

Even as I sit here and write about this individual who oozes with classless debauchery, I have to ask why are we still interested? Mr. Stebic, whose wife, Lisa, is still missing and presumed dead, is not as infamous as Drew Peterson, though the cases are eerily similar and both families reside in the same county. And he is free to come and go, though his wife has yet to be found. Nor is Gary Condit, for that matter. Remember him? Chandra Levy is still missing and Condit walks around free, as if nothing ever happened. Nothing except another young woman left dead.

So what is it about Drew? We really do not need another buffoon in the news.

Peterson´s perverse need for the spotlight fuels the public´s continually increasing desire for justice. Stacy Ann is still missing; and, if Drew Peterson were smart--which he is not--he would have quietly moved on. Instead, he chose to play the role of victim, and nobody bought it. The sad-sack routine he plays over and over like a broken record appears to be favorably received by some who clearly have no common sense or moral compass. To the rest of us--which thankfully is the majority-- Drew Peterson is an aging sociopath hanging by ever-fraying threads of self absorption, and whose days of freedom are waning.

Drew Peterson´s obvious and arrogant online quest for young, naïve women incite even the most passive among us into wanting blood for blood. His pathetic attempts to woo young female companionship online are creepily reminiscent of the ****, manipulating immature wannabes who are thrilled just to be tagged by such a ´celebrity´. It´s enough to make one upchuck.

With all the grand jury testimony, and the push for Illinois legislation to provide an avenue for a hearsay ruling that may just give the missing a voice, Drew Peterson´s days are numbered and dwindling as each hour passes. Soon the emerald glasses will come off and not even the All Powerful Brodsky will be able to save Peterson from himself. The Wizard Brodsky is obviously getting weary. It won´t be long until Drew will be saying, "There is no place like home…"

Until then, the Illinois State Police will follow the slow but sure yellow brick road to justice, meeting any obstacles head on. Bolingbrook waits, patiently impatient, for the day Stacy Ann comes home to rest.

As for Drew?

They´ll get you, my pretty…
 
 

[HeDidIt]

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/1075977,2_1_AU26_PETERSON_S1.article

A 'look,' a phone call, then the cops came


July 26, 2008Recommend

By JOE HOSEY jhosey@scn1.com
At 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."

Confrontation

Wawczak 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 called

Peterson, 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.


RELATED STORIES
• PHOTOS: Peterson confrontation
• Special section: The Search for Stacy

[HeDidIt]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-drew-peterson-wawczak-both_2jul26,0,3667032.story

Cops: Drew Peterson, ex-friend scuffle outside barbershop
Former pal charged with misdemeanor battery

By Matthew Walberg and Mary Owen | Chicago Tribune reporters
July 26, 2008
A Bolingbrook man who reportedly worked with police to secretly record Drew Peterson was charged with misdemeanor battery after he pushed Peterson outside a barbershop Friday, police said.

"Best $100 I ever spent," said Len Wawczak as he left the Bolingbrook Police Department after posting the money as bail.

Police said Wawczak shoved Peterson twice during a quarrel outside Hyroglyphics Barber Shop on Friday afternoon, witnessed by more than 20 people. Wawczak was charged and released about 4:30 p.m., Bolingbrook Police Chief Ray McGury said.

Witnesses said Peterson "was egging him [Wawczak] on, sort of in his personal space," said Bolingbrook Police Lt. Ken Teppel. "But Lenny admitted he shoved him."



"The saga continues here in Bolingbrook," McGury said.

Wawczak—who claimed this week to have secretly recorded Peterson for Illinois State Police in their investigation of the 2004 death of Peterson's third wife and the October disappearance of his current wife—said his son, Len Jr., 20, called him from a hair salon located next door to Hyroglyphics.

Wawczak said his son told him Peterson was staring at him and intimidating him. Wawczak then drove from his home to confront Peterson. He waited in the parking lot until Peterson came outside, and then pushed the former Bolingbrook police sergeant in the back as the two exchanged words.

Wawczak said that while he was upset to hear reports that Peterson had been saying he slept with Wawczak's wife, Paula Stark, that was not the reason for the confrontation.

"You don't mess with my kid," he said. "I'm a parent who's going to stand my ground."

Meanwhile, police were curious about circumstances surrounding the incident.

Joliet Herald-News reporter Joe Hosey—who has written a book about the Peterson case due to be released this fall—was on the scene when police arrived, and a photograph showing Wawczak and Peterson facing off in the parking lot was posted on the newspaper's Web site while the two men were still at the station giving their statements, McGury said.

"It seems odd that I've got Mr. Peterson and him [Wawczak] at the same location," McGury said.

Another police source said Hosey was at the barbershop before authorities arrived. "We got a call from the state police saying, 'You guys gotta get over to this barbershop because Drew and Lenny are getting into it'," said the source. "It sort of stunk to us when we're out there to sort this out and there's already photos posted."

Joliet Herald-News managing editor David Monaghan declined to comment, but Wawczak offered an explanation for Hosey's being there. He said the reporter was at his home interviewing him when Wawczak's son called from the barbershop and Hosey followed him over.

"It wasn't staged or anything," Wawczak said.

Hyroglyphics owner Ernest Brown described the kerfuffle as underwhelming.

"It looked like 'Cheaters,' " said Brown, referring to the television show in which people confront their unfaithful lovers. "If you were looking for a way to describe it, that's the best way to put it."

Brown said Drew Peterson had come in for a haircut, but the barbershop was too busy, so he was referred to another shop.

When Peterson walked to the parking lot, Wawczak confronted him, Brown said. No punches were thrown, Brown said adding, "It was just basically a scuffle in the parking lot."

Peterson's attorney Joel Brodsky said he did not know why the incident started and did not know whether his client claimed to have had a sexual relationship with Stark.

"I don't know, I don't want to know, I don't need to know," Brodsky said.

"All I know is that my client is at home, and the state's confidential informant is charged with misdemeanor battery."

mwalberg@tribune.com

mowen@tribune.com