Kane County coroner indicted in TV theft

May 18, 2010 11:30 PM

Chicago Tribune

Since his election as Kane County coroner in 2000, Chuck West has developed a reputation for being talkative and outspoken.

But on Tuesday night, a few hours after he was indicted on felony charges, accused of allowing a dead man's TV to end up in a house shared by two deputy coroners, West was uncharacteristically hard to find.

In announcing misconduct charges, for which West faces up to five years in prison, a special prosecutor alleged that he "intentionally and recklessly failed to perform his mandated duties in his official capacity in that he failed to dispose of valuable personal property of Preston Pomykal."

That personal property was Pomykal's 24-inch Magnavox TV/DVD/VCR, which was in Pomykal's home in May 2007 when Carpentersville police found him dead on his bathroom floor of what was later deemed natural causes. Special prosecutor Charles Colburn declined to identify the two deputy coroners who  wound up with the television.

A handful of deputies work in the coroner's office, one of whom is West's son, Eric. Eric West declined comment Tuesday night,  referring questions to Chuck West's attorney, Gary Johnson, a former Kane County State's Attorney.

After allegations against West first surfaced last summer, the coroner  said publicly that he took possession of the television set  when authorities were unable to locate next of kin for Pomykal, 64. Efforts to reach West on Tuesday were unsuccessful.

"He didn't do anything wrong," said Johnson, West's attorney. "The indictment itself is like opening Al Capone's vault. There's nothing inside."

The charges against West prompted Kane County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughy to urge West to step down, at least temporarily, until the criminal case is resolved.

"This will be a huge distraction to the people who work for him," she said.

Johnson immediately shot down the suggestion. West, 67, has said he will not seek re-election when his third term ends in 2012.

"He's not going to resign," Johnson said, adding that the matter could have been resolved informally by "making a phone call."

"Once the public and a jury see the facts of this case, they're going to see that this is much ado about nothing. He is going to be acquitted."

West would be fired only if he is convicted of a felony, Kane County Board Attorney Ken Shepro said, or if a court rules that he is unable to carry out the duties of his office.

"He's an independently elected official," Shepro said. "The county board has no authority at all over his term of office."

But West's standing as an elected official presents the county with a sticky legal situation.

By law, the Kane County State's Attorney's office represents West. However, when allegations against West first came to light, Kane County State's Attorney John Barsanti, seeking to avoid a conflict of interest, called the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor to investigate and advised West that he was unable to provide him legal counsel.

Johnson said that since the charges against West arise from his elected office, the public should pay his legal fees. The attorney added that he was drafting a letter to Barsanti making the request. Barsanti said a judge likely would decide whether West or the taxpayers should pick up the legal tab for his defense.

The Carpentersville  police report on Pomykal's death states that "the only relative (the investigating officer) was able to identify was his father, who is also deceased. The coroner's office advised that they would continue to attempt to locate them."

In addition to the  television set, authorities found several firearms in Pomykal's home, Carpentersville Police Commander Timothy Bosshart said. West asked the police to store the firearms, Bosshart said.

In August 2007 West sent a letter to the Carpentersville Police Department stating that the agency could destroy the weapons, Bosshart said.

Several months ago, the Kane County Sheriff's office received a complaint about the coroner's office's possible violation of the "whistleblower act," Sheriff's Lt. Pat Gengler said. Authorities forwarded the complaint to the special prosecutor, but  Gengler declined to say whether it was related to Tuesday's charges.

"This (the TV complaint) is the only information that we have found that has resulted in criminal charges at this point," Colburn, the special prosecutor, said.

Authorities will serve West with a summons to attend a May 27 court hearing, Barsanti said.

-- Clifford Ward and Ted Gregory