Bad Day For Crooked Chicago Cops

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Jul 23, 2008 7:30PM

It's been a rough day for two Chicago Police officers who side-stepped the law. First up is Anthony Abbate who was caught on tape beating bartender Karolina Obrycka at Jesse's Shortstop Inn last February. Plea negotiations fell apart and Abbate will go on trial November 19 for a variety pack of felonies including aggravated battery in a public place, official misconduct, intimidation and communicating with a witness. The wait until November is to let the hoopla surrounding the beating to die down. Good luck with that.

Not to be outdone, Michael J. Ciancio, a 21-year veteran of the CPD, was arrested today for soliciting bribes from tow trucks drivers in exchange for giving them business at accident scenes. It was yet another arrest that resulted from a joint investigation by the FBI, IRS, and CPD. Last month, CPD Officer Joseph Grillo was arrested in connection with an insurance scam in which another officer hired a tow company to make his car "disappear" so he could make over $4,000 from his insurance company by claiming it was stolen.

We know it's the few bad apples that take the attention away from the overworked, underpaid officers that work hard every day, but as we read these stories, we couldn't help but think of The Simpsons.