Abbate To Prison After All?

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Feb 26, 2010 7:40PM

Former Chicago Police officer Anthony Abbate may wind up in prison after all, just not for the reason we all thought he would. Last summer, Abbate was found guilty of aggravated assault in the videotaped beating of bartender Karolina Obrycka . He managed to avoid jail time, though, being sentenced to two years of probation, an enforced curfew, anger management classes, alcohol evaluation, and 130 hours of community service. But the Tribune reports today that Abbate failed a drug test in early January, a violation of his probation, which could lead to jail time.

A source said that the positive drug test was taken Jan. 7, but it was unclear when the Cook County Adult Probation Department obtained the results. Prosecutors filed the petition after learning of the alleged violation today, the source said.

If Hill finds that Abbate did violate his probation, prosecutors could ask the judge to resentence him to up to 5 years in prison.

Abbate was fired from the CPD in December. He later asked for another chance to defend himself and get his job back.