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CHICAGO SUN-TIMES com

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Three years after Sun-Ti

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launches investigation, Da
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le nephew Richard J. R.J. Vanecko
admits to throwing deadly punch BY TIM NOVAK, CHRIS FUSCO & CAROL MARIN 8-9
COMPLETE COVERAGE ONLINE AT PROJECTS.SUNTIMES.COM/KOSCHMAN

TIM BOYLE/FOR SUN-TIMES MEDIA

8 | SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2014 | CHICAGO SUN-TIMES | CHICAGO SUN-TIMES.COM

VANECKO PLEADS GUILTY

A LITTLE JUSTICE
FOR DAVID

VANECKO ADMITS GUILT IN KOSCHMAN DEATH, GETS 60 DAYS IN JAIL

BY TIM NOVAK, CHRIS FUSCO
AND CAROL MARIN

Staff Reporters

Nine years, nine months and five

days after he punched David Koschman in the face and ran away,
Richard J. R.J. Vanecko a nephew of former Mayor Richard M.
Daley stood before a judge and
admitted he was guilty of causing
Koschmans death.
Judge Maureen P. McIntyre accepted Vaneckos guilty plea and ordered him to spend 60 days in jail,
followed by 60 days of home confinement with electronic monitoring.
The judge also gave Vanecko the
maximum 30 months of probation
and ordered him to apologize to Koschmans mother Nanci Koschman
and pay her restitution of $20,000.
The mother, through tears, told
the judge: I have a little peace of
mind. I know I got a little justice for
David. . . . I agree with the outcome.
Later, addressing herself directly
to her late son, her only child, she
said, This fight was for you, honey.
Tell Daddy we did it.
Vanecko has to turn himself in to
begin serving his jail time in 14 days.
He must serve the full 60 days in jail.
He expressed remorse for his actions.
I felt terrible about this since the
moment I heard David was injured,
Vanecko said in court. I cannot
imagine the pain and suffering Mrs.
Koschman has gone through . . .
I can only say, Mrs. Koschman:
Im sorry, and I apologize. If I could
undo what was done, I would.
After the hearing, he left without
further comment, declining to answer questions.

David Koschman died 11 days after he was

punched by Richard J. R.J. Vanecko, a
nephew of former Mayor Richard Daley.
Vaneckos guilty plea to a charge
of involuntary manslaughter a
felony came nearly 10 years after
Koschmans death following a single
punch the Daley nephew threw during a drunken encounter in the Rush
Street area.
The plea came during a surprise
appearance by Vanecko at a pretrial
hearing in Rolling Meadows, bringing an abrupt end to the high-profile
case. Vanecko had been set to go on
trial in less than three weeks.
The case had remained in limbo
until a series of reports in the Chicago Sun-Times in 2011 prompted
the court-ordered appointment of
former U.S. Attorney Dan K. Webb
as special prosecutor the following
year.
Webb took the case before a
grand jury, which indicted Vanecko
in December 2012. It found that Vanecko had used physical force and,
without lawful justification, recklessly performed acts which were likely
to cause death or great bodily harm
to Koschman.
This chapter of what happened
in the death of David Koschman is

Nanci Koschman talks to reporters after the guilty plea. I agree with the outcome, she said. |
COMING SUNDAY
Mark Brown, Carol Marin and
what comes next in the case
over with and resolved, Webb told
reporters after Fridays hearing.
Koschmans mother didnt ask
for jail time, saying she didnt want
another mother to be without a son,
Webb said but he pushed for it.
Nanci Koschman was sitting in
court with her sister Sue Pazderski
and her lawyers Locke Bowman and
G. Flint Taylor when Vanecko walked
in with his three lawyers. It was the

first time shed seen Vanecko in person. She turned her back on him.
Vanecko, 39, who grew up in Chicago, now works as a millwright and
lives in Costa Mesa, Calif., south of
Los Angeles.
Webb told the judge Vanecko
forcibly struck Mr. Koschman in
the face during a drunken encounter on Division Street near Dearborn
Street early on April 25, 2004.
Koschman, 21, of Mount Prospect,
fell and hit his head on the pavement
after being punched. Hospitalized
for 11 days, he died without ever regaining consciousness.
Vanecko, then 29, ran from the

BRIAN OMAHONEY/FOR SUN-TIMES MEDIA

scene and got in a cab, Webb said.

He was later identified by a friend
who had been with him.
Police and prosecutors initially
decided not to file any charges in
Koschmans death, which remained
classified as an unsolved homicide
until early 2011.
Thats when a Sun-Times investigation prompted a review of the
case by the Chicago Police Department. The police again declined to
charge anyone, though for the first
time they identified Vanecko as
having punched Koschman.
Bowman and Taylor then successfully sought the appointment of

<u

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES.COM

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2014

Much more at suntimes.com: Past reports, video and photo galleries, documents related to the case and a link to our eBook

Richard J. R.J. Vanecko leaves the Rolling Meadows Courthouse Friday afternoon. If I could undo what was done, I would, he said in court.
a special prosecutor to reopen the
investigation.
Webb took the case to a grand
jury, which indicted Vanecko, finding that the 6-foot-3, 230-pound
former college football player had
used physical force and, without
lawful justification, recklessly performed acts which were likely to
cause death or great bodily harm
to the 5-foot-5, 125-pound Koschman.
Webb also investigated the conduct of the police and the Cook
County states attorneys office in
the case a probe that ended last
fall with his announcement that
he would not be bringing charges
against anyone other than Vanecko.
Webb filed a report on his investigation at that point, but, at his request, it was ordered sealed until
after Vaneckos trial. Webb said he
will now ask that it be made public.
After Fridays hearing, he hugged
Nanci Koschman and her sister.
Vaneckos indictment had marked
a stunning swing in a case that current and former police officials and

FORMER PROSECUTOR DEVINE: IT IS WHAT IT IS

Richard Devine, the former Cook County states attorney who decided not to
charge Richard J. R.J. Vanecko in 2004, said of Fridays guilty plea by Vanecko to a manslaughter charge, It is what it is.
You have experienced attorneys on both sides who saw this as an acceptable
resolution, and the judge approved it, said Devine, who before being elected
states attorney was the top deputy to Vaneckos uncle, Richard M. Daley, when
Daley was states attorney.
People can look at situations differently. The responsible attorneys in the
states attorneys office reviewed the case and reached a conclusion. The special prosecutors reached a conclusion. Thats part of the legal process. Those
things happen.
Im sure there will be a lot of people saying a lot of things about this one.
prosecutors had insisted didnt merit criminal prosecution.
Theres no basis for criminal
charges, then-police Supt. Phil
Cline, a Daley appointee, said in May
2004.
Then-Cook County States Attorney Richard Devine, a Daley ally,
agreed.
The police reinvestigated in early 2011, prompted by a request from
Sun-Times reporters to review the

case file. Again, they declined to

seek charges. They said Vanecko
who never spoke with investigators acted in self-defense.
Absent evidence that would enable us to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, there is not a goodfaith basis to bring charges, Sally
Daly, States Attorney Anita Alvarezs press secretary, said then.
But, in April 2012, Cook County
Circuit Judge Michael P. Toomin

| BRIAN OMAHONEY/FOR SUN-TIMES MEDIA

granted Nanci Koschmans request

and took the unusual step of apppointing an outside prosecutor to
review the case.
The system has failed Koschman, Toomin said, ripping the
fiction of self-defense that he said
had been conjured up by police
and prosecutors and questioning
why Vanecko wasnt charged.
Weeks later, when he appointed
Webb, he made clear he wanted
him to look beyond Vanecko, to
also investigate whether criminal
charges should be brought against
any person in connection with the
homicide of David Koschman . . .
and whether . . . employees of the
Chicago Police Department and
the Cook County states attorneys
office acted intentionally to suppress and conceal evidence, furnish false evidence and generally
impede the investigation.
Where Vanecko will serve his
jail sentence isnt clear. He asked
that he be allowed to serve his time
at the McHenry County Jail, rather
than the Cook County Jail, citing

security concerns. McIntyre said

she would see if thats possible.
The case was being heard in
Cook County, though by McIntyre,
who is a McHenry County judge.
Webb had asked that it not be
heard by a Cook County judge.
An Alvarez spokeswoman said
she had no comment on Fridays
guilty plea. Daley was out of town
and could not be reached. Nor
could Cline.
In court, Thomas Breen, one of
Vaneckos lawyers, told the judge
Vanecko is a good human being
who regrets what happened during a brief snapshot of a moment
in his life.
Always, he was willing to apologize to Mrs. Koschman, Breen
said.
But the system is such that
when you are the subject of an investigation, lawyers will tell you
to stay quiet, Breen said. He followed that advice.
Contributing: Tina Sfondeles,
Becky Schlikerman,
Dan Mihalopoulos