CHICAGO, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- The FBI is investigating whether Chicago police covered for former Mayor Richard Daley's nephew after he threw a fatal punch, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
The nephew, Richard J. Vanecko, known as "R.J.," pleaded guilty a few weeks ago to involuntary manslaughter and is serving a 60-day sentence in McHenry County, northwest of Chicago on the Wisconsin border. His guilty plea came almost a decade after David Koschman, 21, of Mount Prospect died.
Koschman was knocked unconscious on Division Street in Chicago in April 2004 and died 11 days later. Witnesses said Vanecko, now 39, hit him in the face and left in a taxi as Koschman lay in the street.
Police closed the case in 2004, saying no witnesses were able to identify Vanecko as the person who threw the punch. In 2011, Koschman's death was re-investigated after the Sun-Times asked to see the files, and this time the conclusion was that Vanecko punched Koschman in self-defense.
The Sun-Times said it has learned that Dan K. Webb, the special prosecutor who investigated police handling of the case, turned over his files to the FBI last June. Webb issued a report shortly after he handed over the files that was unsealed Feb. 4.
The judge who appointed Webb special prosecutor allowed him to give the files to four FBI agents "who have experience and expertise with police corruption investigations," the Sun-Times said.
