Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • Page 2-1

SECTION 2 TUESDAY WEST Eric Zorn has the day off. By Steve Brosinski Special to the Tribune A 20-year veteran of the Oak Brook Police Departmentwho has been embroiled in various legal controversies for more than two yearswas fired Monday by the Police Commission. Sgt. Randy Mucha was found guilty of lying and conduct unbecoming an officer after 15 minutes of deliberation by commissioners John Baar and Edward Nielsen. The accusations involved testimony he gave at a commission hearing and in an amended deposition for a federal lawsuit.

Mucha said he planned to appeal the ruling. was all he said. His attorney, Jerry Marconi, told the commissioners that finding Mucha guilty would have a chilling effect on police who might consider changing testimony they later realize was incorrect. you do find yourself in the same position as Sgt. he said.

Newlyappointed Commis- PLEASE SEE OAK BROOK, PAGE4 Oak Brook cop fired by police reviewers Officer guilty of lying, commissioners say By Angela Rozas Tribune staff reporter The families of three elderly women who may have suffered insulin overdoses at the University of Chicago Hospitals have taken what is often the first step toward filing a malpractice lawsuit. Chicago police began an investigation about a month ago after two of the Ruthie Holloway and Jessie died, while the third woman remains in a coma. Attorneys for the three families filed a petition last week in Cook County Circuit Court to obtain copies of the medical records. The attorneys, John Vrdolyak and Thomas Murphy of the Vrdolyak Law Group, said the hospital has not provided any explanation for what happened to the women or much information about its investigation. Chicago police and hospital officials are investigating whether the three, all of whom were being cared for on the same wing, may have been given overdoses of insulin, either accidentally or intentionally.

John Easton, a spokesman for the University of Chicago Hospitals, said the hospital had received the requests for medical records and was in the process of making copies available to the attorneys. was delayed because various regulatory agencies wanted to go through them Easton said. Holloway, 82, was admitted to the hospital May 21 with a possible urinary tract infection. Within 48 hours, condition took a drastic turn for the her attorneys said. She records sought in deaths Lawyers take step toward likely suit in U.

of C. insulin case PLEASE SEE INSULIN, PAGE4 By Jo Napolitano Tribune staff reporter The family of a missing Plainfield woman hopes two billboards to be unveiled Tuesday in that community, asking is Lisa will help generate new tips. A third billboard is set to go up later this month in Hodgkins. Featuring a photo of a smiling Stebic, information on the $60,000 reward and the tip hot line, 815-267-7217, the billboards are expected to stay up for at least six weeks, said Michael Wells, general manager of CBS Outdoor, which donated the space to family. They are likely to go up along Interstate Highway 55 just north of Caton Farm Road and on U.S.

Highway 30 just west of I-55 in Plainfield. Later this month, the third should appear near the 1st Avenue exit of I-55. The billboard space was donated by the outdoor advertising company, whose corporate parent is CBS after a call from the Stebic family, Wells said. The family believes the billboards might help because some area residents may not be aware of disappearance despite the intense media coverage, said Melanie Greenberg, cousin and the family spokeswoman. Hopefully, someone who may have information will see the billboards, she said.

everyone reads the newspaper or watches TV she said. need to reach people every way we can and keep her picture out Deputy Plainfield Police Chief Mark Eiting said local police welcomed the billboards. Stebic, 37, a mother of two, was last seen April 30 by her estranged husband, Craig Stebic, inside the family home. Police have said they believe there is a chance she met with foul play. This month, law-enforcement officials said Craig Stebic is a of in the case.

He has repeatedly maintained his innocence. At the time Lisa Stebic vanished, the couple were divorcing but continued to live in the same home, in part to ease the transition for their two children, ages 10 and 12. Last week, the divorce case was dismissed by a judge after Craig attorney argued that it would be difficult to proceed without Lisa Stebic and that the cost of pursuing a divorce would be high for both parties. Greenberg said the children are staying with Craig sister in Iowa. Billboards to aid search for Stebic Company donates space on 3 signs Lisa Stebic By John Biemer Tribune staff reporter Hadzo Dreljo leaned one hand on a wooden cane and swept the other over a patch of robust vegetables.

In a life beset by turmoil, the small, peaceful plot of earth behind a Glen Ellyn church is one place the Bosnian refugee is at home. like Dreljo, 62, said. like My garden: green beans, pepper, tomato, cucumber. Good, big. Tomato, For the last six years, dozens of refugees from war-torn corners of the globe have tended a half-acre garden behind Glenfield Baptist Church as part of an unconventional therapy program started by Wheaton-based World Relief DuPage.

The intent is to help them adjust to a new life, while healing their bodies and souls. Many of the nians, Meskhetian Turks and Somali once farmers or came from rural areas where they had gardens but now live in small apartments with no yard. It is just one of many difficulties, along with learning English and navigating a fast-paced society, in adjusting to life in the United States. Some are making the transition while dealing with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression from the ravages of war, including rape, torture, dislocation and years of living in refugee camps. garden really means so much to us and we were a part of the garden in our previous Besirevic, a Bosnian refugee Tribune photos by Terry Harris Diana Mamedova, 2, helps her grandmother, Leyla, carry plants to a garden behind Glenfield Baptist Church in Glen Ellyn.

The program aims to help refugees adjust to new lives. Bosnian Hadzo Dreljo looks over his crops in the garden started as a therapeutic program for refugees by the Wheaton-based World Relief DuPage. garden bears crop of comfort Tending to a garden as they did in their native lands has helped some refugees heal from traumas and adapt to living in the U.S. PLEASE SEE GARDEN, PAGE4 By Jeff Coen Tribune staff reporter Nicholas final hours on the witness stand in the landmark Family Secrets trial were much like the his face fixed in a frown and turned away from his brother, defendant Frank Calabrese Sr. To the end, the mob hit man maintained he turned on his brother and his Outfit cohorts out of fear of the death penalty, a desire to possibly see his family again, and to bring out the truth.Under cross-examination for almost the entire day, Calabrese denied that hatred for his brother played a role in his consumes said Calabrese, 64.

have much time left, so I hate him Asked if that meant he thought he would die soon, Calabrese said, all Calabrese spent his fifth and final day on the stand in the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse defending his account of more than a dozen Outfit killings dat- ing back more than three decades. At times he sat slouched in a black sweat shirt, but his back stiffened as he insisted he was telling the truth. Federal authorities code- named the investigation Operation Family Secrets after Frank Calabrese brother and son agreed to cooperate with law enforcement and tell all. The son, Frank Calabrese who testified earlier this month, secretly tape-recorded private conversations with his father while the elder Calabrese was in prison in the 1990s for running a violent loan-sharking operation.

On Monday, defense lawyer Thomas Breen paced in front of Nick Calabrese, asking why he had named mostly dead mobsters when he laid blame for the murders. Breen suggested that Calabrese had sought to make himself more valuable as a prosecution witness by also implicating a few defendants, including his client, reputed mob figure James Marcello. named the people that were there at those Calabrese replied tersely. As Breen pressed him for specifics about some of the killings, Calabrese said he testifying beyond what he saw with his own eyes or heard from his FAMILY SECRETS TRIAL Mobster sticks to his story brother ends stay on the stand PLEASE SEE MOBSTER, PAGE4 INSIDE CHICAGO City shuts down food court Health inspectors find an infestation of fruit flies and several other violations in the food court on the lower level of State Street store. PAGE 2 HOW TO CONTACT METROPOLITAN .....................................................8 Product: CTMETRO PubDate: 07-24-2007 Zone: Edition: HD Page: CMETRO1-1 User: krickard Time: Color: CMYK.