BOLINGBROOK, Ill. – Ex-police sergeant Drew Peterson transferred nearly a quarter of a million dollars to his son in the weeks after the disappearance of his wife, Stacy Peterson, in November, MyFoxChicago.com reports.
Click here for the video report at MyFoxChicago.com.
Prosecutors subpoenaed bank records that show Drew Peterson funneled the money to his son, Steve Peterson, an Oak Brook, Ill., police officer, after Stacy Peterson was reported missing on Oct. 28.
Steve Peterson twice has testified before a grand jury investigating the disappearance of Stacy Peterson, 23, a mother of two, but declined to comment on the financial transactions.
Sources said Drew Peterson, 58, transferred to Steve Peterson nearly $250,000 from several bank accounts, including joint accounts he held with his wife. He reportedly wrote as many as six checks, with one for more than $150,000, investigators said.
Drew Peterson declined to comment but his attorney, Joel Brodsky, said, "I’m sure if that’s true, and I don’t even know whether or not it is, I’m sure that there are legitimate reasons for it."
One legal expert said the former Bolingbrook, Ill., police sergeant may be trying to protect his assets in case he is sued.
The sister of Kathleen Savio, Drew Peterson’s third wife who was found dead in an empty bathtub, said the family is considering filing a wrongful death lawsuit against Drew Peterson, who was in the process of divorcing Savio at the time of her death in 2004.
Savio’s death was ruled an accident, but her body was exhumed after new questions surfaced during the investigation into Stacy Peterson’s disappearance.
A second autopsy was performed and new evidence suggests she may have been murdered, authorities said.
State police also are seeking a new search warrant for additional cell phone records relating to Drew Peterson.
"When you get into a grand jury investigation where they’re going over the same area two and three times, that to me … shows you that they don’t have anything or what they have is extremely confusing and contradictory," Brodsky said.
Brodsky said he is not worried about what is found on the records.
Stacy Peterson was reported missing after she failed to show up at a friend's house. Drew Peterson claims she left him for another man, but Stacy Peterson's family says she would never leave her children behind.
Click here to visit Drew Peterson's Web site.
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