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Ex-board official indicted over Aleman parole voteBy Ray Long and Christi ParsonsTribune staff reporters December 10, 2005 SPRINGFIELD -- A former state parole board officer was indicted Friday on charges that he voted to free notorious mob hit man Harry Aleman in exchange for help getting his son a gig as an entertainer in Las Vegas. Victor Brooks of Batavia was the only member of the Prisoner Review Board who voted three years ago in favor of parole for Aleman, who remains in prison serving 100 to 300 years for killing a Teamsters official. Also indicted was Ron Matrisciano, a high-ranking prison official who was put on leave after making the highly unusual move of testifying in favor of parole for Aleman. The indictment alleges that Brooks agreed to vote for Aleman's release in exchange for Matrisciano's help in landing Brooks' son, a singer, the job in Las Vegas. Prison officials have said that Matrisciano told them he is a family friend of Aleman's. Both Brooks and Matrisciano were indicted on official misconduct and wire fraud charges. The indictment said Matrisciano knew he should have been speaking as a private citizen and falsely portrayed his statement as a recommendation from the Illinois Department of Corrections. "How Harry Aleman had access to a high-ranking [prison] official and why a member of the [parole board] would vote for his release are serious questions that have been raised," Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan said in a statement. "We allege that public corruption is part of the answer." But a spokeswoman for Madigan, whose office is handling the case, refused to elaborate on whether there was any involvement by Aleman or how Matrisciano purportedly sought to help Brooks' son. The indictments were the latest twist in the long saga of Aleman, the nephew of reputed former rackets boss Joseph Ferriola. His conviction in 1997 made American legal history as the first time a criminal defendant had been retried after an acquittal. A mob lawyer later admitted that he bribed the judge in the first trial, and Aleman was subsequently convicted of the 1972 murder. The Tribune first reported that Matrisciano, while serving in his role as an assistant deputy director of the Illinois Department of Corrections in December 2002, testified before the Prisoner Review Board in favor of paroling Aleman. After that parole hearing at Dixon Correctional Center in Lee County, the parole board officer overseeing the matter recommended Aleman's bid for parole be denied. Such recommendations are usually upheld unanimously by the full board. But when the full board considered the matter, Brooks asked for an unusual roll-call vote and made the only vote for parole. Top DOC officials responded by reassigning Matrisciano, whose duties had included overseeing parole operations in northern Illinois. Matrisciano, 51, filed a lawsuit contesting the transfer and other personnel actions affecting him. He has been on paid administrative leave, collecting his $78,000 annual salary, since March 2004, prison officials said. Prosecutors alleged that Matrisciano committed perjury during a deposition in that personnel lawsuit when he denied appearing before the Prisoner Review Board in his professional capacity. At the parole board hearing, Matrisciano read a letter emphasizing his position as a prison administrator, according to a tape recording of the hearing. Aleman "poses no such threat or danger if released," Matrisciano said on the tape of the hearing, adding that in "my professional opinion" it would serve no purpose to keep Aleman in prison. In all, Matrisciano faces four counts of official misconduct and two counts of wire fraud, while Brooks faces one count of each in Lee County. Matrisciano's perjury count was filed in Sangamon County. The wire fraud counts arise from allegations that Matrisciano and Brooks transmitted a written recommendation from Matrisciano to the parole board by fax, a spokeswoman for the attorney general said. On Friday, parole board members were stunned by the allegations regarding Brooks, 55, who was removed from the board by Gov. Rod Blagojevich along with other members whose terms had expired. Board member Bob Dunne said he is skeptical of the allegations. "I do know his son was a very talented singer," said Dunne. "I can't imagine he would have needed any assistance." In an interview with the Tribune in 2002, Brooks said he was persuaded by Matrisciano's testimony for Aleman. "I can't recall any prior hearings where any department official at that high level would come and speak on behalf of any candidate for parole," Brooks said in the interview. "I certainly weighed that." In 1977, Aleman was acquitted of the murder of Teamsters steward William Logan by Judge Frank Wilson. Former mob lawyer Robert Cooley testified as a government witness in the 1997 retrial that he delivered a $10,000 bribe to Wilson to acquit Aleman. At that trial, prosecutors urged that Aleman spend the rest of his life "rotting in a cage." ---------- rlong@tribune.com cparsons@tribune.com Copyright © 2005, Chicago Tribune |
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