The new judge in the manslaughter case involving former Mayor Richard M. Daley's nephew faces new scrutiny.
The Chicago Sun-Times reveals the in-laws and ex-husband of McHenry County Judge Maureen McIntyre held patronage jobs under the Democratic Party which was run by the first Mayor Daley, grandfather of Richard "RJ" Vanecko.
Vanecko was charged with involuntary manslaughter for the 2004 death of David Koschman and has pleaded not guilty. McIntyre received the case after a Cook County judge disclosed he had ties to the most recent Mayor Daley.
McIntyre has said she and her family didn't know anyone in the case.
Koschman, a 21-year-old man from Mt. Prospect, was out on Division Street in the wee hours of the morning when the group he was in ran into Vanecko's group. A lone punch was thrown. Koschman died 11 days later from head injuries after not recovering consciousness.
Chicago police never interviewed Vanecko, witnesses failed according to police to identify him in a lineup. Police concluded, though only one punch was thrown by Vanecko, that the cause of the altercation was self-defense.
