A coroner was officially charged today with stealing property from the dead. But is he accused of taking jewelry? Diamonds? Valuable antiques?
Nope. Rather, Kane County Coroner Charles West was indicted by a grand jury for allegedly taking a 24-inch color TV.
The greatest thieves of our time must be spinning in their graves.
A Kane County jury indicted West today on five counts of official misconduct, all of which are tied to his alleged failure to properly dispose of a TV that belonged to a Carpentersville man who died in May 2007.
"West intentionally and recklessly failed to perform his mandated duties while acting in his official capacity in that he failed to dispose of valuable personal property of Preston Pomykal, a Magnavox 24-inch TV/DVD/VCR in accord with Illinois law in that he allowed the TV to be taken and possessed by another person and not disposed of as required by Illinois law," the indictment read, reports the Chicago Tribune.
West argued that, due to limited storage space, he was simply storing the television set at the home of two deputies, according to the Courier News. West said he could not locate the man's next of kin immediately and planned to return the television set to the family when they came forward.
West is scheduled to appear in court on May 27. If convicted, he could be sentenced to two to five years in prison or probation.
Local
The coroner must be hoping this case comes to a quick and dead end.
Matt Bartosik is a Chicago native and a social media sovereign.
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