Lawyers for a nephew of former Mayor Richard M. Daley formally entered the legal battle this week surrounding a years-old death.
Richard J. “R.J.” Vanecko's lawyers on Monday filed a motion to intervene on a request by David Koschman's mother for a special prosecutor in the case, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Koschman's family has long claimed that a punch from Vanecko on a Chicago street led to the Mount Prospect man's death in 2004. Koschman's death was ruled a homicide, but no one was ever charged.
Vanecko's lawyers, though, are disputing the suggestion by Nanci Koschman's lawyers in a court filing last week that Vanecko may have confessed to throwing a punch that night.
His lawyers say police reports don't mention a confession because Vanecko's lawyer was with him the day he was arrested. His lawyers say he never gave a police statement, according to the Chicago Tribune.
But the filing by Nanci Koschman's lawyers last week said Chicago Police covered up evidence, namely that Vanecko tearfully apologized for punching Koschman in the face.
Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez is fighting a request to appoint a special prosecutor in the case.
Alvarez filed a 50-page motion stating that her office bears no conflict on interest in investigating the death, despite the fact that one of the assistants in her office, Darren O'Brien, worked on the case in 2004 and recommended that no charges be filed.
