Judge Upholds Stephen Peterson's Termination

Peterson is expected to appeal the court's decision to a higher court.

A DuPage County judge on Monday upheld the commission’s decision to fire Drew Peterson’s son.

Stephen Peterson, 33, was fired from the Oak Brook Police Department in 2011 after the village Board of Fire and Police Commissioners voted 3-0 that Peterson’s oldest son was guilty of obstructing the police investigation of his father’s missing wife, Stacy Peterson, by allegedly hiding his father’s guns after she vanished.

The board cleared him of two other charges, including an illegal gun charge relating to three weapons and a transfer of $236,800 he accepted from his father three days after Stacy Peterson’s disappearance.

Peterson has 30 days to appeal Judge Terence M. Sheen's decision to a higher court.

An appeal is expected due to Peterson’s repeated statement that his actions had nothing to do with his role as an Oak Brook Police officer, but that he was helping his father, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Stephen Peterson filed a $10 million federal law suit against the Oak Brook Police Department over his firing in July 2012, stating the board conspired against to ensure his termination.

Drew Peterson has also come out against the Oak Brook Police Department questioning the fairness of the commissioners.

"When I gave Steve my guns there was no investigation to impede," Peterson said. "They were my favorite guns, and I was going to give them to Steve when I retired anyway. I only gave him three of the dozen or so guns I owned, and I kept most of my guns in my house and the police confiscated them all, so how could giving him those three guns impede anything?"

Peterson has been raising his four younger siblings since his father’s arrest five years ago.

The family’s primary source of income is Drew Peterson’s $79,000 pension from the Bolingbrook Police Department. However, officials are debating whether to strip Drew Peterson of his retirement following his felony murder conviction.
 

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