A newly released 911 call revealed Metra Executive Director Phil Pagano confided in a friend he planned to commit suicide.
"About 10-12 minutes ago, I got a call from a gentleman who was threatening to walk on the railroad tracks.... I could hear the train in the background," said Al Jourdan, former Regional Transportation Authority board member.
"The gentleman is Phil Pagano," he said. "I know where the car is. I know where the house keys are. I know where the suicide note is. And, if he did it, I can be helpful, I think, to the police..."
Jourdan asked the dispatcher to connect him with McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren or under sheriff Andrew Zinke referring to them by the first names. He told the dispatcher to check his "credentials," but the dispatcher replied "It doesn't matter, sir," the Sun-Times reports.
The embattled Metra Executive Director stepped in front of a Metra in unincorporated Crystal Lake on the morning of May 7. Pagano killed himself as Metra was investigating bonuses and cash advances he gave himself.
The Better Government Association filed a Freedom of Information Act requesting the 911 recording. The sheriff's office refused but relented when the BGA threatened to sue.
Both sides agreed to omit Jourdan's person information, including his phone number and address.
