Steidl says trooper's charge no shock

[Anne in Springfield]

From the [Springfield IL] State Journal-Register--

Steidl: Trooper's charge no shock

By SARAH ANTONACCI
STAFF WRITER

The man released after 17 years in prison for a double murder many
believe he did not commit said Wednesday he wasn't surprised to hear
that the Illinois State Police may have quashed an investigation of
the case for political reasons.

"None of what is in that report really surprises me," said Randy
Steidl from his new job at a manufacturing plant out of state.

"This is what I've been screaming about for years, and everyone
ignored me. How could this be such a wide conspiracy that involved so
many people? It was the idea that money changed hands."

State police Lt. Michale Callahan is suing his employer, alleging his
superiors reassigned him from investigative duties to patrol because
of his efforts to reopen the investigation into who stabbed Dyke and
Karen Rhoads to death on July 6, 1986, in Paris, in Edgar County.

Steidl and a friend at the time, Herb Whitlock, were convicted of the
crime. Steidl, who spent 12 years on death row, was freed from prison
May 28 after prosecutors decided not to appeal a federal judge's order
that he be either retried or freed. Officials said then it was
"reasonably probable" that Steidl would have been acquitted had the
jury heard additional evidence.

Whitlock remains behind bars and is fighting his conviction.

The years of effort leading up to Steidl's release were the subject of
stories in The State Journal-Register on Aug. 29-30.

In lawsuit papers, Callahan said his own investigation starting in
2000 had led to a "person of interest" who may have been responsible
for the newly married couple's deaths. At first, it seemed, his
superiors seemed excited about the possibility of reopening the
investigation.

But soon after presenting his findings to state police administrators,
Callahan said he was told he could no longer look into the case
because it was "too politically sensitive." It was also at that
meeting that he told his superiors that the "person of interest" had
donated large sums of money to Gov. George Ryan's political campaign,
according to the suit.

Campaign contribution records show that the businessman believed to
have been cited as Callahan's "person of interest" in the Rhoads'
murders donated nearly $47,000 over several years to Ryan's campaign
fund.

Three high-ranking state police officials have made sworn statements
in support of Callahan's allegations.

The "person of interest" is not identified in the court documents,
although his identity is known to people familiar with the Steidl
case.

Steidl said Wednesday the court papers suggest the businessman "bought
influence through the highest office in our state."

He said he will attend the trial in Callahan's case if his employer
allows him to.

"I think this was a long time coming," Steidl said. "And there's more
to be brought out. And I think the people who have been obstructing
justice all these years should be punished."

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Harold Baker denied a motion by the
Illinois attorney general's office, which is representing some of the
defendants, to dismiss Callahan's suit. Baker set a trial date for
April 11.

The attorney general's office also is forwarding materials on the case
to the state's inspector general.

"We're forwarding it on to (Zaldwaynaka "Z") Scott and providing her
with copies of documents filed in court and will answer any questions
she has," said Melissa Merz, spokeswoman for Attorney General Lisa
Madigan.

"Allegations of political misconduct under one of the governor's
agencies falls into areas that (inspector) Scott investigates. We want
to make sure she has access to everything she needs."

Steidl's family called for federal officials to investigate as well.

"The revelations contained in Lt. Callahan's filing should shock the
conscience of every person who believes in a fair and fundamental
criminal justice system," said Randy's brother Rory Steidl, himself a
master sergeant with the state police. "Given the information we've
learned from Lt. Callahan's lawsuit, the state of Illinois has no
business investigating this case. Nothing short of a federal
investigation will suffice."

Sharon Paul, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office for the
central part of the state, said she could neither confirm nor deny
whether the Department of Justice is looking into the case.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Sarah Antonacci can
be reached at 788-1529 or sarah.antonacc;i@;sj-r.com.
http://www.sj-r.com/sections/news/stories/50626.asp

[Anne in Springfield]

From the Illinois Times--

MARCH 17, 2005
Free to speak

BY DUSTY RHODES

The retirement of an Illinois State Police lieutenant is normally
noteworthy only to his family, friends, and co-workers. But Lt.
Michale Callahan, due to retire March 18, already has a stack of
interview requests ranging from the Decatur Herald and Review to the
Chicago Tribune and, sources say, the network news show 48 Hours.

That’s because retirement will free Callahan to elaborate on the ISP’s
apparent refusal to reinvestigate the 1986 murders of Dyke and Karen
Rhoads, newlyweds from Paris, Ill. Randy Steidl and Herbert Whitlock
were convicted of the murders in separate trials, but both maintain
they were innocent. Last year, Steidl was released from prison after a
federal court granted him a new trial and Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan
declined to prosecute. Whitlock will have a full hearing March 21 to
request a new trial.

Callahan’s attorney, John Baker, says his client will likely spend his
first day of retirement testifying at Whitlock’s hearing.

Callahan has spent much of the past five years seeking permission to
reopen and fully investigate the Rhoads murder case. In an ongoing
lawsuit against three of his ISP superior officers, Callahan alleges
that he was wrongfully demoted in retaliation for his efforts to
investigate a Paris businessman whom evidence indicated might be
involved in the crime. This “person of interest,” not named in
Callahan’s lawsuit, was a major donor to the political campaign of
former Gov. George Ryan.

The supervisors have denied the allegations, although other
supervisors have testified in depositions that Callahan’s disturbing
version of events is true. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Harold A.
Baker denied the state’s motion for summary judgment and set an April
11 trial date.

Callahan was initially assigned to investigate new evidence presented
by private investigator Bill Clutter in April 2000. Almost
immediately, Callahan received three phone calls from retired ISP
investigators asking him to not make them look bad. But after
reviewing Clutter’s evidence and conducting his own interviews,
Callahan became convinced that Steidl and Whitlock were likely
innocent, and that ISP should launch a full investigation of the
unnamed Paris businessman.

Callahan presented his findings to a meeting of superiors who
encouraged him to keep digging and promised resources to conduct a
full investigation. But by April 2001, word came down that the case
was “too politically sensitive” and could not be reopened.

Denied permission to “go fully operational,” Callahan did get
clearance to do “intelligence-gathering.” He formed a task force
involving federal, state, and local law enforcement, but its
investigation was thwarted when someone apparently notified the
“person of interest” that investigators had placed surveillance
cameras on his property. Believing that one of his superiors had
compromised the project, Callahan took his complaint to ISP’s internal
affairs division. Weeks later, he was transferred from his position
supervising investigators to supervising patrol officers.

Even though the transfer did not represent a cut in pay or rank, it
was “significantly less prestigious,” Baker says.

“He had been responsible for running several narcotics task forces . .
. with a lot of investigators working for him, working with
prosecutors and federal and state agencies,” Baker says. “Now his
position is working behind a desk doing not much more than counting up
seat belt violations.”

http://www.illinoistimes.com/gbase/Gyrosite/Content?oid=oid%3A4067

[G W Shrub]

"Anne in Springfield" <***@seesignature.com> wrote in message news:***@news.prodigy.net...

...

Post by Anne in Springfield
State police Lt. Michale Callahan is suing his employer, alleging his
superiors reassigned him from investigative duties to patrol because
of his efforts to reopen the investigation into who stabbed Dyke and
Karen Rhoads to death on July 6, 1986, in Paris, in Edgar County.

...

Post by Anne in Springfield
Three high-ranking state police officials have made sworn statements
in support of Callahan's allegations.

For a very similar case of official disinterest and discouragement, search
for "oba chandler".

GW