IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS CRIMINAL DIVISION

State Of Illinois, ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

Plaintiff, No. 08CR10502

v. Judge Steven J. Goebel

Annabel K. Melongo

Defendant,

Defendant's Response To State Attorney's Petition To Deny Section 3-9008 Petition

NOW comes ANNABEL K. MELONGO, ProSe, in response to State Attorney's reply to

deny her Section 3-9008 petition , states the followings:

INTRODUCTION

On September 19th, 2013, Defendant filed a petition to have her current prosecutor, Mr.

Podlasek, recused and to have a special prosecutor appointed ("Amended Petition").

On November 12th, 2013, the state attorney through its representative, Deputy Patrick

Driscoll , filed a motion to deny defendant's petition ("State's Response"). Defendant was

given leave to reply and the present response follows.

Controlling Authorities

1. Section 3-9008 provides that "[w]henever the State's attorney is sick or

absent, or unable to attend, or is interested in any cause or proceeding, civil

or criminal, which it is or may be his duty to prosecute or defend, the court in

which said cause or proceeding is pending may appoint some competent

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attorney to prosecute or defend such cause of proceeding." 55 ILCS 5/3-9008

(West 2002).

2. A prosecutor will be deemed "interested" under section 3-9008 in three

situations: (1) where the attorney is interested as a private individual in the

litigation, (2) where the attorney is an actual party to the litigation, and (3)

where the attorney's continued participation would create the appearance

of impropriety in the prosecution of a defendant.

Argument

A. Interested as private individuals in the litigation

1 . State Attorney Office is privately interested

The criminal complainant in the above captioned case is Mrs. Carol Spizzirri, a

personal friend of Mr. Dick Devine, the state attorney in charge when the present

prosecution was initiated, Amended Petition, Exhibit B. The State's Response

tacitly admitted so, although arguing that the defendant hasn't presented any

significant emotional ties. The defendant hereby attaches the complete

correspondence between Mrs. Spizzirri and Mr. Dick Devine as Exhibit A. The

emotional ties speak for themselves. In a playful manner, Mrs. Spizzirri is seen

calling Mr. Devine "Dick" and signing it on top of her greeting. Mr. Devine,

likewise, scratched "Spizzirri", the complainant's last name, and called her

"Carol", her first name, on top of his greeting. Notwithstanding the "flirtatious"

greetings, the subject matter of the communication is nothing but the factual

description of the present case; this communication happened three days after

Schiller Park Police started this case's criminal investigation. In the same exhibit,

Mr. Devine is seen forwarding this case to his executive assistant, Mr. Randy

Roberts. The last page of the communication, is a thank-you note from Mrs.

Spizzirri to Mr. Devine commanding Mr. Roberts and the Schiller Park Police for

bringing the present charges.

Moreover, a video exhibit that will be shown at the argument will reveal Mrs.

Spizzirri's partnership with the state attorney office in a cyber-crime project aimed

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at creating computer laws in Illinois. The private interest here is that a conviction

in the present case would undoubtedly boost said project.

Last be not least, as shown in Attached Exhibit 8, the state attorney has

made Mrs. Spizzirri an integral part of this case's prosecution. In the exhibit, Mrs.

Spizzirri emailed Mr. Christian Sass, an individual subpoenaed by the defendant.

She then urged him to contact the state attorney in order to have defendant's

subpoena quashed. Worth noting, the state prosecutor's email to Mr. Sass, listed

below, and that of Mrs. Spizzirri's have the exact same date; the fact that Mrs.

Spizzirri, asked Mr. Sass "but now State's Atty needs to know if you received a

subpoena?" clearly shows her involvement in the prosecution and reveals her

deep ties with the state attorney office.

Needless to say that those close ties have greatly prejudiced the defendant.

To date, almost 8 years, the state attorney office has yet to present evidence

justifying its criminal allegations to the Grand Jurors. The defendant has been

financially ruined for defending herself and absent the computer tampering case,

the defendant wouldn't have spent more than 20 months in jail in the

eavesdropping case, given that the former case caused the latter one.

2. Mr. Podlasek is privately interested

Mr. Podlasek is sued in his individual capacity in the pending civil right case,

13CV4924, for various counts, one of which being prosecutorial misconduct. If

found guilty, Mr. Pod Iasek's career would undoubtedly suffer a blow. That civil

lawsuit is pending and grows out of the same set of facts as the present case.

The State's response doesn't refute this. However, the state contends that the

facts in People v. White, 365 Ill. 499, 6 N.E, 2d 1 015(1937) aren't similar with

those of this case. The defendant rejects such an argument.

The defendant only requirements, according to White, are to prove that the

facts are inter- dependent and that the prosecutor represents private interests in

a pending civil litigation. The defendant has shown the former in paragraph 3 of

her Amended Petition and is contending here that Mr. Pod Iasek's career would

suffer a blow if found guilty. Thus Mr. Pod Iasek is the type of prosecutor

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contemplated by White. Moreover, Mr. Devine's private interests becomes Mr.

Podlasek's given that Mr. Devine assigned him to this case.

B. Continued participation create the appearance of impropriety

It has long been the goal of Illinois Courts to protect its people against an actual

conflict of interest or the appearance of one: "It is unnecessary that the prosecuting

attorney be guilty of an attempt to betray confidence; it is enough if it places him in a

position which leaves him open to such charge ..... The administration of the law should

be free from all temptation and suspicion, so far as human agencies are capable of

accomplishing that object."(Emphasis added.) People v. Gerold, 265 Ill. At 479, 107 N.E.

at 177.

Clearly Mr. Devine personal friendship and somehow playful interaction with the

complainant in this case places him in an entangling position that questions his open­

mindedness and fair prosecution of this case. The complainant's later partnership with

the state attorney office in the cyber-crime project mentioned above, further creates

doubts as to the state's attorney fair prosecution, precisely because a conviction in the

present case, an alleged cyber-crime, would benefit said project. The fact that Mr.

Devine is no longer the current state prosecutor does nothing in alleviating this

perception; the conflict of interest that was imputed to all attorneys under Mr. Devine,

still exists. For instance, Mr. Podlasek, this case current prosecutor, was assigned by

Mr. Devine to do so. And Mr. Patrick Driscoll, the prosecutor in the present petition, has

been a personal friend of Mr. Devine since high-school, Attached Exhibit C.

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Therefore, the state attorney office is nothing but a guardian of Mr. Devine's legacy and

as such, should be disqualified as a whole.

Additionally, as stated in paragraph 3 of the Amended Petition, defendant was

charged with eavesdropping as she was about to argue her motion to dismiss the

present case on grounds of fraud and perjury that amounted to prosecutorial

misconduct. To prevent this, the state attorney office instigated the eavesdropping case

and entangled itself with it in a manner that exceed its prosecutorial role: Mr. Pod Iasek,

Mrs. Julie Gunnigle, both assistant state attorneys, and Mrs. Kate O'hara, a state

attorney investigator, were the eavesdropping case's architects acting as investigators

and directing the Cook County Sherriff to arrest defendant. Which actions, as prescribed

in People v. Lang, 346 Ill. App. 3d at 684, warrants disqualification because ("[a]lthough

the [prosecutor's] pursuit of the defendant was not wrong in itself, his aggressive

behavior toward the defendant created the appearance that the State's Attorney's office

was obsessed with finding evidence against the defendant to obtain a conviction against

him at all costs"') . This is justified by the fact that the state switched election to the

Eavesdropping case on July 26th, 2010, in order to obtain a conviction at all costs when

the present case became a media event and an embarrassment to the state attorney

office. Albeit the switch , Judge Goebel dismissed that case on July 26th, 2012, stating

that the charges violated defendant's First and Fourteenth Amendments; further

confirming the vindictive nature of the state attorney's prosecution.

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WHEREFORE, defendant is asking the recusal of Mr. Podlasek and the appointment of

a special prosecutor given that Mr. Pod Iasek and the state attorney office are privately

interested in the present case and their continued involvement in it creates the

appearance of impropriety.

Atty. No.: 99500

Attorney For: Annabel K. Melongo

Address: P.O. Box 5658

City/State/Zip: Chicago, IL 60680

Telephone: 312-415-6632

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I I

I ,:

FAX Date: Monday, May 08, 2006

To: Illinois State Attorney of Cook County Richard A. Devine %Jinx Kotowski Adminstrative Assistant Phone: 773-869-6209 Fax: 312·603-4708

From: Save A Life Foundation Carol J. Spizzirri Phone: 847-928-9683 Fax: 847-928-9684

Pages: 9 ---

Subject: I will be out of town through Thurs. Please do not hesitate to contact Vince Davis. Thank you so much. Carol

•

AG000097

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-------------------------------~

Carol J. Spiuirri Founder I Pres ident

SALF Save A Life Foundation

Monday, May 08. 2006

R1chard A. Devine State's Attorn ey of Cook County Illinois State A:tomey of Cook Coumy 'h Jinx Kotowsk.l Administrative Assistant 2650 S. Californ i~

Chicago, IL 60°~w~

Natiorta/ Headquarters ~9~0 w Le .. rcntt "''-c S!.C )Ott S~; h;nr •PJr\. llll:Hm 60t7 1:'· 12lb

" ' l" )i ?ll-%8) eu, f ~1 )112l'·SOb--

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Dear Ho~fvine : it is unfo·n~~Zneed to oHng tn ls matter to your a11ent1on but bot~ Mayor Rita Mullins ana I felt It necessary since the following has caused Irreve rsible damage to SALF .

Several months ago ~"'e contacled Robert Half Technology, a temporary IT employment agency, to subcontrac! techr!ici2ns for our computer and web site neeos after the death of our IT Director. December 2005 , Robert Half subcontracted Annabel Melongo to prcvide programming, networl\ support and maintain our hard aM software. From the beginning Ms. Metongo Md difficulty working with fellow employees, bd we disregarded In lieu of her computer sli.ilt s March 27th, 2006 Robert Half terminated Me Iongo as the ir contractor and 'since Me Iongo was in the midot of a Important projec1 we retained her full lime Her malevolens \oward5 colleagues intensified until Apri l 27th when Vince Davis Director of Mi litary Affalfs, fe lt it necessary to terminate Ms. Me Iongo from SALF

As a standard termination policy, Mr. Davis accompanied Ms. Melongo wnile she co llected her belongings , veri fie~ our computer passwords and exit her to the door. Since Ms. Melongo had 1\nowledge to ali our p&sswords our Web Designer Mr. cnrlst.an sass Immediately changed as many password~ he l<.new to secure entry into our computer system from the outs ide, but failed to remember our CSL line and web/em ails s1tes.

;

The following morning , Friday Apn: 28th. our em~loyee5 were unable to access their computer fi les . With furtner mvestigat1on we uncovered that ali our fi les , data bases , etc., nad been deleted ThroughOut tne day Ms. Melongo came to tne office, totally wee times, end phoned, totaling four times, wanting to see on ly me. From Fnday thnough Sunday morning Mr. Davis and outside vendors True Consulting and Cntie2l Technology Solutions wonked continually to recover tne missing computer files unsuccessfull y.

May 2nd , seve ral employees a:erted me that they rece ived a disturbing e-mail from Ms. Melongo. Her e-m<lll indicated she was responding to an emarled I sent to Brian Salerno , Pres. True Consulting that hao been forward to her. May 4t~. we contacted our web and e-mail provider, WeOHSP in Colorado, who was at;le to foot print Ms. Melongo's aCiions from entry into SALF's e-mail system through Snallmall oy using my password, retrieve and forward two of my personal emails to her account end then e-msil back to several of our employees with a personal messaoe (see attached).

May 5th we fil ed a complaint with the Schiller Park PoliCe Department# 06·3219 of which Officer Marrazzo stated he would forward to their Detectives

This afternoon I and my staff received another lengthy e-mail from Ms. Me Iongo. Apparontly she is not satisfied with our lack of response. Ms. Malanga Is not a U.S. Citizen but has a student Visa from Cameroon Africa and lives in Pa latine which all concerns Mayor Mullins.

We wo d app~ciate your adv ise in this sensitive matter

~ret \

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CouNTY OF" CooK

0FI'ICE Or TME STATE'S ATTORNEY

R IC>iARO A. D£\1'/Ht STAT& 's Arf'OA~tT

Carol J. Spizziri Presidenr/Founder SALF 9950 W. Lawrence, Suite 300 Schiller Park, IL 60176-1216

Dear Ms. Sp~ ~

May 9, 2006 ssw w~~.s ... • Noro~ot , Su ru JZOO c .. ,c ... oo, ~ ~~ , ,.o,s eoeoz

I J I ZI eoJ·e•4o

I am in receipt of your Jetter of May 8, 2006, regarding your former employee, Annabel Melongo.

I am forwarding your correspondence to Randy Roberts, Executive Assistant to the State's Attorney, for his review.

Thank you for writmg.

RAD:jk

Richard A. Devine State ' s Attorney

cc: Randall Roberts, Executive Assistant tc the State ' s Attorney

£ce·oN [8c8PT8cT[T ~ NOil~ONnO~ 3~1l ~ 3n~S

AG000099

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Carol J. Spizzirri Founder I President

SALF Save A Life Foundation

November 2, 2006

Richard A. Devine Illinois State Attorney of Cook County 2650 S. California Chicago, IL 60608

~~

National Headquarters 9950 W. Lawrence Ave Ste 300 Schiller Park. Ill inois 60176- 1216

Ph. (847) 928-9683 4r' Fax : (847) 928-9684 ..... , -·~

Dea~'tfie Devine:

It is with extreme appreciation I write to inform you that due to the professionalism by your Executive Assistant Randy Roberts, working with Detective Martin of the Schiller Park Police Department a warrant has been issued for the arrest of the .Party who destroyed our computer service. Due to the fear of a flight risk, ICE was also notified. In fact, I've been informed that not only were they able to positively identify the person who committed the crime, reimburse charges made against our American Express credit card and the party who received the purchases, but secured some of the lose data which is so vital for this Foundation.

The web world is a new wave for crime, which takes a great deal of effort to monitor, with few laws to protect the citizen. It is only with the conscious dedication by

11ike

1these two individuals

a crime was solved so others can be protected.

The relentless examination by Mr. Roberts and Schiller Park Detective Martin is a credit to you as Illinois State's Attorney for the perseverance in stopping crime.

Congratulations.

Sin~v~ ~J.SpiW~ President/Founder

l .. :cr.; : ··cnr.tstian B. Sa~:· <sastia~®_grnai!..ccm>

Subject Fwd: Melongo Dale: February 23, 2010 3:04:50 PM CST

.->0. 'Brian J. Saiemo' <!?r.ian.Salerno@True-Crwrsultcom::.-

Just wanted to let you know that 1 got a call from Julie today. thought i would consult with you before talktng to anyf)o..':Jy . I also got a linked in message !~om carol

Linkedln Carol Spizzirri has sent you a message.

Date: 2/23/201 o Suilj~ct: Long time Christian

I pray you and your family are well. It wasn't that 1 didn't want to connected sooner .I was directed to keep low key - but now State's Atty needs to know if you received a subpeona? If so, need to call s:me Atty JuHe Gunnigie 773-869-2893 and fax it to her AS/\P 773-869-6~93 to ex:po>~ge Warm(!s~ regards Carol

Chnstian

Begtn forvvarded message:

From: "Julie Gunnigle' <jqunniqle@cookcountyqov.com> Date: February 23, 2010 1147:3·3 .A.M CST To: <sastian@qmail.com> Subject: RE: Melongo

Dear Christian,

! appreciate you taking the time to talk v;itn me today For your reference. J can be reached at 773-869-2893 As this case gets closer to trial, I would apprectate some of your time to discuss what happened at Save A Liie, your fi'ldings that morning , and whether we would need to call you as a witness should this case go to trial.

ilt~ my understanatng tilat you wish to consult w1th Mr. Salerno betore we speak again. Wou!c: you pli3ase forward my information to him in the event that he has any questions? ·

JJ!Hs Gunmgie Assistant State's Attorney

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• ,...,......-~............_ ILLINOIS STATE ~ '-~~~ BAR ASSOCIATIONIM

THE PUBLIC SERVANT The newsletter of the ISBA's Standing Committee on Government Lawyers

March 2012, vol. 13, no. 3

Someone you should know· Pat Driscoll, Cook County State's Attorney's Office By Karen Dimond

If you ask you Pat Driscoll about his legal career, he will say, "It's really not that interesting." But he may acknowledge that

one day in 1970 was fairly exciting when, while serving as a Felony Trial Assistant State's Attorney, he was taken hostage

at 26th and California by convicted murderer Gene Lewis, who was armed with a revolver his girlfriend had sneaked into the courtroom, inside a hollowed-out law book. Lewis tried to escape from the courthouse, and he seized Driscoll and his

partner as hostages on the way out of their courtroom. Lewis was shot dead in the hallway outside of the courtroom.

Driscoll escaped unharmed and has continued practicing law for another interesting, although not quite as exciting, 40 years.

Driscoll was born in Chicago, went to Loyola Academy and then to Regis College in Denver, Colorado. Driscoll realized that

he was "not good at math or science, but could write well. " So, after Driscoll graduated from Regis College in 1964, he

followed in his father's footsteps and went to law school.

At DePaul Law School, his classmates included a future alderman, congressman, state senator and mayor: Ed Burke,

Marty Russo, Howard Carroll and Richard M. Daley. Driscoll himself became involved in politics in the 49th Ward in Rogers

Park, but by his own admission, he was the "world's worst precinct captain."

Despite the lack of a political sponsor, Driscoll was hired by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office at a time when

Assistant State's Attorneys were generally required to produce annual letters of sponsorship. Driscoll credits State's

Attorney Bernie Carey with ending that practice in 1972.

V\lhen Driscoll joined the office in 1968 there were only about 200 Assistant State's Attorneys, though the staff would

eventually swell to include over 900 Assistant State's Attorneys before recent budget cuts shrank it back to a smaller size.

Driscoll acknowledges that when he joined the office that almost all Assistant State's Attorneys were white men. There

were so few women (exactly two) that Driscoll remembered both of them: Blanche Manning and Barb Davis.

Over the ensuing years, Driscoll worked in Criminal Appeals, the First Municipal District, and the Felony Trial Division. In

1973, he became Chief of the Criminal Appeals Division. Driscoll watched the volume and type of cases expand, the

Criminal Code change, and the State's Attorney's Office grow to include a felony review unit, a child support enforcement

unit, and a public interest bureau. Future judges Tom Fitzgerald, Paul Biebel, James Zagel , and Joel Flaum, along with

future State Senate President Phil Rock, were among the members of the State's Attorney's Office at that time.

However, by 1975, Driscoll decided it was time to leave the fifth floor of the Daley Center and struck out across the Daley

Plaza to 77 W. Washington Street to work with Joe Roddy, also a former Assistant State's Attorney. Their work included

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criminal defense, civil litigation and insurance defense. Driscoll represented the Confederation of Police and individual police officers who were subject to possible discipline. In 1977, Driscoll opened his own office, and in 1995 he helped found the

five-member firm, Hickey, Driscoll, Kurfirst, Patterson and Melia.

But throughout these years of private practice, Driscoll continued to serve the public through his service on the Federal Defender Program and through his many appointments as a Special State's Attorney and as a Special Assistant State's Attorney. For example, in the case of O'Grady v. Merit Board, a contempt matter heard in the circuit and appellate courts,

Driscoll was appointed a Special State's Attorney to represent the Merit Board and its members Bob Novelle and Arthur Waddy. Driscoll also represented Justice Pat Quinn in a civil rights suit. In a significant real estate tax case, Driscoll served as one of Ford Motor Company's lawyers in the trial court, appellate court and Illinois Supreme Court. Ultimately, the

Supreme Court held that in the absence of fraud, the courts had no power to review the value of property set by the tax assessor.

Some of the criminal defendants Driscoll represented include Ferris Walker, whose conviction and death sentence Driscoll managed to get reversed and remanded, although Walker did get a 75-year sentence after the remand. Driscoll also represented Andy Kokorealis on Cook County charges, where the jury spared his life. However, Kokorealis received the death sentence in 1999 in DuPage County, where the Public Defender represented him. Kokorealis became the last man executed in Illinois before the George Ryan moratorium.

While Driscoll had some interesting clients in private practice, he does not miss some aspects of private practice such as traveling, administrative headaches, trying to collect fees from clients, and worrying about paying staff and overhead costs. Driscoll observed that criminal defense work did not usually bring repeat business.

So, in 1999, when Driscoll's high school friend, State's Attorney Dick Devine, called to ask Driscoll to come back to the State's Attorney's Office as Bureau Chief of the Civil Actions Bureau, Driscoll accepted. Driscoll has held that position ever since.

Driscoll often tells new Assistant State's Attorneys that their job is the best job they will ever have-as long as they can afford it. He explains that the experience is priceless. Driscoll himself has argued 25 cases in the Illinois Supreme Court plus many more in the appellate court. In the trial courts, he has had an opportunity to handle some of the most interesting cases arising in the public sector. He works closely with the Cook County Board and county officials, who depend upon his advice. Perhaps, what gives Driscoll his unique perspective is that he has spent twenty years in public service and over 20 years in private practice.

Driscoll says that he likes what he does, the people he works with, the camaraderie of his staff, and the shared goals and mission of the State's Attorney's Office. He finds his work challenging and professionally rewarding.

In addition to holding a demanding and time-consuming position, Driscoll is active in many bar associations and not-for-profit organizations. Driscoll has chaired the ISBA's Unauthorized Practice of Law Section Council , the Criminal Justice Section Council , the Standing Committee of Government Lawyers, and the Federal Civil Practice Section Council. He also served on the Special ISBA Committee on the Death Penalty, and other committees. He has served eight terms in the Assembly of the ISBA.

Driscoll has also served on many CBA Committees including Membership, Criminal Law, Defense of Prisoners, Tort Law, and the Judicial Evaluation Committee. He is a former Appellate Lawyers Association Board member and is a Federal Bar Association board member. He has served on and chaired an ARDC Hearing Board, and he has worked on many other committees too numerous to mention.

Outside of the legal field, Driscoll has also served on the Board of Trustees of the Norwegian American Hospital and spent three years as its chairman. Driscoll lives in Glenview with his wife, who teaches Irish step-dancing and who is a former school teacher. Driscoll has four children and nine grandchildren. He enjoys vacationing at his second home in Puerto

Vallarta, Mexico.

The Standing Committee on Government Lawyers is proud to call Pat one of our own and truly someone you should know.

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