By Robert Herguth, Better Government Association
By Patrick McCraney, FOX Chicago News Investigative Producer
CHICAGO (FOX Chicago News) - It's been nearly six years since Maywood officer Tom Wood was gunned down just as he got off of work. As the search for his killer grows colder, there's another mystery: What happened to the $100,000 reward?
See: Murdered cop's widow rips Maywood police for 'botched' investigation
Soon after Wood was murdered, reward money began flowing. There was $10,000 from law enforcement agencies, $10,000 from a crime scene clean up company, and the biggest donation, up to $100,000 from Maywood's Park National Bank. Reward posters went up all over town, promising the money for information leading to the arrest and conviction of officer Wood's killer.
So, nearly six years later, where is that reward now?
"I don't know, don't know what the status is," Maywood Mayor Henderson Yarbrough said. He told us to talk to Police Chief Tim Curry.
"There was a $100,000 reward once upon a time. I believe through some financial situations occurring in the corporate world, that reward no longer exists," Curry said. He told us when Park National Bank folded in 2009, the reward the bank offered disappeared. "That bank went under and that's where the reward was. Because of that, there's no more reward," Curry said.
Wood's widow says that seems a little strange.
"My account was in that bank and when the bank was taken over my account was fine. The numbers stayed the same. The girls stayed the same. Everybody still knew me, so where did that money go?," Helene Wood said.
Park National was taken over by U.S. Bank, so we did something that apparently no one from Maywood ever did. We called U.S. Bank in Minneapolis to ask about the reward.
Amazingly, a U.S. Bank spokesperson told us the full reward is still intact: "U.S. Bank is a good corporate citizen. We've acquired several banks over the past couple years and it's been our practice to honor those community commitments where possible," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson told us as far as they knew, no one from Maywood had ever called to check.
"The fact that we had to come into this case and figure out that there was still a substantial reward is pretty ridiculous," said Better Government Association investigator Robert Herguth. "What's so ridiculous about this is the police chief was going around tearing down reward posters."
Helene Wood is furious. She says a big reward could have prompted an important tip leading to her husband's killer.
"It only took you a phone call. Who in Maywood is in charge of questioning why it wasn't there in the first place? That's what's so random," she said.
The Park National CEO told us he pledged the money six years ago with the expectation the Village of Maywood would match it, or at least contribute something. That never happened, until we started asking questions. At the very next village board meeting after we talked to Mayor Yarbrough, Maywood pledged $10,000 to find Wood's killer--nearly six years after his murder.
Anyone with information about the murder of Maywood police officer Thomas Wood is encouraged to call Maywood Police at 708-450-4472 and ask for Investigations.
The full story appears in Chicago Magazine.
