Schaumburg cop facing drug charges to be freed on $35K bail
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Matthew Hudak.
CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) -
A former Schaumburg cop charged with stealing and reselling illegal drugs seized during arrests is expected to be released from custody Monday after posting his $35,000 cash bail.
DuPage County Judge Blanche Fawell approved Matthew Hudak's release after a brief hearing in which his sister testified that a family member provided the money.
Hudak's sister, Angela Fitzgerald, also provided bank documents to show the cash was provided by Hudak's half-brother, who borrowed it from his mother's retirement account.
The bail hearing came after Hudak and two former colleagues pleaded not guilty to running a drug-selling ring that prosecutors say was fueled by marijuana and cocaine taken from street dealers.
Prosecutors had demanded the hearing to ensure any cash used for bail came from legitimate sources, not from money the ex-cops may have netted from their alleged drug-selling scheme.
Similar hearings would be required before former cops Terrance O'Brien and John Cichy could be released on bail.
Attorneys for O'Brien and Cichy said those hearings could occur later this week when family members have collected enough cash for bail.
O'Brien's cash bail is set at $30,000, while Cichy would have to post $25,000 for his release.
Fawell earlier ordered that all three men would have to wear electronic-monitoring bracelets if they make bail.
A DuPage County grand jury last week returned a 17-count indictment against each former officer that included charges of drug conspiracy, theft, official misconduct and armed violence.
If convicted, each man faces a minimum 24-year prison term.
Prosecutors said the three men ran a drug-dealing enterprise for at least six months in which they kept some marijuana and cocaine seized during arrests, then resold the drugs on the street through a dealer they previously had used as an informant.
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