Two assistant state's attorneys charged in botched prosecution of accused Chicago cop killer

CHICAGO - Special prosecutor Lawrence Oliver II on Wednesday unsealed charges accusing longtime prosecutors Nick Trutenko and Andrew Horvat of lying about Trutenko’s decadeslong relationship with a key witness against a man accused of the 1982 murders of two Chicago police officers.

Jackie Wilson’s case, and that of his brother, Andrew Wilson, was marred by some of the first documented allegations of torture by disgraced CPD Cmdr. Jon Burge.

Former Chicago police Cmdr. Jon Burge leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on June 29, 2010. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Jackie Wilson was on trial in 2020 for a third time when Trutenko, who led the prosecution team in Wilson’s second trial in 1989, took the stand and revealed he had a longstanding relationship with William Coleman, a key witness against Wilson.

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The revelation that Trutenko had not told his peers in the prosecutor’s office, the special prosecution team, or defense lawyers about his ties to Williams — even as they tried to locate Williams — prompted special prosecutors to drop all charges against Jackie Wilson.

Judge Alfredo Maldonado in July 2021 appointed Oliver as special prosecutor in response to a request from Wilson’s lawyers.

Horvat, who had been assigned to represent Trutenko while Trutenko was serving as a witness, allegedly warned a special prosecutor not to ask Trutenko about his relationship with Williams, saying "it’s not illegal or unethical, it’s just weird."

"Well, that was not true," Oliver said. "It was both illegal and unethical."

Trutenko, who was fired hours after taking the witness stand in Wilson’s 2020 trial, faces counts of perjury, official misconduct and destruction of records. Horvat faces charges of official misconduct.

Oliver said his investigation found no evidence that other staff of the state’s attorney’s office had committed criminal acts, He said a report on his review of the office’s handling of the case would be made public soon.