Transcribed by ATL, and ACANDYROSE
UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT
(Filed on 02/07/2006 with COUNTY OF WILL ) Will County Circuit Clerk)
STATE OF ILLINOIS )
) SS
COUNTY OF WILL )
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE TWELFTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT WILL COUNTY, ILLINOIS
ESTATE OF)
)
KATHLEEN SAVIO,) NO. 2004 P 188
)
Deceased)
FIRST AND FINAL REPORT
The undersigned, Richard J. Kavanagh, Public Administrator of Will County and former Administrator of the Estate of Kathleen Savio, Deceased, would respectfully submit to the Court the following First and Final Report of his acts and doings as such Administrator from April 21, 2004 to January 30, 2006.
DATE ITEMS OF RECEIPT AMOUNT
09/23/04 CITIZENS FINANCIAL - SERVICES CLOSE CHECKING ACCOUNT 827.32
09/23/04 COMCAST REFUND 6.94
10/11/04 VERIZON – SALE OF 24.6261 SHARES 982.57
12/08/04 NICOR GAS REFUND 162.09
05/17/05 U.S. TREASURY TAX REFUND FOR 2004 201.00
05/17/05 U.S. TREASURY TAX REFUND FOR 2003 741.00
06/22/05 DANIEL W. HYNES INCOME TAX REFUND FOR 2004 27.00
07/19/05 DANIEL W. HYNES STATE OF ILLINOIS TAX REFUND 130.00
. TOTAL RECEIPTS $3,077.92
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DATE ITEMS OF DISBURSEMENT AMOUNT
10/25/04 NICOR GAS (93) 738.41
11/18/04 COM ED (1001) 196.73
12/08/04 LINDA RYMSZA (1002) (MILEAGE TO BOLINGBROOK CITIZENS FINANCIAL) 16.65
08/11/05 CANCELLED CHECKS RETURNED 3.00
09/13/05 CANCELLED CHECKS RETURNED 3.00
10/12/05 CANCELLED CHECKS RETURNED 3.00
. TOTAL DISBURSEMENTS $960.79
. RECAPITULATION .
. Total amount received $3,077.92
. Total amount paid out 960.79
. Balance on hand December 19, 2005: $2,117.13
Richard J. Kavanagh, Public Administrator of Will County and Administrator of the Estate of Kathleen Savio, Deceased, further reports the residence of the decedent located at 392 Pheasant Chase Drive, Bolingbrook, Illinois was sold pursuant to court order, and the net proceeds of the sale totaling $287,154.00 were held in escrow pursuant to court order pending a final order in the case of Peterson v. Peterson, Case No. 02 D 420.
The closing for the sale of the residence took place in October, 2004. The title to the residence was in the names of Drew Peterson and Kathleen Peterson, husband and wife, not as joint tenants or tenants in common but as tenants by the entirety.
The divorce proceeding between Drew Peterson and Kathleen (Savio) Peterson (02 D 420) was bifurcated, with a judgment of dissolution entered prior to the death of the decedent, and the Court (Judge Susan O’Leary) reserving the issue of the division of the property of the parties pending further proceedings.
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Kathleen (Savio) Peterson was represented by Attorney Harry Smith of the firm of Rice & Smith, Ltd., while Drew Peterson was represented first by Attorney Alex Beck and subsequently by Attorney Joseph Mazzone.
After my appointment as Administrator, I conferred with Attorney Harry Smith with respect to the status of the property settlement portion of the divorce proceeding, and also attended several status hearings before Judge O’Leary. Attorney Smith continued to represent the Estate of Kathleen (Savio) Peterson in the divorce proceedings.
Attorney Smith advised me that there were three (3) major issues with respect to the division of property, viz: (1) whether Kathleen’s estate would be entitled to any portion of the Drew Peterson pension; (2) the valuation of the business known as the Blue Lightning Corporation, which had been sold with all of the proceeds going to Drew Peterson; and (3) the value of the house, and whether Kathleen (Savio) Peterson’s estate would be entitled to receive not only her one-half of the proceeds of any sale, but an additional portion of the remaining one-half as an offset for the cash taken by Drew Peterson from the sale of the business.
Attorney Smith further advised me that it was his opinion that after a full and complete hearing on the property settlement, the estate of Kathleen (Savio) Peterson would be awarded: (1) Kathleen’s one-half of the proceeds from the sale of the residence; and (2) most, if not all, of Drew Peterson’s one-half of the proceeds from the sale of the residence as an offset for the business sale proceeds retained by Drew Peterson.
On March 23, 2005, after hearing, Judge Lechwar entered an order admitting the Last Will and Testament of Kathleen Peterson to probate and appointing James Carroll, the uncle of Drew Peterson, as executor of the estate of Kathleen (Savio) Peterson. The new representative immediately fired Harry Smith as attorney for the estate of Kathleen (Savio) Peterson in the divorce proceeding.
Sixteen days later, on April 8, 2005, a “Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage†was entered in Case 02 D 420 by Judge Michael Powers “upon the agreement of the parties as to all issues.†The judgment awarded Drew Peterson not only the business known as the Blue Lightning Corporation, but also all the proceeds from the sale of the marital home, and further provided that Drew Peterson would not be obligated to fund any college expenses for the minor children of the parties due to the fact that life insurance on the life of Kathleen in the amount of $1,000,000 had been payable to the children. A copy of the judgment is attached hereto as Exhibit “A.â€
The Estate was represented by the Executor, James Carroll, who appeared pro se. No one appeared for the residuary beneficiaries of the estate, who were the two minor children of the decedent, Kathleen (Savio) Peterson, and the two step-children of the decedent. The effect of the judgment was to transfer anywhere from $144,117.65 to $288,235.31 (one-half to all of the proceeds of the home sale) from the four children who were the beneficiaries of the estate of Kathleen (Savio) Peterson to Drew Peterson, the former husband of the decedent and the father of the four children. The actions of the Executor were not in the best interest of the Estate or its beneficiaries.
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In addition to the cash detailed above, the Administrator obtained possession of certain items of jewelry, which have been listed on the inventory filed contemporaneously with this report and which were given to Michael Overmann, attorney for the Estate, on February 1, 2006. All of the remaining items of personal property of the decedent had been removed from the decedent’s residence prior to the appointment of the administrator in April of 2004.
There were also three claims which were timely filed against the estate, and copies of those claims were provided to the attorney for the executor on April 25, 2004. Those claims were the following:
1 Omnium Worldwide, Inc. for People’s Bank $5,513.68
2 Citibank (SD) NA/BPET $ 141.76
3 Attorney Timothy P. McHugh $ 729.00
In addition, the Administrator has contemporaneously filed a Petition for Administrator’s and Attorney’s fees, and has requested a hearing on said Petition.
Richard J. Kavanagh, Public Administrator of Will County and Administrator of the Estate of Kathleen Savio, Deceased, now moves the Court that he may be approved of his acts and doings as above set forth, and having made and taken receipts therefore, and presented to this Court, asks the Report be approved and he be discharged as Administrator of the Estate, all of which is respectfully submitted.
________________________________Signature
Richard J. Kavanagh, Public Administrator of Will
County and Administrator of the Estate of Kathleen
Savio, Deceased
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www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/636553,4_1_JO06_MISSING_S2.article
Court filings tell story
November 6, 2007
By STEWART WARREN STAFF WRITER
JOLIET -- Although we don't know much about Stacy Peterson's disappearance, we know other things.
They are found in files at the Will County Courthouse.
Knit together, these facts tell something about Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Drew Peterson, the missing woman's much-older husband. For example, while married to another woman, Drew Peterson, 53, owned several businesses and life insurance policies -- and that third wife later was found drowned in a bathtub without any water.
Fourth wife Stacy Peterson, a 23-year-old mother of two, hasn't been seen since Oct. 28. The young woman was supposed to help family members paint a house, but never showed. Drew Peterson claims his wife simply deserted him, but a family member reported her missing.
Savio's death
In early 2002, Drew Peterson and Kathleen Savio, the third wife, began divorce proceedings, according to court documents. They had been married about 10 years and had two children. In late 2003, Will County Judge Susan O'Leary dissolved their marriage. Their divorce was "bifurcated," in this case meaning they were allowed to divorce before their common property was divided, according to court documents.
Then in March 2004, a neighbor found Savio dead in the dry bathtub at her Bolingbrook home. It was an accident, Will County Coroner Patrick K. O'Neil ruled. The 40-year-old woman suffered blunt trauma and a lacerated scalp, injuries consistent with a fall that could have knocked her unconscious, according to the inquest. By that time, Drew Peterson already was involved with the then-Stacy Cales, who was 17 when they met.
After Savio died, there was a Will County probate case to settle her financial affairs. Well-known local lawyer Dick Kavanagh was the public administrator of Will County, a governor-appointed position. Simply put, the public administrator tries to find the fairest way to settle an estate after a death, among other things.
A will emerges
A year after Savio's death and the beginning of the legal proceedings to settle her affairs, a will emerged. It was submitted in court on March 23, 2005. Hand-written in capital letters, it was scrawled across two pieces of lined notebook paper and witnessed by Alex J. Morelli and Gary L. Marcolina.
A man named Alex Morelli is a Bolingbrook police officer, and Herald News archives show a man named Gary Marcolina is a developer in the Crest Hill area.
"This day March 2nd 1997 Drew Walter Peterson and Kathleen Savio Peterson, both being of sound body and mind, do hereby bequeath all of our worldly possessions to each other in the event of either of our individual deaths," begins the will filed with court documents.
If they died together, the couple wanted everything to go to certain people, among them Tom and Kris Peterson, their children, and Eric Drew Peterson and Stephen Paul Peterson, Drew Peterson's children from another relationship.
The will lists some of their assets:
• A Golden Rule life insurance policy valued at $100,000
• A Monumental Life Insurance policy valued at $125,000
• A Prudential Life Insurance policy valued at $308,137.59 -- "Beneficiary Merchants Bank Oswego to pay off note for Sud's Pub in Montgomery," according to the will.
• Bolingbrook Police Pension fund of more than $50,000
• A piece of real estate listed as 9 Clay Court, Montgomery
• The Blue Lightning Corp., or Sud's Pub, 1250 S. Broadway, Montgomery
• Da Page Corp., Fast 'N' Accurate Graphics, 87 Eisenhower South, Lombard
• A quarter interest in CMYK Corp., listed as a printing business in "Lombard-Naperville," according to the will.
Division of property issues
The will names James B. Carroll, Drew Peterson's uncle, executor of the estate, according to a document filed in court by Kavanagh, who apparently had some concerns.
"After my appointment as administrator, I conferred with attorney Harry Smith with respect to the status of the property settlement portion of the divorce proceeding ... (He) advised me that there were three major issues with respect to the division of property ... 1. Whether Kathleen's estate would be entitled to any portion of Drew Peterson's pension; 2. The valuation of the business known as the Blue Lightning Corp., which has been sold with all of the proceeds going to Drew Peterson; and 3. The value of the house, and whether Kathleen Peterson's estate would be entitled to receive not only her one-half of the proceeds of any sale, but an additional portion of the remaining one-half as an offset for the cash taken by Drew Peterson from the sale of the (bar)," Kavanaugh wrote in court documents.
On April 8, 2005, Will County Judge Michael Powers entered a judgment in the financial aspects of the divorce case. It awarded Drew Peterson the Blue Lightning Corp. and all the proceeds from the sale of the couple's home, according to the court documents filed by Kavanagh. The judgment also mentions what seems to be a fourth life insurance policy.
"(It) provided that Drew Peterson would not be obligated to fund any college expenses for the minor children of the parties due to the fact that life insurance on the life of Kathleen in the amount of $1 million had been payable to the children," according to the document.
As part of the judgment, Carroll agreed that some money from Savio's estate should go to someone other than the four children. "The effect of the judgment was to transfer anywhere from $144,117.65 to $288,235.31 (one-half to all of the proceeds of the home sale) from the four children who were the beneficiaries of the estate ... to Drew Peterson," according to court documents.
Kavanagh didn't approve of that move, apparently.
"The actions of (Carroll) were not in the best interest of the estate or the beneficiaries," he wrote in a court document.
Reporter Stewart Warren can be reached at (815) 729-6068 or swarren@scn1.com