Ill. Ex-Cop Was Ready for Dating Game

[January 24, 2008]  CHICAGO (AP) -- A former police officer suspected in the disappearance of his wife was ready to take part in a radio competition in which women would vie to date him before station officials canned the idea Wednesday.

Hours after radio host Steve Dahl agreed to the suggestion by Joel Brodsky, the attorney for former Bolingbrook police Sgt. Drew Peterson, WJMK-FM officials said the game would not take place.

"Steve never intended on doing this promotion or any promotion that would put his listeners in harm's way," station vice president/general manager Peter Bowen said in a prepared statement. "The dating game idea was conceived by Peterson and Brodsky, not by Steve Dahl or anyone else at the radio station."

Bowen said Peterson and his lawyer called Dahl's morning show unsolicited and proposed the "Win a Date with Drew" game. Even though Dahl said, "I'll absolutely do that" at 8 a.m. Thursday, Bowen later said the idea was never considered.

Investigators have called Stacy Peterson's disappearance a possible homicide. The 23-year-old mother of two has been missing since the end of October.

The 2004 drowning of Drew Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, also is under investigation as a possible homicide.

Brodsky defended his client's planned participation in the radio show, saying that Peterson didn't do anything wrong and that he believes his wife just ran off with someone else.

"If she's entitled to be out there with another man, he's entitled to have some enjoyment in his life, too," Brodsky said.

Chuck Pelkie, a spokesman for the Will County state's attorney, declined to comment.

On Wednesday, Pamela Bosco, a longtime family friend of Stacy Peterson, didn't know what to make of the planned appearance.

"I don't think it gains Drew anything," Bosco said. "I think it's slamming Drew even more and making him look worse in the public eye."

Prominent defense attorneys also said they were shocked that Brodsky would propose such a game, and that Peterson would go along.

"It is still the mother of your children, and she's missing," defense attorney Mark Geragos said. "Besides being a bad idea for the criminal case, it's in incredibly poor taste."

Daniel Bibb, a private attorney who handled high-profile cases when he was a prosecutor in New York, also couldn't believe that Peterson was willing to participate in the competition.

"If I'm a prosecutor I'm salivating now. If I'm his attorney, I'm ready to commit suicide. I'm ready to quit," Bibb said.

[Associated Press; By DON BABWIN]

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