Former cop linked to torture to begin prison term

[March 16, 2011]  CHICAGO (AP) -- A former Chicago police commander convicted of lying about the torture of homicide suspects is set to report to federal prison.

Jon Burge, the commander of the infamous "Midnight Crew" in the 1970s and 1980s, was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in January after being convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice.

Burge's attorney, Richard Beuke, says the 63-year-old Burge is scheduled to report to Butner Federal Correctional Complex in North Carolina on Wednesday. That's where Ponzi scheme king Bernard Madoff is serving a 150-year sentence.

Meanwhile, an Illinois state commission created to examine torture allegations has not yet begun investigating. The commission is to start with those men who remain behind bars after confessing to Burge or his detectives.

[Associated Press]

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