Feds: Chicago cop "ordered hit" on fellow officer

KIM JANSSEN
Daily Southtown
Sep. 29, 2007

The Chicago Police Department was rocked by a fresh scandal today as it emerged disgraced former Special Operations Section officer Jerome Finnigan faces federal charges for allegedly ordering a hit on a former officer.

Finnigan, 44 - one of seven officers accused of stealing from drug dealers, and who have been facing felony charges in state court since last summer - last week allegedly hired a street gang member to kill a former officer who was due to testify against him, according to the federal charges filed today.

According to the FBI, Finnigan first discussed commissioning the murder of a fellow officer in July, using the code word "paint job" to describe the killing and his plan to offer a gang member $5,000.

Finnigan — wearing a green sweat shirt turned inside out and shackled at the ankles — said he understood the charges against him during a brief hearing in federal court.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole ordered Finnigan held until a Monday detention hearing.

Finnigan declined to talk to reporters as marshals led him away, and defense attorney Michael Ficaro said he would have no comment until he learned more about the case against his client.

Finnigan, who previously was free on $4 million bond in the state cases, was arrested at his home in Chicago's Garfield Ridge community, this morning by FBI agents, authorities said.

The FBI said a gang member working with the FBI during a phone conversation Sept. 18 arranged to meet with Finnigan at his home.

Finnigan allegedly told the gang member he was looking for a more professional hit man.

Three days later, the men spoke again, the release said, arranging to meet in Finnigan's car near Harlem and Archer avenues.

During that second conversation, the gang member told Finnigan he'd found a hit man and asked Finnigan for a photo of the target, the release says.

Finnigan allegedly handed over a picture of the officer, ripped from a larger team photo of SOS officers, wrapped in a page of a map, and told the gang member to be careful to remove any fingerprints.

He agreed to pay half the fee for the killing, the release says.

After the meeting Finnigan then arranged for the gang member to come to his house to get the target officer's home address, the release alleges.

But Finnigan became nervous of FBI surveillance and canceled the meeting and told the gang member to destroy the picture, it alleges.

On Sept. 23 Finnigan went to the gang member's home and wrote down the initials of the target officer and a second officer he believed may be cooperating with the investigation into S.O.S., discussing "taking care of" them, the release says.

If convicted in the federal case, he faces up to 10 years in jail and a $250,000 fine.