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Cop Accused of DUI in Double-Fatal Crash posts $500,000 Bond

By Kris Briggs

Emotions were high and tempers flared April 12, 2009 when the Chicago Police detective charged with killing two men in an accident while driving under the influence was given what several of the victims' friends and relatives thought was a low bail.

"This man should be in jail," Andrew Cazares' friend Kenny Dennison Jr. said after Cook County Judge Donald Panarese Jr. set a $500,000 bail for Joseph Frugoli.

"I feel sick to my stomach about this; $500,000 [bond] for two lives doesn't make sense."

Almost 70 relatives and friends for Cazares, 23, and Fausto Manzera, 21, sat waiting to hear the outcome in Panarese's packed courtroom on April 12.

Outside, a few friends and relatives of the victims loudly expressed their opinions, insisting that because Frugoli was able to post bond, it was all a police conspiracy.

Freed on bail, Frugoli walked out the facility's main entrance on California Avenue at about 2 p.m., said sheriff's spokesman Steve Patterson.

Cazares and Manzera died in a fiery crash on April 10, 2009 when an intoxicated Frugoli plowed into the back of their disabled car on the Dan Ryan Expy., prosecutors said.

Frugoli, 41, has been charged with two counts of reckless homicide, two counts of driving under the influence and one count of leaving the scene of an accident.

"My client and his family are heartbroken over the incident," said Frugoli's lawyer, Gregg L. Smith. "He did not set out that night to harm anyone."

Cook County sheriff's officers Sunday got the small crowd under control and took one man into custody for his own safety, but he was not charged and later released, sources said.

The victims' immediate relatives clung to each other as they left the courthouse. They were not involved in the outside disturbance.

"This is a very sad day for all of us," Cazares' cousin Erik Franco said. "But we respect the decision made here today."

Michael Rihani, Manzera's brother-in-law, said the magnitude of the loss is just beginning to sink in.

Frugoli, an 18-year police veteran, has been relieved of his police powers.

Car Accidents in Chicago

Unfortunately, car accidents occur on a regular basis in our city and across the country. Sometimes it is because of negligence on the part of another person. It is our mission to assist those who may have been injured or harmed due to the negligence of another driver. Whether your injuries consist of whiplash or burns to your head or neck, nerve damage or spinal chord injures, broken or dislocated a bones or limbs, or loss of life, our attorneys are specifically trained to assist you in your time of need.

$500,000 bond for cop accused of DUI in double-fatal crash, Suntimes.com, April 12, 2009

Full post as published by Illinois Injury Law Blog on May 20, 2009 (boomark / email).