NWH reporter DID see Leist's report on Zinke

Remember when Undersheriff Andy Zinke spoiled a DEA investigation by revealing it to a political contributor and friend of Sheriff Nygren? That was a case in which the DEA believes a truckload of drugs was headed for that political contributor's company in Crystal Lake.

And how EEO and Legal Affairs Officer Don Leist "investigated" the leak of that information and determined that Zinke had done no wrong?

And how the McHenry County Sheriff's Department has refused to release Leist's "investigative" report?

Read yesterday's Northwest Herald story, which reports that reporter Sarah Strzalka (better known to readers at the time as Sarah Sutschek) had eyes on the confidential report.

The story was on the paper's website for a short time and quickly became "old news". Now you have to know about it to search for it, because the paper has already cleared it off the homepage.

According to the story, both Nygren and Leist testified on Wednesday and denied showing the report to Sutschek. Part of Leist's testimony was that he handed the report over to Zinke.

Keep in mind that Zinke was the employee who was investigated by Leist!!!!!

If you read the story in FirstElectricNewspaper.com (the electronic news published by Pete Gonigam), you learn that Leist left the report in a room with Zinke and Sutschek (Strzalka). Sutschek claimed journalistic privilege and refused to say who showed her the report.

Gonigam's attorney wanted Judge Meyer to fetch Zinke right on the spot. Instead, he continued the matter to October, which will give Zinke plenty of time to get his story "right" or develop amnesia. (The Northwest Herald article omitted the date of the October hearing, although it would have been set in court.)

The Case Number is 13MR000309, if you are interested in following it.