Ex-Chicago Cop Takes Stand In Trial Over Drunk-Driving Deaths

CHICAGO, IL — The families of two men who were killed in a fiery crash in 2009 are suing an ex-Chicago police detective and the city. The lawsuit contends that the Chicago Police Department's 'code of silence' led Joseph Frugoli, 50, to "drink and drive with impunity," after he wasn't tested for alcohol in a 2008 collision. Frugoli pleaded guilty to charges of drunk driving that killed the two men a little over a year later.

Frugoli took the witness stand in the wrongful death suit Thursday at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse. He was brought from prison, where he's serving an eight-year sentence for his DUI conviction in the 2009 crash. He testified that as far as he knew, the day he killed the two men was the first time he drove drunk.

Frugoli admitted he drank over a dozen beers and took several shots before getting into his SUV in April 2009. He crashed into a stalled car on the Dan Ryan Expressway, killing Fausto Manzera, 21, and Andrew Cazares, 23. Frugoli refused to submit to alcohol testing, but when he was later forced by law, his test revealed had a blood alcohol content about four times the legal limit. He said he remembered little of what happened that night.

Frugoli admitted he had a drinking problem, and said he tried to take on late shifts at work to curb his alcoholism. On Thursday he testified his drinking began at age 16 and got worse as he got older. He said he drank between 10 and 20 drinks multiple times a week throughout much of his career as a Chicago cop.

Frugoli was involved in two previous crashes in January 2008, which happened about 24 hours apart. He crashed a city-owned vehicle into a concrete wall while on duty at 47th and Wells streets. Frugoli testified that his car slipped on a patch of ice. A sergeant was called to the scene and the vehicle was towed, but Frugoli wasn't given a sobriety test, and he said no alcohol was involved.

The same evening he went to a casino for about six hours, and he testified that he had no drinks while he was there. While driving home, he broadsided a Chicago police car, injuring two officers.

In 2012, one of the injured officers testified in Frugoli's sentencing hearing that his eyes were glassy and he appeared "dumbfounded" right after the crash. But officers who were called to the scene didn't give him a sobriety test. A sergeant on scene said she saw no signs of impairment.

Frugoli is not due out of prison until April 2019, records show.

Image of Joseph Frugoli via Illinois Department of Corrections