New Prosecutor Ready For Trial Of Former Coroner Dr. Thomas Rudd

LAKE FOREST, IL — The latest special prosecutor to be assigned to try former Lake County Coroner Dr. Thomas Rudd for perjury appeared in court for the first time Monday. Bernard Murray, of the Illinois State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor's office, said he will plans to be ready for trail starting Jan. 16. Murray replaced Charles Zalar, another prosecutor with the appellate office, after he had to step down for personal reasons.

The trial had been due to take place in October, but the first special prosecutor assigned to Rudd's case, Brian Towne, was indicted in September on 17 counts of official misconduct while serving as LaSalle County state's attorney. Zalar was appointed soon after.

Rudd, 70, of Lake Forest, has been charges on five counts of perjury. He is accused of falsifying election documents by signing his name on nominating petitions in 2016 that he had not collected himself. Prosecutors have said 15 to 20 of the signatures he alleged he had collected turned out to be false.

Rudd's attorney has claimed the charges are retaliation by Lake County law enforcement and police agencies from the ex-coroner's role in several high profile death investigations in Lake County.

"While serving as coroner, Dr. Rudd challenged law enforcement and questioned the wisdom of certain prosecutions," his attorney, Jed Stone said earlier this year. "Now, he's paying the price," the Daily Herald reported.

Those cases include Rudd's publicly disputing the initial account of the death of Fox Lake Police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, who was later determined to have staged his own suicide due to an investigation that uncovered years of embezzlement.

» Cops Bash Coroner for Speaking About Slain Fox Lake Lieutenant

Rudd also disputed the official determination of homicide in the 2009 death of a 16-month-old boy in Lincolnshire. Melissa Calusinki was controversially convicted of the boy's murder, and Rudd changed the official cause of death to undetermined.

» Lake County Judge Rules Melissa Calusinski Does Not Deserve a New Trial

Rudd's attorneys have argued that because the former elected Democrat withdrew his petition papers when he was notified of the complaint, he fixed the situation, according the Lake County News-Sun. Rudd has said his signatures were an unintentional error, rather than a lie under oath. He pleaded not guilty in February.

Lake County Circuit Court Judge Victoria Rossetti set a date of Jan. 11 to hear pretrial motions. Rudd remains free on $150,000 bail.

_{Top photo: Dr. Thomas Rudd | Credit: Scott Olson, Getty Images News, Getty Images}