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Joint State's Attorney and Sheriff Investigation Results in Charges
Against Cook County Probation Officer in Murder-for-Hire Plot

Bond was set at $500,000 today for a Cook County Probation Officer charged in a murder-for-hire plot for allegedly offering to pay a man to kill his wife for $1,000, following a joint investigation by the offices of the Cook County State’s Attorney and the Cook County Sheriff.

Michael Dickerson, 47, a Cook County Probation Gang Intelligence Officer, has been charged with Solicitation of Murder for Hire, a Class X felony.  If convicted, Dickerson faces from 20 to 40 years in prison.

According to prosecutors and investigators, the case came to light late last month after an attorney informed the State’s Attorney’s Office that his client was solicited by Dickerson to commit a murder-for-hire.  According to investigators, Dickerson approached the individual and told him that he “needed someone to go away.”  Dickerson then told the individual that he would pay him and he provided the individual with vehicle identification information, as well as a time and location where the intended victim, his wife, could be located.

The State’s Attorney’s Office and the Sheriff’s Office began a joint investigation, and on May 28, 2010, a court order for audio and video eavesdropping was obtained.  In subsequent meetings with the individual, Dickerson also provided a description of a new car that the intended target would be driving and a license plate number.  Upon further investigation, investigators were able to confirm that the intended target of the murder was, in fact, the wife of Dickerson, and that the information provided by Dickerson corresponded to her daily commute.

According to prosecutors, Dickerson met with the individual during the course of the investigation and physically identified his wife and told the individual that he wanted him to “make it look like a robbery,” and “after you shoot her, I got you.”  Based upon the investigation, Dickerson believed “his marriage was messed up and he wanted out of it” and he intended to pay the murderer $1,000 from his wife’s life insurance policy.  Dickerson was taken into custody early Tuesday.

Dickerson appeared in bond court this morning before Cook County Judge Donald Panarese who set the $500,000 bond and also ordered Dickerson to stay away from the victim, and to surrender his passport and all firearms.  The next court date in the case is scheduled for June 28, 2010.

The public is reminded that criminal charging documents contain allegations that are not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the state has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.