$20 Million Settlement for Families of Two Men Killed by Drunk Off-Duty Detective on Dan Ryan Expressway
Won by Cooney & Conway.
Chicago agreed to pay $20 million to the families of Fausto Manzera and Andrew Cazares, two men killed in 2009 when off-duty detective Joseph Frugoli struck their disabled vehicle on the Dan Ryan Expressway with a blood-alcohol level more than four times the legal limit, after trial evidence exposed the department's years-long failure to discipline Frugoli for prior suspected drunk driving.
What happened
On the night of April 10, 2009, Fausto Manzera, 21, and Andrew Cazares, 23, pulled to the shoulder of the Dan Ryan Expressway after a flat tire. Off-duty Chicago Police detective Joseph Frugoli, driving with a blood-alcohol level more than four times the legal limit, plowed into the stopped vehicle. Both men died in the fire that followed. Frugoli pleaded guilty to aggravated DUI and in 2012 was sentenced to eight years in prison.
The families sued the City of Chicago, arguing that a departmental 'code of silence' had shielded Frugoli from meaningful accountability long before the fatal crash. Trial evidence showed that in January 2008, Frugoli was involved in two separate crashes within 24 hours under circumstances consistent with impairment, yet faced no discipline either time. A 1992 bar-fight incident, in which he allegedly punched patrons at a Bridgeport tavern while intoxicated, had resulted in only a five-day suspension, and he was never given a field sobriety test.
The most damaging revelation came mid-trial. Four days before the case was set to go to the jury, 116 pages of Frugoli's disciplinary records surfaced, documents the city had failed to produce despite years of discovery requests. Attorneys for both families called the withheld file 'smoking gun' evidence. Kevin J. Conway, representing the Manzera family, told reporters: 'They settled the case because we proved there is a code of silence, we proved the investigation was improper.' Tim Cavanagh represented the Cazares family.
Chicago settled during closing arguments on December 8, 2017, before the jury could deliberate. The city also acknowledged this was the eighth time under Mayor Rahm Emanuel that a judge had sanctioned the city for withholding evidence in a police misconduct case. The trial judge retained jurisdiction to examine how the documents were withheld.
The Chicago City Council approved the $20 million payment on February 28, 2018, with the amount split equally at $10 million per family. Three aldermen voted against approval, raising concerns about municipal liability for off-duty officer conduct.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
- 1.Chicago Sun-Times (Esposito & Armentrout)·Archived copy
- 2.Chicago Sun-Times (Fran Spielman): names Kevin Conway; reports $20M total, $10M per family·Archived copy
- 3.ABC7 Chicago: names Kevin Conway; quotes Conway on code-of-silence proof; settlement Dec. 8, 2017·Archived copy
- 4.ABC7 Chicago: City Council approval of $20M settlement, Feb. 28, 2018·Archived copy
- 5.NBC Chicago: Settlement reached in suit alleging 'code of silence' led to fatal crash·Archived copy
- 6.CBS News Chicago: $20M settlement, withheld disciplinary records detail·Archived copy
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