Drew Peterson’s attorneys accuse each other of ethical violations
By Art Golab Staff Reporter/agolab@suntimes.com December 17, 2012 10:02PM
Joel Brodsky (left) filed a defamation suit against onetime co-counsel Steven Greenberg. | Matthew Grotto~Sun-Times Media
Updated: December 19, 2012 8:43PM
The battle between Drew Peterson’s attorneys escalated Monday as Joel Brodsky claimed his co-counsel Steve Greenberg suffered from mental illness and had an “intimate relationship” with a TV reporter to draw more attention to himself.
Brodsky hurled those accusations and others in a court filing responding to a memorandum filed last week by Greenberg that charged that Brodsky botched the Peterson trial by spending too much time chasing publicity for himself and their client and that Brodsky committed a “smorgasbord of ethical violations.”
Greenberg is hoping to overturn Peterson’s conviction for the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, on the grounds of incompetent counsel.
Brodsky’s biting rebuttal alleged that Greenberg did his share of chasing the media by leaking sealed documents to a newspaper reporter, and that Greenberg suffered “from a severe mental illness known as pathological narcissism.”
Brodsky also accused Greenberg of conducting an “intimate relationship” with a cable TV reporter “which he developed during the trial to get more attention for himself.”
Brodsky’s charges were made in a motion to withdraw from defending Peterson against a wrongful death lawsuit that Kathleen Savio’s relatives filed against Peterson.
Brodsky offered no proof for these allegations.
To the allegation of mental illness, Greenberg responded, “I think that my acts in the courtroom and in connection with the case and the quality of the work I did and how I conducted myself pretty much speaks for itself.”
About the alleged affair: “I was focused on trying a case and my two teenage kids were assisting and staying with me so I wasn’t intimate with anyone,” Greenberg said.
“I really don’t want to dignify anything Joel Brodsky says at this point because it’s so far out there,” Greenberg said.
Contributing: Dan Rozek
