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Romano murder trial continues White Hen Pantry worker testifies former Algonquin man mentioned inheritance By KATIE DAHLSTROM kdahlstrom@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – McHenry County prosecutors Monday continued to piece together evidence to convince a jury that Michael W. Romano shot his father and stepmother for the inheritance, which they contend he needed in order to pay off more than $135,000 in debt. As the trial against former Algonquin resident Romano, 56, entered its fifth day of testi-
Hastert looking to make plea deal
mony, McHenry County Sheriff’s Sgt. Robb Tadleman read an email Nick Romano Sr. had sent to Michael Romano in October 2005. In the email, Nick Sr. asked for Michael to pay him at least $250 a month toward money he had borrowed two years earlier. “Please try and do better,” Nick Sr. wrote to his son, adding he knew things had been hard on Michael, but they had not been any easier for him, or
his wife, Gloria. Nick Sr., 71, and Gloria Romano, 65, were found dead in the early morning hours of Nov. 19, 2006, in their home between Crystal Lake and Cary. Michael W. Both had been Romano shot in the back of the head – Gloria once and Nick Sr. twice. Michael Romano was indict-
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ed on four counts of first-degree murder last year and was extradited from Las Vegas. He denies the charges. Ruben Villalobos-Flores, who was working Nov. 20, 2006, at the White Hen Pantry in Algonquin, also took the stand Monday. Villalobos-Flores testified Michael Romano came into the store after 2 a.m. that night to buy a pack of cigarettes and a coffee using a $5 silver certificate.
Assistant State’s Attorney John Gibbons repeatedly asked Villalobos-Flores what was said in the exchange with Michael Romano, but Assistant Public Defender Angelo Mourelatos objected to the repeated questions. Despite objections from the defense, the state later called Villalobos-Flores back to the stand with an interpreter. Through the interpreter, Villalobos-Flores said Michael Romano said the $5 silver cer-
tificate had come from a “large inheritance.” Prosecutors have said Michael Romano made comments about inheriting his parents’ multimillion-dollar estate in the months leading up to the deaths, but unbeknownst to him, Nick Sr. had removed him from his will and trust five years earlier. The defense, meanwhile, has argued no forensic evidence
See ROMANO, page A4
I think that some of those societal messages are that men are supposed to be strong and invincible, and able to handle their own problems.” Tom Gorey, Therapist at Gorey Family Counseling
Could mean major details would not be shared in court By MICHAEL TARM The Associated Press CHICAGO – A possible plea agreement is being negotiated in the hush-money case of former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, attorneys told a judge Monday, meaning potentially embarrassing details about the underlying actions in the case may never be divulged in court or anywhere else. Hastert, who Dennis led the U.S. Hastert House for nine years, has pleaded not guilty to charges the Republican skirted federal banking laws in an attempt to pay someone $3.5 million to hide claims of past misconduct. An indictment handed down in May alleges that Hastert agreed to pay the money to a person identified only as “Individual A” and offers no details about the alleged misconduct. The Associated Press and other media, citing anonymous sources, have reported the payments were intended to conceal claims of sexual misconduct decades ago. The disclosure about talks on a plea agreement came during a pretrial hearing in Chicago and after U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin asked both sides to explain why they have repeatedly asked for more time for pretrial motions. Prosecutors and defense attorneys – who have taken steps to keep information not in the indictment secret – confirmed to the judge that they were in talks, but they offered no details. Legal experts said Hastert, who did not attend the hearing, has a strong incentive to reach a plea agreement and avoid trial. They said prosecutors likely would want to provide jurors at trial with at least some
See HASTERT, page A4
Matthew Apgar – mapgar@shawmedia.com
Tom Gorey, a therapist at Gorey Family Counseling, poses for a portrait Sept. 17 at his office in Crystal Lake. Gorey said cases of suicide involving young people tend to get more attention, but older individuals die more frequently from suicide. Data from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention show the suicide rate in 2013, the year with the most recent data, was highest for people 45 to 64 years old.
Suicide deaths highest for men County programs help ID those at risk as part of local prevention efforts By HANNAH PROKOP hprokop@shawmedia.com Scott Campbell, clinical director at Samaritan Counseling Center of the Northwest Suburbs, said he saw a man in his 50s who was in a crisis walk into a clinic one day. The man had just lost a very high-powered job because of company cutbacks. On top of that, he had a failing marriage, and probably would lose his house to foreclosure, Campbell said. Although this man was not suicidal, it’s the dominoes that result from that kind of crisis – such as losing a job – Campbell said, that can lead to depression or suicide for
middle-aged people. A 2015 study from the American Journal of Preventive Medicine suggested suicide rate among middle-aged men and women in the U.S. has been increasing since 1999, with a sharp escalation since 2007. “People like the fellow I saw – to be in a great job and lose it in [his] 50s ... It jeopardizes all kinds of things,” Campbell said, adding that people still are struggling because of the poor economy. In McHenry County, suicide deaths are the highest for 41- to 60-year-old men, according to data collected by McHenry County Coroner Anne Majewski. In 2014, 13 men and four women
in that age range committed suicide, and for the first six months of 2015, 11 men and one woman committed suicide. People listed through age 20 in 2014 included three men who died from suicide, and in the first six months of 2015, one man and one woman died from suicide. September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Tom Gorey, a therapist at Gorey Family Counseling in Crystal Lake, said there definitely is a crisis in terms of death from suicide by young people. Those are the cases that tend to get more attention because of the age, Gorey said, even though it’s
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actually older individuals who die more frequently from suicide. Gorey said men generally are less likely to seek help, and part of the reason is because of “what the culture says about men and how men are supposed to behave.” “And I think that some of those societal messages are that men are supposed to be strong and invincible, and able to handle their own problems,” Gorey said. Data from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention show the suicide rate in 2013, the year with the most recent data, was highest for people 45 to 64 years old, with
See SUICIDE, page A4
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