Drew Peterson’s war of words with former attorney

In the weeks and months that followed the 2007 disappearance of Stacy Peterson from the quiet cul-de-sac home she shared with her police officer husband the neighborhood became the scene of a media feeding frenzy. National news organizations descended.

Drew Peterson didn’t look the part of a concerned husband. Instead he rode his motorcycle, offered snarky quotes to the assembled media and would invite attractive female reporters into his home for off-the-record conversations.

The machismo and swagger only increased when Joel Brodsky became Peterson’s attorney. The two went on a national media campaign visiting the set of Larry King Live and the Today Show where Peterson pleaded his innocence. The two seemed to feed off of each other’s bravado. But the two had a falling-out after Peterson was found guilty in the death of third wife Kathleen Savio, whose bathtub drowning was initially ruled an accident. It was only reinvestigated after Peterson’s fourth wife Stacy disappeared.

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“I want to tell my story – I want to tell my side,” Peterson said in a prison interview with NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield. Peterson is now seeking a new trial by arguing that Brodsky erred by not allowing him to testify leading to his conviction in Savio’s death.

“A trial can only help me,” Peterson said. “If they find me guilty, I’m no worse than I am.  If they don’t, it may free me.”

Peterson’s claim of ineffective counsel so incensed Brodsky he told WGN Investigates in 2022 that he was considering committing the Cardinal Sin of the legal profession and breaking attorney-client privilege.

“[Peterson] put in his motion – which is absolutely ridiculous – that he didn’t tell me anything incriminating,” Brodsky said in 2022. “That’s a false statement. And I can prove it false. The guy just can’t stop shooting himself in the foot. It’s amazing.”

Previous Coverage: Drew Peterson’s former attorney considers revealing killer cop’s secrets

Brodsky told WGN Investigates in 2022 the information he has from Peterson could solve the disappearance of Stacy and shed more light on what happened to Savio. The Will County judge currently considering Peterson’s request for a new trial immediately issued a gag order blocking Brodsky from revealing what he knows. The judge said it could it could taint a future jury if Peterson gets a new trial. The request for a new trial is still pending.

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“Joel Brodsky likes sensational things to get him more press,” Peterson said from prison. “He wants the publicity to make money and he wants to step on my back to do it.”

When reached for comment, Brodsky pointed to an earlier unsuccessful effort by Peterson to obtain a new trial based in part, on ineffective assistance of counsel claims and claims that some evidence at trial was improperly admitted.

The Illinois Supreme court rejected those claims in 2017.

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