A press release from the McHenry County State’s Attorney:
CURT REHBERG SENTENCED TO NINE YEARS IN THE ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS FOR THE OFFENSES OF THEFT
Louis A. Bianchi, McHenry County State’s Attorney, announces that Curt Rehberg, 50, of Cary, was sentenced to nine years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for the offenses of Theft.
Curt Rehberg
Rehberg pled guilty to three counts of Theft (Class 1 Felony) with one count being non-probationable.
Rehberg was an attorney in Crystal Lake who represented several estates and trusts.
Part of Rehberg’s representation of those clients was to disburse money to the beneficiaries of those estates and trusts.
One of the counts that Rehberg was sentenced to related to an amount of money more than $500,000, intended for donation to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
The total amount stolen from the victims was $1,229,744.36.
This case was investigated by the Crystal Lake Police Department.
This case was prosecuted by Robert Zalud and Andrew Mueller of the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office.
How can anyone take money away from a Children’s hospital.
He looks like he just got up.
This guy should be in jail.
Good investigations and good prosecution
He should be punished, but 9 years????
What a joke.
He is a threat to nobody.
He got caught up in behavior that thousands of foolish people do in this culture that idolizes materialism.
9 years …… costing the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of dollars per year for absolutely no reason other than for law enforcement to feel good about themselves.
If I were king, I’d have him work off his debt and have him pay his victims back with labor….that would cost the taxpayer NOTHING.
Since he is a lawyer, and took an oath to obey the law, 9 years is appropriate, maybe even a little light.
Your estimate of what it costs to keep someone in the Illinois Department of Corrections is way, way high.
He got 9 years but will do 4 1/2 years and if it took 1 year to take this to trail then that is 1 year off the sentence so he most likely will do only 3 1/2 years.
If it was settled right away then he will do only the 4 1/2 years.
Plus he plead guilty.
What costs is that it takes forever to get things to trial because of court backups and continuances.
So we pay for these guys in jail while they are waiting and when they get sentenced.
This happens everywhere, it is the court system that has to change.
According to the Vera Institute of Justice (www.vera.org) the average cost of incarceration in 2010 for a prisoner in the Illinois Department of Corrections was $38,268/annually.
So if he spends only 4.5 years in DOC that’s $172,206.
The article says one charge is non probational (which is either irrelevant since he was sentenced to prison vs. probation – or it means that perhaps no mandatory supervised release which at worst means he’ll do a solid 4.5 years, at best something more).
Do the math and consider that the figures provided by IL DOC for the study were probably bulls**t and who knows what it costs other than too much.
Rehberg asked that his bond be revoked in the summer so he’s only knocked maybe ten months off of his sentence with credit for time served and day for day credit.
9½ years is not enough.
$38,268 annually for each inmate!
That is outrageous considering that many people are living on much less income and supporting families.
What are these, lavishness prisons?
Why do I feel like such an idiot right now?
Eric?
We can live on less because we don’t have personal staff.
Haven’t you noticed?
It’s always more expensive if the government gets involved.
How lofty we all become when someone commits a crime that we have no connection to.
How morally upright we all stand as though we have never done anyone wrong.
How quickly we forget our own transgressions.
What this man did was wrong and he knows it.
He admits it freely.
He is going to pay for his mistakes with his freedom, his livelihood and the suffering that his family will now endure.
And yet … people call for more blood.
Look internally and think about this man’s children and family before you pursue your proverbial bloodlust.
He will suffer — THEY will suffer, never fear.
I don’t know one person on this Earth who has NEVER done another wrong.
Do you consider yourselves to be such people that you now lay down your judgement on someone else?
Spend your time looking to those who don’t admit their guilt and continue to inflict pain on others.
Spend your time trying to help them to see their wrong doing.
This is over – the transgressions are done and the price will be paid.
What a shame.
Curt was a nice guy.
Anyone know what he stole the money for?
Gambling?
Drugs?
….. and Curt was one of the more honest lawyers in the County!
There are several hack judges on the bench in this ultra-corrupt county.
But alas, the tanking economy in sinking Illinois doesn’t provide the graft opportunities of the past.
I believe Curt declined a judgeship 8 yrs ago because he could take more loot as an atty than a judge …. and that’s quite a switcheroo for Al Jourdan’s judicial lackeys …… http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2011/08/secret-deals-damage-illinois-gop.html
Rawdogger I must know you from somewhere.
I too used Curt as a lawyer and thought very highly of him.
A few bad investments, too many people to take care of, not billing the way most lawyers do and the whole thing snow balling.
Really a shame for everyone involved.
I was stunned to learn that malpractice insurance is not required in IL for attorneys anyway
I had used Curt as an attorney for many years and knew him to be a brilliant straight shooter and a stand up guy!
I’ve been out of state for awhile and was unaware of his circumstances. Whatever had caused him to collapse under the pressures of loosing business income to such a great degree could happen to anyone if it happened to him.
McHenry County and their continued abusive taxes, “homer” nepotism has caused many many businesses to close up shop and head for greener pastures. No one I know would start a new business enterprise and perpetuate job creation in Illinois, particularly in McHenry County. During the brutal real estate depression & plummeting property valuations, that begun in 2007 and continues today, to a bit lesser degree, McHenry County unabashedly kept raising real estate taxes. That most likely lead to the collapse of Curt’s business as well.
I’m not justifying his actions and he has taken full responsibility for those deplorable crimes,….but if that can happen Curt, then anyone can break! All the best to his family as they are innocent victims as well.
Curt would have kept embezzling and embezzling if he never got caught but thank goodness he finally did before the cost would have be up in the millions and millions….
absolutely no integrity or character whatsoever….