U.S. Judge's Cases Examined After Family Slain

CHICAGO -- Authorities acknowledged speculation Tuesday that hate groups might be involved in the slayings of U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow's husband, Michael Lefkow, 64, and mother, Donna Humphrey, 89, but court observers also pointed out that federal judges often preside over heated, controversial cases.

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Slideshow: Judge Finds Bodies In Home
Web Site: Michael Lefkow's Biography

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Police have not confirmed whether the slayings had anything to do with Lefkow's work, but she has handled controversial cases during her five years on the bench. The so-called church of white supremacist Matthew Hale is gone, but on several extremist Web sites, threats against the judge and her husband remain.

Investigators said they are looking at the possibility of a Hale connection, but no link has been found.

"There is much speculation about possible links between this crime and possible involvement of hate groups," said Jim Malloy, the chief of Chicago police detectives. "This is but one facet of our investigation. We are looking in many, many directions, but it would be far too early to draw any definitive links."

Daniel Salley, who shot a Chicago police officer in 2001, screamed at Lefkow in court, calling her a "devil worshipper."

Salley yelled, "You reap what you have sown, you ungodly, lying (expletive)."

Lefkow has also presided over dozens of gun, gang and drug convictions, including some current cases on her schedule this week. She has been under federal protection in the past.

The judge has ruled as well on big business cases, like last month's $700,000 trademark ruling against Ty Beanie Babies.

Investigators said they will examine all of Lefkow's cases and also pursue other avenues, but for the moment, answers in the whodunit are few.

"The questions you have are the same ones we have, and we are working around the clock to get them answered," said Hiram Grau, a spokesman for the FBI.

There have been reports that a bulletin was issued to federal agents in Chicago in the last two weeks, warning that a racist group was planning to harm law enforcement officials and their families. However, local and federal officials on Tuesday denied that report.

Police are not talking publicly about the apparent motive behind the slayings of Lefkow's family members, but there are some coincidences about the timing, WMAQ-TV reported.

The killings took place on the anniversary of the federal raid on David Koresh's compound in Waco, Texas, and a little more than a month before the sentencing of Hale, the white supremacist who tried to have the judge killed.

It was not for a ruling she made, but her enforcement of a higher court ruling, that Lefkow drew the ire of Hale, who now awaits sentencing for soliciting one of his associates to kill her.

Prosecutors said Hale was furious when Lefkow ordered him to stop using the name World Church of the Creator because it had been trademarked by an Oregon-based religious group that had no ties to Hale's group.

Anthony Evola, a man Hale trusted as his top security officer, secretly taped conversations where they discussed killing the judge.

"What I would be doing or what I would be authorizing would be grounds for disbarment if I had a license, and I just hate to do that, you know," Hale was recorded saying.

In a follow-up e-mail, Evola referenced Lefkow as a "rat" and told Hale that he needed to find out where the rat lived so she could be exterminated.

"I called the exterminator about the rat problem we talked about," the e-mail stated. "This guy is good and does a good, quiet job."

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald handled the case against Hale, which resulted in his prosecution for solicitation to murder.

"When people have hate crimes or hate thoughts ripen into violence -- if they want to solicit someone to kill somebody -- the federal government will take action," Fitzgerald said.

But after Hale's conviction, white supremacist Web sites adopted Hale as a martyr to their cause.

"Judge Lefkow was viewed as a sinister figure in this," said Daniel Elburn, who tracks extremist Web sites for the Midwest branch of the Antidefamation League. "Other extremists have posted things on their Web sites, on their shortwave radio shows -- even some commentators made the statement that even though killing her may be illegal, it is not necessarily immoral."

One Web site writer Tuesday said he didn't feel bad about "the hit."

Other extremist Web sites have even included directions on how to find Lefkow and her family.

"We saw a good amount of Internet chatter regarding Judge Lefkow -- whether she is Jewish, pictures of her posted on the Internet, directions on Mapquest left to her house, to her church, to her husband's workplace," Elburn said.

One extremist Web site story hinted that more people might have been targeted, including Fitzgerald and other prosecutors who worked on the Hale case.

Hale's father said from East Peoria said that there's no way his son could have ordered the slayings from prison, the television station reported. He said Matthew Hale is only allowed two calls a month to his family, and that those calls are monitored closely by the FBI.