An off-duty Chicago Police officer who crashed into a
disabled car on the Dan Ryan Expressway and killed two men has pleaded
guilty to DUI.Joseph Frugoli, who was 41 at the time of the crash,
entered guilty pleas Thursday to two counts of aggravated DUI, said
Sally Daly, spokeswoman for Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.
He faces up to 28 years in prison.Police said he resigned from his position on Aug. 30.After the plea deal was reached on the DUI charges, a
bench trial in front of Cook County Judge Charles Burns got under way on
charges he left the scene of the accident, Daly said. That trial will
continue Monday.If convicted at the trial, Frugoli faces up to 15 years in prison for each victim, Daly said.Frugoli drove his black Lexus SUV into the back of a
Dodge Intrepid that had broken down on southbound I-90/94 near the 18th
Street ramp in April 2009, authorities said. The detective was walking
away from the crash when he was apprehended.Andrew Cazares, 23, of Summit, and Fausto Manzera, 21, of Chicago were killed in the crash.The 18-year veteran cop was taken to Northwestern
Memorial Hospital, where tests indicated his blood-alcohol level was
about triple the legal limit of 0.08. He had previously been involved in
two other serious wrecks, authorities said.Frugoli, who lived in the Bridgeport neighborhood, had
been charged with two counts each of reckless homicide and aggravated
DUI, and one count of leaving the scene of an accident, according to the
state’s attorney’s office.The lesser charge of reckless homicide was dismissed
Thursday, said Daly, noting the state’s attorney’s office did not pursue
the plea.


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