Winston Revives a Cold Case

Winston & Strawn chairman Dan Webb, with the assistance of a team of Winston lawyers, recently concluded the role as Special Prosecutor, in the matter of the death of David Koschman, as former Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley’s nephew, Richard Vanecko, pled guilty to involuntarily manslaughter. 

Webb’s team interviewed 146 witnesses, reviewed 300,000 pages of documents, obtained an indictment of Richard Vanecko for involuntary manslaughter, and wrote a 162-page report containing 852 footnotes detailing the deficiencies by police and prosecutors in their previous handling of the case. On January 31, 2014, Vanecko pled guilty to the charge of involuntary manslaughter, received a split sentence of jail, home confinement and probation and was ordered to pay expenses to Koschman’s mother, to whom he also apologized in open court. 

The Chicago Sun-Times described the conviction as a “stunning” and “remarkable” achievement accomplished by a Winston team with “ferocious talent and tenacity.” 

Learn more about the investigation and the Winston team.
View the press release.
View the Special Prosecutor’s Report.

Contributed by Paula Tsurutani, Internal Communications Specialist