DANVILLE — An Illinois state
trooper has been charged with bribery and official misconduct for allegedly offering to buy another police
officer dinner in exchange for giving his ex-girlfriend a ticket, according
to a complaint filed Friday in Vermilion County Circuit Court.
Keith Lumsargis, a 13-year
veteran of the state police, was charged with two counts of bribery, a Class 2
felony, and two counts of official misconduct, a Class 3 felony, according to
Vermilion County State's Attorney Randy Brinegar.
His bond was set at $100,000,
and his preliminary hearing is set for June 5 at 2:30 p.m. Lumsargis posted
bond and was released from the Vermilion County jail on Friday.
Brinegar said Lumsargis was
arrested Thursday night in Vermilion County by state police but would not
disclose exactly where or under what circumstances and would not provide any
other details about the case against Lumsargis, 44, who lives in Westville.
According to court documents
filed by Brinegar's office, Lumsargis allegedly promised on May 16 to buy
Tilton Police Officer Ryan Schull a steak dinner in exchange for issuing
Lumsargis' ex-girlfriend, Mary Bailey, a traffic citation, and on May 22,
Lumsargis again offered to buy Schull a dinner when Schull had previously
indicated he had issued the ex-girlfriend a ticket.
A call to state police seeking
comment on the charges was not returned, but the state agency issued a news
release Friday stating that Lumsargis was taken into custody without incident
after an investigation by the Illinois State Police Division of Internal
Investigation. The division received a complaint and acted immediately by
launching an internal investigation into the matter, the news release stated.
Lumsargis was relieved of duty,
pending the outcome of the investigation and court proceedings, according to
state police.
ISP Director Hiram Grau said
through a statement in the news release that abuse of law enforcement authority
will not be tolerated, and no police officer is above the law.
"This officer abused his
authority but is not a reflection of the hard working men and women of this
agency who risk their lives on a daily basis to serve the public and Illinois
communities." Grau said.
