Feb. 27--As a pregnant Chicago woman faces a possible firing squad execution in Bali if convicted of killing her mother, a Cook County judge overseeing the daughter's $1.56 million trust fund is being urged to set tighter controls amid concerns of alleged corruption in the Indonesian legal system.
In a motion filed Thursday, lawyers for the slain woman's brother said they have "significant concerns" that trust money released to Heather Mack's Indonesian counsel will not be used for a legitimate defense due to "the significant risk of bribery and the rampant corruption" in the country.
They asked Judge Neil Cohen to allow for an independent Indonesian attorney with ties to Chicago to monitor the ongoing proceedings, review legal bills, and ensure "no funds authorized by this court are used for bribery or other illegal purposes," according to the filing.
Mack, 19, and her boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, 21, of Oak Park, are facing premeditated murder charges.
Months before her death last summer on the paradise island, Sheila von Wiese-Mack named her only child sole beneficiary. Von Wiese-Mack tapped her brother, William, as trustee until her daughter's 30th birthday.
Lawyers for William Wiese, a Colorado attorney, are due back in Cohen's Chicago courtroom Friday. In urging the need for an overseas monitor, they submitted an affidavit from Jeffrey Winters, a political science professor at Northwestern University with an extensive background as an expert on the Indonesian legal and political system.
"The corruption of the legal system is rampant at all levels -- from the local to the national, and from minor cases to major ones drawing national and international attention," Winters' affidavit states. "Networks and practices of corruption within Indonesia's legal system dubbed the 'Judicial Mafia,' are widely covered in the domestic and foreign media."
Winters suggested the need for local Indonesian oversight and listed "red flags," such as unusually high legal fees or unusual contact between defense counsel and judges or prosecutors, as evidence of possible irregularities in the legal process. He did not give an opinion as to whether that was happening in Mack's criminal proceedings, but instead suggested an independent, overseas monitor of the trust funds be appointed.
Last month, Cohen allowed for the release of up to $150,000 from Mack's trust fund to her Indonesian criminal defense attorney. So far, only $50,000 has been doled out. Cohen said the final two payments would not be distributed to Mack's counsel until he provides itemized billing statements to explain what legal services were provided. Attorneys said they are reviewing the latest itemized bills.
Cohen also has cautioned that the money can't be used for Schaefer's defense. In Thursday's filing, attorneys for William Wiese said closer monitoring also is needed because the Indonesian attorneys representing Mack and Schaefer "have a history of working together on cases."
On Friday, Cohen also is expected to rule whether Heather Mack's trust attorney will remain on the case. Citing a breakdown in communication with Mack, Anthony Scifo had asked to withdraw. He later said the two are now speaking almost daily to improve their relationship.
Lawyers for William Wiese are challenging Scifo's legal fees, which are $45,000 so far and another $50,000 if he remains involved.
On Aug. 12, the body of von Wiese-Mack, 62, was found in a suitcase outside the luxury Bali resort where the mother and daughter had been vacationing. Schaefer arrived in Bali separately, authorities said.
In the indictment, prosecutors allege the young couple plotted the slaying because Mack's mother did not support their relationship. Prosecutors also allege Mack asked Schaefer before they arrived on Bali to hire someone to kill her mother for $50,000.
According to the indictment, Mack's mother and Schaefer argued over the hotel bill and she scolded Schaefer, using a racial slur, which prompted him to beat her with a fruit bowl handle.
The trial began last month. A three-judge panel will decide the couple's fate in separate proceedings that are ongoing at Denpasar District Court in the provincial capital of Bali. Mack is due to deliver the couple's daughter in April.
cmgutowski@tribpub.com
@christygutowsk1
