It seemed like Jerry Bratcher had it made. As chief of Police, his salary was $80,000 a year, and he oversaw an 80-man department ranked as one of the best in the country. He had set up lucrative outside consulting businesses analyzing other suburban police departments. And the taxpayers were paying for his drinks, lunches and dinners. No one would question any of it since he had also become a consultant to Micro Aseptic—run by the three village trustees who also ran the police and fire committee. That, together with his strong personal relationship with Mayor Rita Mullins, compromised any real oversight of the Palatine Police Department by the village government. It was all carefully hidden from the taxpayers in a maze of governmental paper buttressed by a village government who fought any citizen attempt to access these financial records.
Jerry Bratcher had created his own Feudal kingdom in Palatine.
Sure, there were a few underlying problems. His consulting and Micro Aseptic sales both depended heavily on the the goodwill of other suburban chiefs. So he had to constantlystroke them while at the same time hiding from them the true nature and extent of his business dealings and how they might affect the other chiefs. While bragging about the academic achievements of his men, he failed to mention he hired five or six chief’s kids — including his own. He also failed to mention he lost $125,000 in an Ponzi scheme which traded commodities.
Bratcher’s kingdom rested on a fragile foundation. He became a prisoner of his own propaganda. He had to constantly exaggerate and puff his own accomplishments and those of his police force to keep his outside business interests rolling. Thus, Bratcher pushed membership in the Northwest Police Academy (NWPA), argued for CALEA accreditation, and promoted the use of the Northern Illinois Police Crime Lab (NIPCL). He couldn’t stop making his sales pitch.
Bratcher also became a prisoner of his own sales pitch.
Bratcher ingratiated himself with his fellow chiefs and promoted his business interests at the same time. The chiefs provided a potential market of more than 100 suburban police forces to which he could offer his consulting services or sell his line of Micro Aseptic products, which could provide everything for a police department from soap to special shoes. Bratcher founded the NWPA, a forum which enhanced the international reputation of the Palatine Force and himself. He later used the academy to branch out into politics endorsing his friend Jack O’Malley. Indeed, Bratcher had employed a full-time PR person for his small-time Police Department. Additionally, the sons of various police chiefs were employed by the Palatine Police Department.
It was working. Eventually, Good Housekeeping magazine would cite the Palatine Police Department as one of the 10 best in the nation. On paper, Bratcher had a superior department. Palatine was not just the normal, under-equipped suburban police force. Many chiefs told us the crime at Brown’s Chicken and Pasta on January 8, 1993 was a terrible tragedy. But “thank God it happened in Palatine.” They knew Bratcher worked with CALEA, which certified suburban police departments, but were unaware that his CALEA connection was at the heart of the Good Housekeeping ranking.
At the time, Micro Aseptic was owned and operated by two of Palatine’s trustees: Jack Wagner and Gregory Solberg.Wagner also chairs the public safety committee of the village board, which oversees the Palatine Police Department.The public safety committee sets salaries, approves budgets and monitors the department’s performance. Chief Bratcher’s department—along with the Lincolnwood PD—appeared in a 17-minute “police training” tape, which was essentially an infomercial for Micro Aseptic products. The tape credits the NWPA for help in production. (Note: In 1994, Bratcher served as a paid consultant for Lincolnwood as they searched for a new chief.) This is an apparent violation of Palatine’s ethics ordinance which prohibits, “use of village equipment, material or property for personal ... profit.”
Interestingly, Micro Aseptic was chosen to clean up the crime scene at Brown’s. Wager maintains that the products were provided at no charge as a public service. Skeptics have suggested that it was done for publicity. http://www.ipsn.org/bga1.htm
