COOK COUNTY, Ill. — Two former Cook County prosecutors face a combined 14-count indictment following a year-and-a-half investigation by a special prosecutor.

Lawrence Oliver II was appointed to the position in July 2021 after a county prosecutor admitted to having a relationship with a key witness in a case. The now former assistant state’s attorney Nick Trutenko, faces charges including perjury, obstruction of justice, violations of the local records act, and official misconduct, while another former assistant state’s attorney, Andrew Horvet, faces charges of official misconduct.

SEE ALSO: Jussie Smollett appeals jail sentence, claims double jeopardy rights violated

Alfredo Maldonado, the judge who ordered the special prosecutor, originally said in 2021 that there’s sufficient evidence that Trutenko committed perjury and others in the state’s attorney’s office may have covered for him.

This all stems from Trutenko allegedly lying about his relationship with a key witness against Jackie Wilson, who was on trial for the 1982 murders of two Chicago police officers.

It was amid a 2020 trial that Trutenko revealed his longstanding relationship with William Coleman, a key witness against Wilson.

At the time, Horvat was assigned to represent Trutenko, who was serving as a witness.   

Horvat allegedly warned a special prosecutor not to ask Trutenko about his relationship with Coleman.

“There are two travesties here. You have Jackie Wilson who is tried three times: 1983, 1989 and 2020. He never received a fair trial in any of those trials,” Oliver said. “Equally tragic is that taxpayers of Cook County never received a fair and clean prosecution of the Wilson brothers.”

Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office responded to a message seeking comment, stating:

“Nick Trutenko was immediately fired as an Assistant State’s Attorney based on his witness testimony in the prosecution of Jackie Wilson. Mr. Trutenko’s actions dated back to his previous tenure in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office (CCSAO) in the 1980s, and his subsequent testimony in the retrial of Mr. Wilson in 2020. Andrew Horvat was also subsequently fired in 2021. The CCSAO has reviewed all other cases where Mr. Trutenko has served as a notifier or documented witness statements and has found no other incidents of misconduct.”

Oliver says the next step is an arraignment, which will probably take place in the next few weeks.

This was the second special prosecutor appointed to investigate Kim Foxx’s office in about two years. The last one found abuses of discretion in the Jussie Smollett case.

Watch the full announcement in the video player below: