Crime & Safety

Ex-Cop Steals From Police Charity, and More Major Crimes From 2012

Also, a "thrill-seeker" stole a car at gunpoint, a woman fired shots at a police officer and more Woodridge crimes from our year in review.

We run the police blotter every week in Woodridge, but some items are so outrageous that they deserve extra attention. Here are some of the wildest crimes that occurred in Woodridge during 2012.

(Other crimes were highlighted in separate Year in Review articles. See the 2012 Year in Review section for more articles.)

Woodridge Ex-Cop Pleads Guilty to Stealing from Police Charity

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A Woodridge ex-cop charged with stealing $30,000 from fundraisers for families of police officers killed in the line of duty has plead guilty. 

Scott Webb, 40, of Romeoville, pleaded guilty to theft in April 2012. Officials said that in 2009 and 2010, the Illinois chapter Concerns of Police Survivors did not receive donations following two bar crawls Webb organized, called "Crawlin' for the Fallen."

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C.O.P.S. hosts support meetings and organizes retreats and camps for kids, teens and spouses of those who have died. Grand jury records indicated two large deposits were made to Webb's personal bank account following the 2009 and 2010 events.

Officials: Nuclear Engineer Who Stole Car at Gunpoint was "Thrill Seeking"

A masked man who stole a car at gunpoint in the parking lot outside Kohl's in May told authorities he was only "thrill seeking." 

Michael Buhrman, 31, of Coal City, was been charged with aggravated car jacking with a firearm. Buhrman allegedly pointed a handgun at a woman seated inside a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am while wearing a Halloween mask, according to a Woodridge police release. He ordered her out of the car at gunpoint, got in the car and drove away, police said.

Woman Charged With Attempted Murder for Firing at Police Officers

Heidi Till, 45, of Westmont, was charged with attempted murder after allegedly firing gun shots at police officers in June. Police were responding to calls that Till had a gun and was planning to shoot herself. 

$1M Bond Set for Woman Charged with Starting Woodridge Apartment Fire

A Rosemont woman was charged with aggravated arson after authorities said she set a fire in the hallway of the Windsor Lakes apartment complex in February. 

Maria Bustamante, 29, faces one count of aggravated arson, a felony punishable by up to 30 years in jail. Bustamante appeared in bond court Thursday. Officials said Bustamante entered the apartment building in the 7300 block of Woodward Avenue around 3 a.m. and started a fire in a hallway just outside the door to one of its units. 


Mary Marra, 44, of Woodridge, was sentenced in September to 10 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for stealing more than $500,000 from a Downers Grove law firm where she was once employed.

Starting in December, 2003, Marra began embezzling money from the law firm through a number of different schemes she was able to keep hidden from her employer for more than four years. In all, Marra stole a total of $516,226.24.

The method of Marra’s thefts included writing herself unauthorized checks from bank accounts controlled by the law firm and forging her employer’s signature on other checks written out to her. In addition, Marra also wrote herself checks from the estate of one of the law firm’s clients.


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