A retired “hero” – James Povolo – has been arrested for arson after he burned the tent and personal belongings of an area homeless man. Povolo is a retired Chicago Hero who, like a slew of other violent “hero” cops that have been exposed as criminals, was a former award winning “hero” – the recipient of his department’s “Medal of Valor,” which is awarded for acts of “heroism, personal courage, and devotion to duty.”
Via the Chicago Tribune:
In the Naperville case, Povolo was arrested less than two weeks after the alleged arson. Prosecutors said he approached Huber’s tent at a time he knew Huber would not be there and set fire to it, reportedly with a cigarette. Police have offered no motive for Povolo’s alleged action and have not disclosed what information prompted them to arrest Povolo.
(Scott) Huber, 66, lost his two-tent encampment and most of his possessions in the blaze. At the time, he said he was most distressed about the destruction of numerous computer discs on which he had stored what he said was the history of his political struggles with Naperville officials, police and local judges.
He has battled Naperville authorities for about 20 years, ever since losing his electronics business and being evicted from his home. He is protesting what he says has been unfair and illegal treatment by authorities.
Povolo’s next court hearing is March 1. The terms of his bond were modified last month so he could travel from his Naperville home in the 1300 block of Dartford Court to his Key Colony Beach home in Florida, where he is a legal resident and where he winters from fall to spring, according to court records. Under the original terms, he could not leave the state without permission from Judge Liam C. Brennan, who is presiding over his trial.
“Defendant (Povolo), because of injuries sustained while employed ‘on the job’ as a police officer for the City of Chicago, has artificial knees, and does not well tolerate cold weather,” Povolo’s attorney Charles Dobra wrote in his petition.
Takes a lot of balls to complain about your bad knees in the cold of the Chicago area, when you burn down the tent of a homeless man. I bet he will allowed to go to his second home in Florida, it will be his blue discount.
The story about the homeless man, Scott Huber is interesting in itself. The fire only a chapter of a long time standoff between the town and Huber. It’s hard to tell what they real story is, if Huber has a real beef or has mental problems like many homeless people. If you don’t know about Naperville, its a very upscale place where open homelessness is rare.
It’s also a place you wouldn’t think a retired Chicago cop would be living either. That makes me wonder if Povolo was living there before retirement, though it would be an inconvenient commute. Which would also be against the rules of employment of the CPD. Its widely ignored of course, as a large portion of the area inside city limits is unlivable or far too expensive on a cop salary. Not that it has stopped this cop from having a second home down south.
Naperville is as or more expensive than many areas of the city and a place a Chicago cop would go at retirement if he wanted to stay in the area.
Also in 1972 most of the city was cheap. It didn’t start getting expensive until the mid 1990s in the better areas.