Ricahard J. Brzeczek (born October 8, 1942) is a former law enforcement official who served as superintendent of the Chicago Police Department from 1980 through 1983.
[2] Later on, in 1983, when Bowie Kuhn would retire as Commissioner of Baseball, Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf would submit Brzeczek's name as a potential replacement.
[2] January 11, 1980, having been appointed by mayor Jane Byrne, Brzeczek became superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.
In 1993, then-superintendent Matt L. Rodriguez praised his tenure, by saying, "At the time he came into the superintendent position, the department was kind of parochial.
[4] In 2006, after a four-year long investigation into allegations of torture conducted by Jon Burge and others in the Chicago Police Department, prosecutors concluded that as superintendent, Brzeczek was guilty of "dereliction of duty" and had acted in bad faith by failing to take action upon suspicions that Burge and other detectives under his command had engaged in mistreatment of prisoners.
[8] Brzeczek claimed the charges were a politically motivated smear campaign related to the fact he ran against Richard M. Daley for state's attorney.
[8] Brzeczek joined the Republican Party, and in 1984 ran as its nominee for Cook County State's Attorney, losing the general election to incumbent Democrat Richard M. Daley by a large margin.
[9] Brzeczek's performance in the election was regarded as disappointing, as he lost to Daley even in many Republican leaning parts of suburban Cook County.