Peterson Heads to Court to Retrieve Guns, Cars

Dec. 15, 2007 — -- Drew Peterson told ABC News in an interview on Saturday that he's confident he can withstand the metastasizing parade of leaks, insinuations and burgeoning suspicion that he had a hand in the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson.

"Everything being said is not true," Peterson said of allegations raised Saturday that he funneled more than a quarter million dollars to his son from several bank accounts, including accounts held jointly between himself and Stacy, after the 23-year-old woman disappeared earlier this year.

The former Chicago-area police officer at the center of an investigation to find his missing wife is duein court today.

Drew Peterson expects to hear from a judge about whether he will get back some guns, two vehicles, computers and other items authorities seized after Stacy Peterson vanished in late October.

Peterson has been increasingly aggressive in recent days in challenging some of the rampant media speculation that authorities are close to filing charges against him.

Numerous sources have confirmed to ABC News and other media outlets that a grand jury in Illinois has been hearing evidence targeting Peterson in the disappearance since at least last week.

Still, Peterson, a veteran former police sergeant, insists he is a cuckolded scapegoat and a convenient solution to a compelling missing mom mystery.

"As more things come up, more things get knocked down,'' Peterson told ABC News. "The whole incidence is losing credibility."

Peterson declined to directly address news reports that he wrote his son a series of checks totaling more than $250,000 after Stacy's disappearance, but said that "the truth about them will come out."

Peterson has repeatedly and vehemently denied accusations that he was involved in the disappearance of Stacy Peterson. However, an Illinois grand jury has been reviewing evidence to that end throughout the past week. Authorities are also aggressively re-examining the death of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio.

The allegations that he was "funneling'' assets to his son in anticipation of his arrest were first reported by a local news station in Illinois, though rumors to that effect have been percolating in Midwest media circles for at least a week. Asked on Saturday during a telephone interview if he was worried about the new report, Peterson told ABC News, "I'm always concerned."

A report published on MyFoxChicago.com Saturday morning reported that prosecutors have subpoenaed bank records showing that Peterson, 53, transferred almost $250,000 from private bank accounts, some shared with his wife, to his son Steve Peterson, an Illinois police officer.

While he denied the Fox report, which strongly insinuated that the alleged transfer of money was nefarious, Peterson seemed to indicate in an interview with ABC News last week that he had taken steps to protect his children's future. "The kids are taken care of,'' Peterson told ABC News Law and Justice senior correspondent Jim Avila. If I'm hit by a bus or arrested, I have arranged care of the children -- set up trusts and who will care for them."

Stacy Peterson, 23, disappeared from her home in Bolingbrook, Ill., nearly two months ago. Suspicion has since mounted that Drew Peterson, 53, Stacy's husband and a former sergeant in the Bolingbrook Police Department, may have been involved.

Authorities have named Peterson a suspect in Stacy's disappearance but have not charged him with any crime. Peterson himself insists his wife is alive and says she told him she was leaving him for another man.

Sharon Bychowski, a neighbor to the Petersons and a close friend of Stacy's, told ABC News today she had not heard reports of Drew's financial transactions and was reluctant to comment.

"But," she told ABC News, "if he's transferring a whole bunch of money of the account, I think he's gonna have issues."

Since her disappearance, Stacy's friends and family have scoured the Bolingbrook area looking for signs of the missing mother-of-two. Police divers have searched a nearby pond and canals, but no trace has been found.

Pamela Bosco, a spokeswoman for Stacy Peterson's family, told reporters last week that the coming holidays have made Stacy's absence especially painful.

"The season's coming close and it's very difficult," Bosco said. "We'd like to have answers before the holidays. That's just what we pray for."

Drew Peterson, meanwhile, would not comment on whether he missed his wife as the holidays were approaching, but told ABC News he had decorated his home.

"It's special touches around here," Peterson told ABC News. "It's a very personal thing. ... I don't really want to talk about it."

The Associated Press contributed to this report