Restaurateur banned from trial for swearing at Drew Peterson
BY JANET LUNDQUIST Sun-Times Media August 23, 2012 11:28PM
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Updated: September 25, 2012 10:59AM
Ohio restaurateur Jeff Ruby was thrown out of the Will County Courthouse on Thursday morning after he mouthed an expletive to Drew Peterson during a break in the trial.
“There’s been something I’ve been meaning to tell him for seven years,” Ruby said, standing with a cigar outside his luxury bus, parked across the street from the courthouse. “So I did this,” he said, mouthing the words “F - - - you.” A Will County sheriff’s spokesman said Ruby is banned from courthouse for the rest of the trial. The confrontation happened after Ruby said Peterson started staring at him during the break. Ruby said he started to stare back. When Peterson wouldn’t break eye contact, Ruby sent his message. Peterson immediately turned to his attorney, Joel Brodsky, and told him what happened. Brodsky asked a bailiff to throw Ruby out. “I denied it. I said, ‘Who are you going to believe, me or Drew Peterson?’ ” Ruby said. “It was the first time in [Peterson’s] life he wasn’t lying. I said it.” Ruby traveled to Joliet for the trial after getting publicity by placing ads in Sun-Times Media newspapers criticizing Peterson’s defense team. He was in the courthouse for the trial all day Tuesday and Wednesday. During his time here, he befriended defense attorneys Joe Lopez and Steve Greenberg. “They’ve stood up and they respect me for what I’ve done. There’s no animosity there,” Ruby said. “I said after they lose this trial, I’ll buy them a steak.” Brodsky, however, is still on the outs with Ruby. “He’s a cartoon,” Ruby said. “This is his 15 minutes of fame.”
