Former metro-east cop pleads guilty to stealing from union fund

A former Alton police officer has pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $58,000 from the department’s union fund for officers, Attorney General Kwame Raoul said Wednesday.

Jeremiah T. Dressler, 42, of Brighton, Illinois, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of felony theft, one count of felony theft by deception and three counts of felony wire fraud, according to a news release from Raoul.

Madison County Circuit Judge Amy Maher in May ordered that Dressler pay full restitution of the nearly $58,000 stolen from the Alton Police Department Benevolent and Protective Association when he was employed as an officer and served as treasurer of the union fund, according to court records and information from Raoul.

The sentencing date for Dressler has not been set.

Dressler is being represented by defense attorney John D. Stobbs II, who declined to comment on the case Wednesday.

Dressler was charged in July 2024 and was accused of using the union fund “for his own personal use,” the news release states.

“Members of law enforcement should rightfully be held to a higher standard and expected to follow the laws they enforce,” Raoul said.

The Illinois State Police Special Investigations Unit conducted the investigation.

Senior Assistant Attorneys General Haley C. Bookhout and Steven R. Sallerson are prosecuting the case.

This story was originally published December 10, 2025 at 11:25 AM.