Former Joliet police officer indicted on federal drug trafficking charges

HOMER GLEN, Ill. — A former Joliet police officer accused of distributing cocaine and attempting to distribute fentanyl in the Chicago area in 2021 has been indicted on federal charges.

William Busse III, a Homer Glen resident and former officer with the Joliet Police Department, has been charged with three counts of distribution of controlled substances and three counts of attempted distribution of controlled substances, according to Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

Prosecutors said Busse allegedly distributed cocaine and methamphetamine in Chicago in 2021 and also attempted to distribute cocaine and fentanyl in the Chicago suburbs during that same year.

Joliet police confirmed that Busse served as a patrol officer from 2013 to 2021, but did not provide details on why he left the force in 2021.

Authorities did not provide an updated mugshot for Busse.

The charges were handed down thanks in part to the Chicago High Intensity Drug Trafficking Task Force, a group made up of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies that work together to to identify and dismantle drug trafficking operations.

Pasqual said if convicted, Busse could face up to 20 years in federal prison for each of the six counts in the indictment.

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