‘Broadview Six’ prosecutor pens fiery resignation letter saying US attorney pushed for felony charges

Sheri Mecklenburg wrote a three-page resignation letter to Boutros this week, obtained Friday by the Chicago Tribune. She said Boutros "publicly vilified" her in court over how the case unraveled, even though she claims he told her directly to seek the tougher felony charges rather than misdemeanors.

Mecklenburg also said Boutros' office placed her on leave and shut her out of decisions about how to respond to the growing controversy. That included an announcement that the office would investigate all of her past actions before grand juries, going back 20 years, according to the letter.

For Mecklenburg, the fallout means her entire prosecutorial record is now under review, not just her handling of this one case. For Boutros' office, the letter raises pointed questions about who actually called the shots on the felony charges and whether Mecklenburg became a convenient target once the case started to unravel in public.

A prosecutor's exit letter is now accusing her own boss of the very strategy she got blamed for.