Web site for Savio draws skepticism from family

January 4, 2008
By JOE HOSEY Herald News

A fundraising Web site was set up in missing mom Stacy Peterson's name. Then, her husband, Drew Peterson, started one. Now, relatives of Peterson's deceased third wife have created a site to raise money for battered women.

But Kathleen Savio's sister is skeptical of the site and the relatives she says launched it.
"I'm not touching this money. I have nothing to do with it," said the sister, Anna Doman.

Doman said her brother, Henry M. Savio, also was unaware of plans to raise money through kathleenkittysavio.com. Doman thinks her sister, Susie Doman, and her father's son from his third marriage, Nicholas Savio, are behind the Web site.

Nicholas Savio was not well acquainted with Kathleen Savio or her two sons, Kris and Tom, she said. "The first time he saw Kitty's children was at her funeral," Anna Doman said.

The Web site solicits donations, saying, "We would be so thankful, she is crying for help. We would also like to start a fund for battered women in Kathleen Savio's name."

The donations are to be sent to an address in Indiana, care of Nicholas Harold Savio. The site does not specify how the money will assist battered women.

Attempts to contact the administrators through the e-mail addresses provided on the site were unsuccessful.

'Stacy store'

Besides asking for money, the Savio site also solicits information about the woman's death and directs readers to call state police.

Drew Peterson's short-lived Web site, defenddrew.com, asked donors to contribute to his legal defense fund. The site was online for less than a day before its hosting company shut it down because of the massive traffic it generated.

The site set up for Stacy Peterson, findstacypeterson.com, is trying to raise funds to cover the costs of searches for the missing woman. Any money left over will go to the four children - including Savio's sons - she left behind, said Pam Bosco, the spokeswoman for Stacy's family.
But even Bosco, who started to set up the trust with the help of a lawyer, is distancing herself from the Stacy Peterson Web site.

"I know the site was started with good intentions. I believe now it has good intentions. It just needs to be controlled," Bosco said.

"It has a life of its own right now," she said. "There's a 'Stacy store' (on the forum). I have no idea who's doing this."

The proprietor of the "Stacy store" is selling bracelets to raise money, Bosco said.

Not enough info

The state's attorney general's office oversees the Charitable Trust Act. Individuals or organizations soliciting funds for charitable purposes are required to register with the state.

"The attorney general's office doesn't have enough information at this time to know if these individuals or groups are soliciting on behalf of a charitable purpose to know whether or not they should register with our office," said Robyn Ziegler, a spokeswoman for the attorney general.

Sun-Times News Group