Berwyn Police Officer Thomas Skryd insisted he was well-qualified for promotion to sergeant: Just look at his test scores and master's degree in criminal justice, with an emphasis in "crimes of the powerful."
But when the city refused to consider the diploma, awarded by a university that approves advanced degrees overnight, Skryd fired back with a lawsuit.
The case, eventually dismissed, is another example tying the suburb's police department with recently uncovered diploma scandals.
Last month the Tribune reported that the names of five other current or former Berwyn police officers turned up on a federal list of 9,600 suspected buyers of degrees from phony schools as part of a Washington state criminal diploma scheme. Skryd is not on the list.
Through city records, the Tribune has since learned that a now-retired Berwyn Fire Department employee claimed a master of science degree in fire-safety management awarded from a university that state and federal officials don't recognize.
Police Chief William Kushner said his department has launched an investigation into whether the police officers and the Fire Department official used bogus academic credentials illegally to gain undeserved promotions and pay raises. Kushner said he also talked to the public integrity section of the Cook County state's attorney's office about possible charges.
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