Hastert indictment has hometown looking backSFlb

Associated Press

YORKVILLE, ILL.

Before he was U.S. House speaker and second in line to the president, Dennis Hastert was known around Yorkville, Ill., as Denny the coach, a beloved mentor to youths on the high-school wrestling team and in local Scouting groups who organized road trips to broaden the students’ experiences.

Last week’s indictment accusing Hastert of manipulating bank accounts and lying to the FBI to purportedly cover up past “misconduct” has left hometown admirers searching back through fond memories and struggling to understand how purported sexual abuse and extortion could have emerged from that period.

Many ex-wrestlers and Yorkville-area residents who spoke to The Associated Press since the indictment Thursday spoke only warmly of Hastert. They couldn’t recall anything suspicious about the road trips, and none had a clue about who could have made such accusations against the coach.

“Now everybody is guessing who it is,” said Bob Evans, Hastert’s assistant wrestling coach. “This puts a cloud over what was a pretty special time for people.”

Evans said there was never a hint of wrongdoing and that he was angry that someone would accuse Hastert without coming forward publicly.