Court records reveal alleged back-pay murder plot against Crestwood trucking CEO

CRESTWOOD, Ill. (WLS) -- Recently filed court records are offering potential clues of a motive behind why a beloved Crestwood trucking company CEO was murdered earlier this month by one of his employees.

Dane Koteski, 46, was murdered on March 5 at the offices of his trucking company ATG Truckload in Crestwood, Ill.

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Prosecutors announced on Sunday that they were charging one of Koteski's long-term employees, Josif Suclea, 53, with first-degree murder after gathering evidence and conducting employee interviews.

Court records lay out an alleged back-pay murder plot against Koteski.

Cook County EMS firefighters were called out to the ATG Truckload offices on South Kostner Avenue shortly after 4 p.m. on March 5 to reports of a fire in the building.

Firefighters said they put out a small fire, a three-ring binder that was burning, and then they discovered the body of Koteski "lying face down in a pool of blood."

The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office would later determine Koteski's throat had been slashed.

But Cook County court records show investigators quickly zeroed in on employee Suclea as a prime suspect.

In the days following the murder, Crestwood Police Chief Kevin Sisk said, "It was later that night, actually the next day about 5:15 a.m., the suspect was taken into custody about 2.5 hours away in Holland, Michigan."

Now, we are learning who that suspect is, and what happened on the day Koteski was killed.

According to charging documents, Suclea was a long-term employee, and Koteski had recently told Suclea that ATG Truckload "was going bankrupt."

Even though Koteski "owed a substantial amount of money to Suclea," Koteski "was unable to pay him."

ATG Truckload has not formally filed for bankruptcy, according to federal court records.

Court records spell out Suclea's every move, and CEO Koteski's last moments alive.

Security camera footage and Suclea's cell phone data shows Suclea followed Koteski into an office on March 5 around 2:37 p.m.

Investigators say Koteski can be seen in the footage taking a phone call, and then stepping into another room, out of sight of the camera. Then, Suclea is seen in the security footage following Koteski.

Then, prosecutors allege there was a "brief struggle and then crying is heard from the room."

The victim, Koteski, can be heard asking "'Why?' and the offender [Suclea] responding with, 'I had to.'"

Investigators would later track down the person that Koteski was on the phone with when they allege Suclea attacked. That person said they could hear "scuffling and muffling and then the victim's phone went dead."

Court records say that phone was later found "in a trash bin in the ATG [Truckload] office" with "a bloody fingerprint."

Investigators say Suclea then fled the company in a branded ATG freightliner equipped with GPS tracking, and they tracked it to Holland, Michigan, where he was arrested and "in possession of a large folding knife."

Luminol tests would find "blood on the steering wheel" and floorboards of the truck, according to court records.

Suclea is now being held behind bars, without bail, in Cook County, where he is battling cancer, according to a filing from the judge in this case.

Suclea has a court status hearing scheduled for Tuesday, March 18.

Family and friends say Koteski is a well-respected member of the Serbian community who leaves behind a 13-year-old son.