Brothers' Fight Over Autographed Baseballs Leads To Lawsuit

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Some autographed baseballs are the subject of fierce infighting among the sons of a deceased White Sox investor.

A lawsuit filed this week now accuses one brother of using an off-duty suburban police commander to try to get the disputed memorabilia, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.

Brad Pogofsky claims his brother and his brother's acquaintances -- including Highland Park police Cmdr. William Tellone -- are harassing him at his downtown condominium over autographed White Sox baseballs.

The balls were left to him by his father, former White Sox Board of Directors member Larry A. Pogofsky, according to a suit filed in Cook County Circuit Court.

Larry Pogofsky died in December 2010, but his will was not filed until February 2011, the suit says. Before he died, Larry Pogofsky repeatedly told his son Brad that he was to receive his collection of hundreds of autographed baseballs, the suit claims.

Several months after Larry Pogofsky's death, Brad Pogofsky removed "a few" of the autographed baseballs based on his father's repeated assurances, according to the suit. During this time, other children set aside and removed items of family memorabilia from the home.

The suit claims Brad Pogofsky alerted his mother that his brother, Benjamin Pogofsky, was named as a defendant in a financial industry claim alleging misconduct. The brother then orchestrated a series of threatening telephone calls and text messages from off-duty police officers and "physically imposing body builders," the complaint alleges.

Brad Pogofsky claims Tellone called three times May 13 demanding the autographed baseballs be brought to the Highland Park Police Department.

The suit alleges Tellone admitted he was off-duty and acting to help collect the baseballs for Benjamin Pogofsky.

Tellone has not returned a call for comment.

Benjamin Pogofsky and others, including a bodybuilder, are accused of leaving threatening voice mails and sending threatening text messages regarding the autographed baseballs.

The suit asks a judge to order the harassing telephone calls to stop, and for Benjamin Pogofsky and Tellone to pay for legal costs.

The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.