Betty Loren-Maltese Hopes To Clear Her Name, Reunite With Her Daughter

"To this day I maintain my innocence," she said. "How much more can they do? I've lost Ashleigh. I've lost everything I've worked for my whole life. And I continue to question the omission of evidence that could have found me not guilty."

In a lengthy interview at the LongHorn Steakhouse in Oak Lawn, interspersed with laughter and tears, Maltese described life in prison; being shackled and chained; her abrupt return to Chicago; displeasure over her $40 million civil lawsuit filed against just about everybody involved in her federal corruption trial, and a recent meeting with her daughter.

"I never feel free," she told Sneed. "My family is destroyed, I face loneliness, constant stress, starting out at the bottom, the loss of a home and even my wedding ring. There is no peace. And the media hasn't been fair. They don't know me.

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