Justice Department dismisses Sueppel case

By Lee Hermiston

Iowa City Press-Citizen

The indictment and money laundering case against Steven Sueppel will be dismissed, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

The case was expected to be dismissed, but the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa office, who was to prosecute Sueppel, had to receive official notification of his death.

Police said Sueppel, former vice president at Hills Bank & Trust, killed himself on March 23 after killing his wife, Sheryl Sueppel, and their four children at their home. According to police, Sueppel rammed his Toyota minivan into a concrete structure at a high rate of speed and died in a fiery crash.

According to messages Sueppel left behind, he beat his wife to death and then tried to kill himself and his children via carbon monoxide poisoning by running the family's Toyota Sienna minivan in the garage of their Iowa City home at 629 Barrington Road. When that failed, police said Sueppel took the children back into the home and beat them to death.

Afterward, police said Sueppel tried to drown himself in the Iowa River in Lower City Park but failed.

In February, Sueppel, 42, was indicted for embezzling $559,040 from his former employer over a seven-year period. He also allegedly laundered $13,500 from Aug. 23, 2007, to Sept. 17, 2007. Sueppel was facing up to 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine and five years probation for the embezzlement charge. He was facing 20 years in prison, a $500,000 fine and three years probation for each of the six counts of money laundering.

Mike Bladel, law enforcement coordinator for the Southern District Attorney's office, said a civil lawsuit involving Sueppel's estate still is possible.