Co-defendant in 1998 murder case takes plea deal

• Charles Mlados%2C 55%2C sentenced to 42 months in prison%2C plus one year jail%2C to run simultaneously
• Conviction for 1998 crime subjects him to sentencing rules of that time period
• That and time already serve makes him eligible for parole now and free after no more than a year

Charles Mlados, charged with being party to the first-degree murder of Chad McLean in 1998, will spend a year or less in prison for his role in the Green Bay teen's death.

Mlados, 55, of Oconto Falls, accepted a plea deal Monday afternoon in Oconto County Court and was convicted of being party to first-degree reckless endangerment and one count of perjury. He had been scheduled for trial this week on two counts of perjury and one count of first-degree intentional homicide.

Mlados entered Alford pleas to the two charges, meaning that he maintains his innocence but acknowledges a jury could see it differently.

"I did not do this crime," Mlados told Oconto County Circuit Judge Peter Diltz. "I just figure there's no way I'm going to get a fair trial."

Diltz imposed the sentences recommended by both lawyers in the plea agreement, which was 42 months in prison for the reckless endangerment case and one year in jail for the perjury charge, with the terms to run simultaneously.

The reckless endangerment conviction carries 1998-era penalties, and that was a time that preceded truth in sentencing laws, Diltz told him. That means Mlados is eligible for parole after serving 25 percent of the sentence and reaches his mandatory release date after serving two-thirds of his term. Coupled with the fact that he already spent 15 months in jail awaiting disposition of this case, he enters prison already eligible for parole and within about a year of his mandatory release.

Both Mlados and special prosecutor Vince Biskupic said the alternative would have been to risk the outcome of a jury trial.

Mlados told members of McLean's family that he was sorry they lost Chad but that he had nothing to do with that loss. He said the only mistake he made was in remaining loyal to his co-defendant, Peter Hanson, 54, who is serving a life sentence, without chance for parole, for McLean's murder. Mlados said they have been friends since childhood, and he took Hanson at his word that Hanson didn't commit the crime.

McLean had last been seen riding with the two suspects on the night of Feb. 22, 1998, after several hours of drinking and visiting at the home of Hanson's next-door-neighbor. Mlados said he last saw McLean when they dropped him off at a gas station.

A month after McLean's disappearance, his body was found in the Pensaukee River in Abrams, near where Hanson lived at the time.

Mlados also was convicted of perjury, for lying while under oath at an investigatory hearing into the case on Nov. 2, 2012, in Oconto County. According to the criminal complaint, he lied about whether he ever shot a gun on Hanson's property.

The second count of perjury was dismissed as part of the plea deal. That charge, also involving sworn testimony at an investigatory hearing, involved a denial by Mlados that he was in a truck with McLean on the night of McLean's disappearance.

Mlados' lawyer, George Pappas Jr., said Mlados will have to appear before the Department of Corrections parole board to find out whether he will be freed. If he is denied parole, he will hit his mandatory release date in about a year. He would still be on probation for three years.

— psrubas@pressgazette.media and follow him on Twitter @PGpaulsrubas.