Before the rampage: 'Cookie' Thornton spent years fighting losing

St. Louis Daily Record & St. Louis Countian, Feb 11, 2008 by Will Connaghan

Not all of Thornton's troubles were with the city of Kirkwood. Court records show that he was a defendant in dozens of suits, mostly concerning his construction business.

Attorney Christopher Geldmacher represented the plaintiff in a 2006 case against Thornton.

"I represented an individual that loaned him money to get his construction business going." Geldmacher said. "We got a judgment against Mr. Thornton and then started trying to collect against that judgment. In the process, at one point I seized his construction equipment and vehicles. I seized about five cars that were in his name. I garnished a bank account that he had."

According to St. Louis County Circuit Court records the judgment was for $157,126.

Geldmacher said he was taken aback when he heard the news of the Kirkwood City Hall tragedy.

"I knew he had an issue with the city of Kirkwood," Geldmacher said. "He was always pleasant, always friendly to deal with."

Geldmacher said Thornton even asked his advice on his problems with the city.

"We once sat down in my office, and we spent about 15 minutes talking about the problems he had with the city of Kirkwood," he said. "I said, 'Geez, it seems like you're wasting your time.' "

According to Geldmacher, Thornton said once he won his case with Kirkwood, he would be able to pay his client back.

"I took his deposition in my office, and he basically admitted to everything that I needed to get a summary judgment. That just was his nature. He was nice. He told the truth," Geldmacher said.

When Thornton lost in court, "he wasn't angry. He shook my hand on the way out. I never got the impression that he posed any threat," he said.

Attorney Chet Pleban once served as the city attorney for the city Frontenac, and he recalled problems with a resident.

"We had a situation there were we had an individual who had a multiplicity of disagreements with the city government, to the extent that we had to install bulletproof glass to protect the employees who were concerned about their safety," Pleban said.

The resident, John Alexander, later murdered his wife and a babysitter, Pleban said.

"The lesson is that you have to assume in city government that every single individual that attends a council meeting is dangerous or certainly capable of being violent," he said.

Staff reporter Donna Walter contributed to this article.