A man targeted by the mayor of Melrose Park in a tirade laden with obscenities and an anti-Black racial slur at a Melrose Park Village Board meeting has now filed suit, claiming he and his elderly parents have been the target of an ongoing campaign of harassment by Mayor Ron Serpico and others in Melrose Park’s village government that has led to them being issued $26,000 worth of “bogus” municipal ordinance tickets
On Feb. 22, Michael Cozzi, along with his parents, Vincent and Angeline Cozzi, filed suit in Chicago federal court against Serpico and the village of Melrose Park, accusing them of violating their constitutional rights by selectively enforcing village municipal code and parking rules against them, harassing and intimidating them.
The complaint asserts the alleged campaign was instigated at the behest of Mayor Serpico in retaliation for the Cozzis’ alleged refusal to agree to take down a “flag, political sign, and religious decorations,” in a dispute that allegedly began with the Cozzis’ refusal to remove plastic lawn chairs from their front yard.
The conflict burst into public view on Feb. 4, when Serpico verbally lashed out at Michael Cozzi at a Melrose Park Village Board meeting, shouting at him and repeatedly cursing, saying he was a “fucking shine” – a racial slur historically used against Black people - and he and his parents lived “like a fucking hillbilly.”
The tirade was captured on video and posted online, where it quickly went viral, and was picked up by multiple news sources.
Serpico has been mayor of Melrose Park for 20 years, and has ties to powerful and influential people elsewhere in Illinois government, including new Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch and elements of the political machine of former House Speaker Michael Madigan.
According to a bio posted on Melrose Park's website, Serpico "believes Melrose Park retains those old-world principles and values that are lost in the newer suburban areas. In Melrose Park, mothers still look out their windows to keep a watchful eye on the neighborhood kids playing in the yard. And people still sit on their porches and talk to each other over the fence."
According to the complaint, Michael lives with his parents, who are in their 80s, as their caregiver, in their home in Melrose Park, where they moved in 2019.
When they moved in, they placed six plastic lawn chairs in their front yard, where the complaint states they would “sit outside … daily.”
In the summer of 2020, the complaint states, Melrose Park village code enforcement officers began visiting the Cozzis’ residence, issuing citations under village ordinances for “creating ‘nuisances’ and for ‘unsanitary conditions.’”
According to the complaint, the code enforcement officers told the Cozzis the citations “are from the mayor, not us.”
The first two tickets were for $1,000, the complaint said, but allegedly did not include any explanation of the exact nature of the alleged violations.
According to the complaint, when Michael Cozzi attempted to talk with village officials about the citations, he was met with silence.
According to the complaint, he then began attending village meetings and posting “videos and statements” to social media, “to bring attention to these grievances and criticize (Melrose Park’s) treatment of his parents.”
After that, the complaint alleges, the village launched “a targeted campaign to bully, harass, and retaliate against them for asserting their constitutional rights.”
According to the complaint, the village and others allegedly acting in concert with Mayor Serpico have continued to issue the Cozzis tickets, coming to their home on weekends, “leaving warning notes,” and “improperly surveilling and patrolling (the Cozzis’ house.)”
Citations were allegedly issued to the Cozzis for putting Christmas decorations on the outside of their house, and for placing an unspecified political flag and signs on their property.
According to the complaint, the citations were issued an ordinance allegedly designed to prevent “noxious” environments, such as “a cesspool, manure, garbage, junk, or anything that could decompose.”
Further, the complaint asserts the village has improperly sent the citations to the Cozzis’ home, when the property is held in a trust. The complaint claims the village has not provided the property owner proper notice, because the citations should have been sent to the address of the trustee, which is listed in public property records.
The complaint further asserts Michael was targeted with obscene harassing voice mail and text messages, which threatened physical violence against him and his parents.
At some point, someone smashed in the back window of Michael’s car, the complaint states.
To date, the citations have amounted to more than $26,000.
In January, Michael attended a Melrose Park village meeting. When he attempted to address the mayor and village board, Mayor Serpico was recorded on video refusing to let him speak, telling him:
“Do me a fucking favor and sit down and shut the fuck up.”
After the video went viral, a spokesman for the village released the following statement, attributed to Serpico: “I regret making these comments. This resident has repeatedly harassed me and the Village Board of Trustees, and in this instance my frustration got the better of me. I apologize for my comments and pledge to do better in the future.”
In the complaint, Michael Cozzi denied the allegation of harassment leveled against him, and noted Serpico has yet to apologize to the Cozzis personally for the tirade.
Following the meeting, the harassment of the Cozzis allegedly continued, as Michael received several parking tickets.
On Feb. 2, the Cozzis were summoned to a hearing before a Melrose Park hearing officer, who “entered a default judgment” against the Cozzis for 31 tickets.
The next day, the Cozzis received a letter from the village, informing them the village had filed a lien against their property for $15,500 “as ‘final judgment’” for the tickets.
The Cozzis assert in their complaint that the village has not engaged in such strict enforcement of its municipal code against a host of other homeowners with decorations and “clutter” in their front and side yards. Nor, they said, did the village ever tell them what they must do to remedy the alleged violations on their property.
The “tactics” allegedly employed against the Cozzis were “used selectively and with malicious intent to target the Plaintiffs and run them out of town or financially cripple them,” the complaint said.
The Cozzis are asking for a range of damages, including unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. They are also asking the court to order audits of Melrose Park’s code enforcement and parking ticket policies, with a focus on the village’s “treatment of senior citizens and private nuisances.”
The Cozzis are represented in the action by attorneys Gianna Scatchell, Cass T. Casper and Navarrio Wilkerson, of the Disparti Law Group P.A., of Chicago.