Muffler Shop Shut Down, Owner Calls It A 'Witch Hunt'

CHICAGO — The city of Chicago has ordered shut down the Meineke Car Care Center at 107th and Western in Beverly/Morgan Park, citing numerous violations, but the business owner says the issue amounts to mostly politics and a "witch hunt" aimed at him by one person.

Kevin Moriarty has owned the neighborhood Meineke franchise for the last 35 years and says there's never been any issues with the safety of the building.

"There's never been a fire, never been an accident," he said.

But the longtime shop has now been shut down by both the city and the state in recent weeks. Signs outside the front of the business currently note the stop work order and prohibit the public from entering.

The official emergency closure order from the City of Chicago's department of buildings cites electrical, plumbing and fire safety violations in deeming the building "dangerous, hazardous and unsafe."

The city-ordered closure comes just two months after the Illinois Department of Revenue ordered the business shut down based on other alleged violations. The Beverly Review reported Moriarty had been arrested three times in an 11-day span on accusations he was violating the closure order.

Moriarty said he addressed all issues brought up by the state, only to be leveled more and more — in piecemeal — by the city.

"Somebody out there must not be a fan of mine," he said. "They've called anonymously and said I was dumping oil, among other things."

Moriarty says everything has been blown out of proportion, that the city has not been clear in what he needs to do to re-open and only informed him of new infractions after he's fulfilled ones they've already leveled.

All issues are trivial, Moriarty said.

The ordeal with the city began the day after Thanksgiving when Moriarty said a city task force of 13 people, including three police officers, came in with "Gestapo-like action" to perform an inspection. He said the cover for his electrical box was off and there was one cracked outlet.

"It was all minor... but they deemed it hazardous and dangerous," the business owner said, adding later that an official with the building department said they could put the covers back on in an hour and everything would be alright, but then that person's boss said they could not do that without a permit.

Moriarty said he then got the permit, but had to call for a re-inspection. The results of the second inspection came in just last week and the business owner said they found "some more trivial things" like not having a ventilation fan in the bathroom and having a few extension cords plugged in.

"Something's wrong here," he said. "I've been here for years with no problems. So why have I turned into the sacrificial lamb on this B.S."

19th Ward Ald. Matt O'Shea said in an email to ward residents last week that given the nature of the violations, additional inspections have been requested from the City of Chicago and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. The United States Environmental Protection Agency was also notified, O'Shea said.

"Residents who observe this business operating can report the matter to 9-1-1 so the police can enforce this order," the alderman wrote.

But Moriarty called the city's insistence on the business being shut down a "witch hunt" started by a lone police officer who has problems with him. It's that police officer he suspects has been making anonymous calls with serious environmental violation accusations.

"I do think it is political," Moriarty said. "It is a scam. I'm not 'hazardous and dangerous.' It's unfair how they (the city) can single out people with this Gestapo-like action."

The city's department of buildings did not respond immediately when asked to comment Moriarty's claims.

Moriarty says there is no court order in place ordering the shut down, just the city's action, and that he has begun to consult with lawyers on how to move forward legally.

Still, the longtime local business owner remains determined to re-open as soon as possible, saying last Friday that he and his employees stayed late into the night trying to make sure everything is up to code.