War Of Words In Burr Ridge

BURR RIDGE, IL — Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso and Trustee Zach Mottl do their share of sparring during public meetings. But they also lob criticism at each other in emails.

Mottl, who lost to Grasso in last April's mayoral election, calls the mayor "corrupt," while Grasso throws barbs at the trustee, saying he is "an unaccomplished nobody," "a 40-something nobody" and "pathetic."

In an email last week to Village Administrator Doug Pollock, Mottl said the "corrupt mayor just makes things up and lies. He gets caught all the time and then he wants to project it on me."

Mottl referred to the recent instance when Grasso offered public money to pay for village trustees to attend an event organized by DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin. It was a campaign fundraiser, and it's illegal for taxpayer dollars to go toward political purposes. Mottl pointed this out, prompting Grasso to rescind the offer. The mayor said he did not realize it was a campaign fundraiser.

In the email to Pollock, Mottl repeated his criticism of the mayor's taking of two homestead tax exemptions — one at his Burr Ridge house and another for a home in Chicago. He called it "tax fraud," alleging the mayor cheated DuPage County taxpayers out of money. Last summer, Grasso filed a defamation lawsuit against Mottl over the tax allegation. Grasso said he never sought a homestead exemption in Chicago, saying it was the result of a mistake in the Cook County assessor's office.

Mottl also alleged in the email, as he has before, that Grasso has violated the state Ethics Act by acting as the village's liquor commissioner when his son, who runs a valet business, does business with a number of local liquor license holders. Mottl said the mayor should step aside when an immediate family member is doing business with a license holder.

Grasso, however, said the rules in question do not apply to this situation. He said his son, Michael, has run the valet business for at least a decade, predating the rules.

"When I was sworn in, amongst other statements, I made it clear Michael still had a valet business operating in the village — which has been well known for many years," Grasso said in an email to Burr Ridge Patch. "If the ordinance applies — which it does not — the minutes to the adoption of it makes it clear it does not affect existing arrangements. And by the way, the ordinance is directed to the establishment — not the liquor commissioner. As usual, Mottl has his facts convoluted and wrong, but facts never get in the way of his accusations."

However, Mottl said in an email that he was referring to the state Ethics Act, which has been incorporated into the village code. He said he was unaware of any exceptions where a business would be grandfathered in, but that he would look into that issue.

Grasso had told Mottl that if he believes the village government is marred by corruption, he should go to authorities. But he said Mottl has not done so.

Mottl copied an email to Grasso last week to DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin, asking for Berlin's investigator to give him a call.

"We spoke at the end of last year, and I have a substantial amount of evidence to turn over," Mottl said. "If your office is also unable to handle public corruption, kindly direct me to the appropriate agency."

In one email last week, Grasso urged Mottl to have "the stones to resign when you're rebuffed. But you won't, you're an unaccomplished nobody." Several village board members have called for Mottl's resignation, and the board censured him in November, alleging he made demeaning comments to staff. Mottl said he drew the censure because he privately called village officials incompetent, which he said is his right as a trustee.

In another email last week, Grasso criticized Mottl's role in his family's company, Lyons-based Atlas Tool Works.

"What is a Chief of Alignment, created by daddy and your sister for pretense? Pathetic for a 40-something nobody," Grasso said.

In an email to Burr Ridge Patch, Mottl said the mayor's attacks are inappropriate.

"I'm focused on Burr Ridge issues, and he wants to always make it an ad hominem attack or an attack on my private position of employment or an attack on my family's personal business. None of this is his or the town's business."