Marzullo, four others indicted in election night beating

[jqpublic]

2005-04-27 17:35:27 (http://abclocal.go.com/wls/news/042705_ns_election_fight.html)
A grand jury has returned indictments against 5 people in connection with an election night fight month in suburban Forest Park.

Among those charged is outgoing Berwyn Public Safety Director Frank Marzullo.

He is facing charges of aggravated battery and official misconduct.

Marzullo's brother Russell and his son Jerry have also been indicted.

They are accused of attacking a man outside of a restaurant in early April.
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Once again the other two people involved are not named.

Anybody know who the other alleged perps are?

[T-Stan RPCV]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/indict27.html

http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_117204337.html

These are a just a couple of the local news reports.  I just saw a WGN van pull away from city hall.  I imagine there'll be no shortage of Berwyn in the media for the next couple of days.

Papa Marzullo - 2 felony counts

[ruffian]

so now if found guilty ... will Marzullo lose his police pension ?  and again if found guilty son Jerry will be disbarred.

[jqpublic]

The lame duck city council voted last night to cut Frankie a check for untaken vacation days to the tune of $75,000.

One more eye gouge to the people of Berwy.

[troy]

Once again the other two people involved are not named.

Anybody know who the other alleged perps are?

From -> http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/indict27.html

"Berwyn police officer Michael Fellows and Charles Baugh were charged with aggravated battery in the case."

[Boris]

For the link-challenged:

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Police chief of Berwyn is indicted
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Brother, son, 2 others charged in beating

By Brett McNeil, Tribune staff reporter. Tribune staff reporter Jeff Coen contributed to this report

April 28, 2005

Berwyn Public Safety Director Frank Marzullo and four other men--including Marzullo's son, who is an assistant Cook County state's attorney--were indicted by a Cook County grand jury Wednesday on charges they beat a man April 5 outside a Forest Park steakhouse, authorities said.

Four of the men--Marzullo, his son, Jerry; Berwyn police officer Michael Fellows; and Charles Baugh, a former Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation employee--were charged with two felony counts of aggravated battery, according to the Illinois attorney general's office. Each charge is punishable by up to 5 years in prison.

Frank Marzullo, a 30-year police veteran set to retire Saturday, also was charged with four felony counts of official misconduct, said Melissa Merz, a spokeswoman for the state attorney general's office. The additional charges mean that Marzullo, 54, could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

The fifth man, Frank Marzullo's brother, Russell Marzullo Sr., was charged with three felony counts of aggravated battery and one felony count of unlawful restraint, Merz said. Russell Marzullo, 47, a longtime Chicago Department of Transportation employee, could face up to 18 years in prison if convicted.

None of the indicted men could be reached for comment, and attorneys for Frank and Jerry Marzullo did not return phone calls Wednesday. All five defendants are scheduled to be arraigned Thursday morning in Cook County Criminal Court.

The beating took place on Election Night, soon after Marzullo-backed candidate Michael Woodward lost to Michael O'Connor in the race for Berwyn mayor. O'Connor had promised to fire Marzullo if elected.

The indictments came after two days of grand jury testimony, including an appearance Wednesday by Wayne Pesek, the North Riverside man who was badly beaten during a late-night attack April 5 outside the Golden Steer restaurant, 7635 W. Roosevelt Road.

Officials from the Illinois attorney general's office joined Forest Park police in conducting the investigation at the request of the state's attorney's office, which was concerned about a potential conflict of interest because Jerry Marzullo, 27, works there.

John Gorman, a spokesman for the state's attorney's office, would not comment on Jerry Marzullo's employment Wednesday, but said department policy requires all employees charged with a felony to be dismissed.

Pesek and a witness to the beating told the Tribune it was unprovoked and that Jerry Marzullo, who lost a Berwyn aldermanic race that night, initially confronted Pesek, who was sitting at the bar with two friends.

"It just didn't make any sense," said Pesek, 54, who was hospitalized after the beating with bleeding on the brain, a spinal fracture, a fractured elbow, a broken nose and ribs, as well as fractures to orbital bones around each eye.

Pesek said his estranged wife is dating Woodward, but added he had no interest in Berwyn politics that might have sparked the beating.

"I've never met a Berwyn candidate. I don't support a Berwyn candidate," he said.

"Where this came from I don't know," said Pesek, a former longtime village administrator from nearby North Riverside. Pesek, who spent two days in the hospital, said he continues to experience severe headaches and dizziness three weeks after the attack.

James Kaestner, 50, who told police he witnessed the beating but did not testify before the grand jury, said the five indicted men were drinking in the Golden Steer's lounge with a party of about 10.

Kaestner of Berwyn and a female friend were sitting with Pesek at one end of the bar while the Marzullo party was gathered at the other, he said. After about 30 minutes, Jerry Marzullo began shouting across the bar at Pesek, Kaestner said.

"He said, `You think this is funny? You got issues? You got issues?" Kaestner said. "It was unprovoked."

Two other men on their way to the men's room walked behind Pesek and lingered while Jerry Marzullo approached, Kaestner said. As Pesek stood up from his seat, Jerry Marzullo appeared to strike him, Kaestner said.

At that, another person in the Marzullo party, still across the bar, yelled "Get him," and the two unidentified men grabbed Pesek and dragged him outside, Kaestner said.

Forest Park police responding to 911 calls found five men standing over Pesek in an alley behind the steakhouse. A police report with names blacked out that was provided by Forest Park officials earlier this month stated that at least part of the incident was recorded by video cameras mounted in squad cars responding to the scene.

The report, written the night of the attack, says one man aggressively interfered with officers' efforts to investigate the beating. The report also says the man approached one officer "in an aggressive manner" and slapped another officer's hand as he tried to intervene.

The report states that the individual waved a police badge in officers' faces and said, "I'm in charge here. I'm in charge."

Officials have declined to identify that individual. But the only man charged with official misconduct was Frank Marzullo.

The report also says the same man interrupted an officer's on-scene interview with another participant. When the officer objected, the man, according to the report, said, "Get a [expletive] subpoena if you want to talk with him. He's not under arrest; he's leaving."

Pesek said that before the beating he had met Frank Marzullo only once, when they were introduced about a year and a half ago by a mutual friend.

Before the April 5 election, Marzullo was a powerful political figure in Berwyn, where he made more than $164,000 a year as a mayoral appointee overseeing the Police and Fire Departments. He also is the deputy committeeman of the Berwyn Regular Democratic Organization, which was overwhelmingly defeated at the polls.

Marzullo earlier this month opted to retire April 30.

At a meeting Tuesday night, the departing City Council approved in a 4-3 vote to pay Marzullo almost $80,000 for unused sick and vacation days and unclaimed overtime. In the same vote, aldermen approved similar but smaller payments for three other outgoing Police Department officials.

O'Connor said he was upset about the payments to Marzullo.

"It's outrageous," he said. "They obviously wanted to hurry up and get it done because they knew they wouldn't get it when I was there."

Three years ago, Frank Marzullo was acquitted of battery charges stemming from a bar fight in Countryside.

"I'm disappointed that [Frank] Marzullo once again has dragged Berwyn through the mud and into the news," O'Connor said.

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bmcneil@tribune.com


Copyright (c) 2005, Chicago Tribune

[jqpublic]

"Berwyn police officer Michael Fellows and Charles Baugh were charged with aggravated battery in the case."

Doggone it, I lost my bet.

[jqpublic]

UPDATE: Bonds were set at $10,000 apiece today for Berwyn Public Safety Director Frank Marzullo and four other men charged with beating a man outside a Forest Park steakhouse, WGN-Ch. 9 reported. A Cook County judge ordered the defendants to turn in their service weapons immediately except for Frank Marzullo, who was given until Monday to do so.