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Police officers' suit alleges harassment
Charges are latest to hit Oak Brook
By Russell Working, Tribune staff reporter. Tribune staff reporter James Kimberly contributed to this report
Published September 26, 2006
With the village already shaken by allegations of police harassment, two Oak Brook police officers filed suit Monday in U.S. District Court in Chicago alleging they were victims of a "vindictive and relentless campaign" by department officials to discredit them.
Officers Donald Malec and Martin Zelisko said officials sent false e-mails to embarrass them, planted tracking devices in their police vehicles and pursued trumped-up disciplinary action against them because they were speaking about the department to critical residents and trustees.
Attorney Kevin McJessy said the two were victims of "outrageous behavior." The suit names the Police Department and Village of Oak Brook, along with Sgt. Randy Mucha and other police officials.
"In Marty's case, the folks he was speaking with are the village trustees who have come to him and asked him about the functioning of the Police Department," he said. "I'm not aware that anybody's ever claimed that the officers aren't entitled to speak to people who inquire about matters of public concern."
The suit follows a recent $2 million payment by the village after an Oak Brook couple alleged they were victims of a similar campaign because they publicly criticized village government. They said Mucha and others improperly ran background checks on them, flattened their tires with screws and sent harassing e-mails.
The couple, Frances and Casey Gaik, said Monday that they were hounded to the point they have placed their house on the market.
The village admitted no guilt in settling the case, but the department is seeking to dismiss Mucha and has referred the case to prosecutors.
The Gaiks also said police officers improperly entered their home seeking information on them. Police said the entry was triggered by a burglar alarm and had nothing to do with the alleged intimidation.
The Gaiks said they traced the campaign to Mucha and other officials and now have concerns about remaining in the community.
"If I have a 911 call and there's a burglar entering my home, am I going to call these guys?" Frances Gaik said.
In Monday's suit, Malec and Zelisko, who were communicating with the Gaiks and other residents, draw on the Gaiks' research. They allege Mucha sent anonymous e-mails falsely accusing Zelisko of engaging in illegal cockfighting in an attempt to get him fired.
The suit alleges Mucha showed up to videotape the Gaiks' home when Zelisko was there on his lunch break to discuss turmoil in the Police Department. After this, Zelisko was given an eight-day suspension and a negative mark on his permanent record, the suit alleges.
Mucha has been the subject of previous accusations of hostile behavior. In February 2003, a Florida judge issued a protective injunction against Mucha after he allegedly harassed an Orlando man with whom he had a falling out after doing business together on eBay.
The man said Mucha sent him false e-mails and threatened to come to Orlando and arrest him, making "taunts and slanderous comments, such as, `get a haircut for your booking photo,' `see you soon,' [and] `got a good address and pics of the house and subdivision.'" Complaints to the Oak Brook police about Mucha were ignored, he alleged.
Reached by phone, Mucha declined to comment and his attorney did not immediately return calls.
Village police, now under a new administration after the retirement of Chief Allen Pisarek last year, declined to comment on the latest lawsuit, saying they had not yet seen it.
A spokesman said police have referred Mucha's case to DuPage and Cook County prosecutors, as well as the village Board of Fire and Police Commissioners, which investigates allegations of officer misconduct.
"The chief of police as well as all the members here at the Police Department want to adamantly state that we have no reason to believe that our officers acted improperly," the spokesman said.
News of the latest lawsuit prompted Trustee Stelios Aktipis to call for the resignation of Village President Kevin Quinlan.
"No matter to what degree he is or is not involved in this ... the buck stops on this desk, and I think he owes it to the residents of Oak Brook to step down," Aktipis said.
Quinlan dismissed the call for his resignation with an expletive. He said there is no merit to the officers' suit and that the board settled the Gaik case at the recommendation of its insurance company.
The police officers' suit "doesn't surprise me," Quinlan said. "These are two officers that have records that have been called into question many times."
He added that there was no significance to reports that he was receiving e-mails from Mucha.
"I don't recall the exact nature of the e-mails I received from Randy," he said, adding, "I get a couple hundred e-mails a day. Probably half of them are for Viagra or cheap Cialis, like most of us [get], and I'm not soliciting those, either."
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Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0609260290sep26,1,5455321.story?coll=chi-newslocal-hed
The cop who harassed the Gaiks is still on the force. If I broke into someones house, ransacked their office, broke the mailbox, and tried to puncture their tires with nails at the end of the driveway I doubt I would be free to walk the streets. That is what happened to the Gaiks. (It has been on some of the local news).
I am tired of this.