Burr Ridge Political Rivals Settle Lawsuit
BURR RIDGE, IL – Longtime political rivals in Burr Ridge have settled nearly 5-year-old litigation involving defamation allegations.
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In December, Mayor Gary Grasso and former village Trustee Zach Mottl quietly put an end to the mayor’s lawsuit against Mottl.
In 2019, Grasso sued Mottl over what the mayor claimed was defamation in the 2019 mayoral race, which Grasso won in a landslide over Mottl. The lawsuit was against Mottl, his now-husband David Williams and Mottl’s campaign.
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In response to Patch’s inquiries, both Grasso and Mottl emailed statements.
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Grasso said Mottl made a “confidential settlement payment” to him in December.
“The lawsuit between us is over and dismissed,” the mayor said. “My goal in filing the lawsuit was to take a stand against negative campaigning that disparages public officials, and to defend and safeguard my public and personal reputation and that of my family. It was not to cover any claim of economic damage. I believe the amount of the settlement payment received from them is consistent with that goal.”
For his part, Mottl denied any liability.
“Our goal in defending the Lawsuit was to hold public officials accountable,” Mottl said. “We have defended this case to protect our reputation, and we settled this case solely as a business decision to avoid further litigation expenses.”
Neither man revealed the settlement amount. It was unclear whether the settlement called for them to limit their public statements about it, which is often the case with such agreements.
In 2021, Grasso’s allies defeated Mottl in his bid for a second term on the Village Board.
Because he was a public figure, Grasso was required to prove that Mottl showed “actual malice” in making untrue statements about Grasso.
In his lawsuit, the mayor alleged Mottl made defamatory statements when he accused Grasso of “tax fraud” in campaign mailers.
Grasso held homestead exemptions for homes in Burr Ridge and Chicago, which resulted in breaks on property taxes. A person can only have one such exemption.
Grasso said his main house is in Burr Ridge and that the Cook County assessor mistakenly continued the exemption at his Chicago home from the previous owner.
Grasso argued Mottl had this information, but continued with his allegation.
Grasso, a lawyer, also said Mottl defamed him repeatedly by calling him a “mobster.” Mottl used the term against Grasso during Village Board meetings. Such language drew reprimands from the board, which said Mottl was attacking the mayor’s Italian heritage. Mottl denied the allegation.
In court documents, Mottl’s said the allegation of “mobster” was based on Grasso’s connection to Filippo “Gigi” Rovito, owner of Burr Ridge’s Capri Ristorante and the Are We Live lounge.
According to Burr Ridge police, Rovito is a convicted felon with multiple convictions. Court records show the victim of the 17-year-old Rovito’s 1991 sex crime was a 14-year-old girl. He was released from prison in 2002 after about five years, according to a decade-old memo from former Police Chief John Madden.
In 2018, Rovito donated $5,000 to Grasso’s unsuccessful 2018 attorney general campaign. But the mayor returned the money after a downstate TV station called the donation into question. The station said Rovito was named in FBI mafia investigations.
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