A Chicago suburb city mayor says he will return $2,000 in campaign contributions connected to a local restaurateur who has been indicted in a federal gambling case in Indiana.
He Didn’t Know About the Money
Mayor Gary Grasso confirmed the donations from Filippo “Gigi” Rovito after local outlet Patch contacted him to ask about contributions from two Burr Ridge businesses owned by Rovito, Capri Ristorante and the Are We Live nightclub.
The mayor said he was not aware of the contributions before the publication actually got in touch with him.
“Given the pending Indiana case, I have asked my Treasurer to return the donations,” Grasso said in an email to Patch. His campaign reported the contributions to the Illinois State Board of Elections on September 14.
Rovito Pleaded Not Guilty
Rovito was among 22 people indicted in April in a federal case involving an alleged illegal gambling operation in northwest Indiana.
Prosecutors charged him with operating an illegal gambling business and conspiracy to collect extensions of credit by extortionate means. The indictment alleges that the operation involved sports betting and the collection of gambling debts.
Rovito has pleaded not guilty and is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. His attorney has disputed the government’s allegations, claiming that the indictment does not allege his client collected money, made any threats, or directed other defendants to do so.
Previous $5,000 Donation
The latest contribution is not the first time Rovito’s campaign donations to Grasso have attracted attention.
In 2017, Rovito donated $5,000 to Grasso’s unsuccessful campaign for Illinois attorney general. Grasso returned that money about a month later after a television station questioned the contribution, according to Patch.
Grasso did not explain the reason for that earlier return.
“Basta. Enough.”
Grasso has also had a professional relationship with Rovito. Patch reported that the mayor, an attorney, has represented the restaurateur in civil matters. A pasta dish made of “fresh tomato sauce and basil, tossed with a touch of olive oil, and topped with fresh ricotta” at Capri Ristorante is also named “Linguini alla Mayor Grasso”
The relationship has drawn additional attention since Rovito’s arrest.
In June, Grasso wrote an opinion piece in the Chicago Tribune criticizing what he described as media coverage that unfairly associates Italian Americans with organized crime. However, he did not directly name Rovito in the piece.
“I’ve sadly watched some members of the Chicago news media stigmatize Italian Americans as Outfit members or mafia operatives whenever it serves to embellish a story,” Grasso wrote.
“The Outfit still sells, pathetically. It’s time that it stops. Or as I like to say: Basta. Enough.”
Rovito remains free on a $1 million bond. His release conditions were eased earlier this month, with his overnight home detention requirement changed to midnight through the early hours of the morning, according to Patch. The federal case remains ongoing.