Former Summit public works director William Mundy, who pled guilty to federal corruption charges, claims in a new civil lawsuit he was fired for exposing the same village corruption he took part in, court records show.
Mundy filed a federal lawsuit against the village, demanding back pay, reinstatement, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees, according to the lawsuit that names Mayor Sergio Rodriguez and other village officials, including two former trustees who have died.
In his criminal case, Mundy admitted to accepting bribes and cheating on his taxes. In 2017, Mundy conspired with Summit Police Chief John Kosmowski to accept bribes in exchange for expediting a liquor license transfer for Mars Bar, a business implicated in a larger corruption investigation.
Kosmowski pleaded not guilty to bribery charges and is awaiting trial. Separately, Mundy also admitted to conspiring with other village officials to accept $40,000 in bribes prior to becoming a federal informant in 2019.
In his civil lawsuit against Summit, Mundy claims his termination was wrongful and seeks reinstatement to his village job. Mundy claims he was denied unused sick pay accrued over his decades-long career and wrongfully terminated for exposing illegal activity, according to court papers.
Mundy, a Summit village employee since the 1980s, had served as public works director, auxiliary police officer and building inspector. His wife, Colleen H. Kelly, serves as the $111,907-a-year Justice-Willow Springs Water Commission executive director. She also serves as a Lyons Township trustee, where she collects a $3,800 annual salary. Kelly and Mundy were married on Dec. 31, 2021, five months before Mundy was indicted on federal bribery charges.
Mundy claimed in the lawsuit that he never took a sick day and is owed compensation for 12 years of accumulated sick leave. The lawsuit also claims that retaliation against Mundy included his suspension without pay in May 2022, which he argues violated his due process rights and an earlier agreement he had with Mayor Rodriguez.
Mundy is seeking reinstatement to his previous positions, financial compensation related to his termination and emotional distress suffered after being fired.
Mundy asserts that his termination was in retaliation for his cooperation with federal authorities and his exposure of alleged misconduct by village officials.
Mundy claimed in court papers that Executive Director Jerry Hurckes accepted a bribe from the owner of a Shell gas station to bypass the village’s permitting process during a construction project.
Hurckes, who also serves as Worth Township trustee, was named in the lawsuit along with the mayor and trustees Marvel Parker, Setki Dardovski, Mayra Ortiz, Arthur Sullivan along with former trustees Aleco Julius and Karen Wasko, who are both deceased.
Hurckes has not been charged with a crime.
“I can’t comment on ongoing litigation against the village. But I understand there are a lot of innuendos and falsehoods about why he was dismissed,” said Hurckes.
“We have filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit as meritless,” said Summit village attorney Burt Odelson on Monday.
“It is the first time in my more than 50 years as an attorney that an indicted felon has filed a lawsuit against his employer,” he said. “He pleaded guilty and admitted wrongdoing. The village was extremely generous in allowing him to use up his accumulated time so he could stay on the insurance rolls for a year.
“It is meritless and frivolous and is costing the village a lot of money.”
Mayor Rodriguez did not immediately respond to a telephone call requesting comment.
I grew up with that guy. From the time I was in kindergarten till the day I graduated high school and left for the military. He was a bully and always bully people, smaller, and younger than him. He was a deviated as a kid he turns out to be a deviant as a human being.
The name of Mundy will forever go down in Summit history as being corrupt!!! The question I have is did he lose his pension for deceiving the citizens and taxpayers of Summit for lining his own pockets and playing us like fools???? How about all the “political donations” he took to give village jobs to friends and neighbors. Has anybody looked into his past hiring practices?? It is called “Pay To Play” and Mundy used it to it’s fullest advantage. He drove around Summit in a very expensive vehicle that the village paid for. All the gas and insurance was paid for by the village. He spent more time in taverns around town than actual work he did for the village. And all the voters of Summit need to remember that it was a Democrat mayor who installed him into the position in the village. Mundy should get a mandatory 10 years in federal prison and he certainly needs to lose his pension!!!!