Ye Olde Town Inn owner Tod Curtis
Via the Chicago Tribune, the village of Mount Prospect, Illinois has agreed to pay $6.5 million to settle a lawsuit by a restaurant owner who has operated a pizzeria in the village for over 40 years.
The plaintiff cited a federal civil racketeering law, more commonly used to bust organized crime, when he filed his lawsuit in 2008 accusing the village of trying to force him out of his downtown business to make way for a new development project.
The lawsuit named the village and Oz Development LLC in alleging that they collaborated to try to push the plaintiff out, violating the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act.
The case settled on the verge of trial and after a federal judge entered a judgment of $2.1 million against Oz Development last month.
Closing Argument 