Mayor Of Marcus Hook, Pa. Says He'll Stay On Despite Criminal Charges
By Ian Bush
MARCUS HOOK, Pa. (CBS) -- The mayor of Marcus Hook says he has no plans to step down, even after surrendering to police this morning to face criminal misdemeanor charges including official oppression, unlawful restraint, and reckless endangerment.
Mayor Jay Schiliro, 38, is out on bail and getting help for what he says is an alcohol problem, which he blames for a bizarre incident late one night last month.
Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan says Schiliro directed a Marcus Hook police officer to bring to his home a 20-year-old man to whom, for years, the mayor had served as a kind of father.
But that night was different.
"He asked him to perform certain acts -- which, needless to say, were highly inappropriate -- which were resisted by this man," Whelan says. "He felt intimidated -- at one point he describes his feeling as a hostage, that he cannot leave the mayor's residence because of the conduct of the mayor."
At one point, the DA says, Schiliro, in a booze-fueled rage and with his young daughter sleeping upstairs, fired a handgun into the wall. The man was able to escape.
As mayor, Schiliro is in charge of the police department in the borough. But what Whelan says Schiliro did with that power is illegal.
"This conduct is criminal, and it's certainly unacceptable for anyone -- especially an elected official," Whelan said today.
Schiliro is still in the May Republican primary, and faces opposition. His attorney, Michael Malloy, says his client will fight the charges.
