Tuchow's threat

While working on the staff of 48th Ward Alderman Marion Volini, I clashed with Martin Tuchow, the Democratic Ward Committeeman.

He was the attorney representing a negligent property owner in the ward whose building had languished in Housing Court longer than all the others. And there were two cases against it. One was in Conservation Court, which dealt with common code violations, the other in Criminal Housing Court, where more serious violations were reviewed.        

Each time one of the cases was heard, he informed the court of the other case and suggested a resolution of the violations await the outcome of that one. So, the two cases continually leap-frogged, with no end in sight.

After obtaining Volini’s OK, I appeared in court before Judge Mioduski and asked for the cases to be combined so the code violations could be addressed and remedied together.

The poor Judge may have agreed with me, but he found himself in an unenviable position. He needed to accommodate a Ward Committeeman who sat on the body that slated Judges at election time.

But he also did not want to anger the Alderman, who, although having no formal power over him, would not succumb to political pressure and could generate a lot of unfavorable publicity for him.

So, he ruled that the two cases be combined but then granted a long continuance to give the owner a chance to make repairs. It was his way of trying to please both sides.

When the hearing was over, there were no empty seats in the courtroom, so I stood along a wall at the side, waiting for the next 48th ward case to be called.

Tuchow immediately approached me, stuck a finger in my face, and said, “Don’t you ever pull anything like that again!”

I was stunned and humored by his outburst, so I just grinned at him not believing that he would talk to me that way.

Then he said, “You wipe that smirk off your face right now or I’ll thwack you.”

I should have said, “Go ahead,” but I was just so amazed at what he said that I didn’t respond.

The city attorneys were nervous the rest of the day. I had been threatened by a Ward Committeeman, one of the most powerful people in their political world, and they were worried about my fate.

“I don’t care what he said,” I assured them. “He can’t do anything to me.”      

Volini had won and Tuchow had lost. I savored the victory.

Exerpted from “An Inside Job: A Frank Recollection of 48th Ward Happenings” at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/992452