TRUMBULL COUNTY Nightclub owner sues Warren, police chief

The city already settled one lawsuit with Ziegler.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- The owner of a closed nightclub is suing the city of Warren and police Chief John Mandopoulos for engaging in what he said was a scheme to shut his place down.
In a lawsuit filed in federal District Court in Youngstown on Friday, LaShawn Ziegler charges that police chief and certain, unnamed officers deliberately harassed him and his patrons in order to drive the Youngstown-Warren Road nightclub out of business.
The city also enforced city ordinances against his business in a discriminatory manner, the lawsuit says. The former mayor and former safety services director plotted with Mandopoulos to close the nightclub down, the suit says.
Why it closed
77 Soul shut its doors in February after it was cited by the city building inspection department for not having sprinklers or fire walls.
Former Mayor Hank Angelo could not be reached by telephone and Mandopoulos, Mayor Michael J. O'Brien and city Law Director Greg Hicks declined to comment.
Former safety service director Fred Harris said the charge that he plotted to close the nightclub down is "preposterous." The nightclub was actually closed during the current administration of mayor Michael O'Brien, he pointed out.
"I think that everything was basically fair to LaShawn with the exception of what took place on that film," Harris said.
Police visits
Police visited the nightclub numerous times during the 18 months it was open, and a neighboring business frequently complained about loitering and noise in the parking lot. During one visit, Chief Mandopoulos and other officers were caught on videotape using crude language toward patrons.
"The video captured the mentality of the police department, of harassment, humiliation, degradation," said Atty. Gilbert Rucker, who represents Ziegler. "Instead of trying to help him as a citizen of the city of Warren, they came in with a hammer and just crushed his livelihood, his opportunity to be a prosperous business."
In December, the city paid $52,000 to settle a lawsuit from Ziegler and a friend, Brandon Rogers, who said they were hauled to the station and strip-searched by police after being stopped for a traffic infraction.
Damages not specified
The lawsuit filed Friday does not specify the damages being sought. Ziegler said that 77 Soul was profitable and that he invested more than $100,000 in the business.
"I hate to use the word racism, because I hate racism, but out of all the bars that have been here for years, they are singling us out to intimidate because it was operated by me," he said. "We pretty much were intimidated from day one, from the day I applied for a liquor license."