[Vito Marzullo raw #10]

Raw tape #10 for Vito Marzullo documentary. "Graffiti Erasers." Weinberg and Marzullo continue discussing the ward's ad books. After that, a man comes in who wants Marzullo's help in starting a graffiti cleanup program, but his story has a few inconsistencies and Marzullo doesn't buy it. The man completely loses control over his emotions after being rejected and leaves the office in tears.

00:00Copy video clip URL Blank screen.

00:23Copy video clip URL Continuing to peruse Alderman Marzullo’s ad book (introduced in raw tape #9), Weinberg asks about the donors for the advertisements and their relationships with Marzullo. The alderman explains that he provides services for many of the donors in exchange for contributions, telling an anecdote about his relationship with a local corporation that donated. One precinct captain (off-screen) explains that the book, which contains about $60,000 worth of ads, serves as a public relations tool for local businesses.

06:58Copy video clip URL A group of young people, residents who have formed an organization to clean up gang graffiti in the neighborhood, pitch their case to the alderman and ask for financial help. Marzullo initially responds by saying that he can’t take action because no one has filed a complaint about the graffiti with the police, and that the perpetrators remain unknown.

08:37Copy video clip URL The spokesman for the group continues to plead his case, saying, “I gotta look at it all the time, and other people have to look at it. We have a little bit of paint and we’re trying to take it off, but we need a little more help.” They discuss their past attempts to remove the graffiti from a local church and request money for paint and a sandblaster, but their story is inconsistent. The man says that he once lived in the neighborhood but has since moved away.

13:04Copy video clip URL “You’re coming all the way from the south side to do this job on your own?” Marzullo asks the man. “Don’t you know that it runs into money?” Marzullo also questions his ability to successfully carry out the project. The young man argues that neighborhood kids want to help, but need supplies and guidance. He also says if this were to happen, other neighborhoods would follow suit and clean up their graffiti. Marzullo responds, saying, “You’re going to start something you won’t be able to finish. As I’ve said, you come over here to get financial help, and I can’t start this program because if I start this program, someone else is gong to come in here with another program.”

17:38Copy video clip URL Marzullo again asks why the man would come from the south side of Chicago to his ward to complete a job that the property owners and local community groups should do. The man argues that he and his group have undertaken the job because the community groups won’t do it. Marzullo reiterates that he won’t provide funding for fear of having to give money to all other groups who ask. The man begins to cry, making one last emotional appeal before Marzullo rejects him and sends him from the office.

21:52Copy video clip URL After the man leaves, Weinberg asks what the man was really trying to do. “I don’t know what the hell he wants to do,” says Marzullo still puzzled that the man wasn’t even a resident of the neighborhood. “We don’t know if he was going to run a racket or not,” remarks another city official. The tape stops mid-conversation.