Perillo BMW settles lawsuit with feds that claimed it let pollutants in Chicago River

A Chicago auto dealer has settled a lawsuit with federal prosecutors that claims the dealership polluted the Chicago River while improperly removing a steel wall.

Joseph Perillo and Perillo BMW have agreed to pay $80,000 and remove a collapsed wall from the North Branch of the river near a building the dealership owns in the 1300 block of North Branch Street, according to federal prosecutors in Chicago.

Perillo BMW allowed a steel river wall to collapse in 2018 and subsequently cut off the wall at the water level, leading to a discharge of pollutants into the river and creating a hazardous obstruction to navigation, prosecutors said.

Joseph Perillo could not immediately be reached for comment.