The husband of Vaughan Mayor Linda Jackson has been charged with causing a disturbance while drunk in a public place.
Mario Campese was arrested by York Regional Police outside a Vaughan nightclub around 1 a.m. Sunday morning, Sgt. Laurie Perks told ctvtoronto.ca on Monday.
Campese was inside Berlin Nightclub near Jane Street and Hwy. 7 when the manager approached on-duty police officers over a dispute between Campese and club bouncers.
"The initial disturbance stemmed from Mr. Campese getting upset that his son was not permitted into the bar," Perks said.
Bouncers had refused enrty to Campese's son because of dress code restrictions, she said, adding the elder Campese was already inside the bar when his son arrived.
While being escorted outside, Campese slipped on ice and suffered minor scrapes to his knee.
"He struggled with officers during his arrest and he and the officers fell on the ice outside the club during the struggle," Perks said.
Campese was taken to hospital and treated before being taken to No. 4 division headquarters in Vaughan. He was held until roughly 5 a.m. Sunday and was released upon conditions to appear in court on Jan. 8.
His conditions require him to stay away from the Berlin Nightclub, Perks said.
Causing a disturbance in a public place while being drunk is a summary offence and if convicted is punishable with a fine of up to $5,000, 6 months in jail, or both.
"It's a very minor offence under the criminal code," Perks said.
"However, let's not minimize the fact that this was a serious incident where patron in an establishment was causing a problem where they had to be subdued and escorted out," she said.
Perks added police treated the incident like any other. "Whether or not he is the husband of the mayor the City of Vaughan is not an issue for us. We responded as we would in any other case," she said.
Ctvtoronto.ca called Jackson's office for comment. The mayor's office declined comment and instead forwarded ctvtoronto.ca to Jackson's lawyer at Morris Manning Q.C. Professional Corporation. Manning's law firm has yet to return calls for comment.
