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Margate Commissioner Anthony Caggiano filed a complaint against Commissioner Tommy Ruzzano and his wife.

Margate Commissioner Anthony Caggiano filed a complaint with police accusing fellow Commissioner Tommy Ruzzano of harassing, intimidating, and placing him “in fear for his life” after commissioners ousted Ruzzano as chair of the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency and replaced him with Caggiano.

Caggiano, first elected in 2016, said he became concerned for his safety after Ruzzano and his wife, Amanda, attacked Caggiano on their personal Facebook pages in the days after Ruzzano’s Jan. 22 ouster from his long-held CRA position, according to a Margate Police Department incident report.

In a Jan. 24 Facebook post, Tommy Ruzzano, 57, wrote: “I can`t believe I got replaced by a guy who doesn`t have a job, supports Hamas, and owes the city tens of thousands of dollars in property tax. Shame on the other commissioners for supporting him.”

Amanda Ruzzano, 53, who had shouted down commissioners who voted against her husband at the meeting, posted on Facebook Jan. 23: “[Mayor] Arlene Schwartz and Anthony Caggiano are scum. Arlene paid off her ‘secret debt’ to Anthony last night.”

The comments, according to police, left Caggiano, 65, fearful for his and his family’s safety.

“Caggiano advised that because of these comments, he is afraid of what Ruzzano’s supporters may do. Caggiano stated that he is afraid for his life,” police wrote in their report. “Caggiano advised that he has done nothing to the Ruzzanos and that they are upset because they think they are king and queen of the city and that anybody who opposes them becomes a mortal enemy.”

Caggiano told police the Ruzzanos “are bullies” who are “trying to get him to change his opinion on things” and “putting his life and his family’s life at risk,” the report states.

Police said they found no evidence a crime had been committed by the Ruzzanos and closed out their investigation, according to the document.

Authorities told Caggiano how to go about filing for a restraining order against Tommy Ruzzano if he chose to do so. They also asked Caggiano “if he would like a special watch at his residence, and he advised he wanted to think about it,” the report states.

“I also mentioned that it might be challenging to obtain [a restraining order], given that both Mr. Caggiano and Mr. Ruzzano are city officials who frequently sit next to each other during meetings and events,” a police official wrote in the report. “I informed Mr. Caggiano that I would contact Mr. Ruzzano to tell him to stop.”

Caggiano told police he had installed surveillance cameras at his residence, the report states.

On Jan. 28, four days after Caggiano filed his report, police spoke by phone with the Ruzzanos, according to the report.

During a conversation with the couple, the police official “conveyed that Mr. Caggiano had expressed concerns for his safety and requested that the current actions cease.”

“I then asked Mr. and Mrs. Ruzzano if they had any questions, to which they responded that they did not.”

Police ultimately found that the “alleged threats made [by the Ruzzanos] via Facebook do not meet the legal threshold for a violation of FSS 836.10 (written or electronic threats to kill) nor FSS 784.011 (assault)” since the Facebook posts did not contain direct threats to harm Caggiano, according to the report.

The allegations by Caggiano against the Ruzzanos followed the contentious Jan. 22 commission meeting, at which Commissioner Joanne Simone cited Ruzzano’s “inappropriate” social media posts and his doing business in the city through his construction company as reasons for her vote.

Ruzzano has regularly solicited and received business from Margate residents who received money through the CRA’s Property Improvement Program Grant program. He has also touted the grant program to residents in Facebook posts while simultaneously soliciting their business in connection with the funds.

The commissioner’s company has performed paid work on the homes of numerous Margate grant recipients, city records show.

Ruzzano, first elected in 2012, has also posted photos on social media in which he appears to expose himself in front of hotel windows or while standing on hotel balconies in an effort to amuse his followers.

“I think that things on Facebook have been inappropriate, inappropriate postings. I don’t think they have presented a good image for Margate,” Simone said before casting her vote. “And I know all the ethics training … including the last one by [City Attorney David Tolces’] law firm, said that you should not do business within your own entity. And I know that that has been done, and those would be my reasons for picking a different chair.”

Ruzzano, a commission member since 2012, was unapologetic at the meeting.

“As far as the Facebook comments, nobody’s going to shut me down. I am what I am. I am who I am,” he said. “As far as me doing business in the city, there’s nothing wrong with it … Not only that, but if you look at what I’m charging people, I’m charging them a lot less because I’m doing it from my heart … and I’m doing it because I want to beautify my city.”

The Broward Office of the Inspector General previously requested numerous documents from the city regarding the grant program touted by Ruzzano. The office has not announced any findings in the matter.

The city of Margate previously declined to release to Margate Talk any documents it received from the OIG in connection with the grants, citing an active investigation.

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Kevin Deutsch

Kevin Deutsch is an award-winning journalist and author of two nonfiction books. He covers general assignment news and Jewish community issues for Talk Media. He has also worked as a staff writer at The Miami Times, the Rio Grande SUN, the New York Daily News, Newsday, The Miami Herald, The Palm Beach Post, The Riverdale Press, and Bronx Justice News.