From People v. Ocampo, decided by Illinois Appellate Court Justice David Navarro:
[Carlos] Ocampo was charged with harassment through electronic communications based on a series of emails .… One of [Ocampo's] pleadings … contained a statement of charges from the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR), which sought termination of Ocampo's employment for alleged actions that took place from March 2021 to February 2022. Those allegations were that Ocampo: (1) sent multiple emails to multiple recipients that "contained numerous and unsupported and unsubstantiated allegations against IDOR employees and included inappropriate pictures of his vomit in a toilet bowl"; (2) sent multiple emails that contained "racially sensitive remarks, inappropriate photos, and disparaging comments in an attempt to harm or destroy the reputation of fellow State employees"; and (3) harassed several members of IDOR after having been asked not to contact them. Ocampo was ultimately terminated….
At trial, Vincent Cacioppo testified that he was an IDOR employee for 36 years. He never had contact with Ocampo, except for "hundreds" of emails from Ocampo, starting in 2020. Cacioppo received emails from Ocampo unrelated to work, with false accusations and "nonsense." The emails made Cacioppo feel "horribly because [Ocampo] sent them to everybody in the State legislature, my colleagues."
On February 13, 2023, Ocampo sent Cacioppo and others an email with the subject line "insufferable racists." The body of the email insinuated that Cacioppo was in the mob. Cacioppo stated that he had no way to reach out to the other people to say he was not a racist or a bully, and that the emails damaged his reputation.
Two days later, Ocampo sent an email to Cacioppo and others with the subject line, "gang of white-skinned primates," and the body of the email indicated that Cacioppo was not only "running a gang of white-skinned primates, but also a ring of corruption and thieves." It also stated that Cacioppo "micromanaged minorities to make them feel incompetent," knew very little about taxes, had emotional outbursts, and was committing "white collar crime."
