Ex-Joliet city manager arrested, suspected of DUI in 2-vehicle crash

Former Joliet City Manager James Capparelli was arrested Tuesday night and charged with drunken driving after he allegedly crashed into another vehicle, police said.

Capparelli was driving south on North Hickory Street in a Jeep Grand Cherokee when he crashed into the passenger side of a Chevrolet Malibu driven by a 24-year-old woman, said Joliet police Sgt. Dwayne English. Police responded to North Hickory and Moran Street about 10:30 p.m. to the crash in which no one was injured in the crash, English said.

“Capparelli refused to conduct field sobriety tests and he was placed into custody without incident,” English said

A Joliet police sergeant drove the 62-year-old Capparelli home after he was released from custody and given notice to appear in court, English said. Capparelli was charged with the misdemeanor offense of driving under the influence and issued a citation that accused him of failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.

Officers have provided rides to “released arrestees before on a case by case basis,” English said.

When asked whether Capparelli refused a breath test and about his blood-alcohol content level, English said, “Due to its evidentiary nature, I am unable to provide this information at this point.”

Capparelli did not respond to a call on Wednesday morning about the incident.

Capparelli, a retired Army colonel who worked at the Pentagon, was hired as Joliet’s city manager in 2021 under former Mayor Bob O’Dekirk. He announced his resignation in June, months after Mayor Terry D’Arcy defeated O’Dekirk in the April election.

Joseph Clement, a member of the Joliet City Council, said Wednesday morning that he found out Capparelli was involved in a crash and he received a call from the city on his phone.

“And then I found out through one of the lieutenants that he was down there, and I called to see if he needed a ride,” Clement said.