Ex-Westmont Official Arrested In Harassment Case: Police

WESTMONT, IL – A former Westmont village trustee was arrested last month after being accused of harassing his landlord, police said.

James J. Lenihan, 68, who lives in the apartment complex at 1 W. Quincy St., was charged with disorderly conduct and obstruction of identification. He was also arrested on a Westmont warrant charging harassment by telephone.

Lenihan declined to comment on the case.

Patch obtained the police report through a public records request.

Late the afternoon of July 3, police said they were called about a man, later identified as Lenihan, pounding loudly on the glass door of the apartment complex's management office. The property manager told police the noise caused her to jump out of her seat. Lenihan then walked in.

The manager told police she had never seen a person display such behavior and feared that he may be there to kill her, the report said.

She produced a copy of a completed no-contact order that she had carried out against Lenihan for multiple incidents of harassment, police said. But the report said a judge had not made the order official at the time of her call to police, so it was not yet enforceable, police said.

While an officer was speaking with the manager, two other officers found Lenihan a couple of blocks away.

Lenihan was accused of repeatedly lying about his identity both before and after he was brought to the Westmont police station, the report said.

The police report included a list of Lenihan's voicemails and texts that the property manager considered harassing, police said. In some voicemails, Lenihan sounded as if he were intoxicated, according to the report.

Lenihan served on the Westmont Village Board more than two decades ago.