A Prospect borough councilman vented his frustrations and threatened the borough with a lawsuit at Monday's meeting.

After speaking as a resident during public comment, Councilman Nicholas Vaccarello later interjected during the meeting to voice concerns about the treatment of his property by borough employees.

Vaccarello claimed borough employees sprayed “poison” on berry bushes, hedges and trees on his property, without his permission, and then left the debris. Some of the areas sprayed were close to a body of water, which, he said, posed an even greater risk.

“They did it once, and then twice, after I told them not to,” Vaccarello said.

George Simcic III, maintenance supervisor, said he performed his job within expectations, and he had experienced harassment from Vaccarello throughout his work.

“I'm the one being prevented from my job on a daily basis by threats and constant barragement,” Simcic said. “He told me he was trained to kill and to watch my back.”

Rita Vaccarello, Councilman Vaccarello's wife, said her husband has never threatened Simcic, and she agreed that the damage to the plant life on the property was out-of-line.

After the meeting, Vaccarello did not deny interacting with Simcic when the latter was on the property.

“I took an oath to defend my country with my life,” Vaccarello said. “If you come on my property and do damage, you need to watch out.”

During the meeting, Vaccarello also took issue with a right-of-way agreement with the borough that runs through his property, saying the boundaries were not what was agreed upon at a previous meeting.

“We're going to see you in court,” he told council.

Council President Bill Katz later explained the borough needs the right-of-way for mowing on Wilson Road, and the electric company needs the right-of-way to read the meters.

“We don't have the original map, so that's the complication,” Katz said.

The council adjourned to an executive session. When it returned, Katz cited legal matters as the reason. After its return, the council did not vote on anything dealing with Vaccarello's complaints.

After the meeting, Vaccarello said he has four pending lawsuits against the borough.

The Butler County Courthouse's civil court records showed Vaccarello has no active cases filed, and he has not filed a case in the past decade.