Paradise vice mayor accused of sending sexual messages, photos in undercover sting
Paradise Vice Mayor Michael Zuccolillo is accused of sending sexually explicit messages and images to someone he believed was a 16-year-old girl from China in a sting operation that was initiated by someone who was angry with him over “a bad business deal.”
Zuccolillo, 41, turned himself in at Butte County Jail on Tuesday and was later released after posting a $135,000 bail bond.
He is accused of arranging to meet with a minor for the purpose of engaging in lewd or lascivious behavior, sending harmful material to a minor and communicating with a minor for the purpose of engaging in sexual conduct, according to a news release from the Butte County Sheriff’s Office.
The vice mayor was elected to a four-year term on the Paradise Town Council in November 2016. Before his election, he served on the town’s Planning Commission, ending his term as chairman, according to the Paradise website.
Zuccolillo works as a local real estate agent in Paradise and was among those who lost their homes to the Camp Fire.
The Sacramento Bee tried to contact Zuccolillo via email on Tuesday afternoon, but Zuccolillo did not immediately respond. It was unclear whether he has hired an attorney.
Sheriff’s officials first learned of the allegations in late February from Zuccolillo’s former business associate, who went to investigators about his personal undercover sting operation targeting the vice mayor. He told investigators that he was posing online as the 16-year-old girl from China visiting the Sacramento-area.
He told investigators that Zuccolillo believed he was communicating with the girl from China, and the vice mayor sent the girl sexually explicit text messages and photos of his genitals. He also claimed that Zuccolillo discussed traveling to Sacramento to have sex with the purported girl and her adult sister.
Sheriff’s officials in the news release described the man’s claims about the vice mayor as a self-initiated “to catch a predator” style operation. The officials were referencing the once popular NBC show “To Catch a Predator” in which the reality television show’s host would wait to confront adults who believed they were meeting a child to conduct illicit behavior.
“Detectives were leery of the information provided by the subject and questioned the veracity of the evidence provided by the subject, given the subject’s motivation for targeting Zuccolillo,” sheriff’s officials said in the news release. “However, given the seriousness of the allegations, detectives believed they could not dismiss or ignore the allegations without conducting an independent investigation.”
The detectives then told him to end all communications with Zuccolillo. The detectives consulted with prosecutors from the Butte County District Attorney’s Office and the FBI during their investigation of Zuccolillo.
The detectives obtained search warrants to collect cell phone records for Zuccolillo and the man posing as the 16-year-old girl. Officials said the phone records provided preliminary confirmation of the allegations against the vice mayor.
Then, an undercover investigator posed as the girl from China and began exchanging text messages with Zuccolillo. During those exchanges, the vice mayor sent sexually explicit messages and photos to the undercover investigator, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators served warrants to search Zuccolillo’s home, vehicles and digital devices. The investigation was then submitted to the District Attorney’s Office for review. Prosecutors then filed a criminal complaint against Zuccolillo, which led to his arrest Tuesday.
The Sheriff’s Office asked anyone with additional information about this case to call Sgt. Pat McNelis or Detective Jason Miller at 530-538-7671.
