ADDISON, Ill. (WGN) — Troubling new allegations have surfaced against the owner of a suburban ice cream shop charged with secretly filming customers and employees.
Attorneys have filed a civil lawsuit accusing Steven Weisberg, a 58-year-old Buffalo Grove father of four, of trying to groom a teenage girl.
“I’m sure anybody who has heard these facts is absolutely appalled,” said attorney Richard Pullano, with Pullano & Siporin, speaking about the civil suit filed on behalf of the now 19-year-old victim who previously worked at Flavor Frenzy.
“The pain is so justified, but she’s also reflecting inward, ‘Could I have done something sooner?'” Pullano added.
An anonymous tip to police in August sparked the investigation. Eventually, it led to a search of the suburban ice cream shop’s bathroom located on West Lake Street, which opened in 2019.
“An undercover police officer from Addison did an investigation and discovered a hidden camera in the bathroom,” Pullano revealed.
Weisberg placed the camera inside the shop’s bathroom, police said. Prosecutors in DuPage County criminally charged the 58-year-old in August. Authorities allegedly uncovered 11 videos on Weisberg’s cell phone, depicting six individuals, of whom at least three were store employees. One of the individuals depicted was as young as 16 years old, according to police.
Since then, four other teen employees have come forward.
“He hired high school girls to work in his shop,” Pullano said. “This scheme, he had, is that he wanted them to try on shirts and tank tops, with the business name on front, Flavor Frenzy, and said he was either going to use these t-shirts to sell to customers or to promote them on his website.”
Pullano said that Weisberg groomed his client and built up trust, even taking her to pickleball.
“She got the best schedule, she got the best assignments that paid the most money,” he said.
Trips to Weisberg’s family home followed, Pullano added, which is where, he says, police found another camera in his children’s bathroom.
“He told [my client] that his daughter was home and she could shower, and then they would go to work together. And that’s what she did, with no idea there would ever be a hidden camera,” Pullano said
The mother of one of the other girls talked with WGN-TV when police first announced charges against Weisberg.
“I mean, he’s clearly sick,” said Jennifer Ashrafi. “Beyond even the employees, like, how many little kids use that bathroom just as customers? It’s so disturbing.”
Richard Pullano said the alleged crimes shock the conscience, illustrating a surreal moment of broken trust. Now, the search for more answers and accountability appears headed to a courtroom.
“They want a full investigation,” Pullano said. “They want to know everything that happened and why it happened. Sometimes we never get to the why, but we’re going to try.”
Weisberg remains in custody at least until his next court appearance, scheduled for Monday, Sept. 15.
Want more insights? Join Working Title - our career elevating newsletter and get the future of work delivered weekly.
