Secret’s out: Here’s why city worker charged Biloxi public advocate with a crime
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- A Biloxi community advocate secured a copy of a court file sealed after his arrest.
- The city prosecutor requested the file be sealed, and it was sealed without public notice.
- Fusco, who posts about city government, says he intends to fight the charge.
A Biloxian suspected his recent arrest on a misdemeanor charge of obscene electronic communication was related to his frequent and very public criticisms of city government. He wanted to find out.
So community advocate and political commentator Jarrod Fusco went to the city Public Safety Center on Thursday with his attorney to get a copy of the court file. They sat and waited about five minutes while a clerk prepared and copied the paperwork. A Sun Herald reporter waited with them.
Fusco and attorney Arman Miri of Hattiesburg soon had their copies, but they couldn’t say a word about what was in the file. The city prosecutor requested that it be sealed. Late Thursday afternoon, the city determined that affidavits, or sworn statements leading to the charges, were public record and released them to the Sun Herald, which had filed a public records request for the court file.
Fusco and Biloxi resident Yuri Petrini were both charged with obscene electronic communication based on the writings of Yuri Petrini, who had a personal quarrel with the city over the home he built on U.S. 90.
The affidavits, were filed by city Code Enforcement Administrator Tara Ramage, formerly Busby, of the Community Development Department. Ramage detailed a post on Petrini’s website in which he accused her of being a “crackhead” and also used derogatory terms applied to women.
On his Facebook page Biloxi Politics Uncensored, Fusco shared a link to Petrini’s work, as he sometimes has done. Fusco later pointed out that Petrini, apologized for calling Ramage a “crackhead.” Fusco also linked to the “heartfelt apology” on Petrini’s website, the affidavit against Fusco pointed out.
In the affidavit filed against Petrini, Ramage described a post he wrote titled, The Crackhead of Code Enforcement. She said, “Within this electronic communication, the suspect repeatedly utilized lewd, lascivious, indecent, and profoundly abusive language directed personally at me, completely devoid of any legitimate informational or public purpose.”
Biloxi resident advocates on Facebook
Fusco started following city government about 2 1/2 years ago because of a zoning issue in his West Biloxi neighborhood. The more he studied city zoning and land use regulations, the more questions he had. He’s been posting about city business on Facebook under Biloxi Politics Uncensored, where he has attracted 10,000 followers.
Petrini posts decidedly more scandalous content on his personal website about Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich, City Councilman Kenny Glavan, Community Development Director Jerry Creel and city employees.
Gilich told the Sun Herald on Thursday afternoon that city leaders were not involved in signing charges against Fusco and Petrini.
“We had nothing to do with that because it came from a private citizen,” Gilich said.
Fusco is fighting the charge. The Air Force master sergeant has created a GoFundMe account for his defense. The fine for the misdemeanor crime is up to $500, plus up to six months in jail.
“Having seen the paperwork, I fully intend to fight this to the very end,” Fusco said. “I am going to pay significantly more to clear my name.”
Fusco also intends to continue advocating for the community. He’s written about protected oak trees, zoning violations and the city’s failure to follow its land-use ordinance.
Community Development Director Jerry Creel could not be reached to comment, but Gilich said, “Rest assured, the land-development ordinance is paid attention all of the time.
“I’m confident that it’s paid attention to by the community development staff, led by Jerry Creel.”
This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 4:03 PM.
