School, police chiefs huddle after disabled man punched
School, police chiefs huddle after disabled man punched
Sunday, August 11, 2013
The Winthrop community yesterday showered support on an intellectually disabled man who was the victim of a vicious assault, as law enforcement and school officials vowed to hold the teenage football player accused of the jaw-breaking attack accountable.
Anthony Alexandrou, whose father owns Nick’s Place restaurant where Richie Scanelli is a regular fixture, said the phone was ringing off the hook yesterday as people inquired about the well-being of the beloved Winthrop man.
So far, Scanelli has received about 10 get-well cards, said Alexandrou, adding, “He’s happy. He’s trying to stay positive and forget about it and move on.”
Scannelli, 59, underwent seven hours of surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital to repair his fractured jaw — but told the Herald his feelings were hurt even more when the teen referred to him with a cruel epithet.
Anthony B. Gallo, 17, faces charges of assault and battery and causing injury while violating a person’s civil rights.
More:
http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/08/school_police_chiefs_huddle_after_disabled_man_punched#sthash.HTVLbGju.dpuf
[center]~ ~ ~[/center]
From Friday:
Anthony Gallo
A Winthrop teen is charged with throwing a booze-fueled, jaw-breaking sucker punch on a developmentally disabled man in an attack prosecutors called “the act of a coward and a bully.”
Anthony B. Gallo, 17, was ordered to stay away from the 59-year-old victim and refrain from drinking after his arraignment in East Boston District Court yesterday on charges of assault and battery and causing injury while violating a person’s civil rights.
“This was an utterly shameful example of unprovoked violence against a person who could not defend himself,” Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said in a statement released by his office. “It was the act of a coward and a bully,” he said.
Prosecutors say Gallo and two pals were drinking in a parking lot and shaking a car when the victim confronted them and told them to stop. They say Gallo “used epithets referring to the victim’s disability and punched the victim in the face.”
The blow fractured the victim’s jaw, prosecutors said.
More: http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/08/da_winthrop_teen_mocked_disabled_man_broke_his_jaw#sthash.g1QFDphd.dpuf