Posted on 03/11/2002 7:29:27 AM PST by Texaggie79
Authorities in New York are charging a bar owner for holding a 'dwarf-throwing' competition.
Police and agents with the State Liquor Authority raided Long Island's Odyssey bar which had around 200 customers inside.
The 3ft stuntmen don't face charges because it's their living, police say. The contest was abandoned without a winner.
Officers say contestants paid $10 to throw the stunt men. There was an undisclosed cash prize for the person who achieved the longest throw, Newsday reports.
Detective Bruce Pescitelli of Amityville police says the practice is illegal in New York State. Bar owner Tony Alfano faces up to $600 dollars in fines if convicted.
"They had an area of the bar where they had put two air mattresses, and the dwarfs or midgets, whatever you would like to call them, wore protective helmets," the officer said. "Two dwarfs were being tossed."
The two men who were thrown, Dominic Lucci and Lester Green, don't face criminal charges. "This is their livelihood - it's how they make money," Det Pescitelli added.
The contestants don't face charges either.
'Dwarf-throwing', which is legal in some states, is rare on Long Island, Det Pescitelli says.
"I've been doing this for 18 years, and this is the first time," he said. "It was definitely a different kind of night."
Seems like discrimination, against short people (unless there is a general ban on wrestling without a license in bars.)
The good news is that all those bizarre stories may once again have a thread of their own, over here in the General Interests.
I find it humorous that state legislatures actually have spent time debating on if tossing dwarfs should be legal in their state......
By Steven Kreytak STAFF WRITERMarch 11, 2002
One regular guest of the Howard Stern radio show was issued a ticket for disorderly conduct and a bar owner received three summonses during a "dwarf throwing" competition early yesterday morning in Amityville, village police said.
The Odyssey disco at 140 Merrick Rd. was raided by Amityville and Suffolk police and State Liquor Authority agents about 12:40 a.m. Contestants were paying $10 to throw tiny stuntmen, with the longest thrower winning an undisclosed amount of money, said Det. Bruce Pescitelli of the Amityville police.
Pescitelli said it is illegal for bars to sponsor dwarf throwing in New York State. Odyssey owner Tony Alfano received a ticket for "dwarf throwing" and two for failing to post necessary signs about the harmful effects of smoking and drinking to pregnant women, Pescitelli said.
"They had an area of the bar where they had put two air mattresses, and the dwarfs or midgets, whatever you would like to call them, wore protective helmets," Pescitelli said. "Two dwarfs were being tossed."
Pescitelli said the event was advertised last week on the Howard Stern Show, which airs locally on "K-Rock" 92.3/FM, and in the weekly free music and entertainment guide Good Times. About 200 people paid $15 to get into the disco.
Alfano, who did not return a phone message left at the disco yesterday, faces up to about $600 in fines, Pescitelli said. Representatives of the Stern show could not be reached.
Neither contestants nor the 3-foot men who were tossed, Dominic Lucci and Lester Green, face criminal charges, Pescitelli said. "This is their livelihood; it's how they make money," he said of the dwarfs. Green is known as "Beetle Juice" on Stern's show because his small head resembles that of a movie character of that name in the 1988 film "Beetlejuice," starring Michael Keaton.
Green's promoter, Joseph Bassolino, appears on the show under the name "Joey Boots," police said. He was issued a field appearance ticket for disorderly conduct for standing on the bar when the police shut down the event and yelling an obscenity at them, Pescitelli said. Bassolino, 37, of 10 Mohawk Ave. in North Massapequa, could not be reached.
Dwarf throwing, which is legal in some states, is not common on Long Island, Pescitelli said. "I've been doing this for 18 years, and this is the first time," he said. "It was definitely a different kind of night."
Following the same logic...does that mean that drug dealers, prostitutes, and hit men should not face charges because the illegal activities they engage in are their livelihood?
Beat me to it!
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