Posted on 12/23/2008 6:50:48 AM PST by grundle
Say good-bye to another ma-and-pa store.
After almost 80 years, the grocery Michael Dimperio took over for his father in 1968 is ending its run. Dimperio's Market, Hazelwood's most tenacious retailer, will close in mid-January.
The would-be robber who fired a bullet into a filing cabinet in the 1980s didn't discourage the Dimperios, nor did the thief who pushed Mr. Dimperio and broke his glasses several years later. It took shoplifters years to chip away at their hearts' work until finally they decided to close.
The decision leaves the neighborhood with no full service grocery and could have been avoided if shoplifters were punished, Mr. Dimperio said.
"We've been working here for the benefit of thieves," he said of himself, his wife Carol and their son, Michael. "We've had it."
The incident that led to the closing occurred about three weeks ago when the owner's son caught a shoplifter who ditched her ID and gave police a false name. Mr. Dimperio found the ID later and reported her identity to a district judge, but by then it was too late.
"This woman had a police record this long and had just gotten out of jail."
He said the police have told him they can't arrest someone for stealing merchandise valued at less than $150 unless that person already has a record, but police in this particular didn't know this shoplifter used a false name.
Mr. Dimperio said that, when he found the ID of the last shoplifter, he called the Zone 4 police to report it as evidence. "They told me to call 911," the emergency number. "So I can't even talk to the officers" who had reported to the scene. "I called the mayor's hotline, 311. I said, 'We have a problem here.' I heard nothing back from them.
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
Mr. Dimperio, just move to a safer neighborhood, like Florida...............
Social Darwinism at work. This neighborhood doesn’t deserve a grocery store if this is how it treats one.
Go tell Obama to MAKE THEM stay open so they can be constantly robbed.
a close relative of mine had a pet store in an upscale mall. The customers were primarily two races, lets say green and purple
even thought 90% of the customers were green 90% of the theft was committed by purple. she started having security camera follow purple patrons and was sued for being ‘racist’ - and lost, because she had the nerve to SAY SO in court.
She closed too, and 20 people are out of a job now.
Anyway, like so often happens, we get burning and looting. Now, if the tables were turned and it was me, I would think that if your beef is with "the man", you would go to the NICE neighborhoods and commit mayhem. Nope, they looted small businesses and caused hell right there. The result? Locally owned businesses were destoryed, and the chain-stores said, "forget this. We're going where it is safe." And the predictable cry now is "we don't have jobs down here! (Send money!)"
No police protection or assistance. And should he take matters into his own hands, the ACLU would close his store with a series of nuisance suits, threatening him with prison while defending the criminals. Isn’t a society run by leftists just he most charming thing ever?
Kind of like how a lot of folks feel these days.
Mayor Ravenstahl is useless. He’s nothing more than a puppet. Everyone in Pittsburgh knows the guy running the show is Commissioner Onorato and he’s done more to hurt this town than help it.
Ravenstahl has zero new ideas and has displayed his incompetence on numerous occasions. He’d be the last person I would call for something to get done.
And go figure...Democrats, they are.
Our constitution and it’s democratic republic can only survive with a religious or moral populace. Otherwise the end result will be tyranny....so said the founders of this nation in their writings.
“We’ve been working here for the benefit of thieves”.
I know how you feel pal.
Around about February, the community organizers will show up and declare Pittsburgh a racist city for its lack of grocery stories in certain neighborhoods. Mothers of hoodlums will be on TV complaining about having to take a bus to get to the the supermarket. Obama may make a speech on the topic.
We get the leadership we deserve.
Substitute the 'government/corporate alliances' for the word 'thieves' which would also be an accurate statement these days.
“Kind of like how a lot of folks feel these days. “
... True, but we’re thinking it’s the government... :-)
He should sell it not close it. At least walk away with a little cash.
Another one bites the dust.
We all are working for thieves. A lot of theives keep getting re-elected.
Reminds me of a store in my area a few years ago. They kept certain”ethnic” hair care products in a locked glass cabinet. They had a perfect reason too. Those were the items that were constantly being stolen. Of course that didn’t matter. They were accused of being racist.
Arm yourself.
“When seconds count, the police are only minutes away!”
(Unless you run a donut shop...)
Locally, I've seen Blacks complain that the food stores are racist because they have all moved from the Black neighborhoods and they (the Blacks) have to travel further than Whites to shop for groceries.
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