No Tip for This Waiter
The story in Newsday (to which I unhappily subscribe because it is (maybe) a half-step better the New York Times, the only other viable daily rag on Long Island now that the New York Sun has folded) is "Waiter Serves Fear at Wedding" by Matthew Chayes, Newsday, 10 January 2009, p. A13.
The first paragraph is as follows:
"A waiter at a Jewish wedding who is considering converting to Islam interrupted the celebration's final prayers with recorded Arabic chants of "God is great," sparking fear among the 700 guests of a terrorist attack, Nassau police said Friday."
And now Thomas H. Spreer, Esq., Stephen Buttafuoco's lawyer, trained in the art of criminal defense, is calling the felony aggravated harassment charge "heavy-handed."
My first impulse is to agree with Mr. Spreer. Buttafuoco claims, and not without credibility, that he wasn't aware that the sound bite would be piped over the PA system throughout the building. Seems like a sophomoric prank by a 23-year-old of teenage maturity. It's kind of picayune and penny-ass.
But the deeper I read, the more convinced I am that the DA is coddling Buttafuoco a bit too much. Specifically, (1) Buttafuoco admits that he was trying to privately disrespect Judaism; and (2) Buttafuoco is now curious about converting to Islam.
Those of you from Denmark might correct me if I am mistaken, but it is my understanding that according to Islamic teachings, Muslims are required to kill those who insult Islam.
But this is America, where there should be no religious favoritism. Accordingly, Buttafuoco should be charged not merely with a felony, but with a capital offense!
Unfortunately, even wanton premeditating cop-killers are not subject to capital punishment in New York, thanks to the sob sisters on the New York Court of Appeals.
Probably the most realistic scenario is that Buttafuoco will exhibit enough contrition (or at least appear sufficiently contrite) to do a plea deal for no jail time. And if the hosts of the wedding (and/or the bride and groom) are so inclined, they might file a purely civil lawsuit against Buttafuoco and sue the beitzim off of him.
The first paragraph is as follows:
"A waiter at a Jewish wedding who is considering converting to Islam interrupted the celebration's final prayers with recorded Arabic chants of "God is great," sparking fear among the 700 guests of a terrorist attack, Nassau police said Friday."
And now Thomas H. Spreer, Esq., Stephen Buttafuoco's lawyer, trained in the art of criminal defense, is calling the felony aggravated harassment charge "heavy-handed."
My first impulse is to agree with Mr. Spreer. Buttafuoco claims, and not without credibility, that he wasn't aware that the sound bite would be piped over the PA system throughout the building. Seems like a sophomoric prank by a 23-year-old of teenage maturity. It's kind of picayune and penny-ass.
But the deeper I read, the more convinced I am that the DA is coddling Buttafuoco a bit too much. Specifically, (1) Buttafuoco admits that he was trying to privately disrespect Judaism; and (2) Buttafuoco is now curious about converting to Islam.
Those of you from Denmark might correct me if I am mistaken, but it is my understanding that according to Islamic teachings, Muslims are required to kill those who insult Islam.
But this is America, where there should be no religious favoritism. Accordingly, Buttafuoco should be charged not merely with a felony, but with a capital offense!
Unfortunately, even wanton premeditating cop-killers are not subject to capital punishment in New York, thanks to the sob sisters on the New York Court of Appeals.
Probably the most realistic scenario is that Buttafuoco will exhibit enough contrition (or at least appear sufficiently contrite) to do a plea deal for no jail time. And if the hosts of the wedding (and/or the bride and groom) are so inclined, they might file a purely civil lawsuit against Buttafuoco and sue the beitzim off of him.
Labels: death penalty, Islam, weddings
posted by Expatriate Owl @ 2:50 AM
4 Comments:
At 12 January, 2009 03:52,
Murphy's Law said…
Yeah, like a waiter has money. Suing a loser like that isn't worth the money spent on a filing fee.
But give it time. Some America-hating, Jew-hating organization like CAIR will hire him when the attention dies down.
At 12 January, 2009 13:14,
Expatriate Owl said…
Bringing a lawsuit against this guy to finance a vacation to Hawaii (or even to finance the Coca Cola you have with your lunch) is definitely not a good financial strategy. If, however, you wish to neutralize the guy by making him a long-term financial cripple, then maybe the lawsuit is the way to go (though I myself would -- and do -- spend the money in other ways to help the cause).
11 U.S.C. Section 523(a)(6) exempts bankruptcy discharges of debtor's obligations "for willful and malicious injury by the debtor to another entity or to the property of another entity." Case law includes mental anguish within the scope of a 523(a)(6) "injury."
So even a $10,000 nondischargeable debt might be a fitting punishment for him.
And CAIR might not be all that well postured to hire the guy either. They have their own financial problems in the pipeline.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=1E2CA713-7658-4384-B61E-9E017121523C
At 12 January, 2009 15:10,
Aaron said…
In other words, you're subtly saying Amy Fisher shot the wrong Buttafuocco?
At 12 January, 2009 22:30,
Expatriate Owl said…
And, to boot, Amy's a piss-poor shot.
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