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U.S. Open Brawlers File Civil Harassment Charges
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 4, 2010
Modified Sep 4, 2010
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By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 4, 2010
Modified Sep 4, 2010
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More fallout from the Thursday night brawl in the U.S. Open stands: The three fans have now been banned from the Open through the 2012 Open and they've all filed civil harassment charges against each other! The 27-year-old man whose cursing sent 49-year-old Tracey Falco and her 75-year-old dad Lawrence Burnett is now hiding out in his East Side apartment: The Daily News reports that Joseph Pedeville is "chastened" with his girlfriend coming to his defense, "He's freaking out. He didn't do anything wrong. Thank God, he didn't do anything wrong."
No police charges were filed against the trio, whose confrontation was apparently sparked by Pedeville's profanities. Falco slapped him, after her goaded her, "C'mon, smack me again. Go ahead.... I don't give a f--- what anybody wants. I got a lot of money on this game, and I f------ paid for my ticket." Burnett, who once had a stroke, then stepped in and looked like he was trying to throttle Pedeville (like Homer does with Bart), only to either tumble or be thrown down the seats.
Someone who knew Pedeville in high school told the Post, "That was the kind of guy he was -- he does have a history of a temper... But, c'mon! They were yelling at him. He got attacked. What's he supposed to do? I'm sure he was dropping f-bombs, but the old guy started strangling him. He's an old guy. He shouldn't be starting fights."
Burnett told the Post, "I'm in a lot of pain. I was defending my daughter. "The guy is a jerk." And Falco complained, "There was no security -- they didn't come until it was over."
Tagged
brawl
fight
Joseph Pedeville
Lawrence Burnett
tennis
Tracey Falco
us open
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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