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Disabled Man Given Summons For Laughing Too Loudly In His Home
By
Ben Yakas
Published Mar 6, 2013
Modified Mar 6, 2013
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Mar 6, 2013
Modified Mar 6, 2013
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It seems somebody in Long Island has been taking James Thurber a bit too seriously—a disabled man has been hit with two summonses for laughing too loudly in his own home after a neighbor complained to cops about it. “I didn’t know it was a crime to laugh out a window,” Robert Schiavelli, who has frequent seizures and suffers from neurological impairments, told the Post. Hmm, if that neighbor turns out to be Mayor Bloomberg, this could explain some stuff.
The 42-year-old Schiavelli, who lives with his mother, was given the tickets for “disturbing the peace” at 6 p.m. on Feb. 12 and 13. He has been charged with acting “in such a manner as to annoy, disturb, interfere with, obstruct, or be offensive to others.” Schiavelli and his mother claim that the neighbor, Daniel O’Hanian, regularly taunts and ridicules Schiavelli about his disability. “He tries to intimidate Robert” by calling him “a retard’’ said 65-year mom Suzanne, who added her son “has learned to laugh at him.”
O’Hanian’s wife, Virginia, defended the summonses to the Post: “The police investigated and found there was cause. I think the police can answer all your questions. I think the police did what they thought was best.” Each ticket carries with it a $250 penalty, or 15 days in jail. Schiavelli's lawyer Andrew Campanelli was incensed: “It’s absurd. My client faces 30 days in jail for laughing," he said. “The last time I checked, it was not a crime to laugh — except in Rockville Centre."
As for whether Schiavelli has a Fran Drescher-esque laugh, his mother doesn't seem to think so: “It’s an infectious, cute laugh, I love it. It makes me want to laugh,” she told CBS.
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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