NEWS BRIEFS

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SEPTEMBER 3, 1993 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 9

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Bashing victim sues attackers

Santa Ana, Calif.—Loc Minh Truong, who was nearly beaten to death during a gay-bashing spree by young men in Laguna Beach, has sued his attackers to pay for medical treatment and other costs. His face was permanently disfigured.

Truong, who said he isn't gay, seeks more than $25,000 for care and lost income from Jeffrey Raines and Christopher Cribbins, and asks additional damages from about 10 others who, the suit says, stood by and did nothing to intervene.

Raines, 19, pleaded guilty in August to attempted murder, aggravated assault and committing a hate crime. Cribbins pleaded guilty to helping Raines beat Truong. Both were awaiting sentencing.

Gay family vacation not harassed

Gaylord, Mich.-Anti-gay activists had threatened to picket a Michigan resort where a group of gay parents and their children began a four-day vacation August 19.

But as guests arrived at the 1,000-acre spread they were greeted by ... no one.

Baptist preacher Jon Harwood called off the demonstration earlier that week, believing erroneously the retreat was canceled.

Dan Ware, 40, founded Toto Tours in 1990 to offer travel opportunities for gay men. Thirteen adults and 11 children spent the weekend riding horses and bikes, water skiing and enjoying other sports at the Western-style resort nestled in a pine forest a couple of miles south of Gaylord, in Michigan's Lower Peninsula.

Son comes out, dad hires hitman

Rome-A father, reportedly outraged that his son was gay and working as a prostitute, has been arrested on charges of hiring a hitman.

Giuseppe Mandanici, 33, was shot three times in the stomach and arm on August 18 as he solicited clients on a sidewalk in Mazzara Sant'Andrea near the Sicilian city of Messina. He was in serious condition in a hospital after an operation to remove a bullet from his liver.

A few hours after the shooting, his father, Vincenzo, 58, was arrested on charges of attempted murder. Police also arrested the man who allegedly shot Mandanici. Newspapers said he was paid $700.

Mississippians to rally

Ocean Springs, Miss.-The city of Ocean Springs has approved a permit for a downtown parade and rally on Sept. 18 by the Gulf Coast Chapter of the Mississippi Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

The group was formed in July in response to a backlash against another gayoriented group, GL Friendly.

Lui Cintron, a task force member from Ocean Springs, said he expects 1,200-2,000 people to participate in the parade and a rally at Marshall Park.

Some residents began a petition drive against GL Friendly in July when it published an announcement for a membership drive and plans to create gay community centers in each of the three coast counties.

First gay state official admits defamation

Boston-A $60,000 jury judgement against former state Rep. Elaine Noble has been reversed by the state Appeals Court.

Noble had admitted to sending out anonymous mailings, designed to discredit Ellen Ratner, her co-founder of the Pride Institute, a gay and lesbian alcohol and drug treatment center. The mailings included a copy of Stephen King's psycho-thriller Misery sent to Ratner's roommates, with an anonymous note saying Ratner was a "madwoman" like the book's main character.

When Ratner sued Noble for defamation, a Middlesex Superior Court jury ordered Noble to pay Ratner $60,000.

But the Appeals Court reversed the award August 20, saying Ratner proved her pro-

fessional reputation was damaged by the mailings, but failed to show she suffered any monetary loss.

Noble became the first openly-gay person to be elected to state office when she won a Massachusetts House seat in 1974.

Real life Philadelphia

Philadelphia-A law firm fired a lawyer with HIV after secretly obtaining his medical reports, the lawyer charged in a federal lawsuit.

The lawyer, identified in the suit only as John Doe, says his work at Kohn Nast & Graf was "exemplary" and came under criticism only after one of the firm's partners, Steven A. Asher, went through his personal belongings and learned of his condition.

Doe says Asher's working relationship with him deteriorated after he (Doe) received a letter from a doctor. Doe said he found a copy of the doctor's letter two months later in Asher's office while looking for another document.

The case is similar to the subject of the movie Philadelphia, in which Tom Hanks playing a lawyer who is fired after he contracts HIV.

Suspect held in London murders

London-A suspect has been charged in five murders, four of which were of gay men. Police said Colin Ireland, 39, of Southend, near London, has denied the charges.

Since March 8, five men were strangled or suffocated and their remains found at their homes. In each case, the killer called police, a national newspaper or a suicide hot line with precise details of the crime.

Four victims were known to be gay. It was not known if the fifth man, Perry Bradley III, 35, a chemical company official from Sulphur Springs, Texas, was gay.

Student drops grope complaint

Tempe, Ariz.-A former Air Force sergeant, kicked out of the service after announcing he is gay, says he wants police to complete investigation of a college student's sex charges against him.

"I want my name to be cleared," Thomas Paniccia said August 24.

Arizona State University student Anirban Bhattacharya, 23, told police he wants to drop the complaint he filed July 23 against Paniccia.

Bhattacharya accused Paniccia of grabbing his genitals through his pants in a university restroom after the former airman delivered a speech in February.

Kay Golkovich, the university police detective who's handling the case, said she plans to brief the Maricopa County Attorney's Office on the case. The county would then decide whether to prosecute Paniccia, based on evidence aside from Bhattacharya's testimony, said Bill FitzGerald, a county attorney spokesman.

Illinois mural returned to view

Oglesby, Ill.-A post office mural showing Indians with bared buttocks was returned to public view after more than 1,000 people signed petitions saying they wanted it back.

Blinds were placed in front of the 51year-old painting, “Illini and Potawatomies Struggle at Starved Rock," in mid-June after janitor John Swartz complained that it promoted gays and violated his civil rights. The painting depicts a battle between the two tribes.

But Swartz isn't giving up. He said he has filed a petitition of reconsideration wth the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and wants the post office to either paint clothes on the Indians or paint over the mural entirely.

Al Piecha, an Oglesby resident who headed the petition drive, said he hopes to have the mural listed with the Federal Historic Register so it will be protected.

Oglesby, pop. 4,000, is a farming community 60 miles west of Chicago.

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