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You know a story is going to be good (as in crazy) when it starts "It's a story as old as the drinking laws: A teenage girl convinces a man to buy her a bottle of alcohol." And that's how an article in the Staten Island Advance starts - and it keeps getting better. The leader of a S.I. civic association! Her 21-year-old son! A drunk 14-year-old - and the girl's angry mother!
Frank Ammirato, 21, was working at TJ's Deli and Pizzeria in Midland Beach when a 15-year-old girl he knew asked him to buy her a bottle of Smirnoff Vodka at a liquor store. He agreed, and the girl shared the bottle with her equally underage friends. One of those friends, Tabitha Kehoe, all of 14, got drunk and fell, breaking a tooth. When her mom Kathleen found out how the kids got a hold of the vodka, she went to TJ's to confront Ammirato, who admitted his role (the pizzeria's owner fired him). Then his mother Yasmin Ammirato, the head of the Midland Beach Civic Association, was called.
Kathleen Kehoe claims Yasmin Ammirato asked her, "Is there a way I can rectify the situation? Let me pay restitution," so she wouldn't press charges. Ammirato denies ever saying that to Kehoe, claiming the angry mom is trying "to discredit me through my son...My son made a big mistake, and they're making a big deal because I'm the president of the civic." She added that her son would go to court "to do what he has to do."
Two weeks ago, two 14-year-old underage Newark teens were seriously injured when climbing out of an apartment window (using tied-together sheets) because they had been drinking and were afraid of their mother finding out (and it turned out another friend's mother bought them the alcohol!). As for Tabitha, her foray into underage drinking has wrought punishments as well. Her mom took away her computer and MySpace, leaving Tabitha to tell the Advance she would ""Never drink again."
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I'm confused--the way that this is written, it sounds as if Ammirato sold the vodka from the pizzeria.
What a bummer that this guy got caught doing something that has been going on since alcohol was restricted to adults. The problem in this country is that alcohol is so taboo that it becomes ever more enticing to the underaged; they will do near anything to see what is so off limits. My wife is from Costa Rica where drinking is a part of family culture in many households. The children are not castigated for wanting to try something they see their parents derive such pleasure from. In fact they sip some now and them to get used to the idea that is is something OK to engage in at appropriate times and not to abuse. They get a feel of the buzz and learn to understand the effects it has on a person. This way when they are older, they are already inculcated into the culture of drinking rather than thrown into it as so many high school and college kids in the US are. They have already learned control to some extent and the idea of sneaking around to avoid punishment is no longer an issue. We are so damn puritanical here that these sort of restrictions inevitably lead to mischievousness amongst teenagers. It certainly did for me. I see how my cousins from Costa RIca handle drinking now that they are mature adults. Much better than many of my friends children who never allowed them to experiment in the comfort and company of their parents.
I didn't know alcohol was restricted to adults. I thought people over 21 were allowed unrestricted use of alcohol. Is this another one of Spitzer's ideas gone awry?
I agree with Ira, many European countries are also quite tolerant of drinking by youths under the age of twenty one. But the US has a different mindset and the culture is not quite the same to allow free wheeling spoiled American youth free range of intoxicating beverages. It's one thing for them to vomit going down the street, but it's another when they are doing that while driving at seventy miles an hour.
Someone should sue TJ's Deli and Pizzeria, I know they had nothing to do with it but if Frankie Amaretto didn't work there and hustle 15 year old broads none of this would have happened.
Why is anyone coming down on Armaretto's mother? SHE didn't buy the booze, or have anything to do with it. Her 21 year old son, an adult on his own, did it. 21, folks, he was 21. Not 12. Mommy is not responsible for his dumb actions. Not anymore, anyway.
Ya gotta wonder, what this prize did when he was a minor though..bet he was a real winner.
Don't you be coming down on my baby, Frankie. He's a good kid. I mean other than him liking girls a bit young and fresh. He could have gone in the grocery business like his uncle Vinnie with his keen eye. But no he went into the pizza business. And now he's got a problem, but nothing my brother Angelo can't clean up. Come on he's only 21, in ten years he will move out of the basement and get his own place. Give him some time to grow up for god's sake.
I think everyone has once made that temporary choice to never drink again... but not on account of having our Myspace's taken away.
Jeez, tempest in a shot glass. The girl lost a tooth; the guy lost his job. Hopefully everyone learned a valuable lesson. End of after-school special, brought to you by Annheuser-Busch and Miller Brewing, 'cause Russian-sounding spirits will f*** you up and ruin your life and your mom's life.
I was also shocked upon hearing that she lost her MySpace account. Isn't that a little too harsh?
^^^Do you really thing Osama is going to come out of hiding and file a libel suit in small claims court against the owner of the plates? I can just see him getting out of a black Escalde on Long Island going into the court to claim it's unfair to take his name in vain.
I remember when i was 15. I had alcohol available to me and i wasnt in costa rica, i was in new york. I dont really think it is a good idea to introduce young kids to alcohol, it is a poison. I am now in recovery and I am aware that things in my life would have different if i had not been allowed to indulge in alcohol.
Another worry is the kids that have never tried alcohol and they turn 21 and they do this stupid 21 shots for their birthday. They dont understand that you can die of alcohol poisoning.
I wonder though would it be considered wrong if the girl who asked this kid to buy the bottle was 18, there are alot of controversies around that too. Many feel that if you are old enough to fight for your country you should be old enough to drink.
I have not seen much of a difference in the 21 year old law for buying alcohol. there are people who are foolish, and others who would do anything for a couple of bucks to get their own bottle. The bottom line is, that if there is a desire to do something the kids find a way to do it. weather they steal it from someones parents and fill the bottle with water or convince someone to get it for them.
It mostly comes down to the kids making good choices. if they do make a mistake it is up to the parent to be there when their kids need them and to decide what punishment is appropriate. Computer use is a big deal to these kids, myspace is the big thing. That and having to stay in the house. And trust me, having a constant reminder like a cracked tooth is no joke