Two Teens Arrested in Election Night Hate Crime on SI

Two young men were arrested Friday for the Election Night beating of a black teenager on Staten Island soon after Obama's victory had been announced. Eighteen-year-olds Ralph Nicoletti and Bryan Garaventa allegedly yelled "Obama!" when they pulled up alongside 17-year-old Alie Kamara and attacked him with baseball bats that left bleeding from the head. The two were charged with hate-crime assault and criminal possession of a weapon. Other charges may follow and police are still looking for two more suspects involved with the crime. Federal prosecutors may get involved with the case and Reverend Al Sharpton has spoken to Kamara's mother about pushing the US Justice Department to take action.

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By Billy Parker in News on November 16, 2008 10:55 AM

Comments [rss]

NannyState

@14, Age and inexperience may account for their "hesitation" with the bats. If left out on the streets, they will grow less inhibited. The Feds stepping in suggests some other angles and I can just imagine what that could be. The parents of those two? Here they come with the "we never raised him that way"...

HUGO_MEGO

Obama! LOL

matty

I mean, what did they do? Gently poke this guy with their bats?

Sorry if 5 guys or whatever armed with bats have the intent your ass will be in a coma.

Something doesn't add up.

Also did they shout "obama" as some sort of war cry before the alleged beating? That doesn't make sense either.

Think2wice

If a character witness can only say—"He's a good kid"—then you know the "kid" is pretty lousy. Innocent or otherwise.

Think2wice

I wonder how many Italian-Americans got beat up by WASPs who yelled "Papists!" back when Al Smith ran for President in 1928.

babyhitler

this guy should have never been beat up cause he's black but have you seen how this guy dresses and talks? goddamn! It's like Jim from Huckleberry finn brought back to the future.

fishfryin

almost every victim of crime is singled out due to some characteristic whether it be physical stature, sex, perceived wealth, etc. i just don't totally understand how a few kids deciding to beat up and rob a mexican guy is different than a few kids deciding to terrorize a woman of their own ethnicity. in these hate crime cases the criminals are almost always testosterone fueled 16-24 year olds. in other words, i don't see them as accomplished members of our society trying to undermine it. they are just fucking idiots. i agree with the theory behind hate crime legislation (that it affects more people than just the victim, it inflicts long term damage on the victim, etc), but i just feel that those effects could be easily applied to many crimes with many victims.

JacqueMehoff

you're kidding me? they were Italians?

I'm shocked, shocked.

HughGass

What's with Staten Island guidos and rollin' up on the brothas with baseball bats. Really bustin' apart those stereotypes.

Stay classy S.I.

matty

I'm calling b.s on this story.

The L.I story was a hate crime.

This, I don't really know what this is.

Splicer

What a surprise! A couple more wannabe mobsters out for a joy ride. Staten Island should secede from NYC tomorrow and rename it self Racistan.

ides_of_march

#3 "it's official, ides has brain damage."

Perhaps but still light years ahead of you intellectually.

chris lee

"IDES" is right, be honest, there is Black on White crime routinely that has the same motivation and it's overlooked because "dog bites man" is not news. I am black btw

fakenewyorker

it's official, ides has brain damage.

jterry121

Let see this pussy teens try some of their "hate crimes" vs grown men at Rikers - their assholes are going be ripped to shred by the time they get back to their rich mommy's house

ides_of_march

When I was in college I got assualted by a black guy who called me a "white motherf*cker" and I wound up in th ER with ten stitches in my head. They caught the guy but nobody ever mentioned the words "hate crime."

You'll have to forgive me if I see the application of these so-called "hate-crime" laws as extremely biased themselves, not to mention their coverage in the media.

Let's punish the deed, not base it on some convoluted politically correct, ethnic, racial, calculus.