This week, the owner of West Village celebrity-magnet restaurant Da Silvano was hit with a sexual assault lawsuit—parking garage manager Samuel Cruz claims Silvano Marchetto fondled his genitals twice. Marchetto's spokesman Mike Paul countered today that Cruz is just a petty extortionist: “Silvano’s only mistake was giving him large tips in the past, which created a money-hungry monster.” And then Paul made the ill-advised decision to compare Marchetto's situation with that of Penn State and JoePa.
Paul said that Marchetto's predicament is similar to disgraced former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, claiming: “Now that the economy is even worse and cases like Penn State are in the news, this parking attendant is trying to damage my client’s good name and reputation with lies.” Paul also said that because Marchetto frequently gave Cruz and other attendants tips of as much as $100—and once offered $900 to the workers to split for the holidays—"they see this guy as an opportunity."
After allegations came out that longtime Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky had molested a string of young boys over the years at the school, Paterno was fired because of his perceived lack of action in reporting and dealing with what he knew about Sandusky. So ProTip: you may come across as more than a little bit tone-deaf when you compare your groping lawsuit to a horrible child sex abuse scandal.
