Federal Charges Filed Italian Restaurant Rivalry
SHELBY TOWNSHIP (WWJ/AP) - Prosecutors have filed federal charges against two brothers who spent nearly two months in jail for an attack on a rival metro Detroit restaurant owner.
An indictment unsealed Thursday charges Guiseppe and Girolamo D'Anna with attempting to extort the owner of Nonna's Italian Kitchen in Macomb County's Shelby Township.
In 2011, the brothers pleaded no contest to assault in the baseball beating of Piero Ventimiglia.
Prosecutors said brothers stormed into Nonna's, near 23 Mile and Schoenherr, at closing time on April 28, 2011, and beat Ventimiglia, striking him on the head 11 times with an aluminum baseball bat.
His Italian restaurant was across the street from Tirami Su Ristorante, run by the D'Annas. Following the beating, Giuseppe D'Anna allegedly shouted that if Ventimiglia went to the police, he would kill Ventimiglia's children and his parents back in Italy
Maria Ventimiglia said the D'Annas simply didn't want the competition.
It's unclear why the federal government filed its own charges in the case. A judge will decide Friday whether to keep the brothers in jail or set bail. Defense attorneys decline to comment.
(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
