NOT THE SHARPEST KNIFE IN THE DRAWER: Romeo No Cyrano
In a case involving a man who should have said it with flowers, Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Robert M. Mandelbaum dismissed a charge of second-degree aggravated harassment because "defendant's ineptitude, and even offensiveness, as a suitor is insufficient to establish the charged offense." On Dec. 21, 2006 Richard Franco sent a missive to the object of his affections in which he introduced himself as "Richard F. You know like: France, Funky Smell, [vulgarity]" and claimed to be able to give a foot massage that "will relax you and will make u feel so good and comfortable that it'll take you to another world." After getting no response, about two weeks later Franco wrote that he would "with my heart broke" be forced "to forget about u," if he were rebuffed, and "mov[e] forward with my life." He was charged with the Class A misdemeanor after the woman complained to the Manhattan district attorney's office, and faced as much as a year in jail. Since the woman did not tell Franco not to write to her again after she received the first letter, and the letters contained no threats, the judge ruled that they were not meant to "harass, threaten, annoy or harm" her.
- New York Law Journal, May 22, 2007
Comments