Who could forget the iconic Youtube images of one Philly fan going all Rambo-like on a Ranger fan, who happened to be a Woodbridge cop, outside Geno’s Steaks in South Philly.

Typical…and now possibly costly.

Because the Woodbridge cop, Neal Auricchio Jr. has filed suit against one of his attackers and the bar that served him prior to the mele.

The victim of the attack, Neal Auricchio Jr., 31, filed the six-count complaint in Common Pleas nearly six weeks after Dennis Veteri of Glassboro was sentenced to house arrest and probation.

Aurichio, who lives in Westfield, said in a news conference after filing the suit that he was “angry and upset about the sentencing.”
“The main goal today is justice,” he added.

Aurichio is suing Veteri and the South Philly Bar and Grill, where he watched the Rangers beat the Flyers 3-1 in the National Hockey League’s annual “Winter Classic” on New Years Day. According to court police, Veteri had paid a $226.70 bar bill 20 minutes before the assault.

Auricchio is seeking damages of more than $50,000 from Veteri and the bar, which he says was negligent and violated Pennsylvania’s liquor laws by serving him drinks after he was visibly intoxicated.

A decorated Marine veteran who was shot in Iraq, Aurichio suffered head and facial injuries in the attack and needed a titanium plate implanted in his face.

Although he said he still has problems with his vision, he is back at his job on the Woodbridge force.
His friend, Michael Janocko of Woodbridge, suffered less serious injuries in the assault and drove both of them to a nearby hospital.

The scuffle outside Geno’s Steaks, a local landmark in South Philadelphia, came just hours after Aurichio and Janocko had cheered on the Rangers at Citizens Bank Park.

The two had gone to Geno’s for sandwiches after the game and were waiting in line when the incident occurred. Auricchio said he was knocked to the ground and repeatedly kicked and punched. When he managed to get up, he said, he was knocked unconscious.

“All I simply wanted to do was enjoy a hockey game and some cheese steaks that day,” he said today.

Auricchio said he felt like he had became the “poster boy” for fan-on-fan violence, and this was his chance to take a stand against it.

“I felt I could use this platform to kind of build awareness and hopefully, down the road, prevent incidents like this,” he said. “It’s an ongoing epidemic in this country that needs to stop.”

Veteri, 33, whom police described as the main instigator of the fight, was arrested several weeks after the assault, although his lawyer said last month that “he’s a good man who had a bad day,”.

Aside: “he’s a good man who had a bad day,”

Not so much....according to this:

In October 2003, Veteri and his brother attempted to rob a man on the 1700 block of Jackson Street, according to police records. The victim told police he knew Dennis Veteri by his neighborhood nickname, Shemp, and feared him for his reputation of robbing people.

Armed with a pellet gun, Dennis Veteri chased the man into his home, yelling to his brother, "I got him." The man dialed 911. That case was dismissed for a lack of witnesses.

Veteri was also arrested twice in Philadelphia for heroin possession, including in 2010, when he was caught with a bundle of heroin, said assistant prosecutor Caroline Keating-McGlynn. He received six months' probation for that offense.

Veteri was also arrested in Florida, Georgia, and Maryland for drug and assault, records show.

I'd say he's had more than a few "bad days"....but regardless, we’ve often fought the fight against holding establishments responsible for the rowdy behavior of their patrons after they leave their establishments.

Clearly the bulk of the responsibility for the beat-down lies with "Mr.Bad Day."
But I’m guessing, there’s probably not much of a payday to be had there.

To include the South Philly Bar in the lawsuit would insure a somewhat bigger payday.

But outside of that, it’s been proven time and time again that bars do have a responsibility to make sure they don’t overserve their patrons…lest things like the one that happened outside Geno’s take place.

Should the bar be held liable in the lawsuit involving the Flyers fan who beat up a Ranger fan outside Geno’s Steaks a year ago?

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