HYPOCRISY DEMOCRACY-MISSISSAUGA

NEWS SOURCE CREDITS:

AUDIO CREDIT:
680 NEWS TORONTO

TEXT CREDITS:
THE MISSISSAUGA NEWS



The case of the poison pothole poem starts Monday

Antonio Batista, 75, is accused of uttering a threat and intimidation because of a poem he wrote about Ward 9 councillor Pat Saito.

By: John Stewart

May 25, 2007 - A Mississauga senior citizen, whose poem about a city councillor landed him in trouble with the law, will be defended by famed criminal lawyer Clayton Ruby when his trial starts tomorrow in a Brampton courtroom.
Antonio Batista, 75, is accused of uttering a threat and intimidation because of a poem he wrote and posted in his Meadowvale neighbourhood in response to comments made by Ward 9 Councillor Pat Saito.
Batista was upset about comments Saito made in a Mississauga News story where she joked that potholes are a form of traffic-calming because they slow down speeders.
In a poem called "Parked Cars and Pot Holes in the City of Mississauga," Batista wrote, in part, that, "We are going to dig a pothole about six feet long and three feet wide and five feet deep to hide her body and God will take care of Her Soul, but we cannot forgive her for doing nothing. She can keep running at a good pace but we will make sure that she is in heaven and out of the race. So please God take care of this soul for ever and ever."
Saito referred the matter to Peel Regional Police and the crown attorney's office laid charges last February.
To protest the charges, which they believe violates their right of free speech, Batista and his son Joe both ran unsuccessfully against Saito for the Ward 9 seat on council last November.
In an interview last fall, the accused said, "I don't think I did anything wrong. I wrote it (the poem) to make her feel guilty."
Saito told The News at the time that "the whole thing is unfortunate. I didn't want to see him go to jail," she said, "but I wanted him made aware that what he was doing was wrong. When you are in politics, this is the kind of thing you open yourself up to."

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• PAT
• SAITO
• ANDRE
• MARIN
• ZONE OF IMMUNITY
• CLAYTON
• RUBY
• MISSISSAUGA
• 2001
• MUNICIPAL
• ACT

[MISSISSAUGAWATCH]

Hi MembrainJ,

A good day to you also. Peace.

[hotjumbalaya]

im curious to know who won the case??

even thou im askin this 2 years later.

if anyone knows pls tell me.

[MembrainJ]

Have a nice day ;)

[MISSISSAUGAWATCH]

Nice try there MembrainJ. Like so many other Hazel-sycophants, lots of noise with no facts/documentation to back it up. Baird's words are from the Hansard records. Question for you. If Baird made false accusations against McCallion in the Ontario legislature -that she threatened him with a double-barrelled shotgun, why didn't she force him to retract? As for your comment, "Good for Hazel, crack that whip," She certainly doesn't "crack that whip" on her unaccountable employees -errum her voters.

[MembrainJ]

Nice try there comrade. Hazel has made this city what it is and built a flawless credit rating. Just watch the debt pile up and end up worse off than Toronto when she is gone.

Good for Hazel, crack that whip. BTW, John Baird is a moron who ran and hid when Ontario was stuck in the blackout, so I would think twice about using the words from idiot boy. Not like one of Harris's dogs wouldn't have a grudge against Hazel and her outspoken stance on Provincial downloading.

[JohnPurvis]

Mississauga city council are a group of fascists . Donald Barber was arrested at a city council meeting when he spoke the truth, supposedly he assaulted a security guard who escorted him from the building. If people knew how this city council ran they would toss all of them out of office. Hazel is all smiles when the television cameras are on but catch this old bat one on one and you will find the female version of Stalin. It's Hazel's way or the highway.