Talk:Richard Rossi
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[edit] The numerous problems with this article
My main problem with this article is that it is clearly continuously sabatoged by those who have an obsession with stalking and gossiping about Richard Rossi. Frankly, I don't know whether they write about anything else.
After investigating the background of such posters, what is readily apparent is: 1) they have nothing to do but write against Rev. Rossi 2) they continue to propagate bizarre stories about the demon doppelganger, and 3) that they clearly exaggerated anything negative
Most of the publications listed in this sub-section with defamatory pieces are not major news publications, many appear to be little more than small community newspapers or newsletters, and except for the in-text references I put in (see below), there are no reference links to sources on the web. --—Preceding unsigned comment added by 4.173.53.253 20:29 (talk • contribs) 5 January 2007
[edit] Corrections and removals
- I have also had to revert a number of commerical links inserted into this article, the latest inserted by 4.232.132.150. Commerical links are not appropriate for Wikipedia articles. Wikipedia is not a place to advertise items or services for sale, nor is it a place to ask for donations. Furthermore, 4.232.132.150 has also replaced many of the "citation needed" tags with links to web articles that have little or no relevance to the unsourced statement it is supposed to support. -- 4.167.239.41 19:36, 7 January 2007 (UTC)
- I have had to restore a relevant category "Music of Pittsburgh" to both Richard Rossi's entry and his late father, because the music they wrote and performed was often thematic with lyrical references to the experience of growing up and living in Pittsburgh. --—Preceding unsigned comment added by Jacksbernstein (talk • contribs) 23:39, 7 July 2007
- Rossi should be removed from the spurious category "People with bi-polar disorder." Although there are articles mentioning his father's manic-depression, there are no supporting articles that he is also diagnosed with same. -- —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jacksbernstein (talk • contribs) 18:32, 12 July 2007
[edit] Need for Balance
Though some insist that previous edits regarding Rossi were unduly slanted against him "by referencing inaccurate sources," each detail has been supported by published newspaper accounts. Public records of the Butler County courthouse indicate Rossi (1)always maintained his innocence, and was cleared by the overwhelming evidence for his inncoence, (2)was tried for the crime but vindicated (3) was never convicted, but agreed to a plea bargain to spare his family the emotional and legal costs and (4) was "cleared" by physical evidence and eyewitness testimony, tested in a court of law. The doppelganger story was created by Ann Rodgers Melnick, a Pittsburgh Post Gazette reporter, and was later pegged with this "doppelganger" word by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette Tony Norman in a column known for inaccuracies and satire and picked up by others. Richard Rossi served time, but was later cleared from all accusations. --—Preceding unsigned comment added by Jacksbernstein (talk • contribs) 19:58, 21 July 2007
- jacksbernstein is being wildly misleading.
1) Rossi pled to and was convicted of "aggravated assault" for nearly beating his wife to death. That's a matter of record. When the full plea agreement is posted online -- it, too, is a matter of public record -- this editorial debate will be seen for what it is: fallout from convicted felon Rossi whitewashing his vanity entry.
2) Rossi was initially tried for attempted murder -- for the same act of beating his wife -- and spared by a mistrial. He pled to a reduced crime, serving 96 days in jail and four years probation for felony aggravated assault for the same criminal act of beating his wife.
3) The reasons for his accepting the plea bargain are moot. He stands convicted of the felony of aggravated assault for beating his wife into a coma.
4) The conviction stands. He was never "cleared."
The word doppelganger may have been first used in the newspaper, but the defense of a body double committing the crime was used extensively by Rossi and is verifiable through contemperaneous news accounts. --Achristiansoldier 13:59, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Defamation by editors
There has been a recent rash of edits on this article with an obvious obsession with defaming Rev. Rossi. It is apparent when a new poster emerges overnight to flood wikipedia with a flurry of slanderous additions to the article and the said posters history on the Internet is exclusively of a defamatory nature dealing with articles on Rev. Rossi. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jacksbernstein (talk • contribs) 23:50, 31 July 2007
- jacksbernstein is inappropriately scrubbing this entry. -- just check the history of this entry. This is clearly a vanity entry intended to promote the subject: all information of a troubling nature about Rossi's status as a convicted felon have been systematically scrubbed to make this a more flattering piece. However, Rossi's trial in Pennsylvania is his chief claim to fame and notoriety. It cannot go unreported in a Wikipedia article, and local newspaper accounts are the the best, most easily verfiable depiction.--Achristiansoldier 13:51, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
Report information regarding stalkers to stalking unit.
[edit] Controversy
User:Jacksbernstein has repeatedly edited his biographical entry to remove accurate, newspaper-sourced accounts of Rossi's much-publicized conviction for beating his wife. Rossi's prosecution for attempted murder ended in mistrail. But he spent time in jail for beating his wife, and was sued by his Long Beach congregation for concealing his criminal past.
Please reexamine this entry: Rossi accepted an aggravated assault conviction in the case. That's a matter of record.
Any characterization of his civil negotiations with the Long Beach congregation are priveleged, and can't be verified through press accounts. Please re-read the cited article carefully. It does not support Rossi's characterization. --—Preceding unsigned comment added by Achristiansoldier (talk • contribs) 15:37, 8 August 2007
-
- All assertations are supported by citations in major newspapers such as The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Long Beach Press-Telegram. They are sourced to newspaper accounts, which are demonstrably true. After the mistrial, prosecutors allowed Rossi to plead to aggravated assault; he served over ninety days in jail for beating his wife. I only debunk criminal convict Rossi's assertations with easily verified newspaper articles. --—Preceding unsigned comment added by Achristiansoldier (talk • contribs) 20:30, 9 August 2007
[edit] Proof in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: It Debunks Richard Rossi's Vanity Entry=
Former Cranberry pastor ousted from California church
Wednesday, September 13, 2000
By Steve Levin, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
The saga of former Cranberry pastor Richard Rossi, a tale of hirings, firings, an attempted-murder charge and a subsequent mistrial, has taken further twists in his adopted state of California, where he has been ousted from his latest church and picketed by an anti-gay group.
..."He was fired in January after 2 1/2 years as pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church when a group of church members changed the building's locks and filed a civil suit against him charging, among other things, that Rossi failed to let them know he'd been charged with beating his wife almost to death in 1994 along a rural Pennsylvania road.
Although a mistrial was declared in that case, Rossi, then pastor of the First Love Church, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault. Sentenced to four to eight months in prison, he served 96 days plus four years of probation...." http://www.post-gazette.com/regionstate/20000913rossi9.asp
Other Pittsburgh Post-Gazette articles and columns:
"Fleece The Sheep"
"...Richard Rossi, the guitar-playing former pastor of First Love Church of Cranberry.
Rossi -- or his evil twin, we can never be sure -- is fighting with his Long Beach, Calif., church over his unprecedented access to congregational money. Rossi is accused of withholding information from Immanuel Baptist Community Church about his notoriety in Pittsburgh, as if he weren't proud of every moment of the 96 days he spent in jail for beating his wife six years ago...." http://www.post-gazette.com/columnists/19991123tony.asp
"The Rich Rossi Project"
"...If I were to put a documentary together about all the weirdness that happens here, I'd probably call it "The Rich Rossi Project." Richard Rossi, you'll recall, is the guitar-playing minister who was charged with attacking his wife on an isolated back road near Evans City several weeks after O.J. made spousal homicide a national pastime.
Unlike Nicole Brown Simpson, Sherri Rossi lived. The police accused her husband of doing the deed, but he countered with a likely story involving a murderous "double." The cops and the DA were skeptical. After emerging from a coma, Sherri implicated Rev. Rossi. But during the trial, she insisted someone who looked like him did it, sparking Freudian analysis from the media peanut gallery.
Still, Rev. Rossi managed to get a hung jury in Butler County. Folks were embarrassed because the "it-was-a-demon" defense hadn't really worked in these parts for 200 years. But one juror felt that since every doppelganger wasn't accounted for on the day Sherri was attacked, there really was room for reasonable doubt...." http://www.post-gazette.com/columnists/19990831tony.asp
"Pastor threatens slander lawsuit Rossi berates 'spies' in California church"
"...It is not the first time in Rossi's career that his churches have become embroiled in controversy. In 1988, he changed the name of his church from The Church of the Three Rivers to the Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Pittsburgh and said it belonged to the Association of Vineyard Churches.
But officials of the Vineyard association, based in Anaheim, Calif., said Rossi never completed its affiliation process.
In 1989, Rossi joined the Assemblies of God after being offered a building and a congregation. He built Cranberry Assembly of God from 50 members to 250, but in 1991 bolted from the Assemblies of God, saying that he was being guided by God into a ministry too radical for the Assemblies to support.
Assemblies officials, however, said that Rossi did not follow correct procedures and left owing several thousand dollars for the church building...." http://www.post-gazette.com/regionstate/19991122rossi4.asp
[edit] Proof in Long Beach Press-Telegram
The Long Beach Press-Telegram archives its older articles through NewsLibrary.com. Since links that solicit funds are not allowed, here is the link to the Long Beach Press-Telegram search page: http://www.presstelegram.com/search. You can follow their link to the archives.
Clippings from the archives, most recent listed first:
1. Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA) - March 20, 2000
L.B. CHURCH, MINISTER PROTESTED Still reeling from the controversial ouster of its minister in January, Immanuel Baptist Church in Long Beach was the center of a protest Sunday by an infamous anti-gay church group from Kansas.Supporters of the Rev. Richard Rossi, who was fired from Immanuel in January, contacted Westboro Baptist Church for help in protesting Rossi's dismissal. But the demonstration turned into one against homosexuality and Rossi, who accepted gays into his congregation.Rossi was fired...
2. Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA) - November 22, 1999
EMBATTLED L.B. PASTOR MAKES PUBLIC DEFENSE Staging a mock trial at Immanuel Community Church Sunday, Pastor Richard Rossi called four supportive parishioners before the congregation and questioned them about allegations in a civil suit filed against him last week.In his first formal appearance before his parishioners since the lawsuit was filed on Wednesday, Rossi vehemently denied accusations that he'd defrauded the church of $15,000, illegally changed the institution's bylaws and concealed his criminal...
3. Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA) - November 21, 1999
PASTOR WINS BY DEFAULT Just two years ago, a young and charismatic Richard Rossi joined Immanuel Community Church as pastor, sparking a new beginning for a Baptist congregation that welcomed the change from the previous fundamentalist preacher.But Saturday, four members of the church's former executive council discussed ousting the 37-year-old, who allegedly tailored a membership vote last month that put himself as chief in command of the church's money, property and employees. The group...
4. Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA) - November 20, 1999
PASTOR FACES SUIT FOR REVISING BYLAWS OF CHURCH Pastor Richard Rossi may have been playing a part when he took the stage as Elmer Gantry in his own adaptation of the play at Immanuel Community Church last year.But some of his Baptist congregation now wonder if the tale of the charismatic yet scandalous preacher was more true to life than they'd imagined. Rossi, the target of a civil lawsuit filed Wednesday in Long Beach Superior Court, is accused of illegally changing the church bylaws, defrauding the church of $15,000 and...
5. Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA) - November 18, 1999
DISPUTE BETWEEN TRUSTEES, PASTOR GOES TO COURT When Richard Rossi joined Immanuel Community Church of Long Beach as pastor two years ago, many parishioners considered him the answer to their prayers.The young, energetic and charming minister from Pennsylvania was a breath of fresh air, says Tim Pfeifer, a longtime member of the church. That air has since turned stale. In a civil complaint filed Wednesday in Long Beach Superior Court, Pfeifer and the five other members of the church's Board of Trustees have accused Rossi of...
All these articles are accessible/verifiable through the Long Beach Press-Telegram's archive search. --Achristiansoldier 17:31, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
[edit] MORE Proof: Clippings from archived Pittsburgh Post-Gazette articles
These can all be accessed through NewsArchive.com: http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives. Most recent listed first:
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - April 7, 1999
ROSSI IN REMAKE
Former Pittsburgh preacher Richard Rossi is making an interesting career move - playing the lead role in a remake of "Elmer Gantry," the 1960 Burt Lancaster-Shirley Jones drama about a salesman who joins an evangelist's troupe and finds out how much money can be made from religion.Rossi now lives in Southern California with his wife, Sherrie. In 1994, he pleaded no contest to a charge of assault against her and served three months in jail. In 1996, the...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - October 2, 1996
JUDGE DISMISSES CIVIL RIGHTS SUIT
A federal judge has recommended dismissal of Sherrie Lynn Rossi's lawsuit against eight state troopers and two Butler County prosecutors.In her July 1995 federal civil rights claim, Rossi, of Cranberry, accused law enforcement officials of violating her civil rights by keeping her apart from her husband, the Rev. Richard A. Rossi Jr. U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth Benson noted that Sherrie Rossi twice testified that her husband attacked her and left her for dead on June 24,...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - July 11, 1996
LAWYER DROPS ROSSI COMPLAINT
A Butler lawyer has withdrawn a civil complaint she had filed against her former client, Sherrie Rossi of Cranberry.Elizabeth Smith had filed the action against Rossi last month for nonpayment of $956 in attorney's bills. Smith said she and Rossi had reached an agreement so she withdrew the complaint Tuesday. It had been filed at the office of Chicora District Justice Joseph O'Donnell. Smith declined further comment. Rossi is the wife of the Rev. Richard A. Rossi,...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - June 14, 1996
LAWYER SUES SHERRIE ROSSI
Sherrie Rossi, who contends she was victimized twice - first by an assailant who looked like her husband and then by the court system that kept her from her spouse for a year - now is the target of a civil suit.Rossi was sued yesterday by her former attorney, Elizabeth Smith of Butler, for nonpayment. In a civil complaint filed with Chicora District Justice Joseph O'Donnell Jr., Smith said Rossi owed her $956.Sherrie Rossi initially identified her husband, Richard Rossi, a...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - June 5, 1996
SHERRIE ROSSI TELLS HER TALE IN A BOOK
Her story has already hit the tabloid-TV trifecta -- it was featured on ``Hard Copy, ``A Current Affair and ``American Journal - and now Sherrie Rossi, who accused her husband of beating her nearly to death two years ago but later recanted, has written a book.The self-published paperback is titled ``Assault of Justice: The Rev. Rossi Mystery. About 1,000 copies were printed, Rossi said....
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - November 9, 1995
SHERRIE ROSSI FILES LAWSUIT, CLAIMS RIGHTS WERE VIOLATED
Sherrie Lynn Rossi, the Cranberry woman who accused her husband of trying to kill her then later recanted, is suing Butler County District Attorney Sheryle Long, Assistant District Attorney David Hepting and eight Pennsylvania state troopers based in Butler.Rossi, 35, alleges in a lawsuit filed yesterday in U.S. District Court that law enforcement officials violated her civil rights by keeping her apart from the Rev. Richard A. Rossi Jr., 32, her husband of 11 years. She is seeking at...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - October 12, 1995
NATIONAL ON THIS DATE One year ago (Wednesday, Oct. 12, 1994) -- Panama granted political asylum to ousted Haitian military leader Raoul Cedras. -- "My husband is not to blame." With those words, Sherrie Lynn Rossi told a judge that the Rev. Richard Rossi was not responsible for the severe injuries she suffered in a beating, reversing her earlier accusations.Five years ago (Friday, Oct. 12, 1990) -- The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to condemn...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - August 30, 1995
'LUCKY' MAN IS OUT OF JAIL ACCUSED WIFE-BEATER ROSSI IS RELEASED 20 DAYS EARLY
The Rev. Richard A. Rossi Jr., the man accused of beating his wife nearly to death 14 months ago, emerged from jail yesterday talking about big changes -- in his life, in his ministry, and maybe even in the state he calls home.Meeting with the media only hours after being released from the Butler County Jail, Rossi said he was writing two screenplays, wanted to move away from the ministry as his main job, and may move his family to California, where his wife, Sherrie Lynn Rossi, once...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - July 1, 1995
EUGENE CONNELLY OFFERS CONVICTED WIFE-BEATER A WORK-RELEASE JOB SETTING UP BANQUETS AT STATION SQUARE. ROSSI COULD GET SHERATON JOB
The Rev. Richard A. Rossi Jr. could go from cleaning the kitchen of the Butler County Jail to setting up the banquet room at The Sheraton Hotel at Station Square.Dressed in prison blue, his ankles and wrists in shackles, Rossi asked Judge Floyd A. Rauschenberger yesterday to overrule the county jail warden and grant him approval for work release. Rossi, 32, of Cranberry, who is in jail for assaulting his wife, told the court he had a job offer from Eugene F. Connelly, chief executive...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - June 29, 1995
ROSSI'S PRISON LIFE IMITATING ART
When the Rev. Richard Rossi is not working in the Butler County Prison's kitchen or talking to his wife and fellow church members on the phone, he spends his time in jail writing a screenplay about the occult."Wickedness in High Places" is "purely creative" and does not cull from events in the minister's life the past year, said Andre DeStefano, 35, a member of Rossi's First Love Church. Members of his...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - June 26, 1995
NATIONAL ON THIS DATE One year ago (Sunday, June 26, 1994) -- Hundreds of thousands of homosexuals gathered in New York City to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn riot, considered the birth of the gay rights movement. -- Sherrie Lynn Rossi, 34, was in critical condition in Allegheny General Hospital. Her husband, the Rev. Richard Rossi, told state police that a man who resembled him beat her nearly to death.Five years ago (Tuesday, June 26, 1990) -- President George...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - May 20, 1995
SHORT ARM OF THE LAW RICHARD ROSSI IS GOING TO JAIL, BUT NOT FOR LONG ENOUGH
The bizarre tale of the Rev. Richard Rossi Jr. and the law has ended with a whimper, not a bang. Mr. Rossi, who was accused of the near-fatal beating of his wife last June, was sentenced Thursday to four to eight months in jail under a plea bargain.Sheryle Long, the Butler County district attorney who prosecuted Mr. Rossi, expressed disappointment with the sentence. And so do we. The judge could have -- and should have -- imposed up to an 18-month jail term under state sentencing...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - May 19, 1995
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE WORKERS SCORE 'OBSCENE' ROSSI TERM
A plea agreement that calls for the Rev. Richard A. Rossi Jr. to spend no more than eight months in jail will discourage other battered women from prosecuting their batterers, say advocates for domestic violence victims.Representatives of agencies that assist domestic violence victims criticized the plea bargain yesterday as a lenient "slap on the wrist." The plea bargain indicates that judges and law enforcement officials do not consider domestic attacks to be as...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - May 19, 1995
NO-CONTEST PLEA ENTERED FOR ASSAULT CHARGES AGAINST MINISTER REDUCED IN WIFE'S BEATING
There were no goodbye embraces or dramatic declarations of love.The Rev. Richard A. Rossi Jr. didn't even glance back at his wife before sheriff's deputies led him to the Butler County Jail, where he will spend the next four to eight months -- the penalty for her near-fatal beating in June. And Sherrie Rossi, accuser turned exonerator, watched without expression then hurried from the courtroom without comment.Richard Rossi entered a no-contest plea to...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - April 6, 1995
COSTS MOUNT IN ROSSI TRIAL BUTLER COUNTY WILL PAY MORE THAN $27,000
From overtime pay for court personnel to a $200 bill for a juror's chiropractic treatments, expenses associated with the trial of the Rev. Richard A. Rossi Jr. are adding up to make it one of Butler County's costliest."It's not going to break us," Chief Clerk William S. O'Donnell said. But it's got to be one of our more expensive trials." Not all the figures are in, but...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - April 5, 1995
MESSAGE RELAYED TO ROSSI WOMAN, MINISTER FOUND IN CAR
A woman said she was taking a message to a minister -- the suspect in the near-fatal beating of his wife -- when police found them together in a car near an abandoned building last month.The Rev. Richard Rossi, 32, of Cranberry, will be tried June 19 for a second time in the beating of Sherrie Rossi June 24. A jury in Butler County was unable to reach a verdict last week on charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault. Gidgett Moffett said she met with Rossi March 2 at the request of...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - April 1, 1995
DEADLOCKED JURY FORCES MISTRIAL IN ROSSI ASSAULT CASE
A Butler County judge declared a mistrial last night in the case of the Rev. Richard A. Rossi Jr. after weary-looking jurors, who spent 6 1/2 hours deliberating, said they could not reach a verdict.The panel of seven women and five men returned to Judge Floyd A. Rauschenberger's courtroom at 8:55 p.m. and said they were hopelessly deadlocked on whether Rossi, 32, of Cranberry, should be convicted or acquitted in the June 24 beating of his wife, Sherrie Lynn Rossi....
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - April 1, 1995
DEADLOCKED JURY FORCES MISTRIAL IN ROSSI ASSAULT CASE
A Butler County judge declared a mistrial last night in the case of the Rev. Richard A. Rossi Jr. after weary-looking jurors, who spent 6 1/2 hours deliberating, said they could not reach a verdict.The panel of seven women and five men returned to Judge Floyd A. Rauschenberger's courtroom at 8:55 p.m. and said they were hopelessly deadlocked on whether Rossi, 32, of Cranberry, should be convicted or acquitted in the June 24 beating of his wife, Sherrie Lynn Rossi....
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - March 30, 1995
COVER STORY BY ROSSI ALLEGED WITNESS SAYS HE WAS ASKED BY PASTOR TO CONCOCT LETTER BOLSTERING LAND HUNT CLAIM
Heads turned in anticipation yesterday when Sherrie Lynn Rossi walked to the witness stand in the trial of her husband, who is accused of beating her nearly to death last summer.It was the kind of drama scripted for a movie. But just as in Hollywood, bigger surprises were to come.Prosecutors produced two surprises late yesterday via testimony from a former neighbor of the defendant, the Rev. Richard A. Rossi Jr., and from the former second-in-command of his church: -- For the...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - March 22, 1995
ROSSI JURY POOL LOSES 10 DUE TO TAINTING PROSPECTIVE JURORS ADMIT DISCUSSING CASE AS THEY WAITED
Ten prospective jurors in the criminal trial of the Rev. Richard A. Rossi Jr. were dismissed yesterday amid concerns that they may have been tainted.Midway through yesterday's questioning of potential jurors, Juror No. 29 -- a retired high school business teacher -- admitted to Judge Floyd A. Rauschenberger Jr. that she and several other prospective jurors had been discussing the case while they awaited their call to appear before the court for individual questioning....
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - March 10, 1995
ROSSI RECEIVES SUBPOENA WHEREABOUTS STILL UNKNOWN
Sherrie Rossi is still keeping a low profile, but Butler County authorities said she had received a subpoena ordering her to attend her husband's coming trial.State police have received a return receipt signed by Sherrie Rossi, indicating that she received the subpoena sent to her through certified mail, Assistant District Attorney David Hepting said yesterday. The subpoena was issued two weeks ago by the Butler County clerk of courts. State police said this week that they had...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - February 4, 1995
CONTRACTOR WANTS CHURCH LOAN REPAID
An Apollo contractor is seeking immediate repayment of a $6,000 loan he made to the Rev. Richard Rossi Jr.'s First Love Church.An attorney for Bruce Wing filed a legal judgment with the Butler County prothonotary's office yesterday against the church. The action essentially constitutes a lien against any church property. Rossi, 32, of Cranberry, is charged with attempted homicide and aggravated assault in connection with the near-death beating of his wife, Sherrie...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - February 3, 1995
ROSSI'S NEW CHURCH LOCATION PUT UP FOR SALE
With membership and funds on the decline, the Rev. Richard Rossi Jr.'s First Love Church has put its future church site in Cranberry up for sale.Four weeks ago, the church sold its church and land in nearby Adams, leaving the congregation without a church to worship in. Since then, Rossi has been using members' homes to hold worship services.Church spokesman Jim Flowers said the rotation would continue until Rossi's March criminal trial is resolved...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - January 21, 1995
BEATING TESTIMONY RULED ADMISSIBLE JUDGE TO ALLOW JURY TO HEAR SHERRIE ROSSI'S ORIGINAL STATEMENT HER HUSBAND ATTACKED HER
Sherrie Rossi's statements to authorities that her husband was the one who smashed her skull and left her for dead June 24 will be admitted as evidence during his criminal trial, despite the fact she has since recanted the accusations.And all statements made by the defendant -- the Rev. Richard A. Rossi Jr., 32, of Cranberry -- have been deemed admissible at trial, as has all the physical evidence collected by authorities during their seven-month investigation. Those decisions,...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - December 13, 1994
ROSSIS MUST STAY APART, JUDGE RULES
Sherrie Rossi's hopes for reuniting her family for the holidays were dashed yesterday when a Butler County judge refused to hear her request.Common Pleas Judge Thomas J. Doerr ruled that Sherrie Rossi, 34, had no legal standing to ask him to reconsider an earlier court decision that restricts her husband, the Rev. Richard Rossi Jr., from contacting his wife. Richard Rossi, 31, pastor of the First Love Church in Adams, is charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault in...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - December 2, 1994
ROSSI ATTORNEYS WANT EVIDENCE TO BE SUPPRESSED
Attorneys presented a long list of pretrial motions yesterday in the Rev. Richard A. Rossi's defense against charges in the beating of his wife.The motions, filed late Wednesday, ranged from suppressing testimony about a missing car jack to tossing out police photographs that show a deep gash on Rossi's back. Rossi, 31, of Cranberry, pastor of the First Love Church in Adams, is charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault. His wife, Sherrie Lynn Rossi, 34,...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - November 8, 1994
ROSSI'S PHONE RECORDS SEIZED
Documents unsealed yesterday by court order reveal that authorities have seized the Rev. Richard Rossi Jr.'s telephone records as investigators pursue reports that he was having marital problems with his wife, who was beaten nearly to death in June.Richard Rossi, 31, is charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault in connection with the attack on Sherrie Rossi and is scheduled to stand trial in Butler County in mid-January. Rossi's defense attorneys -- angry...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - November 3, 1994
LAWYERS CONCUR ON DNA ANALYSIS BLOODSTAINED SHORTS TAKEN FROM ROSSI WILL UNDERGO TESTING
A pair of bloodstained shorts worn by the Rev. Richard A. Rossi Jr. the night his wife was nearly beaten to death will be turned over to defense experts for DNA analysis.The Butler County district attorney's office agreed yesterday after a 50- minute closed-door meeting with the defense to turn over the evidence to Cellmark Diagnostics of Germantown, Md., a nationally known private laboratory that specializes in DNA identification. The agreement states that prosecutors will...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - October 22, 1994
BEATEN WOMAN ASKS FOR REVISION ROSSI WANTS CHANGE IN HUSBAND'S BOND
Sherrie Lynn Rossi was emphatic. In testimony yesterday, she said her husband was not the man who beat her almost to death in June.She asked Butler County Common Pleas Judge Thomas J. Doerr to modify the Rev. Richard Rossi's bond to allow the couple to have contact with each other, to reconcile our family and move on." Doerr, who last week had ruled in favor of relaxing a protection-from-abuse order against her husband, refused the...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - October 15, 1994
SHERRIE ROSSI RECANTS STORY OF ASSAULT
The man who bashed in her skull in June was not her minister husband, but a stranger who looked like him, Sherrie Lynn Rossi said yesterday."He didn't do it. It was somebody that looked a lot like him that did it," she said. The Rev. Richard A. Rossi Jr., pastor of the independent, charismatic First Love Church in Adams, remains charged with attempted homicide and aggravated assault.In her first interview yesterday, Sherrie Rossi recanted her...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - October 14, 1994
MRS. ROSSI'S REVISION IT SHOULDN'T DERAIL THE PROSECUTION OF HER HUSBAND
There is much ambiguity surrounding why Sherrie Rossi has altered her story about how she was bludgeoned close to death. Or, for that matter, exactly what she is now claiming took place.Just what did Mrs. Rossi mean when she asserted in court on Wednesday that her husband, the Rev. Richard Rossi, was "not to blame" and was not responsible for what happened"? Was this to say that she held herself at fault and, if so, for what...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - October 13, 1994
'MY HUSBAND IS NOT TO BLAME'
Sherrie Lynn Rossi, her head wrapped in layers of gauze bandage, changed her earlier testimony and told Butler County Common Pleas Court yesterday that her husband "is not responsible" for the injuries that nearly claimed her life in June.Pale and carrying a box of facial tissues, she informed Judge Thomas J. Doerr that she intended to reconcile with the Rev. Richard A. Rossi Jr. of Cranberry -- the man she had previously accused of beating her unconscious. In a...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - October 9, 1994
ROSSI CASE MAY BE TAKING A NEW TURN WIFE RUMORED TO BE RECANTING CHARGES AGAINST BUTLER MINISTER
The district attorney's office in Butler County is continuing its case against the Rev. Richard A. Rossi Jr., despite unsubstantiated reports that his wife may have recanted her earlier testimony that he brutally beat her.Attorneys and relatives of the Rossis said they could not comment on current discussions in the case. "All I can tell you is that they are working their problems out," said John Rossi, Richard Rossi's nephew, who was staying...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - August 26, 1994
ROSSIS REACH CUSTODY TERMS BEATEN WOMAN WILL BE CHILDREN'S PRIMARY PARENT AFTER SHE HEALS
For the second time in as many weeks, a minister and his wife have surprised Butler County court officials by making their child custody arrangements out of court.The Rev. Richard A. Rossi Jr. of Cranberry and his wife, Sherrie Lynn, negotiating through their attorneys, completed the agreement yesterday morning, shortly before a scheduled court appearance before Common Pleas Judge Thomas J. Doerr. Under the terms of their Aug. 10 agreement, the Rossis shared custody of Karis, 5, and...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - August 25, 1994
ROSSI CASE: WIFE SEEKS PRIMARY CUSTODY OF CHILDREN
Sherrie Lynn Rossi will return today to the Butler County Courthouse to seek primary custody of her two preschool children.Rossi, 34, who is living at an undisclosed location, now shares custody of Karis, 5, and Joshua, 3, with her husband, the Rev. Richard A. Rossi Jr., pastor of the independent First Love Church in Adams. Richard Rossi, 32, has been charged with attempted homicide and aggravated assault in the June 24 beating of his wife.In denying the charges, Rossi told state...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - August 11, 1994
BEATEN WOMAN SEEKS HER CHILDREN
Sherrie Lynn Rossi will go to court today to seek primary custody of her two preschool children, now in the care of her minister-husband.She will also request a protection from abuse order against the Rev. Richard A. Rossi, who is charged with attempted homicide and aggravated assault in her June 24 beating. "She wants to be with her children. I can't emphasize that enough," said attorney Elizabeth A. Smith of Butler, who represents Sherrie Rossi....
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - July 31, 1994
GOD'S WARRIOR THE PREACHER AND THE DEMONS
The demons were always real at First Love Church in Adams.For years, Pastor Richard A. Rossi Jr. had preached that demonic armies roamed the Earth, taking captives and waging war against Christians, especially his disciples. He described himself as one of God's warriors, a man who could drive out demons. Now that Rossi, 32, faces a criminal hearing this week on charges that he beat his wife nearly to death a month ago, many of his followers are telling state police that he has...
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) - July 6, 1994
UNSETTLING OVATION A CONGREGATION EMBRACES A PASTOR ACCUSED OF WIFE-BEATING
One day last week the Post-Gazette prominently featured three news stories related to accusations of domestic battering: Cheryl Curtician testified at the preliminary hearing for her husband; O.J. Simpson's preliminary hearing on charges of murdering his wife and a male acquaintance was under way; and Cranberry minister Richard Rossi was charged with nearly beating his wife to death.The Cheryl Curtician abduction-and-beating story captured the attention of Western... --Achristiansoldier 18:04, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
[edit] More proof: Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News
Philadelphia Daily News (PA) - May 20, 1995
REV'S 4-MONTH JAIL TERM FOR BEATING WIFE RIPPED SENDS BAD MESSAGE, VICTIMS CENTER SAYS
A pastor's sentence in the near-fatal beating of his wife sends a message to battered victims that the justice system won't take them seriously, domestic violence workers said.The Rev. Richard Rossi, 32, of suburban Pittsburgh began a four-to-eight month sentence Thursday after he pleaded no contest to a second-degree aggravated assault charge. He was also given four years of probation and was ordered to undergo psychological counseling. Victims often risk further...
Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA) - January 11, 1995
AS PASTOR AWAITS TRIAL, PARISHIONERS SUSPECT A DEMONIC CONSPIRACY
For Tony Puccio, there's no question why his church is collapsing, his pastor is accused of trying to kill his wife, and strange symbols have appeared on his congregation's lawn and parking lot.It's Satan's work. "We believe in healing and seeing people get saved," said Puccio, a 36- year-old insurance salesman. "Satan doesn't like that."The authorities have different ideas....
Philadelphia Daily News (PA) - November 25, 1994
A DEVIL OF A MESS FOR CONGREGATION PASTOR ACCUSED OF TRYING TO KILL WIFE FINGERS A DEMON IN HUMAN FORM For Tony Puccio, there's no question why his church is collapsing, his pastor is accused of trying to kill his wife and strange symbols have appeared on his congregation's lawn and parking lot.It's Satan's work. "We believe in healing and seeing people get saved," said Puccio, a 36- year-old insurance salesman. "Satan doesn't like that."While police have different ideas, many... --Achristiansoldier 19:43, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Yet more proof: Other Pennsylvania Newspapers
Erie Times-News (PA) - May 19, 1995
PASTOR SENTENCED TO JAIL AFTER ENTERING PLEA IN WIFE'S BEATING
BUTLER, Pa. (AP) _ A pastor who insists he was innocent in his wife's near-fatal beating pleaded no contest Thursday to second-degree aggravated assault. "One of my many goals is to heal our family and become the best husband and father I can be," the Rev. Richard Rossi told Butler County Judge Floyd Rauschenberger.Rossi, 32, of the Pittsburgh suburb of Cranberry Township was to be tried for a second time on aggravated...
Erie Times-News (PA) - April 4, 1995
ACCUSED MINISTER, WIFE TO RENEW WEDDING VOWS
BUTLER, Pa. (AP) _ A minister accused of severely beating his wife, who recanted her claim that he assaulted her, will face a second trial in the attack five days before the two renew their wedding vows. Richard Rossi, pastor of the First Love Church, will be tried a second time on charges of aggravated assault and attempted murder June 19, prosecutor Sheryle Long said Monday. His first trial ended Friday with a deadlocked jury.Sherrie Rossi said last week...
Erie Times-News (PA) - March 30, 1995
WOMAN FLASHES `I LOVE YOU' SIGN TO MINISTER ON TRIAL FOR BEATING HER
BUTLER (AP) _ A woman flashed the sign-language symbol for "I love you" to her husband Wednesday and said she did not remember ever accusing the minister of chasing her from a car and cracking her skull. Sherrie Rossi, 34, was formerly the key witness against the Rev.Richard Rossi, 31, who is charged with attempted homicide and aggravated assault. He is pastor of the First Love Church in suburban Pittsburgh and a contemporary Christian... --Achristiansoldier 20:02, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Even more proof: Washington Post
Washington Post - May 7, 1995
TRUTH DECAY
It's hard to know whom to believe anymore. The cops? The clergy? A battered woman who accuses her husband? A battered woman who accuses her husband and then says, No, never mind; my attacker just happened to look a lot like my husband Such was the testimony of Sherrie Lynn Rossi, 35, a Pennsylvania woman who was left for dead by the side of the road last June.Imagine being asked to sit on the jury of this one: It was early on a rainy evening that a farmer found Sherrie... --Achristiansoldier 20:02, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Yet even more proof: Salt Lake City Tribune "News of the Weird"
Salt Lake Tribune, The (UT) - January 27, 2000
World Briefs NEWS OF THE WEIRD Update: When News of the Weird introduced the Rev. Richard A. Rossi Jr. in December 1994, his wife had just emerged from a coma and recanted her accusation that he beat her to a pulp near their Pittsburgh home. He had repeatedly denied the charge, saying the attacker must have been someone who looked just like him, driving a car just like his. Nonetheless, he pleaded no contest to the assault and the couple moved to Long Beach, Calif., where he became pastor at the... --Achristiansoldier 20:12, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Local proof: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
11/19/1999
Former Adams Twp. pastor facing trouble in Calif. Rev. Rossi accused of lying on job application
By Maureen O. Byko and Gordon Ovenshine TRIBUNE-REVIEW
The Rev. Richard Rossi crossed the country to distance himself from a criminal past.
Now, the miles are closing in on the former pastor of First Love Church in Adams Township, Butler County. In 1994 he was charged with trying to kill his wife, who said he attacked her but later recanted. His trial ended in a hung jury and he later pleaded no contest to aggravated assault.
Rossi is now pastor of the Immanuel Baptist Church in Long Beach, Calif., but its members have accused him of lying on his job application, illegally changing the church's constitution to grant himself more power and converting church funds for his personal use.
Church members this week asked for an injunction to bar Rossi from having access to church accounts... http://livelibrary.tribweb.com/ --Achristiansoldier 21:17, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
[edit] BLP Noticeboard response
The "Attack" section was awful, a lot of unacceptable sources were cited, like blogs, obscure newsletters, etc., that all violated WP:V and WP:BLP. I didn't have time to adjust the text, but it should be rewritten so that every claim is supported by the remaining sources. I'm sure there are other problems with this article, but that one section was (and still is until it is rewritten) a serious BLP violation. - Crockspot 03:49, 1 August 2007 (UTC)
- I have removed the material that may be in violation of WP:BLP. The material needs to be written in a neutral manner, attribution opinions to these that hold them (rather than asserting these as facts), and avoiding editorializing. It also requires solid sources. The material removed can be found at Talk:Richard Rossi/sandbox ≈ jossi ≈ (talk) 19:28, 1 August 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Talk Page Ettiquette
- Please sign your notes with two dashes and four tildes as shown: --~~~~
- Do not edit other people's posts to input your own comments or to misrepresent what they are saying. It's bad form and considered inappropriate.
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--Lendorien 01:46, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
[edit] DEFAMATORY ARTICLES CITED ABOVE CONTRADICT, LACK CREDIBILITY
First of all, thank you Lendorien for etiquette guidelines to hopefully reign in achristiansoldier's sick obsession to vandalize this article with slander. As many of us discussed, we knew if achristiansoldier was given enough rope, all credibility would be out the window. Obviously, the above cited articles are inaccurate and outrageous due to numerous contradictions of a serious nature. For just one example, a cursory perusal of the article cited above entitled "ROSSI IN REMAKE", dated October 2, 1996 states Rossi "pleaded no contest." Yet the same disreputable newspaper in an article cited above dated September 13, 2000 by Steve Levin states "Rossi pleaded guilty." If they can't get something as serious as what plea was entered correctly, and contradict themselves on a crucial point, the credibility of said paper is impeached. achristiansoldier and others of a similar ilk cannot have it both ways. Also, Rossi's attorney achieved retractions from the Post Gazette on numerous occasions, but they are one sentence entrys in a section of the paper rarely remembered. The Tony Norman article cited above says one juror voted not guilty based on a doppelganger story, which is pure fiction. Any of us who remotely followed the case remember the jury foreman and two others voted not guilty based on evidence. Rossi never pled guilty. I have spoken with Rev. Rossi and he and his wife have the following message for the sick individuals obsessed with defaming him: "When Jesus Christ was dying on the cross, he prayed for his attackers, 'Father, forgive them. They know not what they do.' My wife Sherrie and I forgive all those who hurt us, as God forgives us. We pray that God will heal them by His grace, and that His will be done in their lives. We hope they will find a more positive and creative use of their time, talent, and energies to make a difference in the world."
- It's interesting that there's no rebuttal to the fact that Rossi was convicted of felony aggravated assault. I'll post links to Philadelphia papers if this helps. Scurrilous attacks such as those above -- "sick obsession" -- are just silly.--Achristiansoldier 19:38, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
- FRUIT OF A POISONOUS TREE
As was cited legally in Rossi's legal victory against the above defamation, a precedent of law known as the "fruit of the poisonous tree," (based interestingly enough on Christ's words that a bad tree cannot bear bad fruit), says if the root is inaccurate the fruit is unreliable. Citing "News of the Weird" a comic satire with no journalistic esteem, or out of town papers form Philadelphia or Washington, that only rehash and repeat the inaccuracies of the Pittsburgh paper above as their source, does not create a weightier case. The above articles when read in their entirety, consistently contradict each other, therefore, another paper repeating untrustworthy information is more fruit of the poisonous tree. If there is anyone out there with as much time out there as a christiansoldier has to obsess over Rev. Rossi, take the time to read the above articles and find the blatant contradictions. In fifteen minutes, I counted over twenty inconsistencies.
- Please note that the above poster registered minutes before his/her first post here... and has no other postings on Wikipedia. There are no citations to buttress his/her point of view. He has dismissed the work of the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.... by lumping them in with "News of the Weird." Yes, Richard Rossi's criminal past is weird. What's even weirder are these elaborate attempts to conceal it.--Achristiansoldier 20:44, 10 August 2007 (UTC)
- Rebuttal: "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree." An article has been added from another Pittsburgh paper -- the Tribune Review. It, too, clearly and unambiguously states the facts of Rossi's conviction.
[edit] Christian Examiner: DOES NOT EXONERATE Rossi
There is a flat mischaracterization in this entry, that has no support -- even in the undated newsletter puff piece that's linked as a citation.
The entry currently states:
- Rossi was eventually vindicated, and the Christian Times reported the church was seized, its locks changed, and Rossi defamed because a minority group disagreed with his outreach ministry and biblical beliefs. Rossi won the legal battle, and the group was ordered to pay Rossi a settlement. [2]
This is not supported by the citation. The link is to an obscure, partisan Christian newspaper which makes no such statement.
Here's the link: http://www.christianexaminer.com/Articles/Articles%20Mar01%20/Art_displacedpastor.html
Nowhere in the article is defamation mentioned. There is no report whatsoever of the outcome of the "legal battle." There is no mention of a settlement paid to Rossi.
I can find no newspaper accounts to suggest this information is correct. There is no citation whatsoever to support this statement in the Rossi entry.
The Christian Examiner piece includes no information about the outcome of legal proceedings:
- Early last year, the church was seized and its locks changed by minority members of the congregation who disagreed with an October 1999 vote prohibiting homosexuals from serving in leadership roles. Rossi was fired by the group and the name of the church changed to Immanuel Community. The seizure has prompted several lawsuits, including an attempt from the current tenants to seek outright ownership. Several of the original board members, including chairman Jeffrey Griffith, are countersuing in an effort to get back the church.
- Attorney Donald Ellison, who is representing Griffith, confirmed that legal action was pending, but declined to give specifics until papers were served. Further details were not available at press time...
Furthermore, the article linked includes Rossi's contact information by way of a "plug" for his new church at the end of the piece, making the whole article suspect in the extreme
To underscore the source's lack of credibility, please note that another article in the Christian Examiner about Richard Rossi also included personal contact information at the end of the piece:
Keener Communications Group newspapers are neither mainstream nor credible. As proof, here is a Christian Examiner story credulously touting the opening of the "Creation Museum" -- also featuring contact information for the Museum at the end of the story. http://www.tacomachristiannews.com/Articles/Articles%20Jul07/Art_Jul07_09.html
This inaccurate citation to such a questionable source, and the sheer fiction ascribed to it, should be removed.--Achristiansoldier 04:16, 11 August 2007 (UTC)
[edit] CSD notice
The CSD notice is obviously inappropriate, and was added by a WP:SPA. THF 18:23, 17 August 2007 (UTC)
THF unfairly attempting to reverse proposed deletion without answering notability issues. Why the fear to allow this to proceed? This rapid response to squelch deltion, along with THF's insertion of spurious and questionable sources, further undermines Wikipedia's credibility. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wikifixeditor (talk • contribs) — Wikifixeditor (talk • contribs) has made few or no other edits outside this topic.
- CSD is inappropriate. If you wish to add an AFD notice, I will not contest the addition, though I will vote for Speedy Keep. Please follow appropriate Wikipedia rules. THF 18:30, 17 August 2007 (UTC)
CSD is not appropriate for this article - take it to AFD as suggested. --Fredrick day 18:52, 17 August 2007 (UTC)
