Long-time Cleveland sports media personality Tony Rizzo has had his day in court.
And it appears that Rizzo, who was originally charged with domestic violence, may not serve any jail time.
The host of Good Karma sports WKNR/850 “ESPN Cleveland”‘s midday “The Really Big Show” agreed to a plea deal Thursday in Medina Municipal Court.
Northeast Ohio Media Group via Cleveland.com reports that he pled to a lesser charge:
Rizzo, 52, of Medina pleaded no contest to persistent disorderly conduct, a fourth-degree misdemeanor, at Medina Municipal Court. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail and a $250 fine, Judge Dale Chase said.
Rizzo had been accused of domestic violence, a first-degree misdemeanor, in connection with a Dec. 6 incident that occurred at his home.
That avoids a trial, Rizzo attorney Paul Daiker told reporters, though he says he’s “confident” that his client would have been acquitted.
Medina assistant law director Matt Lanier said there was a reason the prosecution went for a deal with Rizzo:
“(Rizzo’s wife) submitted an affidavit to our office and to the defense which indicated she had in fact initiated the physical confrontation by striking him with a glass, and that all he did was defend himself, so she essentially put forward two different versions of the facts. We had to consider that when deciding to reduce this charge or go forward and we did.”
That’s a quote from a report by Tribune Fox affiliate WJW/8’s “Fox 8 News”, Rizzo’s once and again TV home, which has been among the most aggressive in reporting his case.
The station’s website says “Medina Municipal Court Judge Dale Chase has the option of placing him on probation.”
The truly Rizzo Trial Obsessed (and yes, we know we have some among our readership) should head off to Cleveland Scene’s website.
The alt-weekly has posted raw video of his court appearance, video that’s likely not going to be aired Sunday nights at 11 PM on Fox 8’s “The Rizzo Show”.
It quotes Lanier as explaining why the case saw reduced charges instead of being dropped outright, after Catherine Rizzo asked that the charges be dismissed:
We took that into account, but didn’t feel comfortable dismissing the case, we didn’t feel comfortable making it a minor misdemeanor. We felt that, looking at all the facts — video, the 911 calls, all those sorts of things, photographs — that this was an appropriate resolution.
Fox 8 was among the media outlets which played tape of the December 911 call made by Rizzo’s wife, and replayed that audio on Thursday:
“My husband is hurting me, and he’s very irate and I’m really scared.”
We hear the sportscaster jumped on I-71 to the Galleria and returned to his WKNR show mid-show after the court appearance, and the radio station won’t comment any further on the case.
In a statement released following Rizzo’s arrest, the station called him an “exemplary teammate”.
“Fox 8’s” coverage says nothing about the future of “The Rizzo Show”, though we expect that’ll be unaffected after this resolution…
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