Frank Frassetto
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By Frank Hinds, Executive Director
Several months ago I wrote about the death of Frank Frassetto. He was crossing the street in a crosswalk when he was hit and killed by a red light runner on November 12, 2012.
The nineteen year old man who hit Mr. Frassetto at 35th and Peoria Avenues in Phoenix, has yet to receive any punishment. Rosemary Frassetto, Frank’s widow is outraged by the continued delays caused by the defendant and his attorney. The defendant was a no-show in court on April 23rd, later telling his attorney he was sick. Sentencing was postponed to June 4th – this time the defendant’s attorney was sick. The judge set a new court date for July 30th and – surprise, surprise, the attorney was sick again! No new sentencing date has been set yet, however, the judge said this is it, no more continuances.
I did a little research on the defendant’s attorney and found that he has been censured on several occasions in the past, both in Arizona and New Jersey for engaging in unethical conduct, violating his duties and obligations as a lawyer. It seems the patern continues with this case as well!
In the mean time, according to the defendant’s Facebook page, he has been living a fun filled life these past few months by going to Las Vegas with his friends and visiting local area dance clubs. I guess this is his way of forgetting that his poor driving bahavior caused an innocent man to loose his life.
Hopefully the judge puts an end to all the delays and sentences this young man once and for all. In addition to manditory Traffic Survival School, the judge can impose a license suspension of six months, a fine of up to $1000 (which can be double by the time they add fees and surcharges) and order the defendant to perform community service.
In my opinion, at least 25 or 30 hours of community service should be ordered, requiring the defendant to speak to high school drivers education classes along with other traffic safety gatherings, telling students about how his poor judgement lead to a man’s death.
I plan to be in court with Rosemary, hopefully within the next month, and I’ll keep you posted on the outcome. Stay tuned!
*Note – I have not named the defendant or his attorney because I don’t want to jeopardise the case. I will share the names after sentencing.