Vincent Bommarito: You'd smile, too, if you were having so much fun.
We've had zero tales of Billies and Gussies and Buckies and Adolphies boozin' and shootin' their way about town. Thank God, then, for the Bommaritos. They're trying to keep things interesting.
First came news last week that the nephew of St. Louis police commissioner and owner of Tony's Restaurant, Vincent Bommarito, was sprung from jail for a DWI after his uncle called in a favor with his cop buddies. News of the incident eventually led to Bommarito resigning from the board this week.
Now comes news today that Vincent Bommarito's son, James Bommarito, was also recently arrested by St. Louis police. That incident occurred in December when James was detained for firing shots into the air.
And the gunshots weren't in celebration of New Year's Eve, either. No, Bommarito was trying to call his hunting dog -- at 4:30 a.m.
The Post-Dispatch uncovered James Bommarito's arrest this week following a letter from Police Chief Dan Isom to the police board that mentioned an "unrelated situation of similar nature" involving the Bommarito clan.
Reports the Post-Dispatch:
According to the report, police received several calls from James Bommarito's neighbors in the LaSalle Park neighborhood, just south of downtown, complaining of shots fired about 4:30 a.m. on Dec. 20.So there you have it. Think what you will of the Bommaritos, but this you cannot say of the family: "Their dogs don't hunt."
When police arrived, they found Bommarito walking on the sidewalk. Outside his home, they found shell casings. Inside, a semiautomatic pistol was lying on the kitchen counter, the report said.
Bommarito told police that his dog, a black Labrador, had escaped. In an attempt to get the dog to come back, he fired several shots into the air, "as the dog is trained for hunting and will come toward the sound of gunfire," the report said.
Bommarito was arrested for discharging a firearm, taken to the department's Central Patrol Division, and released after he was issued a city court summons. On Feb. 4, Bommarito pleaded guilty to the charge in municipal court, paying a $100 fine plus $50 in court costs.
