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FreakMonster
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MAN THAT FUCKING BLOWS!!!!!!!!!!!
I really feel for his son.
— Thomas Junta, the hockey dad who beat another father to death in front of his children, was sentenced to six to 10 years in a Massachusetts state prison.
Junta, 44, had asked to be put on supervised probation with community service. He had faced up to 20 years.
Junta was convicted Jan. 11 for involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Costin, 40.
Junta sat handcuffed, with his head hung low as Costin's three sons, sister and mother spoke at his sentencing.
''Please punish Thomas Junta and do not allow him to soon get out of prison and ruin another family's life,'' Costin's middle son, Michael, said. ''No matter how much of a sentence that you give to Thomas Junta, my dad got more.''
The judge went along with the recommended sentence from prosecutors, though he called it "lenient" and "generous" and said he even considered exceeding it.
Prosecutors have called Junta a bully, while his supporters have described him as a devoted husband and father who fell victim to "a very bad set of circumstances."
Junta did not speak during the hearing and called no witnesses on his behalf.
He sobbed heavily as his defense attorney, Thomas Orlandi Jr., read segments of the letters Junta had written to his two children while the jury deliberated his conviction.
Orlandi also read from a letter from another young hockey player named Garrett who witnessed the fatal beating in July 2000 at an ice rink in suburban Boston.
"Quinn needs his dad more than anything. ... Tom didn't mean for any of this to happen. ... Please don't punish Tom for something he didn't mean and didn't want to happen," Orlandi said, reading from Garrett's letter.
The two men had fought after Junta objected to rough play during a pickup hockey game in July 2000. Costin was supervising his three sons, Junta's son and several other boys on the ice.
The jury found that Junta did not intend to kill Costin, but went too far during the fight.
Before being lead away Friday, Junta raised his shackled hands to blow a kiss and wave to his family seated behind him. Barbara Tracy, his sister, sobbed uncontrollably and had to be comforted by other siblings.
Some previous incidents in Junta's life, which were not brought up at trial, were taken into consideration for the sentencing.
Junta's wife, Michelle, was granted a restraining order against her husband in 1991 when she alleged he beat her continuously in front of their two children and another child. A court ordered Junta out of the couple's Charlestown neighborhood apartment, and gave his wife temporary custody of the children.
Orlandi dismissed the restraining order as irrelevant and stressed that the couple were still together. But the judge gave it weight, even reading from part of the restraining order, which said Junta hit his wife at a wedding in front of children.
Costin had four children, ages 11 through 14. His father, Gus, said Costin had a drinking problem and had been in and out of prison for much of his adult life. But in the final few years of his life, he had quit drinking and was working steadily as a carpenter and painter.
Six months before he was killed, he regained custody of his children.
"Don't worry about the judge says today, Mr. Junta," Gus Costin said Friday. "I don't mean that sarcastically. Worry about what the judge upstairs is going to say. That's eternity."
The jurors in Junta's trial never heard about Costin's troubled past, which included seven prison stints between 1983 and 1995 on charges of breaking and entering, drunken driving and assaulting a police officer. They also never heard that he had taken antidepressants for years and had spent time in psychiatric hospitals.
The judge said Friday he was "troubled" and "disturbed" by letters submitted by the defense that raised Costin's past.
Those references "attempt to shift the focus to the victim as the culprit. These references cheapen the value of human life," Judge Charles Grabau said.
I really feel for his son.
— Thomas Junta, the hockey dad who beat another father to death in front of his children, was sentenced to six to 10 years in a Massachusetts state prison.
Junta, 44, had asked to be put on supervised probation with community service. He had faced up to 20 years.
Junta was convicted Jan. 11 for involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Costin, 40.
Junta sat handcuffed, with his head hung low as Costin's three sons, sister and mother spoke at his sentencing.
''Please punish Thomas Junta and do not allow him to soon get out of prison and ruin another family's life,'' Costin's middle son, Michael, said. ''No matter how much of a sentence that you give to Thomas Junta, my dad got more.''
The judge went along with the recommended sentence from prosecutors, though he called it "lenient" and "generous" and said he even considered exceeding it.
Prosecutors have called Junta a bully, while his supporters have described him as a devoted husband and father who fell victim to "a very bad set of circumstances."
Junta did not speak during the hearing and called no witnesses on his behalf.
He sobbed heavily as his defense attorney, Thomas Orlandi Jr., read segments of the letters Junta had written to his two children while the jury deliberated his conviction.
Orlandi also read from a letter from another young hockey player named Garrett who witnessed the fatal beating in July 2000 at an ice rink in suburban Boston.
"Quinn needs his dad more than anything. ... Tom didn't mean for any of this to happen. ... Please don't punish Tom for something he didn't mean and didn't want to happen," Orlandi said, reading from Garrett's letter.
The two men had fought after Junta objected to rough play during a pickup hockey game in July 2000. Costin was supervising his three sons, Junta's son and several other boys on the ice.
The jury found that Junta did not intend to kill Costin, but went too far during the fight.
Before being lead away Friday, Junta raised his shackled hands to blow a kiss and wave to his family seated behind him. Barbara Tracy, his sister, sobbed uncontrollably and had to be comforted by other siblings.
Some previous incidents in Junta's life, which were not brought up at trial, were taken into consideration for the sentencing.
Junta's wife, Michelle, was granted a restraining order against her husband in 1991 when she alleged he beat her continuously in front of their two children and another child. A court ordered Junta out of the couple's Charlestown neighborhood apartment, and gave his wife temporary custody of the children.
Orlandi dismissed the restraining order as irrelevant and stressed that the couple were still together. But the judge gave it weight, even reading from part of the restraining order, which said Junta hit his wife at a wedding in front of children.
Costin had four children, ages 11 through 14. His father, Gus, said Costin had a drinking problem and had been in and out of prison for much of his adult life. But in the final few years of his life, he had quit drinking and was working steadily as a carpenter and painter.
Six months before he was killed, he regained custody of his children.
"Don't worry about the judge says today, Mr. Junta," Gus Costin said Friday. "I don't mean that sarcastically. Worry about what the judge upstairs is going to say. That's eternity."
The jurors in Junta's trial never heard about Costin's troubled past, which included seven prison stints between 1983 and 1995 on charges of breaking and entering, drunken driving and assaulting a police officer. They also never heard that he had taken antidepressants for years and had spent time in psychiatric hospitals.
The judge said Friday he was "troubled" and "disturbed" by letters submitted by the defense that raised Costin's past.
Those references "attempt to shift the focus to the victim as the culprit. These references cheapen the value of human life," Judge Charles Grabau said.
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