Special Plaudits to TONY DELLA MONICA who attended every day of 
the Legal Proceedings of James Cosner, 31, who committed this 
sledgehammer attack on a marble Statute of Columbus on March 8 
in the lobby of San Jose, CA. City Hall.

Cosner was also responsible for the the beheading of a Statute of 
Columbus at Junipero Serra Hall in Santa Barbara, CA. early in August.
The statue, which will be restored, is owned by the Knights of Columbus.
The status of that case is unknown. 

Tony was accompanied to the Proceedings by his son Eddy Della 
Monica, his brother UNICAN Joe Ventura, sister UNICAN Maryann 
Fallon, Tony Zerba, Past President of the IAHF, and his friends.

Tony Della Monica proudly stated: "I thank you all for your support. 
I was fortunate to have my doctor give me time away from my hospital 
bed so that I could sit in the courtroom with my full dress red, white 
and green shirt and UNICO pin that I have worn to every hearing or 
anything that has pertained to this case since March 9, 2001". 

An earlier News report of  both incidents follows the News Report of 
today,Oct 10, in the San Jose Mercury, provided by Tony Della Monica 
of the Ruling of the San Jose Court.
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MAN WHO BASHED STATUE OF COLUMBUS GETS JAIL TERM

Jose Mercury News 
Oct. 10, 2001

A man who used a sledgehammer to smash a marble statue of 
Christopher Columbus in San Jose City Hall was sentenced Tuesday 
to 10 months in county jail.

James Cosner pleaded guilty last month to felony vandalism charges. 
In custody since the attack in March, Cosner will serve about 75 more 
days in jail.

He also was ordered to pay up to $65,000 in restitution and serve 
5,250 hours of community service. As a condition of his probation, 
he must complete at least 15 hours of service each weekend or face 
three years in prison.

He had originally been charged with a hate-crime enhancement, which 
was dropped for lack of evidence.

The enhancement charge stemmed from Cosner's having likened 
displaying a statue of Columbus to that of Adolf Hitler in that both were 
responsible for genocide campaigns -- Columbus against indigenous 
people. 

Prosecutor Rob Barker said Cosner's sentence was too light and that 
prison would have been appropriate ``because he used violence to 
impose his political will on others.''
 

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COLUMBUS ATTACKED; STATUE OF EXPLORER IS BEHEADED;
GRAFFITI ASSOCIATED WITH ANARCHISTS

San Jose Mercury News,Morning Final,Page 19A 
Associated Press
08/04/2001

SANTA BARBARA -- A marble statue of Christopher
Columbus has been beheaded and spray-painted in an
apparent protest of the explorer's treatment of
indigenous peoples. 

Painted on the statue were a peace sign and the
letter ''A'' surrounded by a circle, often associated
with anarchist groups. On the back were the
spray-painted words, ''Tell children the truth.'' 

An upside-down American flag was placed in front of
the statue, with the words ''Truth: 509 years of
indigenous genocide.'' 

It was 509 years ago this week that Columbus set
sail across the Atlantic. The vandalism is reminiscent
of a sledgehammer attack March 8 on a marble
statue of Columbus in the lobby of San Jose City
Hall.

James Cosner, 31, of Ben Lomond faces charges of
vandalism and burglary with a hate-crime enhancement. 

While Columbus is credited with discovering America,
he is criticized as a symbol of European exploitation
of native peoples. 

It wasn't clear when the damage at Junipero Serra
Hall in Santa Barbara occurred. The statue, which will
be restored, is owned by the Knights of Columbus.

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Please notice that Columbus is "criticized as a symbol of European 
exploitation of native peoples." A SYMBOL! Not the exploiter! Why 
Columbus, since it was the Spanish who carried out this "exploitation"? 
Why wouldn't the protestors choose a Spanish symbol?

Well that would involve Hispanics, and therefore would not be "politically 
correct", or "politically convenient"? The Italians do not have a preferred, 
or preferential status, and are not very organized, and have little political 
clout, so they make a vulnerable and "acceptable" representation of what 
the Europeans did to the "indigenous people", which was very much like 
what the "indigenous people" were doing to each other! 
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