Thread: Barletta to make Philly cheesesteaks at Geno’s Steaks

http://www.standardspeaker.com/index.ph ... 4&Itemid=2

Barletta to make Philly cheesesteaks
Thursday, 21 September 2006
Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta will be making cheesesteaks in South Philadelphia Monday.

Barletta is among the regional celebrities who will take part in a fundraiser for the Gennaro Pellegrini Memorial Scholarship Fund in Philadelphia.

Barletta was invited to participate by Joey Vento – an organizer of the event and owner of Geno’s Steaks, Ninth Street and Passyunk Avenue.

Pellegrini was a Philadelphia police officer and a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard. He was also an up-and-coming boxer who’d attracted national attention.

He was one of five National Guard members killed in action in Iraq Aug. 9, 2005.

Geno’s gained notoriety for the sign in the window of the eatery. It reads, “This is America – Order in English.”

Vento heard of Barletta’s proposal to make English Hazleton’s official language and became a supporter – he even taped a copy of the Standard-Speaker’s story about Barletta’s Illegal Immigration Relief Act in the window near the “order in English” sign.

When Barletta testified in front of a panel from the U.S. Senate’s Judiciary Committee at the Constitution Center this summer, he stopped at Geno’s. He and Vento have become friends since. Barletta invited Vento to Funfest and now Vento asked Barletta to take part in the fundraiser.

“Joey called and asked me if I’d do it and I said sure,” Barletta said. “They’re closing off the blocks around Geno’s, and there will be live radio coverage. I’ll be making cheesesteaks.”

Pellegrini, then 31, had two weeks left in his six-year National Guard stint when he was told his tour of duty would be extended to at least a year. In March 2005, three months after his unit arrived in Iraq, Pellegrini wrote to Don Elbaum, owner of the well-known Blue Horizon boxing venue in North Philadelphia, to say he was still working with a coach and punching the heavy bag daily so he could return to the ring when he returned home.

The scholarship fund was set up shortly thereafter and is actively supported by the Philadelphia Police Department.


On the Net: http://www. pellegrinischolarshipfund.com

http://www.theeveningbulletin.com/site/ ... 6361&rfi=6

09/26/2006
Geno's Raises Money For
By: WILLIAM MULGREW , The Evening Bulletin


Philadelphia - Police Officer and Pa. Army National Guard Reservist Gennaro "Gerry" Pelligrini, Jr,. of the 26th Police District in Fishtown and North Philadelphia, died while serving in Iraq last year. In his memory, Geno's Steaks owner Joey Vento will donate all sale proceeds over two days to a scholarship fund to cover private and parochial school tuition costs for low-income Catholic families.

The drive for the scholarship began yesterday and will end tomorrow night. Local Philadelphia WPHT 1210 radio host (and Evening Bulletin columnist) Dom Giordano will broadcast his program from Geno's Steaks in order to boost publicity for the drive while encouraging listeners to add their support.

"We want to thank Joey Vento. 'Thank you' isn't enough for his contribution for this fund. Thank you to everyone who comes out," said Kim Petaccio, Gerry's sister, on behalf of her family at the drive's opening.

Captain Lou Campione of the 26th Police District, who helped initiate the fund, said that the scholarship honors Gerry's love for Iraqi children. After an exchange of letters with Gerry, local Fishtown and North Philadelphia school children collected flip-flops and sent them to Gerry to give to young Iraqis.

"He had a tremendous love for children, which is why we developed the scholarship fund so we can continue to support children in his memory," Capt. Campione said.

"He's a true hero in all this," Joey Vento said. "He gave his life so we can stay safe, to give a guy like me the opportunity to prosper. So I'm giving back because I can. God has been very good to me and my family."

Gerry's parents, Gennaro Sr., and his Edith were proud to see their son follow his father's footsteps into the police force. Gennaro Sr. served over twenty years in various branches from the 25th police district to the international airport.

However, he was weary when his son was called up by the Pennsylvania Army National Guard to head to Iraq.

"My thought was that he signed up to serve the state of Pennsylvania. Whatever they say, I still think it's a back-door draft. But when he went he did his job and did it well," he said.

Dom Giordano was proud to offer his help: "This is something that involves helping others rather than just getting a plaque or something." He added, "Some say that the streets of Philadelphia are as dangerous as the streets of Baghdad and I agree with that."

Also in attendance was Mayor Lou Barletta of Hazelton, Penn., who grabbed national headlines last year for passing ordinances in his town that made English the official language and imposed fines on companies who hired illegal immigrants.

"I couldn't refuse," Barletta said when Joey Vento asked him to help with the drive. "He's a true American, that he'd donate so much money for such a cause."

Gerry Pelligrini was 31-years-old when he died on August 9th, 2005. He served as specialist in Company A of the 1st Battalion of the 111th Infantry.