Mr. Petrelis however remained unrepentant and defiant even after pleading no contest. He read a statement to the court, reprinted in its entirety on his blog, that said in essence he was in court as a result of, ".. the misuse of power by the elected official."
Estimated court case cost to the taxpayer? $26,000. Three years of personal space from Mr. Petrelis for Sup. Wiener? I would guess he finds that priceless. I venture to think a structured and supervised conflict resolution between the two parties might have cost a lot less cheddar and a great deal less stress for all involved. Regardless this battle is done. Perhaps they can try the conflict resolution avenue after the next one I'm sure is already brewing.
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*UPDATE: I received an email from Mr. Petrelis asking for corrections to some of the statements I made in this post. Below are the particular instances and his written clarifications he asked to be amended. Sincerest apologies.
I wrote: about a sharp tongued battle between he and Mr. Wiener and he followed the Supe into the 2nd floor bathroom. Mr. Petrelis says;
First, there was no sharp-tongued battle between myself and the elected official on October 26, 2012. As I have repeatedly stated, including in my statement in court before the judge, I was at City Hall that day because I had arranged a photo-op for Erick Martinez, a visiting Honduran gay leader who has received death threats in his country. Second, I didn't follow the elected official into the bathroom and no one, not the elected official nor the sheriff's two investigators assigned to the case nor the District Attorney's office ever said I allegedly followed him into the bathroom.
Mr. Petrelis also writes saying I misrepresented charges filed against him and misspelled the first name of his solicitor;
Only a single charge, not two or more, was filed against me. Yes, bail was set at an outrageously high $25,000 but because of legal advocacy by my attorney I didn't pay any bail. Also, my attorney's first name is spelled Derek.
And finally I said he was barred from the 2nd floor of City Hall-the issue is more complicated as Mr. Petrelis corrects in the following;
I am able to be at City Hall and not just the fourth floor, with a complicated court order that allows me to attend meetings at the Board of Supervisors' chambers and make public comment, along with going to other offices on the second floor - the Mayor, Clerk of the Board, other Supervisors - but must stay away from the elected official's office and the men's rooms on that floor.
