An interesting brouhaha involving a bit of homophobia has emerged in Narragansett, where Steven Storti, formerly manager at the famed Town Beach, is accusing municipal officials of firing him by falsely claiming that he sexually harassing other workers and then demeaning him for being “kwee-aah.” You know — a nancy-boy!
According to the Narragansett Times, this led Storti to allege that one of the those named in the suit, Narragansett Parks and Recreation Director Barry Fontaine, allowed town beach employees to create and sing over town equipment “sexually explicit, hateful, homophobic and outrageous lyrics” that characterized Storti as a “faggot” who was sexually interested in “big butts and boys.”
These ever-so-clever lyrics make a fine addition to Storti’s suit, especially since, according to the Times, they were heard by employees, beach patrons, and the public.
According to the Times, town officials also accused Storti of stealing money collected for the beach, a charge that the local gendarmes have been unable to validate. In the case of the sexually related allegations and the purported theft, Storti asserts that officials knew them to be false, hence the backing away by the police.
It will be very interesting to see just how the town reacts to these charges. They likely did not suspect that this “faggot” just happens to have had a 21-year career as a Cranston firefighter, retiring as a lieutenant, and just might know quite a bit about how town government and public servants should behave. Oops. Stay tuned.
Hot time in Old Bedlam
Au courant readers may be aware that Casa Diablo charter guest Bill Flanagan, the one-time NewPaper music writer-turned-MTV executive, has published a new Rhody-set novel, New Bedlam, which is a send-up of the TV industry.
Our old friend Bill, currently a New Yawk resident who does regular music commentary pieces on CBS NewsSunday Morning, is a Vo Dilun native. He conducts frequent visits to relatives who are still ensconced hereabouts, and he informs us he is house-shopping in the Biggest Little. New Bedlam follows in the footsteps of his previous books, Last of the Moe Haircuts and A&R, a critically acclaimed satire of the recording industry, with which Bill is well acquainted.
P&J, living in a self-centered universe, were glad to see the frequent references to local personalities throughout the book, such as Flanagan’s fictional TV star, Mark Cutler; a construction firm called Clancy and Cianci; and most of all, a comedian named Phillipe Jorge, the origin of whose name about which we couldn’t possibly venture a guess.
Mr. Bill doubled the pleasure by pointing out that the TV promo for which Jorge is called in to dub involves speculation over who slept with who among the castaways on the legendary TV show Gilligan’s Island. Flanagan properly credits Phillipe for originally posing this in what was doubtless a late-night warped intellect rant session at the late, lamented Leo’s.
Much luck with New Bedlam (the supposed Rhode Island pronunciation of the fictional town of New Bethlehem, located between the real South County communities of Jerusalem and Galilee), Bill, and thanks for the mention. Your legend lives on at Oakland Beach.
