Jury acquits man in ear-biting case
Love affair ends lifelong friendship
A Suffolk Superior Court jury acquitted a Winthrop football coach yesterday of charges that he bit the ear of a man who was having an affair with the coach's estranged wife.
Richard Fucillo, 45, was accused of flying into a jealous rage last March and attacking his lifelong friend, George Sennott, who had been carrying on a months-long romantic relationship with Fucillo's wife. All three of them had been friends since grade school, Fucillo's lawyer said yesterday.
Sennott told police that Fucillo, an assistant football coach at Winthrop High School, bit his ear so savagely he nearly tore it off. Sennott needed 150 stitches.
The jury deliberated for less than two hours before delivering a not guilty verdict on all four charges against Fucillo, including two counts of aggravated assault and battery and mayhem, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Fucillo, who has three children with his estranged wife, said the last year has been harrowing. Fucillo said he constantly ran into Sennott when he visited his children, who live with their mother, or when he ran errands in Winthrop, a tightknit, seaside town of about 20,000 people.
Fucillo said he worried about the effects of the intense media attention on his children, who are 5, 9, and 11 years old.
"The worst thing about all this was having my kids deal with this when they went to school," he said. "It has been a nightmare. It has been a living nightmare."
Sennott could not be reached for comment.
"We respect the jury's decision," said Erika Gully-Santiago, a spokeswoman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley. "This was a sad case and a difficult case for the families involved."
Last March, police said Fucillo was driving down Washington Street at night when he saw Sennott walking to a relative's house. They said Fucillo jumped out of the car and attacked Sennott.
But during the trial, Fucillo's lawyer, Thomas Brant, said it was Sennott who started the fight. He said Sennott flagged down Fucillo's car, told him to get out, and began punching him.
"Richard was attacked and fought back in self-defense," Brant said. "What happened was Richard won the fight."
Fucillo denied biting Sennott's ear. During the trial, Brant called up forensic experts who he said testified that Sennott's injuries could not have been caused by a bite.
Fucillo said it is possible that Sennott was hurt when the men, who were on the ground fighting for several minutes, rolled near a construction site. At one point, Sennott's head became tangled up in his jacket, and Fucillo said it was possible his ear was ripped by the zipper.
It was a dramatic climax to a friendship that had started in the first grade, Brant said.
As boys, Fucillo and Sennott played hockey together, and the tradition continued into adulthood, with hockey nights on Thursday and golf outings later in the week.
"I couldn't believe it," Fucillo said. "I thought I had the greatest life ever."
Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com.
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