Man who punched David Wells surrenders

NEW YORK --A man who punched David Wells to the floor of a Manhattan diner, knocking out two of the pitcher's teeth, surrendered Monday to finish his sentence for misdemeanor assault.

Rocco Graziosa, who came to Manhattan Criminal Court wearing a dark blue, cotton velvet, athletic warm-up suit, didn't have much to say.

"I'm not in a very good mood today," the 30-year-old from Yonkers replied when asked how he was doing.

Despite his self-defense claim, Graziosa was convicted on Nov. 22, 2002, of third-degree assault for hitting Wells in a diner. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail.

Graziosa's lawyer, Henry Mazurek, said Wells is still pursuing the civil suit he filed in September 2003 against his client. Mazurek said he will take a sworn statement from Wells in a deposition on Feb. 13.

Wells, then pitching for the New York Yankees, testified that on Sept. 7, 2002, the defendant caught him with a "sucker punch" that knocked out two teeth and caused him to cut his head on a table's edge as he tumbled to the diner's floor.

Graziosa claimed he hit Wells in self-defense after a friendly chat among Graziosa and his two friends and the pitcher deteriorated into name calling. He said he felt menaced by Wells and was afraid of him.

Graziosa served less than 20 days of the 45-day sentence before he was released pending appeal of his conviction. In November 2005, the state Supreme Court's Appellate Term voted 3-0 to uphold the guilty verdict.

Wells is now with the Boston Red Sox. Mazurek said his client has 27 days left to serve. The lawyer said he will ask for permission to appeal to a higher court so Graziosa can "try to clear his record."