WELLL...FINE

Defiant owner keeps anti-DNC sign

By Casey Ross
Saturday, July 24, 2004
City officials have laid a smack down on an irate North Station pizza shop owner who is facing fines for posting an unpermitted pro-Bush sign on his business as delegates flock to Boston for the Democratic National Convention.
Mark Pasquale, owner of Halftime Pizza, was slapped with a citation Thursday evening and ordered to remove the sign until he gets a permit. Boston police also tossed in a charge for a locked exit door at the restaurant.
``It's my building and I can put a sign there if I want,'' a defiant Pasquale said yesterday. ``Signs welcoming the DNC are OK. Pro-Kerry signs are OK. I put up a sign saying, `Go Bush,' and I gotta take it down?''
Pasquale posted the sign - whose bold letters shout, `D.N.C. THANKS FOR NOTHING! GO BUSH' - after road closures and parking hassles prompted him to shut down during convention week.

Huh? I can't hear with my mouth full.

Boston police, which issued the citations at 5 p.m. Thursday, said a dozen establishments near the FleetCenter were cited this week.
``He was not the only one,'' police spokeswoman Beverly Ford said. ``If he would have gotten the proper permits, he wouldn't have gotten a citation.''
Ford did not know how long it's been since police cracked down on unpermitted signs in the city.
Pasquale's restaurant was flooded with phone calls yesterday as residents sought to toss in their 2 cents about presidential politics and the upcoming convention. Nick LaRussa drove to the restaurant from South Boston yesterday to offer support and a $20 donation.
``I'm not a fan of the DNC coming here,'' he said. ``All these privileged delegates have free reign over the city.''
Pasquale said he plans to reopen Friday after delegates leave town.
``I just want them to leave me alone and let me run my business,'' he said.

Meanwhile, up the Road...