WORCESTER – John Piccolo, 65, owner of Piccolo’s restaurant, pleaded guilty to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, a felony, in Worcester District Court on Friday, April 4. The judge ruled the case continued without finding for a year, ordered Piccolo undergo anger management training, and applied no travel restrictions.
On Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, Piccolo allegedly sprayed local activist David Webb in the face with spray paint in a third-floor hallway inside Worcester City Hall, as a Worcester City Council meeting began on the same floor. Surveillance video at city hall captured the incident.
The judge’s order nearly mirrored the request of Piccolo’s attorney, Sean Murray. Murray said that Piccolo currently undergoes therapy and asked the judge not to order anger management training. Murray also presented that Piccolo’s actions came in response to a Facebook post by Webb that claimed the restaurant would host a “racist convention.”
Murray is the brother of former lieutenant governor and the current president and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, Tim Murray.
Worcester Country District Attorney Joe Early Jr.’s office transferred the case to the office of Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan, citing a conflict of interest. Piccolo previously made political donations to Early’s election campaigns.
A prosecutor from Sullivan’s office asked the judge to order one year of incarceration, suspended for 18 months, citing the premeditated nature of the attack. Had the judge ordered what the prosecutor requested, Piccolo would have a felony conviction, but could avoid incarceration by avoiding further criminal legal issues for 18 months.
The judge’s ruling enables the charges to be dropped if Piccolo avoids additional criminal legal issues for a year.
