US assault victim's sons say they have had no contact from Justice Minister
Jesse and Michael Rizzuto flew to Ireland from the US a month ago to be by their father Stephen Termini's bedside and are due to return home this week. Photo: Moya Nolan
The two sons of an American tourist who was assaulted in Dublin city centre last month say they are “disappointed” that they have not heard from the Minister for Justice.
Stephen Termini, 57 from Buffalo, New York, was initially treated for head injuries in Beaumont hospital following the attack but has since been moved to the Mater hospital.
His sons Mike and Jesse Rizzuto flew to Ireland from the US a month ago to be by his bedside and are due to return home this week.
Mr Termini had come to Ireland to retrace his family roots and his story made international headlines after he was left in a coma following the assault.
His sons have told the their father “is now doing well” and doctors are hoping to discharge him next Monday.
The government responded to Mr Termini’s attack by announcing an injection of €10million to help increase garda patrols in the area following a spate of similar incidents.
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said the Government is working with gardaà to help combat street violence and condemned the attack on Mr Termini “in the strongest terms”.
However, the Rizzuto brothers say they have “not heard from anyone in government” about their father and feel very let down.
Mike Rizzuto said: “I want to meet Minister Helen McEntee face to face, and I already said this.
“No one has reached out to us at all, it’s kind of unfortunate because I’ve seen it in the papers that X person would like to meet you, but it’s nothing upfront. It’s not like we are difficult to reach. You just message us on Facebook, we are here."
His brother Jesse added: “The people of Ireland are the ones that reached out. Not any government officials.
Mike continued: “We had someone from Sinn Féin contact us and we met with him. But nothing from Ms McEntee. The fact that I haven’t been contacted personally, which shouldn’t be a difficult thing to do, means I still believe Helen McEntee is very out of touch with her people."
The Rizzuto brothers said they are preparing to go home to New York this weekend as their father is recovering. They said he will most likely stay in Ireland — where his mother was born — and continue with his travels but that he will need support before he returns to any normal way of living.
A GoFundMe Page set up to support Mr Termini has raised more than €142,000.
“He is still confused and he’s not fully sure what happened,” said Mike. “He panicked a bit, asking for his things, but he is a lot better and out of danger, it was a lot to take in, I had to tell him little bits and pieces."
When asked if the brothers contacted Ms McEntee’s office, they said no, but that they had made it clear they would meet her in several interviews, including one in the Irish Examiner.
“There are many assaults in the city centre now,” said Mike. “As a result, we haven’t gone outside at all at night. We do not feel safe in Dublin, especially the city centre.
“But that is not what Ireland is like, we know that, but we must be cautious."
A spokesperson for the Justice Minister said Ms McEntee would still be happy to meet the family but she was respecting their privacy.
"Minister McEntee has said she would be happy to engage or speak with Mr Termini’s family if they wish to do so, and that of course remains the case," the spokesperson said.
"The minister wanted to respect the family’s privacy and has been guided by their stated wishes, including their recent wish that they did not want to meet yet in order to focus on their own family."
The spokesperson said the minister condemns violence on the streets and outlined a series of steps taken by gardaĂ and the department in recent months to respond to this.
"The minister recently announced an extra €10m in funding for Garda overtime to provide for 240,000 extra Garda hours, or 20,000 extra Garda shifts in the city to the end of the year," they said.
"The Commissioner has outlined his operational plans to increase Garda visibility, involving both covert and overt, proactive and reactive policing operations.
"Proactive policing responses will involve further targeted intelligence-led operations (including surveillance), searches of people and locations, and increased focus on the congregation of large groups of people who can be perceived as engaging in anti-social behaviour will be undertaken.
"While the deployment of specifically tasked units would be operational policing matter for the Garda Commissioner to consider, National resources including the Garda Air Support Unit, Garda Mounted Unit and Garda Dog Unit in addition to other National Units and Roads Policing Units are being strategically deployed to enhance Garda visibility in the City Centre and its environs.
"A tough and firm response will send out the message that we will not tolerate this thuggery on our streets. Any witnesses to any assault is urged to contact An Garda SĂochána on the Garda confidential line."
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