Italian American One Voice Coalition Blasts Ocean County Freeholder Candidate Tim Ryan for Stereotypical Depiction of Italian American Opponent on Facebook

8/28/2014

Ryan Facebook Page Uses “Godfather” Reference to Stereotype Ocean County Freeholder Chairman Joseph Vicari, Post Later Pulled Without Explanation

OCEAN COUNTY, NJ— The Italian American ONE VOICE Coalition, the nation’s largest Italian American anti-bias group, is calling upon Ocean County Freeholder Candidate Timothy E. Ryan to apologize for a Facebook post that used a reference from the “Godfather” movie to stereotype his Italian American opponent, Freeholder Chairman Joseph H. Vicari.

The Facebook post (see screenshot enclosed) featured a photograph of Vicari with the headlines: “LEAVE THE TAXPAYERS A $25,000 BILL. TAKE THE CANNOLI.” Ryan also commented above the photo: “Great line!” The post, which was put up on Ryan’s personal page on August 24th was later removed without any apology or explanation.

“While we don’t care what side of the aisle either of these candidates sit on, we do care when anyone stereotypes Italian Americans,” said Italian American ONE VOICE President and founder, Dr. Manny Alfano. “To associate his opponent with the Mob or Godfather is an ethnic slur and an insult to Italian Americans. Tim Ryan should immediately apologize for the slur.”

The line that Ryan referenced in his post is said by a gangster in the “Godfather” movie, Peter Clemenza, whose wife asks him to bring home a few cannoli

Clemenza has another task to do first: The planned murder of Paulie Gatto, Vito Corleone’s ex-driver, for conspiring with the Tattaglia family. The murder takes place during the outing for the cannoli; and while Clemenza and Rocco Lampone, his accomplice, are preparing to depart the scene, Clemenza instructs Rocco to: “Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.”

The Italian American ONE VOICE’s sole focus and objective is to fight bias, stereotyping and discrimination against Italian Americans. It is the only national Italian American organization with this exclusive mission. ONE VOICE has activists and organization members across the country and issues a regular email newsletter, “The Alfano Digest,” to more than 5,000 individuals and Italian American organizations nationwide.

To join or obtain more information on The Italian American ONE VOICE Coalition, an IRS-registered 501(c)3 non-profit corporation, visit iaovc.org or follow ONE VOICE on Facebook and Twitter.

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