bloodrayne
07-27-2006, 06:21 PM
Horse Head Harassment
Councilwoman target of sick prank
Slate Hill, New York - The bent windshield wipers annoyed her. The sex toy glued to her windshield back in June made her furious. But finding a horse's head in her swimming pool yesterday hit Wawayanda Councilwoman Gail Soro right where she lives.
It left her angry and frightened last night, as state police scoured the Orange County town for suspects. They were treating it as a case of harassment and trespassing, at the very least.
Soro and her husband, Ed, were in the pool until about 8:30 p.m. Monday night. Yesterday morning, they noticed the water looked a bit dark. They thought that an animal might have died in the pool.
Ed Soro grabbed the skimmer, raised a dark object from a corner of the pool and called out to his wife as he dragged it to the surface: "That's a horse's head."
She quickly went back into their house. "I was hysterical," she recalled last night.
As the day went on, her hysterics gave way to anger. The stunt with the windshield wipers and the sex toy both happened at Wawayanda Town Hall, where Soro is the lone Democrat on the five-member Town Board.
But the horse's head was brought to their home, while they slept, where their grandchildren come over to swim.
Plus, there's the symbolism. "Everyone's seen 'The Godfather,' " Gail Soro said last night, doing a slow, sad burn as she pondered whether to put surveillance cameras among the many bird feeders hanging above her immaculate lawn.
She was born and raised in this town, and she's never feared for her safety until now.
"There's a message here," she said.
The horse-head scene is from "The Godfather," the 1972 epic that makes most lists of the all-time greatest American movies. In the scene, a movie mogul named Jack Woltz refuses to give a part in his new film to singer Johnny Fontane. The singer's godfather is a mob boss played by Marlon Brando. He arranges for the head of Woltz's prize racehorse to turn up in Woltz's bed while the mogul is sleeping.
"I'll make him an offer he can't refuse," the Godfather explains.
Johnny gets the part.
But that's entertainment. Finding a horse's head in the swimming pool of the home where you've lived for nearly 30 years is not entertainment.
State police said it appeared that the horse was dead before its head was cut off. Police removed the head from the pool and took it to a local veterinarian.
Gail Soro sent her own message last night: She won't be chased out of office. She's up for re-election next year, and she's running. Soro's been right in the middle of tussles over growth and planning that are the hot-button issues in the town.
Still, she wondered if her story would discourage others from running for office.
"Who would want to put up with this?" she said.
Republican Councilman Dave Cole acknowledged that he's knocked heads with Soro, but he flatly condemned what was done to her yesterday.
"This isn't politics. This is beyond politics," Cole said. "This is beyond the pale."
The Soros said they'll never set foot in the pool again. A thin, brownish stain was still visible on the lip of the pool last night.
"My God," Gail Soro said as she looked at the pool last night.
"Don't look over there," her husband softly said.
http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2006/07/26/news-omhorsehead-07-26.html
Councilwoman target of sick prank
Slate Hill, New York - The bent windshield wipers annoyed her. The sex toy glued to her windshield back in June made her furious. But finding a horse's head in her swimming pool yesterday hit Wawayanda Councilwoman Gail Soro right where she lives.
It left her angry and frightened last night, as state police scoured the Orange County town for suspects. They were treating it as a case of harassment and trespassing, at the very least.
Soro and her husband, Ed, were in the pool until about 8:30 p.m. Monday night. Yesterday morning, they noticed the water looked a bit dark. They thought that an animal might have died in the pool.
Ed Soro grabbed the skimmer, raised a dark object from a corner of the pool and called out to his wife as he dragged it to the surface: "That's a horse's head."
She quickly went back into their house. "I was hysterical," she recalled last night.
As the day went on, her hysterics gave way to anger. The stunt with the windshield wipers and the sex toy both happened at Wawayanda Town Hall, where Soro is the lone Democrat on the five-member Town Board.
But the horse's head was brought to their home, while they slept, where their grandchildren come over to swim.
Plus, there's the symbolism. "Everyone's seen 'The Godfather,' " Gail Soro said last night, doing a slow, sad burn as she pondered whether to put surveillance cameras among the many bird feeders hanging above her immaculate lawn.
She was born and raised in this town, and she's never feared for her safety until now.
"There's a message here," she said.
The horse-head scene is from "The Godfather," the 1972 epic that makes most lists of the all-time greatest American movies. In the scene, a movie mogul named Jack Woltz refuses to give a part in his new film to singer Johnny Fontane. The singer's godfather is a mob boss played by Marlon Brando. He arranges for the head of Woltz's prize racehorse to turn up in Woltz's bed while the mogul is sleeping.
"I'll make him an offer he can't refuse," the Godfather explains.
Johnny gets the part.
But that's entertainment. Finding a horse's head in the swimming pool of the home where you've lived for nearly 30 years is not entertainment.
State police said it appeared that the horse was dead before its head was cut off. Police removed the head from the pool and took it to a local veterinarian.
Gail Soro sent her own message last night: She won't be chased out of office. She's up for re-election next year, and she's running. Soro's been right in the middle of tussles over growth and planning that are the hot-button issues in the town.
Still, she wondered if her story would discourage others from running for office.
"Who would want to put up with this?" she said.
Republican Councilman Dave Cole acknowledged that he's knocked heads with Soro, but he flatly condemned what was done to her yesterday.
"This isn't politics. This is beyond politics," Cole said. "This is beyond the pale."
The Soros said they'll never set foot in the pool again. A thin, brownish stain was still visible on the lip of the pool last night.
"My God," Gail Soro said as she looked at the pool last night.
"Don't look over there," her husband softly said.
http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2006/07/26/news-omhorsehead-07-26.html