Man Arrested for Efforts to Stimulate New Employment in Television Industry.

PITTSFIELD (AP) May 7, 2009

Pittsfield Man Takes 'Bad Day' Out On Wal-Mart TV's



Police say a Pittsfield man "having a bad day" walked into a city Wal-Mart and used an aluminum baseball bat to smash 16 flat-screen televisions worth $13,000.

Police told The Berkshire Eagle that 26-year-old Nicholas Adornetto walked into the store at about 1 p.m. on Thursday, grabbed a bat in the sporting goods section and walked to the electronics department, where he started swinging.

Adornetto expressed anger at the government and complained of being unemployed. He had recently been laid off from his job with a television manufacturer.

Detective Sgt. Marc Strout says when police arrived, Adornetto was "peaceful, calm and cooperative. He told Sgt. Strout he was only trying to stimulate employment in the television industry and perhaps get his old job back."

Adornetto was arraigned Friday in Central Berkshire District Court on 16 counts of vandalizing property and one count of disorderly conduct. Bail was set at $500 and the case continued until May 11.

According to acquaintances Adornetto had been practicing smashing computer monitors with a bat before heading out to Wal-Mart. "He had a real sweet swing," said a neighbor who refused to be identified but gave reporters the names of other neighhbors who might have seen Adornetto, too.


A spokeswoman for Wal-Mart said the giant retailer appreciated the free publicity. "Now customers will know we are one of the largest retail outlets for TVs and that we carry bats to go with them," said the spokeswoman, on condition of imbecility. She was fired immediately by Wal-Mart and ordered never to return to Wal-Mart for any reason. When last seen the ex-employee was walking to her car, in the Wal-Mart parking lot, crying. She had just been mugged in the parking lot.

So it goes.

Adornetto did not immediately return a call. He probably never will.