This essay should be read after another essay called “In Memoriam: Abelino Mazariego.” I don’t usually write essays that are to be consumed one after the other. I like my essays to have a beginning, a middle, and an end, the thought being that they can all stand on their own feet. In the instant case, however, I am still angry about a murder in Summit, New Jersey, an adjoining town, a week or so after it happened.
The case of the senseless murder of Abelino, the dishwasher and cook at an Indian restaurant in Summit, has haunted me. Several developments have taken place which I will now address. You will find that there is additional information about Abelino’s murder, some of which may seem contradictory to the “In Memoriam” essay. These are the latest developments.
If you have read the essay called “In Memoriam: Abelino Mazariego,” you will know that late in July, Abelino was murdered as he sat on a park bench.
Apparently Abelino had finished work for the week on a Saturday evening. As you know, restaurant workers put in long, long hours. I suspect that in the case of Abelino, he was responsible for doing the dishes and providing help in the kitchen. A day would normally last between eleven and twelve hours.
It seems that when his work was finished for the week, the boss of the Indian restaurant Dabbawalla paid him $640 in cash. He left the restaurant and walked across the street to a small park. Unconfirmed reports say that he bought a slice of pizza to enjoy as he sat on a bench after his day of work. In short order, a total of 14 teenagers came to the park. One of them engaged Abelino in conversation. People who have seen photographs taken by one of his assailants say that Abelino looked relaxed and feared nothing at the time.
Unbeknownst to Abelino, a person in the gang walked behind him and picked up Abelino’s tee shirt to cover his face. At that point, one of the people who had been questioning Abelino struck him with the full force of his being. Before long, Abelino was attacked by one other teenager with blows to the head.
Whereas I had reported in the original essay that those three were being accused of manslaughter, I am delighted to find that the charges have been increased. Those three now are charged with felony murder, which carries a much stiffer sentence than the manslaughter charges would have required. In addition, two other teenagers who acted as lookouts were also charged with aggravated assault, which in itself is also a serious crime. The rest of the gang of fourteen have not been charged, at least so far.
To add insult to a fatal beating, when Abelino was taken to Overlook Hospital, a male nurse in the emergency room stole $640 from Abelino’s body. That nurse has now been charged with robbery and fired.
In sum total, this incident changed more than a dozen lives. Abelino, as we know, is now dead. His wife has four fatherless children. Three of his assailants are now being charged with murder. Two other assailants are being charged with aggravated assault. And finally there is the nurse charged with robbery, making a total of more than a dozen persons.
This case has kept me awake at night because it is so senseless. No one can explain how, on a hot July evening, some teenagers were intent upon taking someone else’s life and bragging about it. There is no death penalty in the state of New Jersey but, on the other hand, I assume that the teenagers and the male nurse will have some anxious moments before they are finally sentenced. This of course assumes that they will be convicted of the crimes as charged.
Well, this is the end of my two-part essay. The second came about because there were so many changes in the original essay that I thought it would be best to just do a new one. Under ordinary circumstances, it is my thought that I should think of a beginning and an ending to the essay. When I started this essay, I was not so sure how it would end. But now I believe that because two essays have been devoted to the murder of Abelino, I can sleep better.
I would do anything in the world to bring Abelino back to life because he was my kind of guy. He was a hard worker with four children who washed dishes and sometimes cooked. But I guess Abelino was fated always to wind up on the short end of the stick. But at least I feel better by dictating this essay to let my readers know of my anger.
Summit, New Jersey is an affluent town. The teenagers who participated in this murder did not even bother to steal Abelino’s cash from his body. That was left to the nurse at Overlook Hospital. I hope that you share my sense of outrage at what we have done to an immigrant from El Salvador. And I hope that you share my views on what we have done to Abelino.
I don’t guarantee, now that this essay has been dictated, that I will sleep tonight but I am fairly certain that, with the assailants being charged with murder and aggravated assault, it appears that justice is on the way. At this point, I hope to see that justice is rendered to the people who killed Abelino, to the persons who acted as lookouts, and, finally, to the nurse who stole Abelino’s cash.
E. E. CARR
August 2, 2010
Essay 479
Postscript: Colin Crasto is the chef and manager of the Dabbawalla restaurant. I am reasonably certain that Colin Crasto picked up the tab for Abelino’s funeral expenses. On August 10th, Judy and I had the opportunity to have lunch at Dabbawalla restaurant and while we were there, we expressed our profound sorrow at his loss. I am pleased to report that our meals were excellent and if you are in the neighborhood of Summit, New Jersey, and would like an unusual meal, Colin Crasto will provide it. The address is 427 Springfield Avenue and the phone number is 908-918-0330.
~~
Kevin’s commentary: Vicious and utterly unnecessary. I will never understand.
Kevin,
Here is one article on the murder case in Summit. The people of Summit really turned out for Mazariego – at the funeral and at a memorial service.
http://www.nj.com/
The second article is about the actual sentencing which occurred on March 8, 2013.
http://www.nj.com/union/index.
You and Pop think so much alike on this and so many other issues. It is remarkable. Pop and I notice it often. A couple of years ago I even started writing you a letter on this subject. Someday I will find time to finish it. in the meantime, keep up the posting. We check them every day.
Judy