Posted 01/25/2002 1:55 PM EST AP Wire
By DENISE LAVOIE
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) - A man who beat another father to death during their sons' youth hockey practice was sentenced to six to 10 years in prison Friday for involuntary manslaughter.
Thomas Junta, who had faced up to 20 years, was sentenced after his victim's son asked the judge to "please teach Thomas Junta a lesson."
Junta, 44, sat handcuffed, with his head hung low as Michael Costin's three sons, sister and mother spoke. He sobbed as his attorney talked about his own 12-year-old son, Quinlan, who witnessed the July 5, 2000, fight at a suburban Boston ice rink.
Junta's only comment during the hearing was nearly inaudible.
"I'd just like to apologize to both families and thank my family for all their support of me," he said. He called no witnesses.
Costin's middle son, Michael, told the judge: "No matter how much of a sentence that you give to Thomas Junta, my dad got more."
"Please punish Thomas Junta and do not allow him to soon get out of prison and ruin another family's life," the boy said. "Please teach Thomas Junta a lesson."
The case drew national attention as a deadly example of the growing problem of parental rage at youth sporting events.
Junta and Costin fought at the ice rink after Junta objected to rough play during a pickup hockey game. Costin was supervising his three sons, Junta's son and several other boys on the ice.
During the trial and sentencing, prosecutors painted Junta as a bully, a 270-pound truck driver who picked on a much smaller man. Supporters described him as a "gentle giant," a devoted husband and father who fell victim to "a very bad set of circumstances."
The judge followed the prosecutors' recommended sentence, though he called it lenient and generous and said he considered exceeding it.
Junta's attorney, who had requested supervised probation for his client, said he would appeal.
Junta sobbed during the hearing as defense attorney Thomas Orlandi Jr. read from letters Junta had written to his two children.
"Remember you told the truth," Junta wrote in the letter to his son Quinlan. "Remember, hockey is supposed to be fun, but it's just a game."
Orlandi also read part of a letter written by another witness, a 12-year-old hockey player named Garrett.
"Quinn needs his dad more than anything. ... Tom didn't mean for any of this to happen. ... Please don't punish Tom for something he didn't mean and didn't want to happen," Orlandi read.
Before being led away, Junta raised his shackled hands to blow a kiss and wave to his family. Barbara Tracy, his sister, sobbed as other siblings tried to comfort her.
The jury in Junta's trial had determined Junta didn't intend to kill Costin but that he went too far. During testimony, a medical examiner said Costin suffered severe brain injuries that could have resulted from his head being beaten into the floor. Junta had said he tried to avoid the fight and only hit Costin in self-defense.
Some previous incidents in Junta's life, which were not brought up at trial, were taken into consideration for the sentencing.
Junta's wife, Michelle, was granted a restraining order in 1991 when she alleged that he beat her in front of their two children and another child. A court ordered Junta out of the couple's apartment and gave his wife temporary custody of the children.
Orlandi dismissed the restraining order as irrelevant and stressed that the couple was still together. But the judge on Friday read from part of that order, which said Junta hit his wife at a wedding in front of children.
Costin, 40, had four children, ages 11 through 14. His father, Gus, said Costin had a drinking problem and had been in and out of prison for much of his adult life. But he had quit drinking and was working steadily as a carpenter and painter, he said.
Six months before he was killed, he regained custody of his children.
"Don't worry about what the judge says today, Mr. Junta," Gus Costin said Friday. "Worry about what the judge upstairs is going to say. That's eternity."
Costin's sister, Mary Barbuzzi, and prosecutors said they considered the sentence fair.
"We believe justice has been served," Barbuzzi said. "Our prayers will be with the Junta family, and our family will try to move beyond this tragedy."
Thomas Junta takes the stand during his trial in Middlesex Superior Court, in Cambridge, Mass., on Jan. 9, 2002. Junta, 44, faces anywhere from probation to 20 years in prison for his Jan. 11 conviction for involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Costin when he is sentenced Friday morning, Jan. 25, 2002.
Middlesex Superior Court Judge Charles Grabau listens during the sentencing hearing of Thomas Junta, Friday, Jan. 25, 2002, in Cambridge, Mass. Junta was sentenced to six to ten years in prison for beating Costin to death at their sons' hockey practice in Reading, Mass.
John Junta, of Braintree, Mass., talks to reporters Friday, Jan. 25, 2002 outside the Middlesex Superior Courthouse in Cambridge, Mass., following the sentencing of his brother, Thomas Junta, who was convicted earlier this month in the July, 2000 beating death of Michael Costin. Thomas Junta was sentenced to six to 10 years in prison Friday for involuntary manslaughter.
Victim Michael Costin's 14-year-old son Brendan, left, is comforted by Costin's sister Mary Barbuzzi, front right, during the sentencing hearing of Thomas Junta, Friday, Jan. 25, 2002, in Middlesex Superior Court in Cambridge, Mass. Junta was sentenced to six to ten years in prison for beating Costin to death at their sons' hockey practice in Reading, Mass.
-- Anonymous, January 25, 2002