A man has been charged with threatening to shoot Staten Island councilman Vincent Ignizio in retaliation for the pol’s role in getting his dilapidated house torn down in 2007, law enforcement sources said.
The long-simmering feud came to a head Monday afternoon when John DePietro, 67, allegedly phoned the Rossville headquarters of Community Board 3 and said, “Ignizio took my house. I’m going to shoot him,” court documents show.
DePietro was apparently referring to the December 2007 demolition of his abandoned home on Page Avenue in Richmond Valley, which Ignizio helped spearhead, sources said.
The rundown eyesore was razed after repeated complaints from a public school across the street, citing a stockpile of hazardous debris — including several propane tanks and gas cans — left unattended on the property, according to the sources.
The cost of the demolition was passed on to DePietro, sources said.
After more than seven years, a failed lawsuit against the Department of Finance, and a February collection letter seeking the outstanding balance, the still bitter DePietro allegedly issued the threat against the councilman, sources said.
“Ignizio ruined my life,” he supposedly ranted to a worker who answered the phone at the Community Board. “He demolished my house.”
DePietro, who now lives in Brooklyn, then gave the worker his name and phone number before allegedly threatening Ignizio’s life, according to the documents.
DePietro was arraigned before Judge Alan J. Meyer on Wednesday on charges of making a terroristic threat, and aggravated harassment.
Bail was set at $1,000.