As if shopping at Wal-Mart didn't already require the suspension of a certain set of morals, here's a whole new reason to loathe the retail giant: After falsely accusing two gay dads of stealing, and detaining their two children in the store, and allegedly harassing them, and manufacturing a situation that had the dads handcuffed and in the back of a police car, Wal-Mart has banned the family from its stores "for life" — and stuck them with a bill asking for ten times the value of the supposedly stolen items. And what did this family allegedly rob Wal-Mart of? Bic lighters.
If "this is just ridiculous" is your first thought, you wouldn't be blamed.
The Chicago area's Joe Paolucci and his partner Thomas Hitchcock might know a thing about retail stores and the law: Both are attorneys who launched their own home goods retail store. And yet somehow they're on the hook for trying to steal a package of Bic lighters with a retail value of $15.84?
It all happened back on Aug. 16, when Paolucci and Hitchcock were shopping with their special-needs 11-year-old twin sons they adopted from Romania. The South Bend Tribune on what transpired:
On Aug. 16, the four traveled to Wal-Mart at least in part, Paolucci said, to reward the twins for recent good behavior. Hitchcock bought groceries totaling some $200 and checked out at a counter operated by a cashier. Paolucci, meanwhile, went to a self-checkout lane to use scanning equipment he had operated before.
Later, he said, he returned to the shopping area to pick up additional items, including the lighters, which he scanned and placed in bags. He grabbed his receipt for the items, totaling some $60, and headed for the exit, as did Hitchcock and the boys.
Before they got outside, store employees stopped them.
"They asked if I had Bic lighters. I said, 'Yes,' and handed them over," Paolucci said. "Then they asked if I had a receipt. I said, 'Yes, you're holding it.' Then this group of Wal-Mart employees started forming around us."
Paolucci and Hitchcock said the employees were threatening and that one used a vulgarity. Their accusations frightened the boys, who began "crying, screaming and freaking out," they said.
Employees ordered Paolucci and Hitchcock into a "detention room" — they refused, and ordered the police be called, thinking the cops would sort out the situation. But when the cops arrived, officers placed the dads in the back of their squad cars without first ascertaining the situation; Paolucci was handcuffed. And their kids? Taken in the back to a detention room with Wal-Mart's security officers, who "allegedly threatened them in the security room and had made disparaging remarks about Paolucci and Hitchcock's lifestyle. Paolucci and Hitchcock said they asked police to take statements from the boys but the officers refused, telling the couple they'd have to contact Child Protective Services. They were told next that they'd have to leave the premises immediately, they said, or be arrested for trespassing. The men said they argued the store should at least replace such grocery items as a frozen pizza, ice cream and popsicles, which by then had thawed or melted, but those arguments, too, went nowhere."
It took several days and phone calls, but the police finally interviewed the boys four days later, "with one of the issues raised an allegation by Paolucci that one of the twins had been injured when he was pushed into the security room. Paolucci said he and Hitchcock also asked the Berrien County Prosecutor's Office to file criminal charges against Wal-Mart's employees but none were forthcoming. They weren't surprised charges weren't authorized, they said, because such prosecution would have raised questions about the Sheriff's Department's handling of the situation. Attempts to meet personally with Sheriff Paul Bailey were rebuffed, they said."
Meanwhile, a copy of the police report obtained by the newspaper states security footage shows Paolucci did scan both packages of Bic lighters, raising the possibility the store's scanner was defective, leading to the entire situation.
As for whether the couple plans to take legal action against Wal-Mart? Not likely, since rather than settle out of court, Wal-Mart would likely "play hardball" and make it a financial nightmare to take them on in court. In the meantime, Wal-Mart's attorneys sent Paolucci and Hitchcock a letter demanding $158.40, or 10X the price of the lighters. They don't plan on paying.
This isn't the first time Paolucci and Hitchcock have been involved in a situation involving harassment against their family: In 2006, their sons' Chicago City Day School — which supposedly maintained a zero-tolerance policy against anti-gay bullying — allegedly refused to act when their boys came home crying because other students were teasing them for having gay dads.
It's still unclear whether Wal-Mart's disdain for this family has anything to do with their sexuality, but employees were obviously aware they were dealing with a gay family. And if you believes the dads and their kids, they were subjected to anti-gay harassment. All the more ridiculous, because it's clear nobody was trying to steal anything; this family was actually composed of shoppers spending money with the store; and they've banned them for life over what is, arguably, a misunderstanding gone very, very bad.
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And this is just another reason why i haven't set foot in Wal-Mart in 5 yrs.
GO TO TARGET!!!!!
Sounds like an episode of "Modern Family."
walmart is for trash anyway. http://www.peopleofwalmart.com
I used to work for WM many years ago. They screwed me over. They made regular store workers do set up work for a new store that was tantamount to construction. We weren't skilled for it, but whatever. What made it bad was, we were told to move these steel beams from one spot to another. Each weighed about 75 lbs (rules require anything over 50 lbs be handled by two people wearing back belts – no one was). But it gets worse. We were told to carry TWO of these at a time to make the work go faster. At the time, I didn't weigh much more than the two beams combined. Needless to say, I developed an injury; something got pulled in my groin. I reported it, as I assumed I should have. They sent me to their charlatan quack who examined me and then sent the details to Wal Mart. They sent me a letter saying that after their thorough investigation, they concluded I did not injure myself at work. I had to pay over $200 for the medical bills. That's a lot to a Hell Mart employee. For the past decade, I've made it a point to harass employees (esp. management), damage goods, and upon occasion, swipe stuff. I will continue to do so until I feel that grudge has been satisfied.
This kind of thing is exactly why I shop at Target. I can get the same shit for just about the same price, and I don't die a little on the inside every time I do business there.
Maybe we should just hold kiss-ins at the entrances to Wal Mart. It'll scare away all the conservatives who shop there. That'll teach them. And Wal Mart won't be able to do a damn thing about it.
Agreed.
On the one hand, I hope they get satisfaction for the abuse they suffered.
On the other hand, when you deal with thieves like WalMart you should expect to get ripped off. Hopefully they have leaned their lesson, and won't have anything more to do with those cheap union-busting criminals.
Wal Mart's UK subsidiary is ASDA which, since the take-over a few years ago, has earned the unofficial rebranding "ASBO"; this shows why.
Goddamn I fucking hate straight people.
"Banned for life"? And that's supposed to be a punishment?!! I'm still traumatized from a two hour Walmart workboot purchase a year ago: the screaming kids running around in every direction alone is enough to keep me away! Even the "greeter" was nowhere to be seen.
HETEROSEXUAL DICTATORSHIP. No you are not reading about the Soviet Union, you are reading about gay life under the heterosexual dictatorship. These heterosexual believe they have control over you because you are gay.
you should never shop at walmart. their treatment of their employs, and lack of benefits given to them is the first reason.
http://video.google.com/videop.....mp;view=2#
"Goddamn I fucking hate straight people."
I don't even call them "straight" anymore. They, and not us, are the ones who are truly queer.
Sorry but while I feel sorry for WHAT happened to this family, at the same time I see it as big time Karmic retribution for going in a Walmart in the first place. You dance with the Devil your gonna get crabs…
man, i'm sure glad there isn't a walmart near me and I live in NYC.
maybe there isn't a target by this family. This sucks that they got treated like that. And they are lawyers and are thinking NOT to sue. That says a a lot.
I am so glad I have never spent a penny at a Walmart, and plan to continue to only shop at their competitors.
@ Joseph….
LOL! Thanks for the website. LOL!
Maybe they should contact the American Civil Liberties Union. I'm sure they could make Walmart pay.
hahaha! I've been to South Bend before, and have family in Niles. With the level of intelligence that prevails there, I am not surprised that this would happen there.
____________Let them – have it –sisters! ______________________
It’s getting harder and harder to live along the side of straight people. I am really moving from a state of disgust to hate-when it comes to the straight behavior. I hope those little boys are doing well and getting over the unjust trauma placed on them by the Wal-Mart employees.
Wal-mart is a horrible company. The parents of those innocent children are attorneys; I hope they sue the hell out of Wal-mart and teach those trashy people the lesson of messing with the wrong –Gay.
Max Ford
If you don't check the self-scanned items that you put into your bags, technically that is stealing. This needs some objectivity in reporting. Having said that, I have never set foot in a Walmart because they are afraid of New York City and that's how we like it!
@dontblame….
maybe you should read the whole post again.
"Meanwhile, a copy of the police report obtained by the newspaper states security footage shows Paolucci did scan both packages of Bic lighters, raising the possibility the store's scanner was defective, leading to the entire situation."
Walmart is, and has been since it's rise in popularity, a HORRIBLE PLACE. Walmart is a clear symbol of American trash. It's a breeding ground for intolerant scum. Not only has there been many documented issues with Walmart customers, employees, and policy, the store itself destroys American towns and cities.
NO RATIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SHOPPING AT WALMART. IT'S WORTH IT TO PAY A COUPLE CENTS MORE SOMEWHERE ELSE.
oh lord. this is my hometown. i have one thing to say. those were fucking expensive lighters. i don't even know how they could have cost that much.
the sheriff is actually a good guy and there are gays on the department working that area. really. we have gays in the police and the fire department.
i am not certain any of this was homophobic. the children should not have been held by wal mart though.
these guys are LAWYERS, methinks they blew things out of proportion to set the scene up.
gay couples shop at this wal mart all the time and they have gay employees. this particular store has someone doing female to male gender reassignment.
I have to admit that I shopped at wal-mart in Honolulu last night out of necessity. Just moved to Honolulu, so I've been dead tired moving not just homes but our small business…anyway, wal-mart was the closest store open late so I swallowed my pride and went in. I too used the self scan check out (as I don't have the patience to stand in mile long lines with heteros and their spawns) and when the woman in front of me was done, I went to scan my hooks and noticed that she never paid for her items, she just scanned, bagged and left. I told the woman that stands there to help the self-check outs and she said "oh really? oh…where did she go?" I told her she left without paying. She just shrugged it off and cleared the check out machine for me. So in front of her face and she couldn't care…and you know what, I don't blame her as she looked like she was ready to fall dead asleep on her feet.
Wal-Mart will obviously work their employees to death without a care in the world but after reading this article, I don't care if the nearest Target is 10 miles away and I'm falling asleep while I'm driving there, I will NEVER set foot in those doors again.
I bet you while all the Walmart workers surrounded this couple about 5 other people walked out with stolen goods lmao…
@ ricky
"gay couples shop at this wal mart all the time and they have gay employees. this particular store has someone doing female to male gender reassignment."
Gender is a construct…it only exists in your mind and in society's "rules." Therefore, you cannot REASSIGN gender.
!
Instead of just writing on here…I'm writing TO walmart and I suggest everyone else do the same.
fuck yeah
jarvisbearcub
GO TO TARGET!!!!!
there service is on the spot and they cater to special needs all year round they even have those family rest rooms which some of us know come in handy with some of our special needs kids
This is horrible. :( This poor family. I work for Meijer, and our store opened less than a year ago. Since then I've not had to shop at a WalMart (I hated doing it before), but now I'm even happier that I've got an alternative to Wally World.
I KNOW THIS FAMILY! ?
And I'm surprised they are allowed into ANY store. These parents are obnoxious and their kids are undisciplined brats. If you see this family coming, RUN, or at least contact a good lawyer – you’ll need it!??I am neither prejudice or “hate gays”, (as Mr. Paolucci likes to claim). Nor do I love or work at Walmart. But I do hate parents who have horrendous parenting skills and blame everyone else for their own unwillingness to be good parents. And that is why I think people should know the truth and PUBLISHED FACTS about Mr. Paolucci and Mr. Hitchcock. ??
Two years ago when Paolucci – Hitchcock's sons got kicked out of their first private school, City Day. Paolucci – Hitchcock screamed "harassment", even though City Day had other same sex parents with no complaints. Instead of trying to grow from the experience the couple called reporters, screamed and threatened lawsuits against the school, the Head Mistress and kid's teacher. Next the boys got thrown out of St. Clement School, (in less than a month) and the couple again went ballistic, claiming that their son’s behavior was justified because they’re adopted. And just this past spring, Child Services of Illinois was called by a teacher at the boy's latest public school. Paolucci – Hitchcock again claimed "harassment", “gay hating” and “adoption” as an excuse. Later, threatening the teacher who cared about the welfare of their children. ??Blaming everyone but themselves for their complete lack of skills is norm for these truly bad parents.
If you want to see the real kind of parents Mr. Paolucci and Mr. Hitchcock are, click on the South Bend Tribune article. ??In the interview, Paolucci and Hitchcock give out very personal and bizarre information about their kids in order to make positive points about themselves. ??
These are either the most stupid parents on the earth or the most conniving, rotten parents ever. Either way, these kids are doomed with parents like this.