Bust in V. bash
Cops: Racist goon hit NBA bigot’s gal pal
COPS HAVE arrested a Long Island man who they say shouted racial epithets at and pummeled the woman who brought down NBA billionaire bigot Donald Sterling.
Dominick Diorio, 40, of Old Bethpage, was charged with assault as a hate crime and aggravated harassment. He and an accomplice jumped V. Stiviano outside the Gansevoort Hotel on Ninth Ave. in the Meatpacking District at 6:40 p.m. on Sunday, police said.
Diorio, identified through surveillance video and then by Stiviano in a lineup, surrendered to cops Monday, according to officials and Mac Nehoray, Stiviano’s attorney.
He and his friend were apparently drunk when they began harassing Stiviano, 31, as she dined — sans her trademark visor — near the hotel, cops said.
The men followed her outside and hurled slurs as they punched her in the head and face, officials and her attorney said.
“As Ms. Stiviano was getting inside a cab, one of the assailants punched her in the face, calling her a “f------ n----- bitch,” Nehoray said in a statement. “Moments later, Ms. Stiviano was punched again by the same person while he was yelling, ‘I am going to slaughter you.’ ”
After beating up Stiviano, the pair of brutes took off. But they didn’t get far before two other men knocked them to the ground and pounded them, cops said.
Stiviano’s alleged attackers were found bleeding on the pavement, where one tried to convince cops he fell and there was no fight, police said.
Stiviano was in New York to tape a segment for CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360.” Because of her injuries, the taping was canceled, her lawyer said.
Sterling, 80, was slapped with a lifetime ban from the NBA and was ordered to sell the Los Angeles Clippers after Stiviano’s recording of his racist rant was released to the press.
Nehoray believes Stiviano’s attackers recognized her from the Sterling scandal.
Detectives have identified the alleged assailant’s accomplice, who was still at large Tuesday night, cops said.
Stiviano identified Diorio in a lineup at the Sixth Precinct stationhouse, Nehoray said. She also met with an assistant district attorney and provided additional information.
“She is going to stay in New York as long as they need her,” Nehoray said.
Once the investigation is completed, Stiviano will fly back to Los Angeles and visit her doctor, who will see if any of the bones in her face were broken.
“She is in a lot of pain,” the lawyer said.