Joey Vento accuses the city of horseplay
Geno's Steaks owner Joey Vento is outraged that the city refused his offer to provide two horse trailers for the police department's new mounted unit. Nutter spokesman says the problem was that Vento demanded a Geno's plaque be placed on the trailer.
Joey Vento accuses the city of horseplay
Dan Gross
Geno’s Steaks owner Joey Vento is outraged that the cash-strapped city has refused his offer to provide two horse trailers for the Philadelphia Police Department’s new mounted unit.
According to Vento, he had an arrangement with Lt. Dan McCann, who runs the new unit, and he agreed to buy two horse trailers, at a cost of over $20,000 but asked for a small plaque to be placed on the side that they had been donated by Joey Vento.
“The plaque is the big issue,” Vento said yesterday, explaining that the city had refused the trailers because it didn’t want to put the plaque on the equipment.
Vento has previously donated motorcycles to the police department, which are unmarked, and cycles to the Aston, PA and Medford, NJ police departments, which bear his name on them.
“We did get a request from Mr. Vento that he would provide a couple horse trailers and he wanted an advertisement attached noting his company name and logo and we respectfully declined becuase we don’t do that,” Mayor Nutter’s press secretary Mark McDonald said Tuesday.
“We’re encouraging contributions to the Philadelphia Police Foundation. I would certainly hope Mr. Vento would continue his public-spirited contribution through the foundation,” he said.
The steak mogul believes the city is out to get him because he beat a case brought on by the Human Relations Commission which charged him with discrimination over the “This is America: When Ordering, Speak English” sticker outside the restaurant.
“All of a sudden my tables are illegal, my zoning is illegal. It all started in the last seven or eight months,” says Vento.
“He’s giving too much credit to the ability of government,” McDonald said. “There is no conspiracy to give Mr. Vento a hard time. He’s assuming some kind of rationality behind separate actions by individual agencies,” he said.
The police department praised Vento for his longtime support Tuesday night.
“Joey Vento has been the number one supporter of the Philadelpihia Police Department and fallen officers and their families and we thank him for that,” police spokesman Lt. Ray Evers said Tuesday. “Because of the issue of advertising we can’t acept the offer at this time," he said.
“Maybe the state police will take them. They got horses,” Vento told us Tuesday. A state police official could not be reached as to whether the state wants them.
Joey, wait until January, 2012. The new mayor will welcome your donation with open arms.— Smokey
Comment removed.- Taking lessons from the Chicago thugs are we?— crystalrainbowspirit1
- Dear Computer Diary - Horse Trailers. Slaughter Houses. Potatoes. Pahtahtoes. Sounds like Joey is going to have to find another way to suppliment the meat he gets for those nasty things his passes off as "cheesesteaks." Soylent green, anyone?— Doogie Howser, M.D.
- It's puzzling that Joey Vento won't donate the trailers without the advertising. If he supports the police as he claims and has shown to do in the past, this would be a no brainer.— PhillyEsq
- heeyyyyyyyy….oooooooooooh…take it easy…….— The Philly Shadow
- Comment removed.
- I hear Mr. Vento demanded that only white horses could use the trailers, hence the denial. Guess you can't buy the goodwill this mayor, Joey.— former Mt.Airy Kid
He can always at least grill the horses to sell to unsuspecting tourists.- Geno's steaks, along with Pat's, are among the worst in the city.— Bartleby
- joey vento could not possibly be a bigger @$$H0!E— adamhadem
- city needs money. joey donates tons. give him the plaques or raise city taxes. no brainer. LEARN TO SAY THANK YOU— transpotec
- I saw that rat face whining about it on Fox Philly News. "Its a vendetta from da mayorahhh!" he cried. The guy doesn't speak the king's english for sure and he seems paranoid, delusional and narcissistic.— john titor
- Comment removed.
- For once the city and PPD are being reasonable here. I'm sure they'd allow a plaque that just says "Donated by Joey Vento". Adding the logo makes it an advertisement. Once they start allowing that, it is an incredibly slippery slope.— Tartan69
