Man gets 12-25 in brutal beating of 71-year-old

WILKES-BARRE – Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas President Judge Chester Muroski wanted to know why Giacomo Pisciotta went so far when he brutally beat a 71-year-old man with a bat and took $25 from his home.

“I don’t know sir,” Pisciotta replied before being sentenced to 12 1/2 to 25 years in state prison. “I snapped.”

Pisciotta, 20, of East Kiefer Avenue, Hazleton, was charged in January with beating Harold Filler while he was asleep in his East Green Street home and robbing him.

Pisciotta pleaded guilty to charges of robbery, burglary and aggravated assault in June.

“He really messed up my life,” Filler, now 72, said before Pisciotta was sentenced.

Filler said since the January incident, he hasn’t been able to sleep, and that what bothers him the most is that his five children and nine grandchildren are so affected by the incident.

“That’s what bothers me mentally, physically and emotionally,” Filler said.

Filler, who now uses a wheelchair for mobility, said after the beating he had injuries all over his body and that his walking is now impaired because of those injuries.

“They had to sew my ear back on,” Filler said of the severe facial injuries he received in the beating.

Filler’s son, Harold Filler, Jr., testified that he and his siblings will never forget that night, and that he called his sisters to say he didn’t think their father was going to make it.

The younger Filler said the house they grew up in had been destroyed, as well as their father’s feeling of security.

“He sleeps with a club in his bed,” Filler said, adding his father installed a security system and purchased a firearm for the first time in his life at the age of 72.

Pisciotta said Friday he was sorry for what he did to Filler, and apologized to his entire family.

“I hope one day we can reconcile when I’m free,” Pisciotta said, adding he’d like to sit down with Filler and talk about what happened.

“This man was brutalized … it’s absolutely awful,” Muroski said. Muroski ordered Pisciotta to pay more than $10,000 in restitution and costs, and to have no contact with Filler or his family.

“But for an act of God and strong will, (Filler) might be dead,” Luzerne County Assistant District Attorney Daniel Zola said.

Zola said he would have liked to see Pisciotta get a heavier sentence – 16� to 33 years in prison – but felt Muroski did his job by hearing both sides of the case and taking them into account when sentencing.

According to court records, on Jan. 6, Filler told police he was awakened around 10 p.m. and was struck in the head by a bat. Filler claimed the man, later identified as Pisciotta, kept hitting him while yelling, “Where’s the money?”

Filler told Pisciotta that he didn’t have any money and pleaded for his life, when Pisciotta pushed Filler downstairs and stole $25 that was on a nearby table. Pisciotta continued to assault Filler and threatened to break his legs if he didn’t give him more money.

Filler told police he crawled back upstairs, but was pushed down by Pisciotta. Filler said he managed to leave the house and go to a neighbor’s home, where he asked for help.

Pisciotta fled the residence and was found a short time later hiding behind another home after a brief foot chase with police.