Is Paranoia Contagious and Spreading in Croton-on-Hudson?

June 25, 2006

On the evening of September 23, 1944, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave a speech at a dinner of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in Washington, DC. This now-famous address is still referred to as “The Fala Speech,” and helped FDR to soundly trounce his Republican opponent, Wendell Wilkie. After reciting a litany of the hypocrisies of Republican leaders, he said:

“These Republican leaders have not been content with attacks on me, or my wife, or on my sons. No, not content with that, they now include my little dog, Fala. Well, of course, I don’t resent attacks, and my family doesn’t resent attacks, but Fala does resent them. You know, Fala is Scotch, and being a Scottie, as soon as he learned that the Republican fiction writers in Congress and out had concocted a story that I had left him behind on the Aleutian Islands and had sent a destroyer back to find him—at a cost to the taxpayers of two or three, or eight or twenty million dollars—his Scotch soul was furious. He has not been the same dog since. I am accustomed to hearing malicious falsehoods about myself—such as that old, worm-eaten chestnut that I have represented myself as indispensable. But I think I have a right to resent, to object to libelous statements about my dog.”

Last week Crotonblog reported on the unusual and intemperate behavior of Croton resident Richard Pellicci, a resident of 65 Radnor Avenue in Croton, at the Village Board meeting on June 19 (see: An Out-of-Control Richard Pellicci Rages Over “Listening Session”). We reported what could very easily be seen on the accompanying film clip: Mr. Pellicci imperiously demanded that he not be filmed while speaking at the podium to members of the Board, a demand that has never before been made by any speaker. He also peremptorily demanded answers from three board members. And he threateningly accused Trustee Leo Wiegman of “smirking” at his statements. As is the practice on blogs, following the report Crotonblog added its own editorial comment on Mr. Pellicci’s indecorous behavior at the meeting. When Mr. Pellicci is in his “attack” mode, indecorous behavior by him is not unusual at board meetings.

Crotonblog’s June 21 posting touched off a furious exchange of comments between attackers unfriendly to the blog and supporters who obviously recognize that blogs represent the wave of the future in journalism. As we must now learn to live with terror, we are all going to have to learn to live with blogs, despite their frankness and brashness. Allow me to paraphrase portions of FDR’s speech and respond to those unfriendly bloggers:

“These commenters have not been content with attacks on me, or my wife, or on my family. No, not content with that, they now include our poor defenseless cookbook for colitis sufferers that my wife and I wrote a dozen years ago. Well, of course, I don’t resent attacks, and my family doesn’t resent attacks, but the colitis cookbook does resent them. As soon as it learned that these commenters who rose to Richard Pellicci’s defense had concocted a story that I had hurt sales of Susan Konig’s book by identifying her as—get this—a Republican, its literary soul was furious. It has not been the same cookbook since. I am accustomed to hearing malicious falsehoods about myself—such as that old, worm-eaten chestnut that I am unemployed and sit at home in my underwear doing nothing but demeaning hard-working, self-sacrificing types like Maria Cudequest, Susan Konig and Richard Pellicci. But I think I have a right to resent, to object to insulting statements about our cookbook.”

Professionals have praised our little cookbook, as the sampling that follows indicates. Dr. Stephen Holland, a gastroenterologist on the faculty at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, is an assistant professor of medicine and an assistant professor of clinical pharmacology in the department of Biomedical and Therapeutic Sciences at the medical school. His research and clinical interest is in Inflammatory Bowel Disease, that is, Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis. He is interested in clinical studies in patients with Crohn’s or Ulcerative Colitis. Here’s what Dr. Holland had to say about our colitis cookbook:

“I recently had a chance to review a short cookbook for people with active Ulcerative Colitis. Written by Denise and Ross Weale, it is a pocket size cookbook with 100 recipes of low fiber non-dairy recipes. Simple in design and concept, with a cute cover, it is a nicely done book. The strength of it is that there are a variety of recipes, so that it really looks like someone with digestive disease can survive. It is organized as breakfast, bread, soups and sauces, side dishes, pizza, and main course. In the main course part are Grilled chicken burrito, oriental potstickers, lemon chicken, pot roast, shepherd’s pie, veal and potato stew, and many more. It is obvious that the authors have put in a variety of foods and styles of cooking. The strength of the cookbook is that is low fiber and milk free, which can be a benefit for symptoms during a flare. Also, the sheer variety of recipes may make the diet during a flare more enjoyable than when one is on one’s regular diet between attacks. It is not a book that makes any claims on keeping colitis away. Anyway, the recipes are all doable, so check it out.”

And here’s what Peter Waite, courtesy of the IBD Bookstore, had to say about our colitis cookbook: “This is a collection of 100 low fiber, non-dairy recipes compiled by a ‘chef’ couple that are easy to prepare and fit a low residue regimen for people with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Recipes are divided into useful categories: breakfast, bread, soups and sauces, side dishes, pizza recipes, main courses, and dessert. Instructions are clearly written. This cookbook is sure to provide plenty of tasty meal and dessert ideas for people with IBD, and proves that you can eat delicious food and still stay healthy. Very Good, Worth Reading—4 stars.”

And here’s what Insights & Answers, from Proctor & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, 12/98 had to say about our colitis cookbook. “The Culinary Couple’s Creative Colitis Cookbook, by Denise and Ross Weale, Front Burner Publishing (1995): A delight for cooking fans! This cookbook includes 100 low-fiber, non-dairy recipes and is created by a couple with ulcerative colitis in their family who are also culinary school graduates.”

To return to the personal attacks leveled against Crotonblog: We are not defaming Mr. Pellicci if we report that at an earlier Village Board meeting in an outburst of self-diagnosis he acknowledged his previous unusual public behavior by describing himself this way: “I’m the paranoid one in the bunch.” “The bunch,” in Mr. Pellicci’s usage, presumably refers to the small band of single-issue chronic complainers who can be counted on to monopolize meetings and to rail about anything and everything pertaining to a piece of industrially zoned property at 1A Croton Point Avenue.

By any definition of paranoia, Mr. Pellicci is correct in diagnosing himself with that condition. A standard definition of paranoia is that it is “an unfounded or exaggerated distrust of others, sometimes reaching delusional proportions. Paranoid individuals constantly suspect the motives of others around them, and believe that certain individuals, or people in general, are ‘out to get them’.” For example, Mr. Pellicci has complained that a person or persons unknown threw eggs at his house—although Croton Police Department records show that such incidents have never been reported. During political campaigns, Mr. Pellicci draws unflattering cartoons ridiculing political candidates he opposes and submits these to a local newspaper, which dutifully publishes them under the rubric of a letter “to the editor.”

He is not above calling attention to his acts of public service as a volunteer gardener “crawling around on my hands and knees.” He does not hesitate to raise the specter that he will “knock on every door in the Village” to obtain signatures on a petition to influence Village Board actions. It is not clear whether this is a threat or a promise. Crotonblog wonders whether Mr. Pellicci is aware that such solicitation require licensing by the Village in the same way that others making solicitations must first register. And he raises his voice and has made a thinly veiled threat to one board member, “Leo, I’m telling you. You smirk one more time…” Then he added, “I’m serious. Stop with the smirking!”

Even more alarming, Mr. Pellicci’s self-acknowledged paranoia curiously seems to be contagious, a medical first not heretofore reported in the mental health literature. Those who comment unfavorably about the blog and favorably about his actions all seem to exhibit similar clinical signs of paranoiac behavior. Crotonblog wonders whether a particularly rabid form of paranoia is being transmitted throughout this village and whether the phenomenon should be reported to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) in Atlanta. Stay tuned. Crotonblog is certain that this latest comment will touch off still another round of paranoiac behavior.

— Ross Weale Jr., Editor

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