Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle - Tuesday, August 5, 2003
Chronicle Staff Report
The court ordered Michael Petrelis and David Pasquarelli to spend three years on probation and attend anger-management counseling. They also were ordered to stay away from the officials and the reporters for three years. And they have to issue written apologies to their victims.
"That was an important part of the plea arrangement," said San Francisco Assistant District Attorney Michon Martin. "They had to take responsibility, and they have to stay away."
Under terms of last week's plea agreement, the men were sentenced to one year in county jail and will have to serve that time if they violate probation.
Pasquarelli and Petrelis were arrested in late 2001 after reporters and editors at the newspaper and health officials said they had received a series of late-night calls that threatened them and their families.
The two men have accused Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, San Francisco's director of sexually transmitted disease programs, of advocating a quarantine of HIV- positive men -- an allegation Klausner denies -- and have complained about The Chronicle's coverage of gay-related issues. Pasquarelli is a member of ACT UP/San Francisco, a dissident chapter that denies AIDS is caused by HIV.
Defense lawyers had argued that the phone calls were legitimate political protest.
The Chronicle's attorney, Josh Koltun, said the stay-away order allowed Petrelis to send the newspaper one letter or fax a day on matters of public interest. Pasquarelli chose not to accept that condition, Koltun said.
Mark Vermeulen, Pasquarelli's attorney, said his client simply wasn't interested in that provision of the order, because he wants to focus on improving his health. The time Pasquarelli spent in jail caused his health to deteriorate, Vermeulen said.
"I think this is a fair resolution for everybody," he said. "I think David just wants to put it behind him and get on with his life."
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