Article - May 9, 2008 - Hartford Courant

New Haven Chiropractor Granted Form Of Probation

By Kim Martineau

A New Haven chiropractor charged with harassment for making a series of crank calls to a Wethersfield stroke victim was given a special form of probation Thursday and also ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Stephen Piserchia, 43, of Guilford, appeared in Superior Court in New Haven and was given accelerated rehabilitation, a form of probation for first-time offenders. He was also ordered to pay a $2,500 fine, perform 250 hours of community service and undergo a mental health exam.

At the time the prank calls were made, Britt Harwe, founder of the Chiropractic Stroke Awareness Group, was working to get laws passed intended to warn patients of the risks involved in chiropractic manipulations. To raise awareness, she took out ads on buses and billboards, listing her phone number.

Piserchia called the number and in June 2007 left a series of bizarre messages, singing, belching and making fun of people who had been harmed by chiropractors.

"Hi, I'll put my mother on," he said in one message. "She had an adjustment, and I think she had a stroke. Hold on. Oh, that's right, she can't talk."

Piserchia's lawyer, John Cirello, acknowledged that his client used bad judgment. "He was frustrated and didn't choose the best way to express it," he said.

In court on Thursday, Harwe described the difficulty in getting the police and prosecutors to pursue the case and urged the judge not to be too lenient.

Full story