Frank

I always show up to work early but onFebruary 8, 2006 I was earlier than usual, cup of coffee in hand. The first thing I did was call my mom to wish her a happy birthday. I wanted to do it from my office phone because she loved seeing Hampton Bays School District on her caller ID. She was so proud that her son was a school principal—with even bigger aspirations. I opened with the same line I’ve used since moving out: “Mama, its Frank Vetro.” It always cracks her up. The simple things make her laugh, make her happy. She never wants a gift. I stopped buying her gifts years ago because they always go to waste. Quality time with her family is all she ever wants, and dinner with her sons always makes her birthday. It was a quick phone call, because I had an extra busy day. I had to cram everything in so I could leave work earlier than usual. My former colleague from Newfield High School, Ms. Quick, was advising me for a presentation called “Rachel’s Challenge.” Rachel was a student who was killed in a tragic incident at Columbine High School where the “Trench Coat Mafia” killed a dozen students and a teacher and wounded twenty-four others on campus. One of its many messages was to watch what you say. The slightest remark can impact how an individual is perceived, be emotionally scarring, and lead that individual to harm others or themselves. Amen. There was a peculiar car parked outside my building just across the street. It was plain-looking and neutral-colored, and sort of hovered around all day. I didn’t recognize it, and neither did anyone else. That’s not the norm in the small hamlet of Hampton Bays, where everyone knows everything about everybody, including what they drive. The locals have referred to Hampton Bays as “the working man’s Hamptons” because of its blue-collar stigma. Many community members have forged a living on the water or via another trade or family run business native to the area. It does have the world famous Dune Road and some million-dollar homes. It is a part of the renowned Town of Southampton. However, the Hamptons most people think of begins about eight minutes farther east, in the actual towns of Southampton and East Hampton, to name a couple. That’s where you’ll find the Hollywood stars and powerbrokers of the world. My security guard, Tom, kept his eye on the car, but nothing required any action. I ended my workday at 4:15 p.m., said good-bye to a group of students enrolled in the evening school program, and left for Sportime, a local fitness club in Quogue. I wanted to sneak in a quick workout before having dinner with my mom. I already changed into my gym clothes: black mesh shorts, T-shirt, and blue thermal. It was a freezing, bitter-cold day. The school property was a ghost town, which is typical during the dead of winter. Very few activities take place and nobody wants to loiter in that brutal weather. Just before entering my car I took a final scan of the property. I don’t know what instinctively made me do that, but something was strange. It was unusually quiet, even for that time of year. There was an eerie sense of calm before a storm. After my last-minute scan I got in my car and drove through town. I noticed the mystery car was driving behind me, and there were at least three strange men in the car. I stopped at a red light at the corner of Montauk Highway and Springville Road, just at the entrance of the Dunkin Donuts and movie theater shopping center. That intersection was always congested at that time of day, but it seemed as though the entire town was there at that exact moment. Community members were honking and waving. I was the middle school and high school principal of the small hamlet and a very recognizable face. Suddenly the suspicious car flashed its lights. An undercover police car? If it was, it wasn’t the Southampton Town Police who generally oversaw the town. It had to be the Suffolk County Police Department. The three men exited the car, wearing plain clothes, and rushed my vehicle as if I were a drug lord or murderer. “Get out of the car!” I wondered what the hell was going on as I followed the command. As soon as I exited my car he theatrically screamed, “You’re under arrest!” Before I could say a word he violently turned me around, shoved me on the car, and cuffed me. The handcuffs dug into my wrists. “Wait, I’m the principal of the school.” The officer responded with a smirk. “I know,” he said, as he paraded me in front of the town for what seemed like an eternity. I looked at the throng of community members. They were shocked, to say the least, as they witnessed their principal in a horrendous situation. I asked the officer to at least remove me from their view. “Don’t worry—no one is looking, it will only be a few seconds.” He had no concern for the shocked community, not even the young kids who were watching intears.

Assignment #1: Story statement 1. Telling a real-life story of deception and scandal, Frank exposes rogue elements of a system that underestimated the tenacious character of its accused as he refused to be intimidated by a political machine. 2. After his malicious arrest and lock up a young charismatic high school principal takes on corruption within the New York education and criminal justice systems. Assignment #2: Antagonists Michelle is Frank’s close friend. A beautiful, blonde hair, blue eyed school teacher with a dark history. A seductive femme fatal who uses her perfect body to get her way. When she does not get what she wants she stops at nothing while taking action against what she considers injustice. She masterfully conceals her past from Frank until it’s too late for him to save himself. Michelle conspires with the Suffolk County Police Department. A political machine more interested in personal gain and ambition than the truth. They feed the media with false statements, turning mundane cases into headline grabbing stories that convict people in the court of public opinion rather than a court of law. Because their case against Frank is baseless, they fear the same media they fed with false statements will turn on them in a new feeding frenzy. Thus, a stalemate is born, suspending Frank’s life in a no-man’s land of deception, lies and publicity hungry officials. Assignment #3: Title Standing on Principal: A Devoted Educator’s Fight against a Corrupt System Assignment #4: Comparables 1. Until Proven Innocent; Political Correctness and the Shameful Injustices of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case 2. The Central Park Five These books compare because they are accounts of wrongful arrests, ensuing media frenzies and hightened public reactions that destroy the lives of young men. However, my story separates itself because it’s a first-hand account, investigated and written in real-time, by the main character. Nothing is lost as far as raw emotion, time, or detail. My story is a current event (trial is scheduled in 2023) and it broadens from local themes to global issues of social and political importance. Assignment #5: Hook line Melding the fictional "Fatal Attraction" with the real-life Duke Lacrosse and Penn State scandals, Standing on Principal is a first hand, well-documented account of a rogue system that underestimated the tenacious character of its accused as he refused to be intimidated by a political machine. It’s a real story and it will scare the hell out of everyone. Assignment #6: Inner Conflicts 1. Frank is a fallen hero. He goes from being publicly labeled a dream team administrator who was being recruited by multiple districts to a man who is left for dead. Because of what is done he cannot even find menial employment and remains unemployed for many years. He loses everything in life while the real criminal remains unscathed and prosperous. He soon contemplates giving up, ending life altogether. 2. Frank can either continuously lean on his family for support. He knows they would gladly help him. However he is prideful, and, as a man in his upper thirties, he can’t come to grips with the fact that he is living like a child and relying on family for everything in life. He doesn’t want them or the world to know just how bad he is doing. Does he spare them the heartache he is experiencing? He doesn’t want to be a burden. Frank actually contemplates suicide if his life doesn’t change. Assignment #7: Setting(s) As a young child Frank walks the beaches of Miami with bookies and hangs out with hustlers in Fort Lauderdale bars. As an adolescent and adult, he spends his free time at racetracks and Atlantic City. His main vacation destination as an adult is Las Vegas. In living out his Italian immigrant family’s American dream he becomes an educator and quickly advances to become a young, award-winning, high school principal in the Hamptons, Long Island. He’s a young, charismatic leader surrounded by an entourage who party heavily by night in posh clubs, from the Hamptons to Manhattan. By day he is a dedicated, hardworking educator with a goal of simply helping students and saving the failing school from being taken over by the state. His love for education is equaled by his love for beautiful women. These passionate encounters will help lead to his tragic demise. Riverhead Jail, police precincts, state and federal courthouses, and the backseat of his car become the settings after he loses everything, is left for dead, and fights for his life. After years of unemployment Frank is given a break. A priest hires him to be a school principal, ironically working with the legal system to give youths at risk a second chance at life. Frank also becomes a radio show host and public speaker at colleges and universities where he raises awareness about injustices in the criminal justice system and seeks change through legislation.