By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — A Queens man who admitted to a hateful assault at a Village gay bar insisted he was not a bigot as he was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison on Wednesday.
Frederick Giunta, 25, pleaded guilty on Feb. 15 to assauling a bartender at Julius Bar on West 10th Street, where Giunta was refused service because he was too intoxicated on Oct. 19, 2010.
He admitted to throwing a punch at the bartender, 38-year-old Greg Davis. While leaving, he yelled racist and anti-gay slurs, according to prosecutors. He also admitted to trying to steal a patron's wallet at nearby Ty bar that same day.
But when addressing the sentencing judge, Giunta said that while he accepted responsibility for his drunken behavior, he was not a homophobic or a racist.
"My actions had no malice. I have no hatred in my heart and I don't consider myself a violent person," he said.
"I do accept the guilt and just take responsibility for my actions I do have remorse for what I've done."
His lawyer, Hershel Katz, said Giunta had gay friends and truly had no grudge against members of that community.
Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. released a statement on the sentencing saying that Giunta's prison sentence "serves as a reminder that there is no tolerance for bias-related violence."
Giunta will be jailed for a total of 5.5 years because he was a parolee on a grand larceny conviction at the time of his hate crime arrest last year.
