Seven men who attended a wild game dinner in Mount Kisco claim they were poisoned at the event.
The men accused the event organizers and Mount Kisco American Legion of gross negligence, in a complaint filed on Sept. 4 in Westchester Supreme Court.
The organizers were reckless, the complaint states, in serving exotic meats “from an unapproved food source that was not commercially regulated.”
The wild game event was a two-night affair held at the Moses Taylor Jr. American Legion Post, in January 2024.
Nicholas Bucci, John Dinoia, Ray Dutton, Kenneth Fischer, Karam Jubran, Michael Ryan and Frederick Winter claim they consumed food infested with parasites and toxins, were infected with toxoplasmosis and Hepatitis E, and suffered “painful and permanent injuries.”
They allege that Tom Calandrucci, of Amawalk; Thomas Gadomski, Stony Brook (Suffolk County); Giovanni Piccolino, Mount Kisco; and Edward Tatlian, Cortlandt Manor organized the dinners and procured the venison and boar meat that attendees ate.
The Westchester County Department of Health confiscated food served at the event, the complaint states, and some of the samples tested positive for toxoplasmosis and Hepatitis E.
Toxoplasmosis generally causes flu-like symptoms, but it can be deadly to people with weakened immune systems, can cause birth defects and miscarriages in pregnant women, and can cause visual defects.
Hepatitis E causes liver inflammation that is usually temporary, but can cause severe problems in pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems.
In February 2023, the county health department issued an urgent alert about the American Legion game dinners. At that point, it was investigating two cases of toxoplasmosis but noted that 20 more people were experiencing symptoms and were being tested, among 200 people who attended the dinners.
The health department said that an employee of the American Legion believed that deer meat had not been cooked properly.
The seven men claim that exotic meats were not acquired from a source licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or by the state Department of Agriculture and Markets. They allege that the event organizers acted with reckless disregard for the safety of others; acted fraudulently and deceitfully; and were “reckless, wanton and grossly negligent.”
They are demanding unspecified monetary damages.
Piccolino did not reply to an email that asked for his side of the story. A message sent to Calandrucci failed to connect, and attempts to find contact information for Gadomski and Tatlian were unsuccessful.
