Convicted killer of Revere man gets six years in jail

REVERE - The man convicted of fatally stabbing a 26-year-old Revere man in a South Boston barroom brawl was sentenced to six years in state prison Wednesday.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Linda Giles handed Bernard Piscopo, 40, of Dorchester, less than half of the 14- to 16-year term recommended by Assistant District Attorney Holly Broadbent.

Piscopo was originally indicted for second-degree murder for the June 17, 2007 stabbing of Adam Rich, but a jury on Tuesday convicted him of the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter. The jury acquitted Piscopo of stabbing a surviving victim during the same incident, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley.



Prior to sentencing, Rich's father and sister addressed the court to tell of what they lost when the young man was stabbed seven times, including once in the heart.

"The last thing I ever thought I'd have to do was tell anyone how special and loved Adam was," said Brian Rich, the victim's father, adding that the young man had scored high on a test when he considered a career as a Revere firefighter.

"The month of June is now a terrible month," he continued. "Adam's birthday was in June. So is Father's Day - the day he died."

The slain man's sister, Janelle Rich, spoke at length about "the hurt and agony" of his loss.

"I ... imagine, over and over, his last moments," she said, "bleeding from seven separate stab wounds, drowning in his own blood as his lungs filled up, suffocating, gasping for air with no one but a stranger to offer him assistance. He died with no one he loved to hold him, reassure him and comfort him ... Memories of how he died haunt me every day and those memories are engraved on my soul."

During two full weeks of trial, Broadbent introduced evidence and testimony showing that the victim and another man became embroiled in a fistfight at The 6 House on West Broadway in the early morning hours of June 17, 2007. The evidence showed that others present intervened in that melee, including Piscopo and the surviving victim.

Rich was escorted from the bar but soon returned and struck Piscopo. The evidence proved that Piscopo produced a knife and stabbed Rich seven times in the back, chest, stomach, legs and hand before fleeing through the bar's back door. Rich was pronounced dead of his injuries at the Boston Medical Center a short time later.

According to published reports, Piscopo, the father of two suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, sobbed uncontrollably as the judge issued his sentence.

Nicole Crosta was the victim-witness advocate assigned to the case. Assistant District Attorney Janis Noble second-seated Broadbent. Piscopo was represented by attorney Robert George.