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Monday, May 4, 2020

T RU S T E D . B A L A NC E D . L O C A L .

SPORTS

Virus’s effecton recruitingAthletes’ focus back on schools;pause could benefit players. C1

CENTRAL FLORIDA BUSINESS

Who’s hiringin the region?Fuller: An updated list of jobs thatrequire little or no experience. C3

Wild Florida’s Drive-thru Safari Park re-opens its gateswhere you and your family can see more than 100 exotic

and native animals roam freely!

The mother told the judge she retainedMelbourne lawyer JohnGillespie in 2016 tohelp her daughter, who suffered frommen-tal illness and drug addiction, get out of theOrange County Jail after weeks without acourt date.

Her 23-year-old daughter, who faced

drug, theft and credit card fraud charges,had insisted on hiring Gillespie, 71, afterhearing from other inmates he would takesomeone’s case for just $500.

“Shebeggedmeandpromised shewouldgo to rehab,” the mother wrote in a 2019letter to Circuit Judge Jon B. Morgan, whowas the judge in thecaseagainstherdaugh-ter. “She told me that ‘John’ was going tohelp her and that he thought it would bebetter to get her out of the county that herdrug use started.”

Instead, Gillespiemoved her daughter to

a Daytona Beach apartment, where herdruguseescalatedandshebegandancingata gentleman’s club, according to the Met-ropolitan Bureau of Investigation. Gillespiehad sexwith thewoman, who gave birth toa baby who tested positive for drugs, themother said.

Gillespie’s treatment of the daughterwas“consistent with grooming and a form acoercion typically exerted upon victims ofhuman trafficking,” according to the MBI,

How officials say law firm became prostitution front

John Gillespie is accused of using his lawfirm as a front for prostitution.

ORLANDO SENTINEL

Records show what’s behindMelbourne attorney’s charges

ByMonivette Cordeiro

Please turn to ATTORNEY, A5

ROME—Whilemillions of people tookadvantage of easing coronavirus lock-downs to enjoy spring weather, some ofthe world’s most populous countries re-portedworrisomenewpeaks in infectionsSunday, including India, which saw itsbiggest single-day jump yet.

Second in population only to China,India reported more than 2,600 new in-fections. In Russia, new cases exceeded10,000 for the first time. The confirmeddeath toll in Britain climbed near that ofItaly,—theepicenterofEurope’soutbreak— even though the U.K. population isyounger than Italy’s andBritain hadmore

CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK

NationsreportnewpeaksRussia and India amongthose with infection spikesBy Frances D’Emilio,Pablo Gorondi and Danica KirkaAssociated Press

Please turn to PEAKS, A4

It’s hard enough for established Or-lando restaurants to stay afloat in thecoronavirus-burdened economy, but

new businesses face even steeper climbs.With community support, and that of fel-low business owners, they say, the oddsincrease exponentially.

Philip Innamorato wanted a change, he

told me in Bensonhurst patois that twodecades in Port St. Lucie has done nothingto soften.

That’s where his family has owned BigApple Pizza for roughly 25 years. But In-namorato, his wife Lindsay and their fourkids are regulars here inOrlando.

“We all love Disney and we’re alwaysgoingbackandforth,everyotherweek,”hesays. “We’re passholders — Disney, Sea-World, Universal. Orlando’s the best placeto be in Florida, so I was like, ‘Why don’twe justmove here?’”

His wife didn’t believe he was serious.Until he drove up to Oviedo and camehome with signed paperwork for a pizze-

ria.And so, Santinos PizzaNWings, named

for their youngest, opened on Jan. 6.Innamorato, whose family was still liv-

ing inPort St. Luciewhilewaiting for theirnew Black Hammock house to close, gothis change — more than he bargained forwhenCOVID-19 dropped like a bomb.

“I advertised in the local Clipper, Ithrew up Facebook shout-outs, there’s aSchool of Rock right here and the parentswould bring their kids in after musiclessons…. this iswhat I’m all about, know-ing my customers, talking to them. Busi-

“I have to stay positive,” says Brian Zhao, owner of Kabuto Sushi & Grill in Winter Springs, which served few customers in its new din-ing room before having to move to coronavirus protocol.

AMY DREW THOMPSON/ORLANDO SENTINEL

‘Through adversity ... unity’New restaurants’ uniquebusiness struggle buoyedby support and solidarityBy Amy Drew Thompson

Please turn to UNITY, A6

“I’m just trying to do whatever I can to get people through the door. If I have to lose alittle to make it, to build the brand, so be it.” —Brian Zhao, owner of Kabuto Sushi & Grill

Gene Ficarra’s 79-year-oldmother, AdaFicarra, died April 26 at an assisted livingfacility inWinterGardenaftercontractingthe coronavirus. But Gene, who lives inHerndon, Va., can’t travel to see family inCentralFloridaorattendamemorial serv-ice.

“The worst part about it is not beingwithmy family so that I can console themthrough this,”Ficarra said. “…Thehardestpart forme is not beingwithmy children,who loved her so dearly.”

Across theworld, families are having tochange the way they mourn deceasedrelatives as the coronavirus pandemic

Coronavirusis affecting theway we mournBy Katie Rice

Please turn to FUNERALS, A6

INSIDE:U.S.officials believeChina hid severityto stock up onsupplies.A3

INSIDE:Nursinghomes lobby forprotections frompotential flood oflawsuits.A3

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