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A bitter lesson about consequences unfolds daily for Steven Moschella, serving a piecemeal 60-day sentence.
By TAMARA LUSH
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 14, 2001
NEW PORT RICHEY -- Every day, Steven Moschella thinks of his best friend, Teddy Niziol.
When he wakes up, the 17-year-old sees the shrine to Teddy he built of pictures, notes and clothes that they shared. Every few weeks, when he drives to jail, he looks at photos of Teddy that are stuck to the dashboard in his car. And before he goes to bed at night, Moschella's thoughts turn to Teddy.
Moschella accidentally killed his best friend last Jan. 19. The two were sitting in Niziol's sport utility vehicle in the Ridgewood High School parking lot after classes, and Niziol handed Moschella a handgun.
As Moschella handled the gun, it suddenly went off, and a bullet pierced Niziol's heart.
"He's got to deal with his guilt every day," said Moschella's mother, Pam Wimmer. "He's got a lifetime sentence."
Moschella pleaded guilty to manslaughter in October. As part of the plea agreement, he had to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas in the adult section of the county jail.
On Friday night, right after posing for the picture that accompanies this story, he left to spend the three-day school holiday in jail; and that's where he'll be for two more weeks around spring break time. The day after he graduates from high school, Moschella will finish his 60-day sentence by going back to jail for a month.
When he's not in jail, a Ridgewood teacher tutors Moschella at his house.
Moschella's doctor and lawyer recommended that he not speak to the newspaper about the shooting. Wimmer said her son is on medication and in counseling and has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder because of the tragedy.
"(Counselors) say it's going to take years to come to terms with this and somewhat get over it," she said. As part of his sentence, Moschella must also speak at every high school in the county about the danger of guns. He is currently making a video about the dangers of guns that will be shown at every school.
"He hopes by doing this movie that he will get through to someone else. Our biggest thing is to hopefully prevent it from happening again," said Wimmer. "Until you've lived it, you have no idea what it's like."
Moschella's brother, Kenny Irons, said that Moschella threw out all of the toy guns they had in the house. Moschella often lectures his brother, telling him to stay out of trouble and to walk away from guns.
"He lectures me more than anything. "Never ever do anything wrong,' " Irons said. "He knows what can happen, how bad jail is."
If there is one positive thing that has come from the shooting, Wimmer said, it is that her son and his close friends know that there are consequences.
"Now they tend to stop and think," said Wimmer. "It's a hard lesson for a child to learn."
- Staff writer Matthew Waite contributed to this report.
Teen's sentence may help others (October 18, 2000)
Moschella sentenced to 60 days in jail (October 14, 2000)
Report: Sentence teen as juvenile (May 19, 2000)
Reports narrate teen's shooting (February 26, 2000)
Trying to find answers in the death of a teen (January 23, 2000)
Officials: Gun was stolen (January 22, 2000)
Questions rise in shooting's wake (January 21, 2000)
Teen dies in accidental shooting at school (January 20, 2000)
A school's worst fears realized (January 20, 2000)