[Gypsy Home Invasion Robbery]

Killer given death sentence fir stomping 91-year-old Hollywood man

By Jon Burstein South
South Florida Sun-Sentinel April 7 2006

Convicted killer Gabby Tennis yelled at his father, disavowed his attorney and promised his first-degree murder case would be successfully appealed.

Then he was sentenced to die.

Broward Circuit Judge Susan Lebow sent Tennis to Death Row on Thursday for fatally stomping 91-year-old Albert Vessella in June 2003. Tennis, 22, attacked the disabled veteran while Tennis and his girlfriend ransacked the retiree's home for valuables. One of the blows was so severe it separated Vessella's spinal column.

Lebow said Tennis clearly relished the press attention he received for the killing, even addressing reporters in court. He tried to manipulate his case with periodic outbursts and blatantly obvious attempts to create confusion and set up a future appeal, the judge said.

"Mr. Tennis regularly and persistently attempted in every way possible to dominate these proceedings," Lebow said.

Tennis quietly absorbed Lebow's ruling, in contrast to his behavior before the judge took the bench.

Moments after Tennis entered the courtroom, he started yelling at his father, Leo Tennis, asking why he testified for the prosecution. Leo Tennis told jurors his son confessed to killing Vessella.

Leo Tennis said the prosecutor in the case forced him to testify by threatening to arrest him, an accusation that prosecutor Howard Scheinberg has denied.

"How did he force you?" Gabby Tennis yelled. "How did he threaten you, my father?"

Tennis then asked the reporters who were present to listen to him, vowing he would be back in court on appeal. He complained everyone was against him, including his attorney.

"This is a kangaroo court," Tennis said, adding, "I didn't kill nobody."

A jury convicted Tennis in September and recommended 8-4 that he be executed. In addition to the physical evidence against him, Tennis' girlfriend, Sophia Adams, testified that she watched him kill Vessella. Adams, now 19, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The robbery happened after Adams' mother, Liza Boltos, demanded a dowry, traditional in the Gypsy culture, for the couple to marry.

Tennis blamed Boltos for the crime. Boltos used to clean Vessella's Polk Street home, but Adams testified the couple selected the house to rob at random.

None of Vessella's relatives were in court Thursday. Gabby Tennis' attorney, Patrick Rastatter, declined to answer questions after the sentencing.

Vessella was a Crime Watch president for his Hollywood neighborhood. He served in the Navy during World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam. He used to spend his quiet time making animals out of golf balls and carving flowers from wood.

After sentencing Tennis, Lebow asked the attorneys if there were any other legal matters to address.

"Yes, judge, there is," Tennis said. "Can I say something?"

Rastatter urged him to be quiet.

"She asked if there is anything else I wanted to bring forth," Tennis said.

Lebow ignored him. Moments later, Broward Sheriff's Office deputies led Tennis out of the courtroom.

                22-year-old Gabby Tennis               91-year-old Albert Vessella