My state Senator, Jim Alesi, was out looking at housing developments a few years ago. He entered one of the unfinished houses through the back door, fell off a ladder, and broke his leg. The couple declined to press charges for trespassing because “they didn’t want to make a bad situation worse for the Senator”.

Yesterday, one day after the statute of limitations for trespassing expired, Alesi filed a civil lawsuit alleging “negligence” and asserting that “the premises were not reasonably safe.” The builder, who Alesi is also suing, said this:

“Look, it’s a job site,” DiRisio said. “A home under construction. There was a ladder going from the basement to the first level of the home, and he slipped going up the ladder. The ladder didn’t break. There wasn’t a malfunction there. In fact, I still have the ladder if you want a photo of it.” Then DiRisio added, “I suppose it might not have been safe for someone who is not familiar with operating a ladder, or for someone without proper footgear.”

Alesi is a fairly moderate Republican, and he recently survived a challenge from a well-funded Democratic challenger. I had no idea he was such a colossal asshole.