Minister jailed for beating wife in '94 plans return to Pittsburgh
Twelve years after leaving Pittsburgh's North Hills after a jail sentence for the savage beating of his wife, the Rev. Richard Rossi wants to come home.
A California filmmaker, the evangelist whose arrest cost him his home, his church and almost his family is about to embark on a film project that will return him to Pittsburgh. The film, based on the life of legendary Pirates outfielder Roberto Clemente, could be the stepping stone the Rossis have been looking for to go bicoastal, maintaining homes here and in Hollywood.
"Filmmaking is becoming more and more common back there," Rossi, 45, said of Pittsburgh in a telephone interview. "We'd like to spend more time in our home, where most of our family and friends live, in the North Hills. It's the most appealing place to be."
Other than periodic visits, the Rossis haven't spent much time here since shortly after Rossi completed his probation.
In 1994, the minister was accused of beating his wife, Sherrie, nearly killing her, and leaving her alongside a road in Connoquenessing. He initially claimed his wife was attacked by a man who looked just like him and drove a similar car.
Sherrie Rossi, who was in a coma for three days, suffered injuries so severe that she had to wear a helmet. She initially identified her husband as her attacker. She recanted several months later and aligned her story with her husband's.
A highly publicized trial on attempted homicide and aggravated assault charges resulted in a hung jury. As prosecutors planned to retry him, Richard Rossi pleaded no contest to assault charges and served three months in jail.
His first full-length film, "Sister Aimee: The Aimee Semple MacPherson Story," was released to Blockbuster and Netflix, and ranked as one of the top 100 guerrilla films -- a movie shot for less than $75,000 -- by the International Guerrilla Film Association.
Neither Blockbuster nor Netflix releases rental statistics, but Steve Swasey, vice president for Netflix, said 328 users rated the film on its Web site.
The film, made using a consumer camcorder, dramatizes the life of MacPherson, a Canadian evangelist accused of obstructing justice after disappearing for 35 days in 1926. MacPherson claimed she was abducted, tortured and held for ransom, but was believed to be traipsing around the country with a married lover. Charges eventually were dropped.
"I felt a parallel in her life, and thought I could tell a story about what my life was like through telling her story," Rossi said. "I felt she was almost like a soul mate in that sense."
"It seems like this is the happiest he's been in a long time," Sherry Krueger, 45, of McCandless said of her long-time friend. "Things were really rough for them for a while, and it was very devastating for their family. It's really exciting to see something good from all of that bad."
Richard Rossi's brother, Joe, said his brother and sister-in-law went to California with nothing, confident they would find a way to make it -- and they did.
"I feel that he has come a long way, and throughout his life he has seen a lot of adversity," said Joe Rossi, 42, of McCandless. "A lot of people are afraid to pursue their dreams in the fullest measure because they're afraid to let go of their security blanket. Rich was not afraid to let go and put himself out there."
Sherrie Rossi's time with the Pittsburgh film project will be limited. She works as a teacher's aide in California and is involved in puppet ministry. Their teens, Karis and Joshua, are excited about returning.
"We've always said we'd like to be bicoastal, and it's getting closer to happening that we can be in Pennsylvania part of the time and still be here in California," Sherrie Rossi said. "We're all really excited about it."
This won't be their first return to Pittsburgh on business. During periodic stays, Rossi said he and his wife led ministries "under the radar."
"It's not been real publicly advertised," he said. "Just trying to teach some of the things I've learned myself about God's grace and compassion, from things I've learned from what we've gone through. Healing from past hurts, how to rebuild your life when you've lost everything. That's something really tremendously hard to rebound from."
