Police: Naked owner stands in window of Zelienople bridal shop
Witnesses and a cellphone photo led to the apprehension of a man who authorities said was walking naked last week in the window of his Butler County bridal shop.
He was exposing himself by the mannequins, police said.
Peter Scolieri, 54, of Cranberry, an owner of One Enchanted Evening, was charged by Zelienople police with three counts each of indecent exposure, open lewdness and disorderly conduct.
Court records on Wednesday did not list an attorney for him, and he was unavailable for comment. A statement on the store's website acknowledged a July 20 incident and said a minority owner “has voluntarily taken an indefinite leave of absence.”
“I never saw this coming,” said Sara Panetta, 16, of Cranberry. She and Kate Mattas, a fellow senior at Seneca Valley High School, swung by the salon on Wednesday to try on homecoming dresses.
Police responded to the store on the evening of July 20 on reports of a man exposing himself in the window of the store, in the business district of the Butler County community. Three witnesses reported seeing the suspect; one showed police a cellphone photo she took.
“Getting that image in my mind as I was walking up to the store ... it was just really gross,” Panetta said.
Police knocked on the door of the store and did not get a response, but discovered a vehicle parked near the back entrance registered to Scolieri and his wife. Police contacted his wife at their home, and she reached him by cellphone to tell him that police were outside.
When Scolieri left the building, police said, he smelled of alcohol and became defensive. His wife arrived and was permitted to take him home. He was issued a summons by mail. Charges were filed on Sunday in the court of District Magistrate Wayne Seibel in Evans City, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 30. Records show no criminal history for him.
The salon moved to Zelienople in 2014 after outgrowing its space in Pine. Jack Cohen, president of the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau, said a lot of people come from as far away as West Virginia and Ohio to go to the shop.
“It's a very flourishing business,” Cohen said.
He referred to the incident as “sad,” but said he is not worried about its affecting the surrounding businesses.
“When there's a situation in any one individual business where something goes wrong, no matter what it is, it's the business that suffers,” Cohen said. “It has no reflection on the community.”
Zelienople's population was 3,812 in 2010, according to the census.
Panetta said she will continue to visit the store. She described it as a “safe haven” for teenage girls to feel beautiful.
“I think it's just the wrong ideals and the wrong morals that you want associated with a homecoming dress store for teenage girls,” she said.
Madasyn Czebiniak and Vince Townley are Tribune-Review staff writers. Reach Czebiniak at 412-320-7822. Reach Townley at 724-772-6364 or vtownley@tribweb.com.
