Who is Benny Lucchese? Michigan hotel manager who called guest 'dumb Democrat' over leaking toilet fired
A guest was labeled a "dumb Democrat" and an "idiot" by the manager of a hotel in Michigan after she reportedly complained about a flooded bathroom.
Jennifer Biela was at the Crown Choice Inn & Suites in Mackinaw City, Michigan, with her five kids and a friend for a two-night stay. However, she ended up sharing a video on social media of the hotel manager verbally disparaging her over the complaint.
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The 37-year-old mother recounted how her son realized the bathroom was flooding around 11 pm on their first night at the hotel, and so she went downstairs to ask for help. When she approached the manager, Benny Lucchese, he said, "You rented the room. It’s your bathroom now.” Biela said the conversation became heated and she pulled out her phone at some point to start recording.
While the incident took place on April 9, Biela said she waited to share her experience since Lucchese had threatened to press charges for "any damages" caused to the bathroom.
It later emerged that Lucchese is a cousin to owners Joe and Enzo Lieghio and that he had called Biela a "dumb Democrat" for not being able to shut the bathroom valve. "You stop being an idiot and start thinking with your mind, OK? Stop being a Democrat—a dumb Democrat—and go to your room, pack your stuff and leave," he told the distressed mother.
"You're causing damages and you're not going to pay for it … that's a stupid answer. You're an idiot," the man continued. "When you get the police report you'll come to your senses."
Lucchese subsequently called Mackinaw City police to the hotel and threatened to press charges against Biela.
Fearing what could happen next, Biela and her children reportedly tried to check in somewhere else. However, she claimed that she couldn't find any open rooms on short notice that weren't owned by that family, and so they drove to Gaylord and returned home the next day. "To be honest I was terrified, it was just him and I in the lobby. When he made the comment to 'leave, it's better for you' it felt like a threat and I was scared what might happen," Biela told Newsweek.
Meanwhile, Joe Lieghio told the Detroit Free Press that Lucchese had been terminated after being with the company for 25 years. “Although family is of the utmost importance to us, the way he acted was wrong,” Lieghio told the outlet. “We don’t take the decision to get rid of him lightly.” He said that he and his family had no idea about Biela's encounters with Lucchese until she posted on Facebook about it.
Lieghio said Biela and her travel companions were not charged for the room as a token of apology, Lieghio said, adding that he had reached out to her to personally apologize for the incident.
That said, Biela's Facebook post went viral on the platform, with more than 16,000 shares. It also went viral on other platforms such as TikTok and Twitter. Joe Lieghio told the Free Press he wasn't aware of his cousin acting in such a manner before this incident. Yelp, and TripAdvisor temporarily disabled content posting for Crown Choice Inn & Suites in light of the recent review-bombing, per the paper.
