News

Pittsburgh boxing champion Paul Spadafora was charged Sunday with attempted murder, accused of shooting his girlfriend in the chest as they argued outside a McKees Rocks gas station.

The woman, 20, a mother of two from Beechview, was shot shortly before 6 a.m. outside the BP Gas Station on Island Avenue in McKees Rocks, according to Allegheny County Police homicide Sgt. Christopher Kearns. The victim was taken to an unidentified hospital with the bullet lodged in her abdomen, police said, and was in critical condition.

Spadafora, 28, the former International Boxing Federation's lightweight champion, was arrested last night by Moon police after returning to his home in the township, police said.

Spadafora's promoter identified his girlfriend as Nadine Russo, a woman he had been dating for at least six months. She has two children, not by Spadafora, police said.

"I'm shocked like everybody else," said the promoter, Mike Acri. "I can't see why he would shoot anybody unless a gun went off accidentally; that's just not like him."

It was his second arrest in three days. On Friday, Spadafora was charged with public intoxication and open lewdness after police said he was seen urinating at a Downtown intersection. But those pale in comparison to the latest charges, which include attempted murder and aggravated assault.

Before dawn yesterday, Spadafora blew out two tires on the median on the McKees Rocks Bridge and pulled into the BP station at the end of the bridge. An attendant saw the couple arguing. The woman was shot while inside the Hummer, then got out and told the attendant she had been shot, according to police.

Police recovered a .38-caliber revolver at the scene and impounded Spadafora's Hummer H2. One bullet was missing, police said.

Spadafora, known as "The Pittsburgh Kid", initially told detectives that he and his girlfriend had been attacked by a couple of black men and police released him, but the authorities issued an arrest warrant for Spadafora based on a statement given by the gas station attendant, who said he didn't see anyone else in the vicinity at the time of the shooting, police said.

He was expected to be arraigned in Night Court early this morning.

Spadafora, who also has been charged with recklessly endangering another person and a firearms violation, apparently has had other disputes with his girlfriend. Moon Police recently had been called to Spadafora's house more than once for domestic disputes, police said.

"It's just a sad series of events he's been involved in this weekend," said County Police Superintendent Ken Fulton. "I guess his career is turned upside down."

Acri, Spadafora's promoter, said, "I've had plenty (of boxers) that have had trouble. It seems to follow fighters. Right now, my concern is with this girl. Something like this occurs, and you forget about fighting for a moment."

Spadafora told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review in May that he had transformed his life, selling his McKees Rocks home and leaving binge-drinking behind. "If I go back to the streets, it's all going to come to an end," he said at the time.

The 5-foot-9 Spadafora won his first professional title in 1999 and has successfully defended it nine times. He remains undefeated as a professional with 36 victories, 14 of them by knockout. He had one draw. Spadafora relinquished his International Boxing Federation lightweight belt in June, ending a nearly 4-year reign as lightweight champion. He has said he moved up to the 140-pound junior welterweight class because of health concerns but hasn't fought since May 17.

Spadafora was raised by his father, Silvio, and step-mother until his father died when Paul was just 4. He ran wild as he grew up, fighting in the streets, drinking and finding trouble. His mother moved the family around, frequently being evicted for not paying the rent. Spadafora attended five high schools in two years before dropping out in the 10th grade.

"Everybody's scared of change. Once you change for the better, things happen for you," Spadafora said in May.

• Most Read
• Most E-mailed
• Latest News