I have thought really hard about this one. It's not my story nor is it the story of the person that I heard it from, so it is really far into hearsay. To make it worse, neither Bob nor his son are alive to confirm or refute anything I might say. It doesn't seem fair to just throw these words out onto a public forum for that reason. But I think the thing that keeps me from sharing, really, is that I don't know how talking about it might emotionally impact the remaining Varley family. Since I don't know them at all, nor their comfort level with discussing their family's business, nor if they have in the past or presently receive financial support from Pete, I don't want to dig deeper into this one right now.
I feel comfortable sharing my first-hand response to the story. As an employee of Pete with a minor son, this story horrified me. I was listening to this tale in the studio dedicated to the man that Pete potentially betrayed on a level that is the stuff of any parent's nightmares. The notion was twisted, and it horrified me enough that I took one of the scariest steps in my life...calling a Dis competitor about a job opportunity, knowing that Pete was likely to come after me with a vengeance if he found out.
I can imagine someone is going to ask me if I really thought that the story could be true. Obviously, I did because I called Ricky Brigante as a result. But also, I did have the following to push me from disbelief to consideration that it might not just be a sick story:
Pete, himself, told me of his dad's history. It's stomach-churning. But because it should be verifiable online in police reports, I'm willing to speak this piece. (I'm just not willing to spend the money to get the reports). If what Pete told me is true (and the crime I am referring to should be obvious if anyone comes across it), can someone tell me why at the bottom of every page of wdwinfo.com, there is a site dedication to him? The thought of it all makes me ill. If it is not true, then my conscious can be at peace because someone here can correct me. I'm ok with that too.