Oct 18, 2013 3 min read

A Washington County man who says he is known for wearing tropical print shirts filed suit in Allegheny County Court over a magazine article and accompanying photograph on a sobriety checkpoint that he claims left a false impression he had been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

John W. Pinto of 27 Creekside Drive, Lawrence, named as defendants in the suit Mt. Lebanon Magazine managing editor Merle Jantz, the author of a story that appeared in the September 2012 issue of the magazine and freelance photographer George Mendel, who was working for the magazine.

Pinto, an employee of Upper St. Clair Township, said he has never been guilty of committing a crime, offense or violation of the law.

In an online version of the magazine photograph, the face of the man walking the white line appears to be blurred. In his complaint, filed Thursday, Pinto refers to the picture, saying it is him “wearing a distinctive tropical print shirt.”

No name identifies this person in either the article or photo caption, but, as cited in the complaint, the text of the story begins, “The guy in the tropical print shirt is having a bad night. His Volvo was the very first vehicle to enter the DUI checkpoint that was set up on Washington Road near the Galleria on a warm summer night; after a short Q&A with a task force officer, he is asked to step out of his car and do a few field tests, while the officer’s partner drives the car to a holding area.

“As he tries his luck at balancing on one foot, reciting the alphabet, closing his eyes and touching his nose and other roadside gymnastics, a phlebotomist in a sterile trailer parked amid the traffic lanes prepares to take her first blood sample of the night. The guy’s night is about to get worse.”

Pinto said the story and photo conveyed to the readers “whether expressly or by implication, that (he), the ‘guy in the tropical print shirt’ was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. He said “members of his family, friends, co-workers and others in the community immediately recognized” him in the photo and the story indicated to them he had been arrested that night.

Pinto was not arrested that night, or, the complaint states, any other night for any other reason, and the defendants knew or should have known the statements and implications contained in the article and photograph were false and/or misleading.

“I have no comment,” said Susan Fleming Morgans, editor-in-chief of the magazine.

Pinto, who claims he has been brought into public scandal and disgrace resulting in financial loss, is suffering emotional distress and anxiety. He is seeking $35,000 or less in damages, will have his case be heard by a board of arbitrators.