Thomas Scala
Blanche
FINGER-LICKIN’ DEAD: Thomas Scala (bottom, left), who killed wife Blanche (bottom, right), nearly turned up his nose at in-law Mary Scala’s meal, then dug in — and choked to death. Mary (main) yesterday shares the recipe. (
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This chicken is to die for!
The sister-in-law of cable-loving wife-killer Thomas Scala yesterday whipped up the same poultry dinner that he choked to death on — and even said he complained about her cooking.
“He said he was hungry. I said dinner was already made,” Mary Scala, the widow of Thomas’ brother, told The Post. “He said, ‘Oh, chicken? You serve a lot of chicken.’ We talked about how he should be happy to have a chicken cutlet.”
Despite his gripes, the toothless 58-year-old was so hungry that he didn’t bother to cut it into small bites — and wound up gagging to death.
That final act of karma came on July 12, just days before the lowlife was to get a wrist-slap probation sentence for killing his wife because she refused to pay $5.75 a day for cable TV in his hospital room.
That night, Mary cooked the chicken cutlets in her Tottenville home, where the retired longshoreman was staying while he recovered from a hospital stay for a hernia.
Mary — who wisely paid for his cable during that hospital visit — made her signature chicken-cutlet dish, which included a hint of parsley and onion.
Thomas was late to the fateful dinner, and sat down after Mary and her two kids had finished.
“He took a couple mouthfuls and said he had to use the bathroom. Then I heard, ‘Oh, no!’ and he came out of the bathroom, and his face was a little red. I looked at him, and he was just sitting there and he looked surprised.”
Thomas, who didn’t use dentures even though he had no teeth, was clearly choking.
“I said, ‘Are you OK?’ He said, ‘I have a piece of chicken stuck in my throat.’ I said, ‘Well, you’re talking a lot,’ and he said, ‘That’s all I can say!’ ” Mary recalled.
The situation grew desperate, and he whimpered, “Help! Help!”
Mary said she tried giving the balding fiend the Heimlich maneuver, but it didn’t work. She then called 911.
“The ambulance came right away,” she said. “They kind of told me that he wasn’t going to make it.”
Thomas was taken to Staten Island University Hospital.
“I wrapped up his chicken, because I thought he was going to live,” Mary said. “I was going to say, ‘Here’s your chicken!’ as a joke when he came home.”
Thomas wasn’t coming home. He was declared brain dead and taken off life support on July 19.
He was buried on July 24 — the day he was to get probation after pleading guilty to criminally negligent homicide for fatally striking his wife, Blanche, with a can of oven cleaner for refusing to get him cable TV in the hospital in November 2010.
Authorities said they couldn’t press more serious charges against Thomas because they couldn’t prove he had meant to kill her.
Thomas’ own son had thought the probation deal was an injustice, this week hailed the chicken death as a gift “from God.”
Mary says she feels guilty.
“I look at it like I cooked the last meal for him,” she said. “Of course, I feel bad, I really do.”