US News

WHEEL GRUMPY GRAMPS

A crotchety old man was arrested after repeatedly ramming his ex-wife with a motorized wheelchair in the lobby of their Staten Island apartment complex, police said yesterday.

Twelve years after their bitter divorce, Paul Simone’s 85-year-old heart is still filled with hate for the woman he married nearly 40 years ago, the victim said.

It doesn’t help that they live in the same building.

“When he sees me, all hell breaks loose,” said Jennie Simone, 78. “I’m afraid of him. I want them to get him out of the building.”

They live on different floors in separate wings of the sprawling, seven-story apartment complex, and a judge’s restraining order compels Paul to steer clear of his ex, sources said.

Still, they inevitably cross paths at mailboxes or at the building entrance, and his hateful venom spews anew, his ex says.

Such attacks often include Paul’s uttering, “Whore,” and “Bitch,” and terms unfit for most ears, Jennie said.

But the latest tirade turned physical, officials said.

“When I came into the lobby, he was there,” Jennie said of the run-in last Friday. “I ignored him. He spits at me. He calls me a whore and a lesbian.”

Jennie said she was pushing a shopping cart, which came in handy when he started bearing down on her with the wheelchair he has used since suffering a stroke several years ago.

She fended him off until a neighbor came by and he pulled a U-turn and sped back to his apartment.

Jennie went back to her home and called the police. Her hateful ex was arrested on Wednesday.

Paul was charged with criminal contempt and harassment. Prosecutors said he has violated the order of protection before and has been cited for four domestic-violence incidents since 2003.

Paul was released after a court appearance and was back at his first-floor perch yesterday.

When asked for his side of the story, he spewed another invective. His lawyer could not be reached for comment.

Jennie said their 1970 wedding was the second marriage for both. She said that they had a baby but that he forced her to give the girl up for adoption. Thirty-four years later, she and her daughter had a reunion.

“She wanted to meet her father, too,” Jennie said. “It didn’t work out.”