Flyers fans attacking Rangers fan Neal Auricchio Jr after the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers faced off in the Winter Classic in Philadelphia. (YouTube)
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police have arrested a man in connection with the beating of a New York Rangers fan after the NHL’s Winter Classic.
Dennis Veteri, 32, surrendered to police Thursday night after an arrest warrant was issued in his name. He was charged with two counts each of aggravated assault, simple assault, conspiracy aggravated assault and reckless endangerment.
Veteri, of Glassboro, NJ, later posted $100,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 31.
Rangers fan and off-duty cop Neal Auricchio Jr., 30, was hospitalized with a concussion following the violent assault and required stitches in his cheek and head.
Police were still searching for two other men in connection with the Jan. 2 incident. Veteri stands accused of throwing the first punch in the beating, which was filmed on a cell phone by a bystander.
Witnesses told police tempers flared after a group of Flyers fans outside Geno’s Steaks in south Philadelphia bribed a man washing car windows nearby to squirt men wearing Rangers jerseys. An argument ensued and the video shows a Flyers fan — alleged to be Veteri — taking an unprovoked swing at Auricchio.
Auricchio fell to the ground in the beating that ensued and was later knocked unconscious, allegedly by Veteri.
Cops used the cell phone footage as part of an appeal for help in identifying the attackers.
“It is a vicious beating with the conclusion of a knock-down punch, which knocks the police officer unconscious to the ground, upon which he is further assaulted,” Philadelphia Police Captain Lawrence Nodiff told reporters Friday.
Auricchio, a former US Marine who earned a Purple Heart, will attend New York’s Feb. 27 game against the Devils as the guest of Rangers head coach John Tortorella at Madison Square Garden.