Edward Laskody had planned to fight the law, which was enacted in 1964, but Judge James Hill dismissed the case after a key witness -- the state Alcohol Law Enforcement officer who issued the citation -- was running late for court, The (Raleigh, N.C.) News & Observer reported Thursday.

Laskody said he used profanity outside of Cinelli's Pizzeria and Restaurant after law enforcement officers told him he could be cited for cursing.

"I didn't even use the F-word," he said.

He said he was outside the pizzeria to protest his alleged "rude" treatment at the hands of store employees, who said he was far from a model customer.

"He's a nasty old man," Gaitano Cinelli, the restaurant owner, said Wednesday. "He was making sexually explicit remarks to my waitresses and to the patrons."