City orders wrestling ring taken down

NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I., Oct. 21 (UPI) -- A North Providence, R.I., couple has been ordered to dismantle a wrestling ring in their backyard after neighbors complained about events at the home.

Members of the Town Council said Lisa DiIorio told them earlier this month when applying for an entertainment license for the wrestling ring that it would only be used by family members and a few "personal friends," the Providence (R.I.) Journal reported Monday.

However, council members Raymond Douglas and John Zambarano said they were informed the following day by neighbors that DiIorio and her husband, Anthony, had been hosting weekend events at their home that included 60 to 100 wrestlers and fans from around the region during the past year.

"We were misled. What that girl, DiIorio, told us was a lot different from what was happening," Zambarano said.

Town Building Official Leo Bernardino and the planning and zoning director, Edward Civito, ordered DiIorio Oct. 10 to dismantle the ring and cease the wrestling events.

Bernardino cited the DiIorios' failure to obtain a building permit for the ring and Civito said the events hosted at the house constituted entertainment that is only allowed in commercial zones.