In light of Janine Detore’s allegations against Vinnie for taking over of Big Ang’s Instagram account, Vinnie has released a statement on Medium titled There’s Three Sides To Every Story.
In the post, Vinnie explains that he took over managing Big Ang’s social media in 2014. Previously, the account had been run by her niece Jeannie but she could no longer keep up with the demands it required.
“Angela asked me at that point to help her with the social media, and it was sticky at first because I felt like it was taking away from her niece who I was friends with, and didn’t want to create waves. But Angela assured me, that she wanted it this way, it was nothing personal to her niece, she just needed more going on with the accounts and that she would explain this to her family”.
According to Vinnie, while he and Jeannie seemed to be okay with this transfer of responsibility, Janine was upset and felt as thought Vinnie was taking something away from her daughter.
“It was not a paid position, and people can vouch for this, but it was surely a lot of work”.
Eventually, Vinnie began to establish close relations with Big Ang and her family.
“We all really were close! My intentions were always 100% in the best interest of Angela and she knew it, as did her other siblings who always thanked me for looking out for their sister”.
After Big Ang’s passing, Vinnie was asked by Neil and Ang’s kids to deliver her eulogy.
“I recently found out Janine was unhappy with my words of comfort offered to the entire family, and didn’t feel I should’ve been asked to deliver a eulogy, even though Angela’s children thanked me and asked me to do so”.
Vinnie was prepared to give up his responsibility of keeping up Big Ang’s social media accounts but was asked to continue to maintain them.
“I was ready to give up all rights to Angela’s social media, until they (Neil and Raquel) asked me to keep the accounts active as memorial pages to celebrate Angela’s life and legacy, but that they would supervise all content. We don’t just post things when we feel like putting them out there. Every post is calculated and approved of by them before being sent to me, and before hitting post; they’re re-proofed for accuracy. I am not in charge of anything whatsoever, I do not make decisions, am not at liberty to approve of any materials nor can give anyone access to any of her social media accounts unless being told to do so by the chain of command, and I honestly feel that again would be overstepping of boundaries”.
Vinnie also says that Raquel and Janine are no longer on speaking terms.
“Situations happened that created waves between the aunt and the niece, which lead to them not speaking at the moment. Raquel and I speak often, and yes it’s true, her aunt blocked her on social media and has not spoken with her. However, that has nothing to do with me”.
Two months ago, Neil signed everything in the estate over to Angela’s kids and decided to throw a memorial concert and fundraiser to honor his wife. This encompassed two things that Angela loved – disco/dance music and charity.
The charities that will be benefitted include:
“The LGBTQ Community CHASI Organization (which Angela adored), the Hungerford School on Staten Island (which Big Ang and her fundraising team Big Ang’s Angels always worked exclusively with), and an organization geared towards providing help for young adults with addiction (which was a personal cause she wanted to zone in on and work with before she passed)”.
“I have not signed any contracts or made any agreements whatsoever to be compensated or receive monetary wealth from this event”.
The controversy between Vinnie and Janine escalated when Vinnie was told to remove Janine from social media.
“This passed Friday when that occurred, I was advised to remove Janine from the social media and block her from the accounts because it was not the first time she had posted something negative or offensive against the estate on social media. So in my opinion, she attacked the wrong person. Not that anyone should be attacked, but she should’ve gotten the facts straight”.
In regards to Janine claiming that Vinnie has been impersonating Raquel, Vinnie says that Raquel has access to the account.
“Her daughter Raquel does want specific items and words posted, and when she does, I have to post verbatim and with the photos she sends, all pre-approved of course. They too have the passwords and are always on it. No one excluded Janine but Janine”.
Vinnie ends by saying that he will not allow untrue allegations to bring him down.
“I WILL NOT fall victim to any negative comments or false accusations about my good name and character. The only person who suffered in all of this is poor Angela whose name has to be at the center of it all, when she should be resting peacefully”.
Vinnie has received support by many including Carla Facciolo.
@VinnieMedugno I don't even need to read the story to knw that u r a Class Act !! U can't feed into ppl who are irrelevant !! ????????
— Carla Facciolo (@Carlafacciolo) June 5, 2016
source: medium