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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Blogs Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Multimedia Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Road Cams Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Distinctly Northwest Readers' Choice Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend March 9, 2007 Since You Asked (Regarding Vincenzo Riccardi, the 70-year-old Southampton, N.Y., man found Feb. 15 mummified in front of his still-playing television), I would like to know how this man's power, gas and telephone stayed on for a year. Also, what happened to his mail and Social Security checks? Who paid his bills? If I neglected to pay my bills for a year everything would be turned off. Just curious, I like to hear the whole story. -- Bill T., Medford You're our kind of reader, Bill. We typically inhale the whole story and ask for more. We found a follow-up story on Mr. Riccardi, a retired construction worker, that featured interviews with people who knew him, including a woman who tried to take the apparently cranky old-timer under her wing. She dropped the "fiercely independent Italian immigrant" like a rock when his cantankery escalated to abusive language and frequent attempts to hit her with his walking stick. Advertisement Newsday ran a story on the initial police discovery, and we picked that up from our news wires, which is the short story you saw. Others probably first heard about this during monologues from Jay Leno or David Letterman. Newsday published a much longer story Feb. 26, headlined "Mummified man was difficult, but loved," which we did not run — our wire editor does not recall seeing it come across our wires (we don't get everything we want, unfortunately). The Newsday story link is too long to print here, but this abbreviated Web address will get you there: tinyurl.com/3amyxk. As for how the "power, gas and telephone stayed on for a year," we only know from inference that the power was still on because of the TV. Newsday's story includes comments from the power company (they were on the verge of shutting the service off) but it doesn't mention anything about gas service. However, folks in that region typically rely on fuel oil, which is stored on the user's property in tanks below or above ground — it's a good bet the oil had run out because a neighbor called police when it appeared a burst water pipe had formed a sheet of cascading ice off the front of the house. As for his mail, well, the postal service continued to deliver until the pile got so big the mailman began keeping it as "general delivery" at the local post office, according to Newsday. Riccardi was fond of listening to "Vivire" by the Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and was an otherwise kind man until he became frustrated with the blindness his diabetes left him with, his former friends and acquaintances said. His wife died in 2003. The Newsday story points out that, alone as he was, he still had people who cared about him. But he valued his privacy and independence more than the help others offered him. [email protected] . Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2007 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems Online Casino Reviews Trunks, Footlocker Fundraisers UK Homeowner Loans Casinos Canada Cord Blood Banking Discount Hotel Reservations Texas Electric Choice Compare Electric rates in Texas Windermere Van Vleet Men's Clothing Debt Help New Hampshire Primary