Memorial photo of convicted killer draws ire of victim’s family

When pro boxer Seanie Monaghan steps into the ring at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, it will mean more than an attempt at his 11th consecutive win. It will also mark seven years to the day that his best friend, Long Beach resident Bobby Calabrese — a former high school wrestling star who inspired Monaghan’s boxing career — was murdered in Island Park.

“We still think about Bobby all the time,” said Monaghan, adding that Calabrese bought him his first pair of boxing shoes. “We’re making special shirts in memory of him for this particular fight.”

But as the anniversary of Calabrese’s murder approached, Monaghan said that friends and family of the former Kellenberg Memorial High School student were shocked and outraged when they learned two weeks ago that the school had displayed a photo in memory of one of two men convicted in Calabrese’s murder, Herve Jeannot, who, ironically, was a classmate of Calabrese’s at Kellenberg in the 1990s.

The incident set off a flurry of Facebook chatter among Calabrese’s family and friends, who criticized the school, and a number of letters were sent to school administrators and the Diocese of Rockville Centre seeking an explanation and urging school officials to remove the photo.

“It’s seven years later and it’s disrespectful,” Monaghan said. “We went through five trials before these guys were found guilty. We’ve been through a lot, the Calabrese family and I, and it’s just unfortunate. It’s a shame that Kellenberg would be so oblivious to something that would offend so many people.”

The photo of Jeannot was one of about 50 pictures of late alumni, students and faculty on display in the school, part of its 25th anniversary mass and an observance of All Saints Day and All Souls Day on Nov. 1 and 2, Kellenberg’s principal, Brother Kenneth Hoagland, explained. The display was up for several days, but has since been taken down.

“As part of our 25th anniversary, we wanted to remember those who died. [Jeannot] happened to be a graduate,” Hoagland said. “There was no alumni wall created, no honoring done. It was a question of praying for the souls of deceased faculty, staff members, alumni and students who were enrolled in the school.”