Lawyer - Tigger Swat Was Instigated Jan 11, 2007 WKMG 6 - The attorney who successfully defended a Disney employee accused of groping a girl spoke out Wednesday about the latest incident involving "Tigger." Jeffrey Kaufman, a former Disney cast member himself, said he sympathizes with Michael J. Fedelem, the man playing Tigger who was recently accused of punching a teenager in the face. Kaufman, the attorney who represented Michael Chartrand two years ago, donned the Tigger costume during closing arguments then and said that the outfit was too bulky and the view from the mask was too obstructed for his client to have intentionally groped the girl. Chartrand was found not guilty. Kaufman is not representing Fedelem, but he feels bad for him. "Imagine what (Fedelem) is going through right now, realizing, 'I get paid $6 to $7 an hour, and I'm being accused nationally of hitting a child.' It's a rough world," Kaufman said. Fedelem was suspended by Disney after a confrontation at Walt Disney World with Jerry Monaco Jr., 15. Jerry's dad, Jerry Monaco Sr., said Fedelem sucker-punched his son and has hired an attorney for representation. Kaufman said he believes Jerry Jr. instigated the incident. "(Jerry Jr.) is smiling the whole time. He's even smiling bigger when he gets a reaction (out of Tigger)," Kaufman said. "It's beyond ridiculous because you can see it from here." Kaufman said Fedelem's swiping motion at Jerry Jr. was simply an involuntary reaction to pain, which he thinks was inflicted by the 15-year-old. "You're cone of vision is from about here. You have some slits here, but your hand, you wouldn't be able to see out here," Kaufman gestured. "The costume is tied from the back. So if somebody pulls down, automatically the fur under the neck is going to cut off the air that you're breathing." Kaufman also questioned the Monaco's reaction to the situation. "The family didn't react like they wanted justice, they reacted like they wanted cash," Kaufman said. "I think its unfair because it could happen to any character in costume. That's the reason I represented the first character, because I realized that could have happened to me."
