Youngstown, Ohio Man Sentenced for Interfering with Flight Attendant

COVINGTON, Ky. - A Youngstown, Ohio, man who previously admitted to striking a flight attendant while in flight on an aircraft was sentenced today to 31 days in custody, followed by seven months of home detention.  U.S. District Court Judge David Bunning sentenced 24-year-old Donald Zuppo, Jr., for interference with a flight attendant. 

According to Zuppo’s plea agreement, he was on a flight, from Phoenix to Cleveland on March 20, 2018, when he became agitated and struck a flight attendant with his fist.  Zuppo’s actions caused the flight crew to divert the aircraft for a landing at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. 

In addition to the terms of imprisonment and home detention, Zuppo was ordered to pay restitution to the flight attendant and will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for two years.  

Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and James Robert Brown, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, jointly announced the sentence.  The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the FBI.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew T. Boone.