LIFE GOES ON: Greg and Alexa Ammon revisit the scene of dad Ted’s brutal death in East Hampton — and talk in the new People about believing in stepdad Danny Pelosi’s innocence. (Michael Sharkey for People magazine)
LIFE GOES ON: Greg and Alexa Ammon revisit the scene of dad Ted’s brutal death in East Hampton — and talk in the new People about believing in stepdad Danny Pelosi’s innocence. (
)
They believed in their murderous stepfather — even if cops, and eventually jurors, didn’t.
Adopted twins Greg and Alexa Ammon lost their dad, Ted, in one of Long Island’s most sensational murders, but they stubbornly stood by stepdad Danny Pelosi, even after he was indicted for Ammon’s grisly 2001 beating death.
Greg and Alexa said they still saw him as “Danny” — the happy-go-lucky guy who had married their mom and brought a much-needed dose of sunshine to their East Hampton home.
“We were still talking to Danny secretly” at the time of his indictment, Alexa told People magazine. “We still believed he was innocent, if you can believe that.”
Ted Ammon was found bludgeoned to death in the family bedroom on Oct. 22, 2001.
At the time of his murder, Ammon was locked in a bitter custody battle with estranged wife, Generosa, and dating Pelosi.
Pelosi couldn’t have been the killer, young Greg and Alexa reasoned, because he was the lovable, young electrician who played sports with them.
“When Danny entered our lives, it was amazing to have a new man to take us out and play baseball with us,” Greg said.
A Suffolk County jury eventually convicted Pelosi in late 2004, and the kids finally accepted the harsh reality that their stepfather had killed the man who loved and raised them.
Pelosi is eligible for parole in 2031.
“We loved the man who killed our father,” Greg said.
Now, Greg and Alexa, who drifted apart after getting their cut of Ted Ammon’s estate, are together again after collaborating for “59 Middle Lane,” directed by Greg and set to open in New York on Nov. 15.
The documentary, named after their childhood address, recounts those turbulent days after their dad’s murder and the ensuing years of sadness.
As Greg walked up to their old East Hampton home, he said all the emotions from 11 years ago seemed fresh as today.
“We had to face our fears, face the house, face the bedroom and everything that happened there,” said Greg, now 22.
The flick, set to open in New York on Nov. 15, also follows Greg and Alexa back to the Ukraine as they searched for their birth parents.
“I had this picture in my head that I would knock on a door and this big fat, old woman would open it, see us and hug us,” Greg said.
Reality turned out to be considerably more harsh.
Their natural mom was a prostitute, and their biological dad was probably a one-night stand.
The twins also found they have three brothers and two sisters, back in the Ukraine.
Despite all the sobering life events, the tragedy-torn twins said they’ve became even more grateful for the love and support from parents Ted and Generosa.
Their adopted 47-year-old mom died of breast cancer a year before Pelosi’s conviction.
“I’m thankful for all that my parents gave us. If they hadn’t adopted me, I probably would have died in the orphanage. They literally gave me life.”