This is key, and was left out of every other news story, from Romanello's lawyer:


“The judge made it virtually impossible, as I’ve been saying all throughout the trial,” he said outside the courtroom, adding that Komitte didn’t let the jury hear voicemails Selimaj left on Romanello’s phone cursing him out after the punch or let him press the steakhouse owner on whether he was trying to bully his client.


Since the owner had been calling Rom and taunting him, the judge should have let that in. I bet the jury quits him if that was allowed in, as it should have been.