WBRZ - Baton Rouge

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. - A state senator and his wife said Saturday they were attacked and beaten at a Niagara Falls casino hotel after the lawmaker tried to break up an argument between two men, one of whom accused him of hating the Indian tribe that owned the resort.

Sen. Mark Grisanti said he suffered bruised ribs in the Friday night altercation. His wife, Maria, was more seriously hurt. She was diagnosed Saturday morning with a concussion and possible broken nose.

"It's just been horrible," Maria Grisanti said in a phone call from her Buffalo home after returning there from the hospital Saturday afternoon. She said that during the attack, she feared for her life.

The fight happened following a fundraising gala for the Seneca Diabetes Foundation at the Seneca Niagara Casino and Hotel Events Center. The Grisantis attended because their daughter was part of the entertainment for the night, performing with the Buffalo singing act, the Scintas. They were in a lobby area around 11:30 p.m. when they encountered two men arguing loudly.

Grisanti said he thought the men were about to come to blows, so he asked them to calm down.

"I probably just should have walked away," he said.