Desperados Owner Withdraws Award Nomination

The owner of the Mexican restaurant Desperados has withdrawn his nomination for a Berkshire Trendsetters Award after screenshots surfaced of racially charged Facebook posts he made in 2012 and 2014.

The Berkshire Eagle reports Peter Oleskiewicz was in the running for 1Berkshire's "Newcomer of the Year" award, but multiple individuals have reached out to the organization and expressed concern with the finalist's history on social media, according to CEO Jonathan Butler.

The organization asked the restaurateur to withdraw his nomination, and Oleskiewicz obliged. A winner will be chosen from the four remaining "Newcomer of the Year" nominees, Butler said. The Berkshire Trendsetter Awards is scheduled for Sept. 13.

He told The Eagle that the comments are years old, have long been deleted and that he will "admit to my mistakes."

Keith Bona, owner of Berkshire Emporium and Antiques on Main Street, said he and Oleskiewicz have "disagreed on plenty." But Bona described him as "extremely charitable" supporter of the Roots Teen Center and donor to the city's Fourth of July fireworks.

The Berkshire Eagle reports Peter Oleskiewicz was in the running for 1Berkshire's "Newcomer of the Year" award, but multiple individuals have reached out to the organization and expressed concern with the finalist's history on social media, according to CEO Jonathan Butler.