A Durham, N.C., judge has dismissed a case against a 72-year-old man cited under a city code barring use of profanity in public.

Edward Laskody had planned to fight the law, which was enacted in 1964, but Judge James Hill dismissed the case after a key witness -- the state Alcohol Law Enforcement officer who issued the citation -- was running late for court, The (Raleigh, N.C.) News & Observer reported Thursday.

Laskody said he used profanity outside of Cinelli's Pizzeria and Restaurant after law enforcement officers told him he could be cited for cursing.

I didn't even use the F-word, he said.

He said he was outside the pizzeria to protest his alleged rude treatment at the hands of store employees, who said he was far from a model customer.

He's a nasty old man, Gaitano Cinelli, the restaurant owner, said Wednesday. He was making sexually explicit remarks to my waitresses and to the patrons.

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