"Bachelor" Contestant's A Real Pistol

APRIL 3--He probably doesn't realize it, but TV's newest "Bachelor," Andrew Firestone, included a real pistol among the 15 women he selected last night as finalists in the ABC-TV reality program. That's because one of the wannabe brides, 24-year-old Christina Sztanko, was once nabbed for discharging a firearm near an elementary school in her hometown of Palm Harbor, Florida. According to court and Pinellas County Sheriff's Office records (which you'll find below), Sztanko was charged following a strange birthday celebration on June 8, 2000. After boyfriend Alexander Kastrandas presented Sztanko with her present--a nickel-plated .25-caliber automatic--the couple went for a drive, pulling off to the side of the road to give the gat a test drive. When Sztanko and Kastrandas took turns firing the gun--he hit a couple of signs, she put some caps in the grass--a night foreman at the adjacent Highland Lakes Elementary School heard the gunfire and called cops. When confronted later by officers, the couple admitted the gunplay. Sztanko, who was hit with a misdemeanor firearms charge, was allowed to enter a pre-trial intervention program for first offenders. As part of that deal, a County Court judge ordered her to perform 50 hours of community service, complete a firearm safety course, forfeit the weapon, and write a letter of apology. Since Sztanko kept her nose clean, the charge was wiped from her record in June 2001. During last night's show, when Firestone told a small group of contestants that he liked to hunt birds, Sztanko criticized the activity, saying that, as an animal lover, she thought shooting for sport was terrible. (4 pages)

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