BERGEN INMATE ASKS FACT FINDER FOR PROTECTION

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, April 29, 1992

The Record (New Jersey) | 5 Star | NEWS | B03

A 27-year-old Bergen County Jail inmate on Tuesday asked to be moved to a state prison out of fear of violence from other inmates because corrections officers allegedly set him up to look like a “snitch.”

Karl Meisenbach testified before James R. Zazzali, who is holding fact-finding hearings in a class-action lawsuit seeking to reduce overcrowding in the jail. The inmate said that an officer incensed over his February testimony in the lawsuit took steps to make other inmates suspicious of him.

Corrections Officer Richard McMahon spoke to him two times within view of other inmates, the second time shortly after a shakedown in the dormitory, Meisenbach said.

McMahon testified, however, that he knew Meisenbach from “on the street” and had counseled him on drug, marital, and custody problems. His talks with Meisenbach during the occasions cited were not out of the ordinary, McMahon said.

Meisenbach, who said he had been committed to the Bergen County Jail about two dozen times, testified in February that during a disturbance at the jail on Nov. 24, corrections officers accused him of possessing drugs, slapped him around, stripped him naked, and left him handcuffed to the bars in a holding cell.

Officers testified Tuesday that they had been called to the disturbance by other inmates complaining about Meisenbach.

Meisenbach said Tuesday that McMahon approached him in the jail in April and told him he did not like what he had been hearing about him. McMahon said four of his corrections officer friends got into trouble because of the February testimony, Meisenbach testified Tuesday.

A few days later, McMahon came to him, “again, in front of all the inmates,” and asked if he had any information for him. This happened immediately after a shakedown in the dormitory, Meisenbach said, adding that he feared violence from other inmates if they thought he was “ratting” on them.

McMahon testified, however, that he asked Meisenbach about two things: rumors that he had drugs on him in the jail he said that’s what he was referring to when he said he did not like what he had been hearing about Meisenbach and his testimony regarding how four corrections officers treated him during the Nov. 24 incident.

Zazzali said Tuesday’s hearing was to allow testimony from both sides, and that he did not know when, or if, he would rule on Meisenbach’s request.

TWO ARRESTED ON DRUG CHARGES

By MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Monday, April 27, 1992

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | A09

After responding to a report of an unconscious man with possible cardiac arrest, Moonachie police charged Charles A. Jacobus with being under the influence of drugs and his host with assorted drug-related offenses.

Jacobus, of Moonachie, was in fair condition Sunday night, said a nursing supervisor at Hackensack Medical Center, where he was taken Saturday after being revived.

Police Officer Michael Maguire saw hypodermic needles in a basket and a marijuana cigarette in an ashtray in the living room of an apartment at 47 Albert St., Lt. Michael McGhan said.

Albert Stola, 50, who lives in the apartment, was charged with six counts of possessing narcotics and drug paraphernalia and fraudulently obtaining methadone. He was being held in the Bergen County Jail on Sunday in lieu of $10,000 bail.

Jacobus, 38, will be arraigned on charges of being under the influence of a drug, possession of heroin, and possession of a hypodermic needle after his release from the hospital.

INMATE WHO TRIED SUICIDE HOSPITALIZED

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, April 26, 1992

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | A03

A 34-year-old Elizabeth woman was under observation at Bergen Pines County Hospital on Saturday after an apparent suicide attempt at the Bergen County Jail Annex.

The woman, who was identified by Westwood police as Linda Ferchinger, tried to hang herself Monday night, said Nancy Feldman, director of the state Office of Inmate Advocacy.

Feldman said she did not know if Ferchinger was under a suicide watch at the time. An investigator will interview her Monday.

Sheriff Jack Terhune, who has declined to comment, said Saturday that Ferchinger was no longer the responsibility of his department because she had been released on $500 personal recognizance bail.

Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy said Friday that his office had downgraded the theft charge against Ferchinger to a disorderly person offense and returned the case to the Municipal Court.

Terhune said authorities in Union and Sommerset counties want Ferchinger for violating probation and would be able to pick her up as soon as she is released from the hospital.

The suicide try was the second in two months by an inmate in the custody of the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department. Four inmates have committed suicide in the past year.

In March, George Kellam, a 25-year-old fugitive who surrendered to authorities, slashed his wrist in a holding cell at the Bergen County Courthouse. He had been waiting to be transferred to the jail.

The Queens man was stopped by sheriff’s officers and was taken to Bergen Pines. He was in the Bergen County Jail Annex on Friday awaiting sentencing on drug possession charges.

Westwood Lt. Robert Saul said Ferchinger was arrested April 17 and charged with stealing jewelry from a resident.

TWINS MAKE DEBUT ON ROAD; Mom Has Special Delivery

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, April 23, 1992

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | B01

“Honey, I’m probably still going to be pregnant when you get home tonight,” Blanche Sabatini assured her husband Wednesday morning when he hesitated before going to work.

An hour after Alex Sabatini left, his wife began a ride she’ll never forget.

Twins Dana Marie and Alexander Jr. were born to Sabatini in an ambulance on the way to the Hackensack Medical Center.

“It was very exciting,” the 37-year-old Rutherford woman said several hours later. “It just feels great to hold them.”

It was quite a day for the ambulance crew, too. “Honestly, I can’t explain it. It’s just a very different and heartwarming experience,” said Ellie Cosley, captain of the Rutherford Ambulance Squad.

Sabatini said she had been worried because she had heard twins are often born early, and hers were four days overdue.

But mother and infants were in excellent condition after the unusual deliveries, said Dr. Shaul Yarkoni, director of the medical center’s obstetrics and gynecology unit.

Cosley said the ambulance squad responded to Sabatini’s call at about 8:30 a.m.

Dana Marie at 5 pounds, 5 ounces was born on Route 17 at 9:02 a.m., and Alexander Jr. at 7 pounds, 3 ounces arrived at 9:07 a.m. in the ambulance after it pulled into the emergency room parking lot.

Zach Weissman, a Hackensack Medical Center paramedic, delivered Dana Marie with help from Cosley and squad members Mary Melfa and Roseanne Mesisco.

Yarkoni met the ambulance at the hospital, where he delivered Alex with the aid of paramedic Eric Kudlack.

The Sabatinis, who have been married for 17 years, have two other children: Nicole, 10, and Vincent, 2.

Caption: COLOR PHOTO – Blanche Sabatini of Rutherford resting Wednesday at Hackensack Medical Center with her new twins Alexander Jr., left, and Dana Marie. Sabatini is flanked by paramedics Eric Kudlack, left, and Zach Weissman. In the back row, from left, were Ellie Cosley, Rutherford Ambulance Squad captain, and squad members Roseanne Mesisco and Mary Melfa. – LINDA CATAFFO / THE RECORD

TWO DRIVERS HOSPITALIZED AFTER COLLISION

By MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Thursday, April 23, 1992

The Record (New Jersey) | 5 Star | NEWS | B05

The drivers of two cars that collided head-on in Mahwah were hospitalized in stable condition Wednesday.

Edward Blust of Garrison Court, Mahwah, was being treated at Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, N.Y., and Robert Scotto, 36, of Brooklyn was at the University Hospital in Newark, spokesmen for the hospitals said.

Scotto’s car crossed the center lines on Route 202 at 5:35 p.m. Tuesday and crashed into Blust’s auto, according to a statement from Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy.

Blust, 29, and Scotto suffered head injuries. Scotto also suffered severe leg injuries.
No summons was issued and the investigation was continuing.

3RD TEEN TIED TO SHOOTING; Joins Bergen Pair Arrested Last Week

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, April 22, 1992

The Record (New Jersey) | 5 Star | NEWS | B03

A 17-year-old Closter boy on Tuesday became the third Bergen County youth charged in connection with last week’s robbery of a Queens doctor and the shooting of two of his patients, police said.

Hyun Kim of 82 Legion Place was the driver of the getaway car in the robbery, said New York City Police Sgt. Don Costello.

Kim, arrested on a complaint of excessive noise in Fort Lee on Sunday, was charged in a Queens courtroom on Tuesday with first-degree robbery and assault, Costello said. Further details on the Fort Lee incident could not be obtained Tuesday.

James Jhang, 17, of Englewood Cliffs was arrested a week ago across the street from the office of Dr. Moo Young Jun on Sanford Avenue in Queens, moments after he and Seung Kim, 16, of Closter went into the office pretending to be patients, then robbed the doctor, police said.

As the suspects were leaving, a retired police officer and his 20-year-old son were walking in. They crossed paths and the son, Steven Barberisi, was shot by Jhang in the stomach as he opened the office door, police said.

Robert Barberisi, who retired from the police force in 1989, then struggled with Jhang and was shot in the arm, police said. He bit Jhang in the arm, forcing him to drop the gun, which Barberisi picked up and fired, Hardiman said. Seung Kim was hit in the left shoulder and was arrested at the scene.

The third suspect, who was waiting in the car and who police now say is Hyun Kim, fled. Costello said the youths were being held Tuesday in the Queens House of Detention.

TWO MEN HELD IN ROBBERY OF JEWELER; Join 3rd Suspect in Bergen Jail

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, April 22, 1992

The Record (New Jersey) | 5 Star | NEWS | B03

Two Newark men were being held in lieu of $50,000 bail each at Bergen County Jail on Tuesday in connection with the armed robbery of a Rutherford jewelry store in February, police said.

Alan Adams and Marvin Lowery are the second and third suspects arrested in the Feb. 7 robbery of Corbo Jewelers at 58 Park Ave., Police Lt. Steven Nienstedt said. A third suspect, Caasi Selby, was arrested a month ago and remained in the Bergen County Jail on Tuesday in lieu of $15,000 bail.

The three were among a group of seven who entered the jewelry store, ordered employees to the floor, smashed showcases with hammers, a sawed-off shotgun, and automatic handguns, and made off with $18,000 worth of jewelry, including rings, bracelets, and Rolex and Movado watches, Nienstedt said.

Nienstedt said his department is holding two more arrest warrants in the case.

In a series of raids that began about 11 p.m. Friday in Newark, Rutherford police worked with the Newark Police Department to execute search warrants at five residences.

Adams, 20, was arrested at his Schley Street apartment. He was charged with illegal possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, armed robbery, and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. Lowery, 28, of 226 Richelieu Terrace was arrested Sunday about 2:30 a.m. at the Harmon Cove Towers in Secaucus on armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery charges, Nienstedt said.

The investigation was continuing, he added.

HEROIN PROBE RESULTS IN 38 ARRESTS; Most Suspects are From Bergen or Passaic

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, April 15, 1992

The Record (New Jersey) | 5 Star | NEWS | B01

A state police task force investigating heroin trafficking in North Jersey has arrested 38 people, most of them from Bergen and Passaic counties, and seized more than $600,000 worth of uncut heroin.

Law enforcement authorities used undercover drug purchases and surveillance to penetrate a ring of traffickers stretching from North Jersey through New York City to Yugoslavia, state Attorney General Robert Del Tufo said Tuesday.

Dubbed “Operation Big Apple” because the drugs came into the country through Kennedy International Airport, the investigation began a year ago and started bearing fruit with the Feb. 7 arrest of Nicholas Lore, also known as Aniello Moschillo. The Hasbrouck Heights resident was charged with cocaine possession.

Lore is suspected of being one of the network’s linchpins, authorities said.

Police seized five ounces of cocaine and $11,000 in that arrest.

The case broke open March 20 when agents executing search warrants at Xhemil Zhuta’s Elmwood Park residence seized 2 kilograms of heroin, a .38-caliber pistol loaded with hollow-point bullets, and about $2,000, officials said.

Arrested with Zhuta, the alleged leader of the network, were his wife, Qibaret, son, Mendi, and daughter, Teuta.

Arrested at other North Jersey locations that day were Saban Adili, 41, of Dallas; Esref Ismaili, 40, of Fairfield, Conn.; Esat Sulesjmanoski, 41, of Lincoln Park; and Bajram Ibrahimi, 56, of Paterson, who allegedly is the courier who brought the heroin from Yugoslavia to the United States.

Further arrests occurred later in March and in early April.

In all, 38 people were charged, including 32 from Bergen and Passaic counties.

Authorities said the Cambridge Club Tavern in Garfield was the principal distribution point of heroin and cocaine in the Garfield-Lodi area.

Zimbret Mahmudi, a 28-year-old Garfield resident who authorities say is the owner of the club, was among those arrested.

He is being held at the Bergen County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.

The elder Zhuta and his wife were being held in the jail in lieu of $500,000 and $250,000 bail, respectively.

The investigation is continuing and authorities expect to make more arrests, said Col. Justin J. Dintino, state police superintendent.

POLICE ISSUE HIGH-RISE CRIME WARNING

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer |Wednesday, April 15, 1992

The Record (New Jersey) | 5 Star | NEWS | B01

Following a rash of cat burglaries over the past two months, police have issued a second warning to managers and residents of Hackensack’s mid- and high-rise apartment buildings.

On six evenings between Jan. 30 and March 30, cat burglars entered 30 apartments by popping open sliding doors on terraces and patios and stole jewelry and cash, Police Chief William Iurato said Tuesday.

Similar burglaries have been reported by nearby communities, including Fort Lee, Cliffside Park, Edgewater, and North Bergen, Iurato said.

The chief said a loose-knit group of burglars appears to be at work. They strike at dusk, climbing onto roofs and jumping from balcony to balcony, entering several apartments in a building, he said.

On Jan. 30 and 31, Feb. 20, 25, and 28, and March 30, apartment buildings on Prospect, Clinton, and Euclid avenues and Anderson Street were entered.

Tenants at Quail Heights II, a mid-rise apartment building on Prospect Avenue, reported that burglars, working their way from the roof, broke into at least four apartments on the night of Feb. 20. As in the other burglaries, no injuries were reported.

Residents returning home realized something was amiss when they found their doors chain-locked from the inside, tenants said.

Police first sent letters to the tenants and managers of the apartments on Feb. 26.

In Cliffside Park, 12 apartments have been entered during the same period, Police Chief Daniel Derito said. The burglars seem to have no fear of climbing onto roofs and can jump from balcony to balcony, Derito said.

Residents of high- or mid-rise apartments with balconies should put objects in the tracks of the sliding doors to make break-ins more difficult, he advised.

In Edgewater, a couple of burglaries fitting the Hackensack pattern have been reported, Police Capt. David Hanna said. Fort Lee Police John Orso also acknowledged a few burglaries.

FAMILY ID’S SON’S BODY, THEN LEARNS HE’S ALIVE

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, April 12, 1992

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | A03

Members of John Howe’s family thought he had died in a train accident Thursday night. On Friday, they found out he hadn’t.

His boss, his brother, and his parents on Friday identified a body taken to the Rockland County, N.Y., morgue as that of Howe, Suffern Village Police Chief Leo Costa said Saturday.

“Each one positively said that it was him,” Costa said. “No doubt about it.”

But then Howe, 22, was later spotted walking along a Spring Valley, N.Y., street with his girlfriend.

The body in the morgue was subsequently identified as that of Charles Horton, 24, of Wayne Avenue, Suffern. He was struck and killed near Suffern by an NJ Transit train Thursday night. Police said no identification was found on the body.

Dr. Frederick Zugibe, Rockland County chief medical examiner, said Saturday that Howe’s mother, father, and brother came to the morgue in Pomona five hours after the body was discovered and identified it as Howe’s. They were called shortly after Howe’s boss was summoned to the morgue and made the initial identification.

In a followup investigation to determine Howe’s whereabouts before the accident, police tracked down his girlfriend and found the two in Spring Valley.

Police did not identify Howe’s relatives, boss, or girlfriend.

Costa said the two men bore a strong facial resemblance. Authorities were able to identify Horton through his fingerprints.

A woman described by Costa as Horton’s common-law wife had called police to ask if they knew where he was.