WATER TAKES A BREAK; PIPE LEAK LEAVES 1,500 DRY; MISHAP DISRUPTS DAILY ROUTINE

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer

Wednesday, September 18, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | 6 Star | NEWS | Page B01

A doleful Andre Imperiale looked out the window of his Little Sicily Pizzeria in Lyndhurst as gallons of water streamed out of the ground in front of the building Tuesday afternoon.
“We suffer, that’s all,” Imperiale said as a pump installed by the Department of Public Works emptied a ditch dug to reach a break in a 10-inch water main along Ridge Road. “We can’t even wash our hands, we can’t do nothing.”
DPW Superintendent Matthew Ruzzo said 1,500 to 2,000 residents, as well as businesses and St. Michael’s School, were left without water from shortly after midnight Monday until 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, following the break near 469 Ridge Road. Ruzzo said the break was due to age.
Imperiale, who also owns three apartment buildings affected by the break, said he had to buy about 50 gallons of water to cook for the day.
He said the township should have had a water tanker on the street for residents and businesses, but Mayor Louis J. Stellato Jr., whose funeral home also was without water, said the break affected only a small part of the township.
“By the time you would get the tanker truck in, the service would already be back on,” Stellato said. “The Department of Public Works had fire hydrants in the area open all day long, so that if you wanted water, you could get it.”
Residents called the DPW building throughout the day to find out when water would be restored, Ruzzo said.
He said the outage affected residents and businesses from Ridge Road to Green Avenue and from Kingsland Avenue to Marin Avenue.
Not only was Chuck Catkos without water much of the day, but a DPW backhoe blocked the driveway to Flowers By Chuck at 469 Ridge Road.
One customer brought her own water for a shampoo at the Cutting Edge Salon, said Rick Franchino, a co-owner of the beauty shop. The shop, which should have been busy Tuesday afternoon because it was Senior Citizens Day, was for the most part without customers, said Pam Liddawi, Franchino’s partner.

Keywords: LYNDHURST; ROAD; WATER; ACCIDENT; BUSINESS

Caption: 2 COLOR PHOTOS – ROBERT S. TOWNSEND / THE RECORD 1 – Alfred Somme, left, filling a bucket with water from a hydrant on Forest Avenue in Lyndhurst on Tuesday, after a main break left part of the town without running water. 2 – Above, Lyndhurst public works employees using jackhammers to reach the broken main.

TRUCK HITS MOTHER, 2 TOTS ON SIDEWALK

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer

Sunday, September 15, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A07

A 36-year-old borough woman was in critical condition at Hackensack Medical Center on Saturday following an accident in which a motorist drove onto a sidewalk and struck her and her two young daughters, officials said.
Francine Culver suffered extensive head and chest injuries in the accident, which occurred about 6:25 p.m. Friday, Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy said. Her 3-year-old daughter suffered a broken leg and was being treated at the hospital. Another daughter, a 4-year-old, escaped with scrapes and bruises, Fahy said.
Michael Gass, 24, driver of the Ford Ranger that hit the Culvers, was released Saturday after posting 10 percent of his $20,000 bail in cash. Gass, of 52 Susquehanna Ave., Rochelle Park, was charged with reckless driving, driving while intoxicated, refusal to take a Breathalyzer test, assault with auto, and two counts of aggravated assault, Fahy said.
Culver and her children were walking south on Caesar Place, about 100 feet from Moonachie Road, the borough’s main thoroughfare, when the truck hit them. The vehicle stopped about 200 feet away and Gass walked back to the spot where Culver and her children were lying on the sidewalk, Fahy said.
Fahy said the case would be referred to a grand jury.

Keywords: MOONACHIE; MOTOR VEHICLE; ACCIDENT; VICTIM; ALCOHOL; ABUSE

MAN OUT ON BAIL ARRESTED ON DRUG CHARGES

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer

Sunday, September 15, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A05

A 25-year-old Hackensack man out on bail and awaiting trial on drug possession and distribution charges was arrested on new drug charges in a pre-dawn raid Saturday, police said.
Police said Harry Kittrell had more than 100 vials of crack and a plastic bag filled with marijuana when they arrested him in a Railroad Avenue apartment. Detective Sgt. Robert Wright, Officer Kevin O’Boyle, and a team of 10 officers from the Hackensack Police Narcotic, Youth, and Detective divisions arrested him about 1 a.m., Detective Sgt. Mike Mordaga said.
Kittrell was charged with two counts of possession of drugs with intent to distribute and was being held on $75,000 bail in Bergen County Jail, Mordaga said.
Arrested with Kittrell was Albertina Brown, the 26-year-old resident of the apartment where Kittrell allegedly was selling drugs, police said. Brown, 26, of 69 Railroad Ave. was held on $25,000 bail.
“We targeted this area was because it’s a known area for blatant drug sales,” Mordaga said. “We received numerous complaints from residents.”
Kittrell faces numerous other charges filed over the past year in Hackensack, including charges of selling crack to a state trooper within 1,000 feet of a school and selling crack to a Hackensack officer.

Keywords: DRUG; HACKENSACK; SALE

K-9 DOGS UNLEASH THEIR SKILL

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, September 15, 1991

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

All systems were go as Rex, a Bergen County Jail patrol dog, prepared to search six white boxes in a Ridgefield Park field for a man hiding inside one of them.
The dog, a German shepherd, was restless panting and barking ceaselessly as he waited on a leash with his handler, Bergen County Sheriff’s Department K-9 Officer Ray Noll.
“That shows that he’s happy, he wants to go,” Noll said.
Rex and 18 other dogs German shepherds and Rottweilers from New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania police and corrections departments were competing in the open division for trophies and certification in Saturday’s United States Police K-9 Association competition at Ridgefield Park Junior-Senior High School. In the novice division, 23 dog-and-handler teams are competing.
In continuing competition today, both divisions are to take part in apprehension drills. The Bergen County Sheriff’s Department and Ridgefield Park police are the sponsors and hosts of this year’s competition.
Donald J. Bartel, senior judge and a K-9 training instructor with the Smithsonian Institution, said the 42 teams, including seven from the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department, represented the largest field ever to compete in the event.
When used properly, dogs can be a more effective law-enforcement tool than firearms, Bartel said.
“We have a saying in K-9 that we can call our dogs back,” he said with obvious satisfaction at his own wisdom, “but you can’t call back a bullet.”
Rex, third last year in the open division, was running hard Saturday, scoring 109.6 points out of a possible 120 in obedience, 33 out of 60 in agility, and 66.8 out of 70 in article search. Then, to much yelping and barking and some cheers, and with three judges looking on, he sniffed out a “suspect” hiding in one of the boxes.
“He’s a totally sociable animal,” Noll said. “My family plays with him all the time.”

Keywords: ANIMAL; RIDGEFIELD PARK; CONTEST

Caption: PHOTO – STEVE AUCHARD / THE RECORD – Officer Ted Yarrish of the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department with Ryder, a canine member of the department, at K-9 dog competition in Ridgefield Park.

WOMAN STABBED TO DEATH; POLICE HAVE SUSPECT IN MIND

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer

Friday, September 13, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | 6 Star | News | Page B03

A 24-year-old Irvington woman who had been stabbed several times in the chest and neck was found dead in a car in North Bergen on Wednesday, authorities said.
Guy Gregory, assistant Hudson County prosecutor, said police are looking for a man who was with Maria Arroya of 44 Grace St. at the time she was killed.
“We have a suspect in mind, but he’s not in custody, and I’m not going to be able to give you his name,” Gregory said. “I don’t really want to talk about the details of the killing because of that.”
North Bergen Police Officer Bernadette Paul found Arroya in the front seat of the 1980 Datsun underneath a railroad trestle on 83rd Street shortly before 9 p.m., North Bergen police Lt. Timothy Kelly said.
“We got a call to go to 83rd Street, east of Westside Avenue, on a possible motor-vehicle accident,” Kelly said.
A man standing next to the car told Paul another man killed Arroya, then fled east on 83rd Street, Kelly said. North Bergen police, assisted by the Bergen County Police Department’s Canine Unit, searched the area but did not find the alleged assailant, he said.
Kelly referred all further questions to the Homicide Squad of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office. Gregory declined further comment, refusing to say whether investigators knew the relationship between the victim and the two men.
Irvington Police Chief Bernard DeLucia said a check of township police records did not turn up any information concerning Arroya or contact between her and the department.

Keywords: NORTH BERGEN; MURDER; PROBE

TRAPS TO SNARE PARKWAY SPEEDERS

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, September 11, 1991

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

In a pilot program to crack down on speeding, the state police will set up speed traps at nine points along the Garden State Parkway one day a week, beginning this week.
“The main goal of the program is to have people voluntarily comply with the speed limit, to reduce their speed,” said Capt. Clifford Miller, commander of Troop E, which patrols the 173-mile parkway. “We don’t want to issue speeding summonses. We want them to slow down. ”
Miller said 31 people died in accidents on the parkway between January and August, compared with 27 all of last year. More than 344 million vehicles travel on the parkway each year; about 58,000 speeding tickets were issued on the highway last year, he said.
“Although the parkway is still one of the safest toll roads in the nation, we are aiming at reducing the number of fatal accidents and the number of serious-injury accidents,” Miller said. “We think that by reducing speed and wearing their seat belts,” motorists “can substantially reduce the number of serious accidents. ”
“Operation Slow Down” will be evaluated in three months, and the state police plan to extend it to other highways if it is successful, said Lt. William Hillis, a state police spokesman.
New Jersey has tried a variety of programs to curb speeding on its 34,246 miles of public roads, including enforcement from helicopters, Hillis said. Regular patrols of the parkway and other state highways will continue during the crackdown, he said.
The state police will not announce where the speed traps will be or which day of the week they will be operating, Hillis said. The days and sites of the crackdown will be staggered and will run for 24 hours at a time, he said. Troopers will be using both radar and non-radar equipment to catch speeders, he said.

Keywords: ROAD; NEW JERSEY; POLICE; MOTOR VEHICLE; EQUIPMENT; VIOLATION

Caption: PHOTO – LINDA CATAFFO / THE RECORD – State police are kicking off “Operation Slow Down” this week in an attempt to crack down on speeding on the Garden State Parkway.

TWO ARE SOUGHT IN GUN ASSAULT; INCIDENT LEAVES 2 WOMEN HURT

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, August 30, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B03

Arrie Moore of 60 Newman St. and the gunman whom Moore allegedly instructed to kill Charles Reyes of 147 Sherman Ave., Teaneck are wanted on two counts of attempted murder, police Capt. John Aletta said Thursday.

Reyes and Theodore Bolden, 18, of 280 American Legion Drive, Hackensack, had arrived at the parking lot of Bolden’s apartment building at 2:35 a.m. Wednesday when the incident occurred. Lisa R. Manago, 21, of 77 Maple Ave., Hackensack, and a friend had driven the two men there, police said.

Moore and the gunman confronted the two men in the parking lot. According to police, Moore told the gunman to kill Reyes.

Reyes and Bolden both ran off when the gunman removed an automatic handgun from his waistband and fired. They were not hit by the gunshot, Aletta said. The gunman then fired at Manago’s car, and it crashed into a tree, he added. Moore and the gunman then ran toward Central Avenue, and have not been seen since, Aletta said.

Manago’s head hit the steering wheel when the car struck the tree, Aletta said. Bullet fragments struck Anita M. Powell, 23, of 41 E. Forest Ave., Englewood, a passenger in the car, on the left arm, he said. She also had cuts on her right foot, head, and chin.

Aletta said the women were taken to the Hackensack Medical Center. Hospital officials said they had no record of their being admitted.

The victims knew the gunman but not his name, Aletta said. Although it was unclear what caused the shooting, he said, they all knew each other.

Keywords: HACKENSACK; WEAPON; ASSAULT; SHOOTING

2 JUNE ROBBERY SUSPECTS HELD IN SIMILAR CASE

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, August 30, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page B04

Two men charged in June with pulling a bank messenger from his car and robbing and beating him were arrested Wednesday for a similar offense, authorities said.
Christopher Camacho and Alan Amador were two of four men on foot who demanded money from the driver of a commuter van as he waited at a red light at 79th Street’s intersection with Boulevard East, then attacked him when he refused, Police Lt. Timothy Kelly said.
A resident who saw the 5:40 p.m. attack called police, Kelly said. Police chased the men and arrested them a short while later, Kelly added.
The van driver, Jose Mucha, 35, of Kearny, suffered bruises, Kelly said. He said Mucha was treated at the scene by North Bergen Ambulance Corps paramedics.
Charged with robbery were Camacho, 20, of 7521 Bergenline Ave.; Amador, 18, of 6223 Liberty Ave.; Carlos Castro, 18, of 7721 Bergenline Ave., North Bergen; and Alberto Arroyo, 18, of 30 Prospect St., Palisades Park.
All four suspects were being held on $2,000 bail each in the Hudson County Jail.
A messenger for the Trust Co. of New Jersey was robbed of $12,000 in cash and $4,000 in checks on June 24. Raymond Ayala, the messenger, was hospitalized for severe bruises over his body, a fractured eye socket, a broken nose, and a broken jaw.
Amador and Camacho were among eight men arrested three days later in connection with that attack. Accused of helping plan that robbery, they were charged with conspiracy, aggravated assault, and robbery.

Keywords: NORTH BERGEN; ROBBERY

TWO ARE SOUGHT IN GUN ASSAULT; INCIDENT LEAVES 2 WOMEN HURT

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, August 30, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B03

A 20-year-old city man and an unidentified gunman are being sought for shooting at four people Wednesday, two of whom were injured when a gunshot caused the driver of a car to crash into a tree, police said.
Arrie Moore of 60 Newman St. and the gunman whom Moore allegedly instructed to kill Charles Reyes of 147 Sherman Ave., Teaneck are wanted on two counts of attempted murder, police Capt. John Aletta said Thursday.
Reyes and Theodore Bolden, 18, of 280 American Legion Drive, Hackensack, had arrived at the parking lot of Bolden’s apartment building at 2:35 a.m. Wednesday when the incident occurred. Lisa R. Manago, 21, of 77 Maple Ave., Hackensack, and a friend had driven the two men there, police said.
Moore and the gunman confronted the two men in the parking lot. According to police, Moore told the gunman to kill Reyes.
Reyes and Bolden both ran off when the gunman removed an automatic handgun from his waistband and fired. They were not hit by the gunshot, Aletta said. The gunman then fired at Manago’s car, and it crashed into a tree, he added. Moore and the gunman then ran toward Central Avenue, and have not been seen since, Aletta said.
Manago’s head hit the steering wheel when the car struck the tree, Aletta said. Bullet fragments struck Anita M. Powell, 23, of 41 E. Forest Ave., Englewood, a passenger in the car, on the left arm, he said. She also had cuts on her right foot, head, and chin.
Aletta said the women were taken to the Hackensack Medical Center. Hospital officials said they had no record of their being admitted.
The victims knew the gunman but not his name, Aletta said. Although it was unclear what caused the shooting, he said, they all knew each other.

Keywords: HACKENSACK; WEAPON; ASSAULT; SHOOTING

TESTING IN PLACE IN N.J.

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, August 29, 1991

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

Random drug testing, now being reconsidered for New York subway workers in the wake of Wednesday morning’s fatal derailment, is a fact of life for NJ Transit employees, who move most of the state’s bus and rail travelers, officials say.
Five passengers died and 259 people, including rescuers, were injured when a Manhattan IRT train derailed near the Union Square station at 14th Street shortly after midnight. A vial that later tested positive for crack cocaine was found in the motorman’s cab.
Most mass transit passengers in New Jersey come under federal drug-testing regulations that were enacted three years after the 1987 collision between Conrail locomotives and an Amtrak passenger train in which 16 people were killed and 175 injured. Those rules, enacted by the Federal Railroad Administration, mandate random drug testing for about 1,400 NJ Transit rail employees who hold safety-sensitive positions, said NJ Transit spokesman Jeff Lamm.
The New Jersey Supreme Court last year swept away a challenge of drug testing’s constitutionality by about 4,200 NJ Transit bus employees in similar jobs.
PATH train workers holding the safety-sensitive jobs are also subject to the federal agency’s regulations on periodic random testing, said John Kampfe, a spokesman for the Port Authority.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the New York subways, is not subject to the federal agency’s guidelines. Instead, it falls under the jurisdiction of the federal Urban Mass Transportation Authority, which has been seeking federal legislation that would allow it to set drug-testing guidelines.
New York City Mayor David Dinkins and MTA Chairman Peter Stangl both said drug-testing procedures may have to be reexamined and random drug testing might be instituted because of the derailment.
The testing would have to be negotiated with the transit unions, which have fought to cut back on the amount of testing.
This article contains material from The Associated Press.

Keywords: DRUG; TEST; NEW JERSEY; EMPLOYMENT; TRANSIT; RAILROAD; ACCIDENT; DEATH; VICTIM; NEW YORK CITY; ABUSE; ALCOHOL; BUS