GUNMAN HIJACKS TRUCK ON ROUTE 46

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Saturday, June 29, 1991

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

A gunman hijacked a cargo-filled Caldor truck on Route 46 near the George Washington Bridge on Thursday night and then met up with an accomplice who took the driver to upstate New York, where he was released unharmed, authorities said.
“Evidently traffic was a little heavy or the guy was going slow enough for someone to jump into his cab,” Fort Lee Police Chief John Orso said.
Orso said the driver is a 32-year-old man from North Bergen but declined to identify him further. The truck valued at $47,000 and carrying about $80,000 worth of clothing belonged to Caldor Distribution Center at 601 Westside Ave., North Bergen, Orso said.
The driver told FBI agents a gunman jumped into the cab of his tractor-trailer about 10:30 p.m. Thursday as the truck slowed in eastbound traffic on Route 46, Orso said.
“When the suspect jumped in the car, he told the driver to keep driving. When he got to the Major Deegan, he was handcuffed and transferred to a white minivan. They took him to a town called Deposit in upstate New York, about a four-hour drive,” Orso said.
Store officials on Friday declined to comment on the hijacking, the shipment’s origin, or its destination.

Keywords: FORT LEE; NEW YORK STATE; KIDNAPPING; HOSTAGE; CLOTHING; STORE; MOTOR VEHICLE; THEFT

8 CHARGED IN ROBBERY OF BANK WORKER

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, June 28, 1991

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

Police have arrested eight men for Monday’s assault and robbery of a bank messenger, who was pulled from his car and beaten as he waited at a red light.
Raymond Ayala, a messenger for the Trust Company of New Jersey, was in his 1984 Dodge waiting at 70th Street and Tonnelle Avenue when he was pulled from the car by three men who then assaulted him. The men got away with $12,000 in cash and $4,000 in checks that Ayala had just picked up from a business, Police Chief Angelo Busacco said.
The three who attacked Ayala, 35, of Jersey City, along with the driver of the getaway car were charged with robbery and aggravated assault, Busacco said. The other four helped plan the crime and were charged with conspiracy, the chief said.
“The victim, he took a pretty bad beating,” Busacco said. “He has a fractured eye socket, a broken nose, and a broken jaw. He was fairly bruised about the entire body.”
Ayala was taken to Palisades General Hospital on Monday and was discharged Thursday, a hospital spokesman said.
Charged with robbery and assault were Sergio Ariz of 7200 Grand Ave., North Bergen, who was released on $5,000 cash bail; Alan Amador of 6223 Liberty Ave., North Bergen, who posted 10 percent of $5,000 bail; Gary Bohanan, 22, of 6 River St., Little Ferry, and Christopher Camacho, 20, of 7521 Bergenline Ave., North Bergen, who each posted 10 percent of $2,500 bail.
Charged with conspiracy and posting 10 percent of their $2,500 bail were Michael Tomicich, 18, of 335 71st St., Guttenberg; Joseph Lalicata, 32, of 6601 Cottage Ave., North Bergen; Richard Zedower, 18, of 7108 Cottage Ave., North Bergen, and Joseph Occhipinti, 23, of 6024 Newkirk Ave., North Bergen.
Bohanan, Camacho, Lalicata, and Amador turned themselves in at headquarters; the other four were arrested at home or at work, the chief said.
Bohanan and Camacho appeared in court Wednesday. The others are scheduled to appear July 3, Busacco said.
For security reasons, Busacco declined to say how many men were involved in the investigation. He said key officers in the case were Lt. Timothy Kelly, Lt. Robert Heldman, Sgt. Joseph Bode, Detective Joseph Gener, and Detective James Onderdonk.

Keywords: NORTH BERGEN; ROBBERY; ASSAULT

BOY, 15, DIES AFTER SNIFFING BUTANE IN CAR ELMWOOD PARK YOUTH PASSED OUT AT MALL

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, June 27, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A01

A 15-year-old Elmwood Park boy died Tuesday about an hour after he passed out while sniffing butane gas in the back seat of a friend’s car in Paramus, authorities said Wednesday.
Thomas Prokap was pronounced dead at 10:46 p.m. at Kennedy Memorial Hospitals at Saddle Brook, Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy said.
A spokeswoman for the Bergen County Medical Examiner’s Office said an autopsy Wednesday failed to determine the cause of death. Toxicology tests, which usually take six to eight weeks, will be performed, she said.
Prokap was in the friend’s car at Garden State Plaza with three friends, whom Fahy declined to identify because they are juveniles. The prosecutor said they began “hanging out” in the mall’s parking lot about 7:45 p.m.
Sometime after 9 p.m., they drove to a store on Main Street in Hackensack, where Prokap bought a 2 1/2-ounce canister of Ronson butane fuel, Fahy said.
The other youths told authorities that, as they had seen Prokap do on occasion within the past week, he inhaled butane from the spray top on the canister, Fahy said.
They said they noticed he was drooling and appeared to be sleeping. When they couldn’t wake him, they drove to the hospital, he said.
The youths were not drinking and there was no evidence of drugs in the car, Paramus Police Chief Joseph Delaney said. Police do not anticipate charging the youths with any crime at this point, he said.
The investigation points pending the medical examiner’s toxicology tests to the butane, Delaney said.
Elmwood Park Police Chief Byron Morgan II said that he has heard of teenagers using inhalants to “achieve a high,” but he knew of no other cases in which a local youth had used butane.
“Any accident like this is a tragedy, a little more so when it involves the life of a child or a teenager,” he said.
Dr. Joseph Boyle, an associate professor of physiology at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark, said butane causes excitement, exhilaration, and delirium when inhaled. He also said it could act as a depressant.
“They get intoxicated, similar to alcohol,” he said of users.
Butane also causes a condition known as hypoxia, a depletion of oxygen in the body tissue to a point where it cannot sustain life, he said. And it does not take inhalation of a large quantity of the gas for it to occur, he added.
Boyle said another effect of butane, a volatile organic substance, is an irregular heartbeat.
Residents in the tight-knit Elmwood Park neighborhood where Prokap lived spoke highly of his family, whose other two sons attend Rutgers University, and of Prokap, whom they described as a tall, lean, “good-looking” boy.
“They’re great people. I don’t understand what went wrong,” a neighbor said.
Prokap, who was a sophomore at Elmwood Park Memorial High School who died 22 days short of his 16th birthday, was a former member of the Elmwood Park Little League and St. Leo Boy Scout Troop 80.
Among his survivors are his parents, John and Gloria, and two brothers, John and Gordon, all of Elmwood Park.
Record Staff Writers Jim Consoli and Wendy Zentz contributed to this article.

Keywords: ELMWOOD PARK; PARAMUS; YOUTH; FUEL; ACCIDENT; DEATH; VICTIM; TEST

Caption: PHOTO – PETER MONSEES / THE RECORD – A can of Ronson butane fuel, which carries warning against inhalation.

MAN HELD AFTER CAR CHASE IS SUSPECTED IN HIT-RUN

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, June 26, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B04

A man in custody on charges of driving a stolen car and eluding police is also being investigated in connection with a hit-and-run accident that left a 16-year-old township girl with two broken legs, police said.
Rosa Sanfilippo of Broadway Street was in stable condition at the Jersey City Medical Center Tuesday, a hospital spokesman said.
Luis Urrutia, 41, of 9008 Bergenwood Ave., North Bergen, was being held in the Bergen County Jail on $5,000 bail. Palisades Park police arrested him in Edgewater, following a chase that began on Bergen Boulevard in Palisades Park shortly after a broadcast of the accident over the police scanner about 10:45 p.m. Sunday. He was charged with possessing stolen property the car and eluding police.
North Bergen Police Officer George Alburtus said Sanfilippo was at Broadway and 77th Street when a northbound car struck her, then fled. He declined to identify the suspect, citing an ongoing investigation, but said North Bergen police are exploring charges against a suspect arrested by Palisades Park police.
The suspect was arrested following a chase that began in Palisades Park a short time after the accident, Alburtus said.
Palisades Park Police Officer Michael Anderson began chasing the white 1977 Pontiac that Urrutia was driving at about 11 p.m., after hearing the broadcast and telling the driver to pull over, police said.

Keywords: NORTH BERGEN; MOTOR VEHICLE; ACCIDENT

WOMAN, MOM ARE `CRITICAL AFTER COLLISION

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, June 23, 1991

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

An 18-year-old Teaneck woman, eight months pregnant, lost her baby and was in critical condition Saturday after her mother’s car collided with a gasoline tanker while backing out of their driveway, officials said.
Sharon Baboulis of 632 Teaneck Road was in the Hackensack Medical Center intensive care unit Saturday, suffering from a chest contusion, ruptured uterus, and cardiac problems, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Her mother, Thelma Baboulis, 50, suffered head trauma and a fractured arm and was in critical condition, the spokeswoman said.
Neither woman was wearing her seat belt when the collision occurred about 11 p.m. Friday, Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy said.
The tanker, owned by Island Transport of West Babylon, N.Y., was empty and was heading south on Teaneck Road when it came upon the car, Fahy said. The 1987 Honda rolled over once after being struck on the driver’s side, he said.

Keywords: TEANECK; ACCIDENT; MOTOR VEHICLE; BABY

Notes: Bergen page

CAR CRASH LEVELS SERVICE STATION BOOTH

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Sunday, June 23, 1991

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

A car driven by a 31-year-old Hackensack man crashed into a center divider and demolished a booth at an Exxon service station on Route 46 Saturday, just missing the gasoline pumps, police said.
The driver, William Valle of Lodi Street, suffered a fractured pelvis and was in fair condition at Hackensack Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said. Police said he would be charged with driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, driving an uninsured car, and driving without a license. The accident occurred about 3:30 a.m. Saturday along Route 46, by Overpeck Creek. Valle was thrown from his car when it hit a parked auto after striking the service station booth, police said.

Keywords: RIDGEFIELD PARK; MOTOR VEHICLE; ACCIDENT; GARAGE; HACKENSACK

Notes: Bergen page

HIT-AND-RUN VICTIM FROM LODI SUCCUMBS

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Sunday, June 23, 1991

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

A 37-year-old Lodi man injured in a hit-and-run accident while crossing Market Street early Friday died in Hackensack Medical Center of multiple head injuries, a hospital spokeswoman said. Gary Merlo of Vreeland Avenue, Lodi, died at noon Saturday, the spokeswoman said.
A Saddle Brook police dispatcher Saturday confirmed the accident at the corner of Market Street and Rosemont Avenue sometime after midnight Friday, but said no more information was immediately available.
Bill Ramirez, Merlo’s brother-in-law, said witnesses at a nearby bar saw a jeeplike truck or four-wheel-drive vehicle hit Merlo as he crossed the street after leaving a nearby diner.

Keywords: DEATH; VICTIM; MOTOR VEHICLE; ACCIDENT; SADDLE BROOK; LODI

Notes: Bergen page

POLICE SEEK WITNESSES TO MAN’S INJURY

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Sunday, June 23, 1991

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

Borough police are seeking witnesses to an accident in which a 77-year-old Allendale man apparently was struck by a school bus Thursday as he crossed the intersection of Wyckoff Avenue and Franklin Turnpike.
The bus driver “stopped because she saw a man in the road,” said Patrolman Gordon Andre. “She didn’t know how he got there. . . . We are not able to talk to the man right now because he’s in intensive care at The Valley Hospital.”
Extensive head and rib injuries suffered by Lawrence Bogart, 77, of Homewood Avenue, were consistent with those of someone who had been struck by a vehicle, Andre said.

Keywords: POLICE; ALLENDALE; SCHOOL; BUS; WALDWICK

Notes: Bergen page

NEW LAW ON SWEATSHOPS CALLED WEAK

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, June 23, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A01

The strain of trying to regulate the apparel industry in the state and put an end to sweatshops became clear in an unguarded moment Friday, when state Labor Commissioner Raymond Bramucci admitted that even an expected new law isn’t strong enough.
Before retracting that statement, made at a news conference, he added that he did not have enough inspectors to enforce the current law, which expires June 30.
“We have very, very poor means to police this industry,” Bramucci said. “We are trying to make it much more difficult to operate here. It is not easy. . . . We try to do a job with the tools given to us. It took us a whole lot of arguing to get this [the new law] through, and I don’t think it is strong enough.”
Someone asked how many people would be needed to inspect the thousands of sweatshops in the state. He declined to say.
“I want to work this out first,” he said. “I’m sorry I said that. Scratch it. I want to try to enforce this law first, vigorously.
“We have enough people to give a powerful signal. We don’t have to hit every factory, every minute of every day. But if we have means like we’re going to have with this new law, which gives us the right to seize goods and close down factories after repeated violations, we will have the beginning of the tool to have a reasonable control of the industry.”
Bramucci had invited the journalists along for raids Friday by federal and labor officials on two sweatshops. Since the crackdown started on Monday, 23 shops have been cited for violations of the state Apparel Registration Act, and for various federal and state wage, hour, child labor, home work, and records infractions.
Legislation awaiting Governor Florio’s signature would establish an Apparel Industry Unit, which would investigate violations of state laws and exploitation of workers. Starting this fall, the Labor Department will train industry workers at regional technical and vocational schools, Bramucci said.
At the first stop on Friday, state, federal, and city inspectors followed by about 25 journalists entered a garage with red roofing shingles for siding behind 4002 Palisade Ave., Union City. The shop was about 70 feet by 25 feet. Inside was an operation known as Lucy Fashion, with 11 sewing machines and, on several clotheslines, hundreds of blouses and skirts tagged “Made in USA.”
Lucy Fashion was one of the worst examples of the shops inspectors visited in Hudson and Essex counties last week, Bramucci said. A Union City fire inspector also cited the shop for building and fire code violations.
Bramucci said the shop would probably be long gone before the state could make it comply with regulations. Fly-by-night operations are rampant in the industry, making it difficult to keep count of the sweatshops. He estimated that about 10,000 people work in North Jersey sweatshops.
Bramucci blamed the conditions on New York garment manufacturers who farm out work to contractors without paying them enough to adequately compensate workers.
The renewed enforcement would help combat one of the plagues that the legitimate apparel industry faces: low labor costs in the sweatshops, said Aleta Hernandez, assistant political education director in New Jersey for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union.
The low labor costs in foreign countries drove the jobs in the industry underground, and made doing business legally difficult for local companies that often have to pay at least minimum wage, health insurance, and other benefits, Hernandez said.
Hernandez also blames greed on the part of the manufacturers because the low costs do not necessarily translate to low prices for consumers. All profits go into the pockets of manufacturers, she said.
Labor lawyer Craig Livingston said he sees at least another culprit in what he called an assault on the American worker: the U.S. government.
“The United States is probably unique in the world in not protecting its basic industries from cheap imports,” Livingston said. “Our basic industries are being crucified on the cross of free trade.”

Keywords: CLOTHING; EMPLOYMENT; LAW; STORE; VIOLATION; NEW JERSEY; UNION CITY

FACTORY RAIDS FIND LABOR LAW VIOLATIONS

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Saturday, June 22, 1991

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

In ongoing raids on garment industry sweatshops, state Labor Commissioner Raymond Bramucci on Friday led journalists to two shops where undocumented Mexican aliens worked.
As in the 21 shops inspected since the raids began Monday, Lucy Fashion at 4002 Palisade Ave., Union City, and Tlaloc Fashion at 6029 Hudson St., West New York, were found to be in violation of state and federal child labor laws. They also did not keep proper work and wage records, authorities said.
Formal citations will be filed, pending further investigation, Bramucci said.
Many of the 34 people working in the two shops inspected Friday were undocumented aliens, one of them a 13-year-old boy who arrived from Mexico on Monday, Bramucci added.
“This is our own Third World,” he said. “What we are trying to do is correct an egregious industry. Shops like these have no place in New Jersey in 1991.”
Bramucci said the current New Jersey Apparel Registration Act, which expires June 30, will be replaced by a law now awaiting Governor Florio’s signature. The new law establishes the Apparel Industry Unit, which will investigate violations of state laws and exploitation of workers.
The law will allow increased fines of up to $500 per violation and seizure of the clothing and machinery in the shops that are cited for repeated offenses.
Along with imposing increased penalties, the Labor Department will start a training program at Bergen County technical and vocational schools for workers in these shops who want to learn better work and English skills, he said.
“Because these workers don’t know their rights,” Bramucci said, “they are exploitable.”
Valentin Contla, 26, who said he would be getting proper papers soon, said he had been working at Lucy Fashion for only about a week and he made 20 cents per blouse. He sews about 300 blouses per day.
Louis Miranda, a Union City Fire Department investigator, said Lucy Fashion also violated several city building codes: A second door in the converted garage was blocked; the 11 sewing machines were too close together, restricting freedom of movement in case of fire, and there was no smoke detector or fire extinguisher.

Keywords: UNION CITY; CLOTHING; INDUSTRY; EMPLOYMENT; LAW; VIOLATION