FATAL FIRE SEVERS THE TIES THAT BIND

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, May 10, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | Edition: Four Star B | NEWS | Page B01

Two weeks ago, Bill and Joan Metz’s next-door neighbors and two couples from across the street brought them a cake to celebrate both their birthdays.
Despite Bill’s protests about making a fuss, they had a good time reminiscing about when their children were young, and looking at wedding photographs of the Metzes oldest daughter.
Early Thursday, the neighbors watched helplessly as Bill, 60, and Joan, 59, perished in a fire that destroyed their house at 96 Columbus Road, Demarest.
“I will never forget the sight of those flames shooting up at midnight last night,” Randi Dalaker of 90 Columbus Road said Thursday. Dalaker and her husband, Tore, had been neighbors of the Metzes for 31 years. “Our worst fears came true that they were in the house. “
Demarest Police Chief James Powderley, on routine patrol with one of his officers, reported the fire about 12:15 a.m. Thursday. Fire Chief Gerald Smithson said the house appeared to have been burning for an hour when Demarest volunteer firefighters, assisted by firefighters from Closter and Haworth, arrived.
Investigators are labeling it an accidental fire, said Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy, but he added that an investigation is continuing. Preliminary indications were that the fire started in the kitchen on the first floor, he said.
The Metzes were found dead in the second-floor bathroom, off the master bedroom. They died of smoke inhalation, Fahy said.
The two-story house in a neighborhood of neatly kept single-family homes was roped off Thursday; a police car was parked in front. Motorists stopped and talked to an officer about the fire.
Bill Metz had been a mechanic with the Otis Elevator Co. in New York City since 1950, and Joan was a former nurse at Demarest’s Northern Valley High School who still substituted there periodically.
Randi Dalaker, a month younger than Joan Metz, said that with the Metzes four children two sons and two daughters grown and departed, the neighbors savored the time they spent together.
“When the children were younger, we were constantly eating at each other’s house,” she said. “We belong to the same church, the Methodist Church, with the Greenwalds and the Garrans. Our children grew up together. We celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, picnics, Christmas; we did church activities together. “
Gary Garran of 91 Columbus Road said the neighbors often had parties, with each family trying to outdo the others.
“It was a family tie rather than neighbors, so it was quite a shock,” Garran said. “If we could relive that and put it in a movie or something, it would be a thing for the whole world to see, that this is how neighbors should live. “

Keywords: DEMAREST; HOUSING; FIRE; DEATH; FAMILY

THREATS LAID TO STUDENTS; 4 NABBED IN BCC BOMB SCARE CASES

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, May 9, 1991

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

Four Bergen Community College students, including one who wanted to avoid an ethics exam, have been charged with telephoning bomb threats to the school in two incidents last month, police said Wednesday.
The arrests were the first since the school was hit by a series of bomb threats and false fire alarms beginning last fall, said college Executive Vice President Virginia Laughlin.
Detective Edward Sorace of the Bergen County Police Department said six bomb threats and numerous false fire alarms have been called in to the school since the beginning of the year.
Sorace on Monday arrested Mark Morrell, 22, of North Arlington and charged him with making a false public alarm when he called the school switchboard about 3 p.m. April 26 to report the presence of two bombs.
Renee Roddi, 20, of Kearny, Morrell’s girlfriend at the time he allegedly made the call, also was arrested and charged with conspiring to make the call. Morrell made the call so Roddi could avoid an ethics-course examination that day, police said.
Sorace also arrested Nancy Incorvaia of Wayne at work in Parsippany-Troy Hills on April 29. Police said Incorvaia, 19, called the school’s public-safety office about 11:30 a.m. April 23 to report a bomb at the school.
Lucy Rocco, 21, also of Wayne and charged with conspiracy in that case, wanted to avoid a business-math class and asked Incorvaia to call in the bomb threat, police said.
Sorace declined to say how police discovered which students made the calls, but said he expects to make more arrests. If convicted, the students each released on $2,500 bail would face up to 18 months in jail and fines up to $7,500.
Laughlin said the school was considering disciplinary action against the students, but she declined to elaborate.

Keywords: BC; COLLEGE; BOMB; STUDENT

PRESS COVERAGE OF DEAD TEEN ASSAILED

By Laura Impellizzeri and Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writers | Sunday, May 5, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A06

Fair Lawn residents said Saturday that autopsy results showing that alcohol played no role in the death of a local 15-year-old at a New Year’s Eve party also indicate that her family and the party hosts were treated unfairly by the press and the justice system.
They agreed, however, that teenage drinking is a dangerous problem and should not be ignored by parents or prosecutors.
Autopsy results released Friday show that Coleen Draney, captain of Fair Lawn High School’s junior varsity soccer team, died of heart failure while attending a party given by a classmate, Susan Gennat.
Susan’s mother, Gisela Gennat, was ordered in March to pay a $1,000 fine, perform 25 days of community service, and write an essay on “Why One Should Not Serve Alcohol to Minors,” which was published in The Record on Friday. Gennat declined to comment Saturday.
Fair Lawn Prosecutor Ira Levine said Gennat was prosecuted because alcohol was made available to minors, not because of Draney’s death. Fair Lawn police initially suspected that Draney died of an alcohol overdose after drinking and consuming “Jell-O shots” gelatin laced with vodka.
Margaret Wilde, a neighbor of both families, said: “The media . . . crucified the Gennats. That same thing that happened to the Gennats and the Draneys could have happened to anyone who has teenage kids. “
“It’s unfortunate they had to be in the spotlight for no reason,” agreed another neighbor, who would not give her name.
Prosecutor John J. Fahy said: “It’s the media that made that portrayal, not my office. We didn’t have the toxicological report, and I know I was very careful not to say what the cause of death was. “
Draney’s father, Robert, criticized the release of the autopsy report, but would not elaborate. He, too, complained about press coverage, which he said “crucified” his daughter.
Jerome Weiner, president of the Fair Lawn Board of Education, said: “I certainly hope that it’s a lesson, whether it’s a teenager or adult, what might happen when you are not careful. I would really hate to think that students would have the perception that it was OK [to drink] since it [Draney’s death] has not been related to drinking. “

Keywords: FAIR LAWN; ALCOHOL; ABUSE; YOUTH; FAMILY; DEATH; VICTIM; HEALTH; FINE

DRUG DEALER RIVALRY HELPS COPS TIP LEADS TO ARREST OF 2 MEN

Byline: By Michael O. Allen and John Cichowski, Record Staff Writers | Monday, April 29, 1991

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

When Harry Kittrell returned from New York City early Saturday allegedly with a stash of cocaine and crack vials a convoy of police were waiting for him and a companion as their car crossed the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey.
Police said Kittrell is the latest reputed narcotics dealer to be turned in by rivals in a growing pattern of double-crosses that have become common in local drug traffic wars.
“There’s no better way to eliminate your competition than call the cops and `rat them out,” reasoned one narcotics detective.
“It happens all the time,” said Fort Lee Police Chief John Orso. “One dealer cheats another out of a couple of thousand dollars, so he waits for the day he can turn him in. “
Hackensack police believe the anonymous call they received at 1 a.m. Saturday came from a rival of Kittrell’s. The caller told them the make and model of the car he would be driving, and the time he was expected back from the city with drugs.
About 15 unmarked police cars, including state troopers and Port Authority police, kept the 23-year-old Hackensack man under surveillance after his car entered Fort Lee and drove to Lodi, said Port Authority Police Officer Peter Heller and Hackensack police Capt. John Aletta.
As the car left one jurisdiction and entered another along Routes 80 and 17, various police departments took up the surveillance, said police. They finally pulled Kittrell’s car over in a parking lot off Essex Street in Lodi, said Heller.
Police said Kittrell, of 185 Pine St., Hackensack, and James Johnson, 28, address unknown, had chunks of rock cocaine hidden in a plastic sandwich bag and a supply ofcrack vials. They were charged with drug possession, possession with intent to distribute, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Kittrell was being held in lieu of $15,000 bail in the Bergen County Jail. He had been out on bail from a November arrest for possession of heroin in Hackensack. Johnson was being held in lieu of $7,500 bail.
Police said Johnson, whom police described as Kittrell’s accomplice, declined to respond at first when he was read his rights. But a few moments later, police said, he began spitting rock cocaine out of his mouth.
Law enforcement authorities said it is becoming more common for drug dealers to inform police about their competitors.
“Nobody announces to police that he’s a rival drug dealer, but the type of information you’re getting generally can only come from a few kinds of sources, and one of them is a competitor,” said Passaic County Prosecutor Ronald S. Fava. “Usually, it’s some kind of grievance that prompts the call, like a turf war or a money dispute.”
An urban narcotics officer, who asked not to be identified, said competitors and spurned lovers often are the best sources for drug information.
“Sometimes a competitor will ask the ex-girlfriend about the route, then he’ll call police with the information,” said the narcotics officer. “It’s the least violent way to kill off the competition.”

Keywords: POLICE; DRUG

100-MPH CHASE, DRUG ARRESTS REPORTED BY PARKWAY POLICE

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, April 28, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A04

Two men were arrested on drug charges and a third led police on a 100-mph chase in three unrelated incidents on the Palisades Interstate Parkway, parkway police said.
In the first incident, police saw motorcyclist Charles Cherry, 25, of Manhattan traveling at a high rate of speed in Englewood Cliffs about 4:30 p.m. Thursday, said parkway Police Chief Vincent Arfuso, who gave this account of the incidents:
After a five-mile chase at speeds reaching 100 mph, Officer Vincent Cammarata stopped Cherry in Alpine. Cherry was issued several traffic summonses, including one for reckless driving, and released on $4,000 bail.
In the second incident, Officer James Paul stopped a car near Tenafly for a broken headlight about 1:50 a.m. Friday. A passenger, Juan Rodriguez Jr., 37, of Newburgh, N.Y., was charged with possession of about an ounce of cocaine and four small packets of marijuana. He was being held in Bergen County Jail on $11,000 bail.
The driver was issued traffic summonses and released.
Ariel Torres, 31, of the Bronx, was arrested about 2:50 a.m. on a charge of illegal possession of a weapon and drugs.
Officer Charles Jones stopped Torres northbound car in Alpine because of broken taillights. When Torres was unable to produce a valid license, Jones ordered him out of the car. Inside the auto, the officer found a loaded, 20-shot 9mm automatic pistol, 10 packets of heroin, and a small amount of cocaine and marijuana.

Keywords: DRUG; POLICE; ROAD; MOTOR VEHICLE; ALPINE; ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS; TENAFLY

CHILD DROWNS IN RAIN PUDDLE MOTHER FINDS HIM ATOP COVERED POOL

Byline: By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, April 28, 1991

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

A 2 1/2-year-old boy drowned Saturday in a puddle of rainwater atop a covered swimming pool in the back yard of his Pine Street home, police said.
Emanual Balseiro was pronounced dead at 11:35 a.m., 50 minutes after paramedics took him to Hackensack Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Police Capt. John Aletta said the drowning was an accident.
Officers Jeff Simone and Ernie Wilczewski, the first to arrive shortly after a 10:14 a.m. call to police, applied mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and other measures, but were unable to revive the boy, Aletta said. Paramedics took over from the officers.
Detective Sgt. Walter Krakowski said the drowning occurred as the family went about a routine that is normal for a Saturday morning in spring: children playing around the house as their parents did yard work.
Salvador Balseiro, the boy’s 63-year-old grandfather, who is visiting with his wife from Valencia, Spain, confirmed that was what happened.
With Myrna Ubides, a cousin of Lucy Balseiro, the boy’s mother, interpreting, the grandfather said: “They were all working around the house when they noticed the kid was missing. He was always around his mother. They thought the boy was upstairs with his sister.”
They started looking around the house when they didn’t find Emanual upstairs, Salvador Balseiro said. That was when the boy’s mother discovered her son.
“The next you heard was the mother screaming,” Krakowski said. “The father jumped into the pool and pulled the baby out.”
The child’s father, Ed Balseiro, and mother were with the family pastor Saturday afternoon, Ubides said. The couple have two other children, Rosio, 11, and Eduardo, 8.

Keywords: CHILD; ACCIDENT; SWIMMING; DEATH; VICTIM; HACKENSACK

WOMAN ROBBED OF FURS, JEWELRY

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Sunday, April 28, 1991

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

A simple trip to Saks Fifth Avenue to store her three fur coats valued at $80,000 for the season turned nightmarish for a 43-year-old Englewood woman on Saturday when two men shoved her into the trunk of her Rolls-Royce and stole her furs and jewelry, police said.
Karen L. Kitzis told police her gold-and-silver wristwatch and gold-and-silver bracelet were valued at about $13,200, said city police Capt. John Aletta.
The robbery occurred about 12:15 p.m. in the east parking lot of the Riverside Square mall, Aletta said.

Keywords: WOMAN; ROBBERY; ENGLEWOOD; JEWELRY; CLOTHING; THEFT

COLUMN/SECOND LOOK: THE LANDING ON RUNWAY GWB

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Saturday, April 27, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A02

The George Washington Bridge has been the scene of many suicides, accidents, and odd happenings during its 60-year history. But even after a quarter-century, what happened on Dec. 26, 1965, stuns the imagination.
A teenage pilot landed a plane on the center roadway of the bridge maneuvering the light aircraft through the lowest point of the suspension cables at the center of the span. Phillip Ippolito Jr. said afterward that he was “just plain scared” he wasn’t going to make it.
Ippolito, 19, of the Bronx and Joseph Brennan, 39, of Hackensack took off in the two-seat airplane about 9 a.m. from the Ramapo Valley Airport in Spring Valley., N.Y., where Ippolito was an assistant mechanic.
“Joe was just along for the ride to Red Bank, where I planned to visit with a former flying instructor, and at the same time log some flying time,” the young pilot told a reporter a day after the emergency landing.
As he flew over, Ippolito said, everything was just fine, Brennan was enjoying the view, and traffic on the bridge was quite light possibly because it was a Sunday morning, and the day after Christmas.
Then it happened.
“Just as we were at a point parallel to Times Square, I felt the plane begin to lose power,” Ippolito said. “I banked 180 degrees to the right to head north again. At this point I had no definite plan in mind, I was just plain scared. Then I began thinking of ditching in the river, but there were whitecaps on the water and that meant it would be rough landing. “
When he asked Brennan if he could swim, the Navy veteran of World War II said not only could he not, but he was terrified of water. At that point, Ippolito said, there was just one thing to do land the plane on the bridge.
“As I came over the roadway, I did a left-side slip and after 50 feet I went into a forward slip,” Ippolito said. “This brought the plane directly over the unused roadway, but my flying speed was almost double the normal 40 to 45 mile-an-hour landing speed. I kept worrying about the people on the bridge up until the moment I hit the roadway.”
The plane rolled along the roadway and came to a stop. Although its right wing tip struck a truck and the plane was spun around, Ippolito and Brennan suffered only minor injuries.
Bridge manager Ken Philmus said the current flow of traffic, and the increased volume of traffic, would make it difficult for such a landing to take place today.
Brennan died at age 60 in February 1987. Ippolito’s whereabouts are unknown. Bridge employees who came to the aid of the plane have long since retired or moved on to other careers,
Even Ramapo Valley Airport, where the fateful flight began, is no more, having been turned into an office park.

Keywords: FORT LEE; BRIDGE; AVIATION; ACCIDENT; HISTORY

Caption: 1965 PHOTO – Police preparing to remove the downed aircraft from the bridge.

2 CHARGED WITH SELLING PHONY IDS TO MINORS

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Saturday, April 27, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A04

A 32-year-old Jersey City man who police said sold “several hundred” fake New Jersey driver’s licenses to underage students in four states was released Friday from a Delaware jail on $15,000 bail.
For the past two years, Howard A. Lubowsky produced and sold the bogus licenses to high school students in the Cresskill area and to college students in Delaware, Philadelphia, and New Rochelle, N.Y., police said.
“The only purpose of a 17-year-old getting one of these is so they could get served in bars and liquor stores,” said Cresskill Detective Sgt. William Macchio, noting that 17-year-olds can obtain legal New Jersey driver’s licenses. Charges are pending against Lubowsky in Cresskill.
About a month ago, Cresskill and Newark, Del., police discovered that they were investigating the same man, Macchio said, when Newark police called borough police about a fake New Jersey license they had confiscated. The license bore a borough address.
On three separate occasions, Macchio said, Lubowsky came to Cresskill for photo sessions at a teenager’s house. At least 20 students would pay $25 to have their pictures taken, then pay $25 a week later at a license-signing and laminating session, Macchio said.
At a University of Delaware dormitory Wednesday night, one of the people Lubowsky photographed was an undercover Newark, Del., police officer, a university security official said. Lubowski had sold 58 licenses at the school in October and was prepared to sell 55 Wednesday, the security official said.
In Delaware, charges against Lubowsky include 12 counts of forgery, unlawful production of driver’s licenses, and possession of forgery devices. A Morris Plains woman, Claudia Silverberg, 31, also faced similar charges. She was being held Friday in a Delaware correctional facility, authorities said.

Keywords: JERSEY CITY; CRIME; LICENSE; YOUTH; SALE; CRESSKILL

FBI ARRESTS MAN IN FAKE DEATH SCAM

MICHAEL ALLEN | Friday, April 26, 1991

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

A 40-year-old North Bergen man who allegedly faked his wife’s and son’s deaths, then tried to collect on a $2 million life insurance policy, has been arrested by the FBI.
Ahmad Sadiq Mufti of 3642 Lincoln Drive was charged in U.S. Magistrate’s Court in Newark on Thursday with one count of mail fraud in a scheme to defraud Amex Life Assurance Co. of San Rafael, Calif., of the money between 1987 and 1989, FBI Special Agent William Tonkin said.
Mufti gave up without incident when FBI agents went to his home about noon Wednesday to arrest him, Tonkin said. A hearing will be scheduled to transfer Mufti to California, where he would be tried on the charge, the agent said.
If convicted, Mufti faces up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines, Tonkin said.
John Holford, a special agent at the Oakland FBI bureau, said Mufti’s wife and son were in Pakistan. He said he did not know whether Mufti collected any of the money.
Representatives for Amex could not be reached for comment.

Keywords: NORTH BERGEN; FAMILY; DEATH; FRAUD; INSURANCE