BROTHER OF JERSEY CITY MAYOR CHARGED WITH DRUNKEN DRIVING

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, March 10, 1991

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

Thomas W. McCann, acting head of the Hudson County Parks Division and brother of Mayor Gerald McCann, was charged Saturday with drunken driving.
Police said tests revealed that McCann, 38, of 238 Pearsall Ave., had a blood-alcohol level of 0.21 percent, more than twice the level of 0.10 percent at which a driver in New Jersey is presumed to be drunk.
Jersey City police Officer Ed Jennings was dispatched at 7 a.m. to Coles Street and Newark Avenue where a man was reported to be asleep behind the wheel of a stopped vehicle. McCann, police said, was behind the wheel of a white 1988 Dodge Ram, a Hudson County government vehicle.
Jennings, in his report on the arrest, said McCann was “slumped” over the steering wheel and the motor was running. The car was in gear, and McCann had his foot on the brake, Jennings said. Jennings said he and other officers tried to wake McCann up and succeeded after “repeated” attempts.
Neither McCann, who was released on his own recognizance, nor his brother, the mayor, could be reached for comment Saturday.

Keywords: PARK; HUDSON COUNTY; ALCOHOL; ABUSE; TEST; NEW JERSEY; JERSEY CITY; GOVERNMENT; OFFICIAL

MARINE FROM TEANECK DIES DURING TRAINING EXERCISES

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, March 10, 1991

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

A 20-year-old Teaneck man died, apparently of a heart attack, while undergoing combat water survival training Friday at the Marine Corps training base at Parris Island, S.C., a Marine spokesman said.
Danilo A. Marty Jr., was training at an indoor swimming pool to upgrade his water survival safety qualifications from third class to second class when he collapsed about 2:30 p.m., Capt. J.R. Mill said Saturday.
“It looked like . . . during the evolution of that exercise, he obviously must have experienced difficulties,” Mill said. “While they were trying to get him out of the pool, he apparently collapsed.”
Marty, who was in the pool with approximately 55 other men when the attack occurred, was pronounced dead at 3:47 p.m. Friday at the Beaufort Naval Hospital, Mill said. The cause of death was listed as “cardiopulmonary arrest, secondary to aspiration” a heart attack, he added.
Marty arrived Feb. 14 at Parris Island and began the 12-week cycle popularly known as “Boot Camp,” Mill said.
“You think it is hard to lose a Marine in combat. You can compound that a hundredfold when we lose a recruit in training,” he said.
Marty’s family has already been notified of his death, Mill said. The Martys, whose telephone number was unlisted, could not be reached for comment Saturday. Before Marty could be deemed medically fit for recruit training, Mill said, he would have undergone two complete medical examinations.
A typical day for recruits begins about 4:30 a.m., and training, which lasts until about 8 p.m., is fitted in between personal care and meals, Mill said. The safety qualification training began about 1:30 p.m. Friday and was to go on until 3 p.m. Marty, in attaining his third class safety qualification, demonstrated he could take care of himself, Mill said. Friday’s training was to teach him how to do that and take care of a wounded Marine at the same time, he said.
Although what Marty was doing when he began experiencing difficulty is now the subject of investigation, Mill said, the recruit was in the pool wearing full Marine gear, including boots, utilities, helmet, flak jacket, H-harness, cartridge belt, two magazine pouches, two full canteen with covers, a rubber rifle, duplicate of a M-16 A2 service rifle, and a standard 40-pound pack.

Keywords: TEANECK; DEATH; VICTIM; DEFENSE; NEW JERSEY

PATROLS UP AFTER FOUR ROBBERIES

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, March 8, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B05

Police have beefed up patrols of city streets after a 40-year-old woman walking to her car in a municipal parking lot was robbed, the fourth such incident in a week.
Police Capt. C. Kenneth Tinsley said three of the robberies appeared to have been committed by the same two young men.
The woman, whom Tinsley declined to identify, was robbed about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday as she returned to her car in the parking lot off West Street, after leaving the McDonald’s restaurant on West Palisade Avenue with her 8-year-old son.
“She was pushed to the ground and the suspects took her purse, which contained approximately $140 and other valuables worth about $250,” Tinsley said. Neither the woman nor her son was injured.
A 30-year-old man reported that two young men grabbed him and one punched him in the face as he walked along Engle Street, in front of the public library, about 8 p.m. Sunday, Tinsley said.
The man, robbed of the $45 in his wallet, was treated at Englewood Hospital for facial wounds and released, Tinsley said.
The other two robberies took place Friday night. In what was first reported to police as a fight about 7:30 p.m., a 45-year-old man was assaulted by about eight people as he walked along James Street near Palisade Avenue, Tinsley said. The man’s wallet was stolen, along with $400 and identification cards, including an alien-immigration card.
Tinsley said a 30-year-old woman was robbed of her gold ring and necklace by two young men who asked her the time as she walked along Demarest Avenue about 6:30 p.m.
Police are also investigating whether the assault and attempted armed robbery of a 14-year-old boy at about 4 p.m. Monday was related to the spate of robberies, Tinsley said. One youth was in custody, and police expect more arrests in the case.

Keywords: ENGLEWOOD; ROBBERY; POLICE

REPAIR SHOPS CALL HIM STINGRAY; CON MAN TAKES 3 SPORTS CARS

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, March 8, 1991

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

Investigators in Paramus, Englewood, and Englewood Cliffs are looking for a con man who stole three sports cars two in one day that were brought in for repairs at automobile dealerships.
Posing twice as the owner of the cars and once as the son of the owner, the man stole two Corvettes and a Pontiac Firebird, police and dealership officials said Thursday.
“I’ve got to tell you something, this guy was cool,” said Greg Garabed, service manager at Stillman and Hoag Inc. of Englewood, where the man drove away with a red 1990 Corvette that had just had paint work done on its roof.
“Thirty years in the business and I’ve never seen anything like it,” Garabed said.
About 5:50 p.m. on Feb. 7, 10 minutes before closing, the man marched over to the Corvette and began examining the work. He said he was the son of Michael Knee, the 48-year-old Ridgewood man who had brought the car in.
“There were four Corvettes parked in a row in a secured area in the building,” Garabed said. “This guy walked right in and went over to the car. He had a lot of information about the car.”
After arguing that the painting should have been under warranty and initially refusing to pay, the man paid $200 and left with the car. About two minutes later, the actual owner arrived.
Knee said the service people did not believe him when he told them he had not sent his son to pick up the car.
“It’s an embarrassment for us,” Garabed said, adding that Knee was a longtime customer of the dealership.
The descriptions of the man in the three thefts were similar: 27 to 30 years old, about 6 feet, with an olive complexion and dark, slicked-back hair, a long, thin face, and a mustache.
On Feb. 7, a man fitting that description walked into Steven Nacht Cadillac in Englewood Cliffs and picked up a 1986 Pontiac Firebird that was in for repairs, although the work had not been completed, said Al Glinbiezi, the assistant service manager.
The man said he needed the car right away and that he would bring it back later, Glinbiezi said.
On Feb. 21, a man fitting the same description, but this time wearing some type of police insignia around his neck, insisted on picking up a 1987 Corvette brought to Malcolm Konner Chevrolet Geo in Paramus for transmission repairs, although the work had not been done.
Lt. Donald McNair of the Paramus Police Department said he wrote letters to automobile dealers in Bergen County and to national dealership associations to warn them about the scam.
“There’s a common denominator there, but I can’t put my finger on it,” McNair said.
“I’ve never had this happen before. I’m up against the wall and I don’t have any idea.”

Keywords: PARAMUS; ENGLEWOOD; ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS; MOTOR VEHICLE; THEFT

N.J. CUTS ALCOHOL BUREAU

By Patricia Alex and Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writers | Thursday, March 7, 1991

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

The “backbone” of the state bureau enforcing liquor laws will be gutted under a cost-cutting plan that calls for 32 of the 72 enforcement agents to lose their jobs by the end of the month, inspectors said Wednesday.
The agents, who work for the New Jersey State Police Alcoholic Beverage Control Enforcement Bureau, said they feared the layoffs were the first step toward total elimination of the unit.
But Chris Florentz, spokesman for the state Division of Law and Public Safety, which ordered the cuts, said he was aware of no such plan.
Many areas of the division are facing similar cuts, as are departments throughout state government. “We decided these cuts could be made without seriously affecting the ability of the agency to monitor and regulate the alcoholic beverage industry,” said Florentz.
The bureau is charged with enforcing laws that affect the more than 1,200 legal liquor purveyors in the state, including statutes that prohibit the sale of liquor to minors. The agency also ferrets out illegal establishments and investigate liquor license applications.
“I find it very hard to believe that the state can lay off half our force and still believe that we can work as effectively,” said Edward Corrales, a senior inspector.
Corrales said the unit’s investigations often lead to fines that offset its operating costs.

Keywords: NEW JERSEY; ALCOHOL; GOVERNMENT; LAW; FINANCE; COST; LICENSE

3 RUN AFOUL OF MURPHY’S LAW; BURGLARY SUSPECTS CAR WOULDN’T START

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, March 6, 1991

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

Three burglary suspects ran into the long arm of Murphy’s Law early Monday morning: Just about everything that could go wrong did.
First, police said, the homeowner and his wife screamed when James Bradley burst into their bedroom. Then, beating a hasty retreat, Bradley jumped out of a kitchen window and ran to the getaway car, but the battery was dead, police added.
Bradley fled on foot, but his two accomplices were identified by the homeowner and arrested after they asked two township police officers for help in starting the car. Bradley was captured about an hour later, police said.
Bradley, 39, of 22 E. Clinton Ave., Bergenfield; Karla C. Bradley, 40, of 12 N. Front St., Bergenfield; and Kenneth Kees, 30, whose last known address was in Cliffside Park, were being held in the Bergen County Jail on Tuesday on $20,000 bail each.
James Bradley was charged with burglary. Karla Bradley and Kees were charged with conspiracy to commit burglary.
In his report, Teaneck Police Officer Thomas Melvin said James Bradley broke into the bedroom of the East Lawn Drive home shortly before the officers pulled up to the stalled 1985 Ford Thunderbird at 12:35 a.m. Monday.
The homeowner told police he heard someone break into a rear basement window, and then he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. When the suspect finally reached the master bedroom, the homeowner and his wife both screamed.
As Karla Bradley was asking Melvin and Police Officer Robert Carney to help jump-start the car, the officers noticed the homeowner beckoning them from the third-floor window of his home.
Bradley was picked up by Carney underneath the Route 4 overpass on Teaneck Road about 1:46 a.m., police said.

Keywords: TEANECK; THEFT

BERGENFIELD FIRE ROUTS TENANTS

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Sunday, March 3, 1991

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

Borough fire officials are investigating a predawn fire Saturday that started in a basement apartment and shot flames into the top floors of a home housing three tenants.
The tenant of the basement apartment at 7 Foster St. was not at home when the fire started about 4:15 a.m., said Bergenfield Deputy Fire Chief Edward Kneisler. Smoke alarms awakened the two other tenants in the building and they were not injured.
Police confiscated two cases of ammunition that firefighters discovered in a fenced-off lot adjacent to the burning house, Kneisler said. The ammunition was not near the flames, he said. No details were immediately available.
Bergenfield firefighters received assistance from Closter firefighters, while the Dumont department was on standby and Teaneck provided support services.

Keywords: BERGENFIELD; FIRE

Caption: PHOTO – WARREN GOLDBERG / SPECIAL TO THE RECORD – Firefighters extending lengths of hose used to battle a predawn fire in a house on Foster Street in Bergenfield on Saturday. Two residents escaped the home without injury after a smoke alarm sounded.

DAD SAYS MIX-UP LED TO ARREST

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, March 3, 1991

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

A Bronx man whose 16-month-old son was found alone and crying in a van at a shopping mall last week says he did not intend to leave the infant there but police arrived before he could take the child with him.
“Right when I dropped my tools off and I came back to get my kid, the cops were already there,” Godwin Chow said Saturday at the Bergen County Jail Annex, where he was being held on $75,000 bail.
Chow, 39, said that when he saw city police Sgt. Frank Lomia and Officer John Carroll next to his van at Riverside Square mall, he panicked, and decided to wait until they left before bringing the boy into the restaurant where he was to repair equipment Wednesday night.
But police and mall security officers said the infant, David Chow, had been in the van in front of Au Bon Pain restaurant at the mall for at least two hours when Lomia and Carroll found him about 9:50 p.m.
Mall security officers, dispatched to look for the van’s owner in nearby businesses because the boy was crying, returned with Chow as Lomia and Carroll were about to smash the window to get to the child, police said.
When he took the boy out of the van, Lomia said, the child appeared to be in good health but was cold, his clothing was in poor condition, and his diaper had not been changed in some time.
Chow was charged with endangering the life of a child and disorderly conduct.
A spokeswoman for Hackensack Medical Center said Saturday that the infant, who did not require treatment, had been released Friday night to the custody of the New York City Child Welfare Administration. An attorney for the agency said he could not comment on any case it might be involved in.
Chow said he usually had a baby sitter look after his son when he went to work but did not do so Wednesday because he was going to be with the infant and did not plan on working long. In the past when he went to work at the restaurant, Chow said, he brought the boy in with him.
Ray and Raphie Gutierrez, brothers who are managers at the restaurant, said Chow often brought a baby in when he came to repair stoves.
“I really cannot tell you how many times he brought the baby to work here, but I remember I’ve seen the kid a couple of times,” Ray Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez said Chow arrived at the restaurant about 9 p.m. Wednesday to repair the steamer on an oven.
“I don’t know what was going on outside,” Gutierrez said. “The only thing I know is that every five minutes he was going outside.”
Chow said he had known the child’s mother only briefly, and did not learn she was pregnant until she came to him seven months after they met while experiencing complications with her pregnancy. He said he took her to a hospital, where she gave birth, and then she abandoned the child.
Chow said he had not seen a lawyer since his arrest.
“The jail is overcrowded. Right now, I’m sleeping on a cold plastic mat. There is no pillowcase, no towel, no nothing. The only thing I have is this,” Chow said, tugging contemptuously at the collar of his jail uniform.
The officers involved in the arrest and Police Chief William C. Iurato could be reached Saturday for further comment on the case.

Keywords: HACKENSACK; NEW YORK CITY; CHILD; MOTOR VEHICLE; STORE

MAN DIES AFTER FIRE LINKED TO SMOKING FOUND IN BURNING ENGLEWOOD HOUSE

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Saturday, March 2, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | One Star | NEWS | Page A03

A 66-year-old man died of smoke inhalation about 45 minutes after firefighters had pulled him out of his burning home on Thursday, officials said.
It appeared that Claude Harvey of 71 Spring Lane had been smoking in bed, although an investigation continues, Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy said in a statement on Friday.
Englewood Fire Chief Douglas Baker said firefighters found Harvey unconscious at about 9:20 p.m. in a bathroom on the second floor of the three-story home. Police called in the fire at 9:14 p.m., but it appeared to have been burning for some time, he said.
“The bedroom in the second floor was fully involved when we got there,” Baker said. “It’s a large structure with many rooms, which made it difficult for search and rescue. “
Harvey was taken to Englewood Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:04 p.m.
About 35 firefighters from Englewood and Tenafly battled the blaze and had it under control in about 25 minutes. The fire was so intense it burned through the floor of the second-floor bedroom, with a mattress being found in the first-floor living room, Baker said.
Englewood Patrolman John P. Morgan found the burning house by following smoke he had seen on the horizon as he traveled north on Engle Street while on patrol, said Capt. C. Kenneth Tinsley. Morgan arrived to find smoke coming out of the second-floor window and the roof, Tinsley said.

Keywords: ENGLEWOOD; TOBACCO; DEATH; VICTIM

DAD HELD AFTER COPS FIND CHILD IN MALL LOT

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, March 1, 1991

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

A 39-year-old Bronx man was charged Thursday with endangering the life of a child after two Hackensack youth officers found his 16-month-old son alone and crying in a van parked at the Riverside Square Mall.
Goodwin Chow, also charged with disorderly conduct, was being held in the Bergen County Jail on $75,000 bail.
The toddler had been in the van for at least two hours when Sgt. Frank Lomia and Police Officer John Carroll found him at about 9:50 p.m. Wednesday, Hackensack Police Chief William C. Iurato said.
“When I took him out of the van, he appeared in general good health, but he was cold,” Lomia said. “His clothing was really poor, and his diapers hadn’t been changed in a while. “
The child was taken by ambulance to the Hackensack Medical Center, where he was treated before being released to the custody of the state Division of Youth and Family Services, police said.
A DYFS spokeswoman said she was prohibited by law from acknowledging any investigation that the agency might be involved in.
Lomia said the officers were on patrol when Carroll noticed the white 1973 Ford van bearing New York license plates and covered with graffiti.
“We checked it out because it looked so out of place sitting in front of the restaurant,” Lomia said. “Then, when we checked further, we found the boy. “
Raphie Gutierrez, a manager at Au Bon Pain restaurant, where Chow arrived about 8 p.m. to repair an oven, said the last time Chow came to work at the restaurant, about a month ago, he brought the boy in with him. The boy was awake and stayed with employees in the back of the restaurant, he said.
On Wednesday, Chow “was going back and forth [to the parking lot] every five minutes,” Gutierrez said. “We didn’t know why until later. “
The boy, wrapped in a grease-stained jacket and in the front passenger seat, began crying when Carroll and Lomia arrived at the van, Iurato said. Mall security officers, dispatched to look for the van’s owner in nearby businesses, arrived with Chow as the officers were about to smash in the window to get to the child, Iurato said. He said Chow became defensive and was uncooperative with the officers.
“He refused to open the van or give us the key. The key had to be forcibly taken from him,” Lomia said.
Chow told police that the boy has a mother but no other relative. Police were searching for her Thursday, Lomia said.

Keywords: NEW YORK CITY; BABY; HACKENSACK; MOTOR VEHICLE; ABUSE