A YEAR LATER, A SHOOTING SUSPECT

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, November 9, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Three Star P | NEWS | Page B03

A 33-year-old New York City man arrested Thursday by city police and charged with possessing a stolen car was wanted for a shooting in Englewood a year ago, police said.

Eric Flake was wanted for two counts of attempted murder, four counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of gun possession in the Nov. 18, 1989, shooting of Neville G. Tyrell of Teaneck, said Englewood Detective Capt. C. Kenneth Tinsley.

Flake was arrested at 1 a.m. Thursday along with Herbert Smith, 35, of New York City, who was a passenger in the car Flake was driving.

Tinsley said Police Officer James Morgan ran a check on the car’s license plate when Flake made a turn without signaling. Morgan learned the car was stolen from Prince George County, Md., Tinsley said.

Morgan, assisted by officers George Coleman and Timothy Riley, pulled the car over and arrested the men. Flake and Smith, also charged with possession of stolen property, were being held in the Bergen County Jail on $5,000 bail.

As they were processing the men at the Englewood police station, Tinsley said, the officers discovered that Flake was wanted for contempt of court, attempted murder, and related charges in connection with the shooting of Tyrell.

Tinsley said the police report of that incident indicated that Flake, who was standing with a friend at Lafayette Place and Parkview Drive, waved Tyrell’s car over and fired several shots as Tyrell rolled down his window.

One shot passed through Tyrell’s arm and struck his chest, according to the report. Tyrell drove to Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, where he was treated and released.

DAD HELD GIRL HOSTAGE BEFORE, COPS SAY

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, November 7, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B02

A 32-year-old Teaneck man who shot a neighbor Sunday night and then held his young daughter hostage as “protection” from police used the child the same way in an incident this spring, police said.

As he did Sunday, Shawn Thompson released then 16-month-old Jasmine after a dispute with his wife on June 19 over custody of the child, police said.

Police defused that situation without harm to anyone.

Thompson did not threaten to harm his daughter in either incident, according to police reports.

On Sunday night, Thompson allegedly shot Earl Johnson, a neighbor who apparently was attempting to mediate a dispute between Thompson and his mother.

Johnson, 29, was in critical condition at Holy Name Hospital with a neck wound Tuesday, a hospital spokeswoman said. Doctors repaired Johnson’s right jugular vein, but were unable to remove the bullet.

Thompson was being held in the Bergen County Jail Tuesday on $50,000 bail. Teaneck police charged him with aggravated assault and possession of firearms.

The shooting occurred after Hazel Thompson asked police to remove her son from the home they shared at 51 Garden St., police said.

Mrs. Thompson; her companion, Ernest Walters; her father; Jasmine; and Johnson, who lives across the street from the Thompsons at 44 Garden St., were in the house when police arrived.

Both Johnson and Walters had tried unsuccessfully to talk Shawn Thompson into leaving the house, police said.

Johnson took Mrs. Thompson’s father to his home across the street. Mrs. Thompson then left with police to seek a restraining order.

Moments later, police learned that someone had been shot at the house. Johnson had somehow left the house and was taken to the hospital, police said. Thompson had taken his daughter and was talking to police.

“This is one step higher than the last time, and I’m going to take it one step higher,” Sgt. Fred Ahearn said Thompson told him on the phone. “I’m not going to jail, and I know my daughter is my protection.”

But after talking with a relative and with Capt. Gary Fiedler, Thompson released the child and surrendered.

Police, armed with a search warrant, found two rifles, two handguns, and ammunition when they searched the house.

In the June incident, police said Thompson had a dispute with his wife, who had threatened to take the child away.

Thompson, who had taken Jasmine after the dispute, held police at bay for a short time, but then released her to an aunt. He was not charged.

ELECTRICAL EXPLOSIONS ROCK AREA IN DUMONT

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, November 7, 1990

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

Two underground electrical explosions shook downtown Dumont Tuesday, injuring a 46-year-old borough woman, cutting off power to more than 1,000 residents, and shutting down several businesses for the day.

Public Service Electric and Gas Co. officials and technicians did not know the cause of the first explosion, which occurred shortly before 1 p.m. Tuesday, said Walter Kyle, a PSE & G division operations supervisor. Kyle said he believed the second was caused by current released by the first.

“We know, essentially, that something blew up in the hole here,” Kyle said. “Exactly what, we don’t know. “

Except for the Madison Avenue business district, electricity was restored to much of the affected area about two hours after the explosion, Kyle said.

Amelia Garcia, who was standing behind the Frontier Restaurant and Bar at Park and Madison avenues when the second explosion occurred, was hit by flying debris. She was treated for cuts on both legs at Englewood Hospital and released.

Dumont Police Chief William Groesbeck said there was a similar explosion at the intersection of Madison and Washington avenues two months earlier.

Groesbeck said he urged PSE & G officials to work through the night to correct the problem. Madison Avenue was blocked off between Washington and Railroad avenues to allow the technicians to identify the problem and correct it, he said.

The explosion caused severe traffic delays along Washington Avenue and roads intersecting it.

Caption: (Photo ran alone in 3p) COLOR PHOTO – LINDA RADIN / THE RECORD – Utility workers inspecting the scene of one of two underground explosions that shook downtown Dumont Tuesday, leaving one woman injured and cutting off power to more than 1,000 residents. The blasts also caused traffic tie-ups.

INK-CARRYING TRAILER TIPS ON ROUTE 3

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, November 4, 1990

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

A truck’s trailer, carrying flammable printing ink, overturned Saturday morning and caused a six-hour shutdown of Route 3 west in front of Giants Stadium, inconveniencing fans on their way to the Notre Dame-Navy football game.

No one was injured.

Richard P. Deckert, the driver, said he did not know what caused the accident. No summonses were issued, and an investigation was continuing, said East Rutherford Fire Department spokesman Lt. Peter Hodge.

“All I know is, I was going through the turn, and I looked in the mirror, and I saw the truck was lying on the ground,” said Deckert, 48, of Lebanon, Pa. “I didn’t even see it drop off.”

Along with a 55-gallon drum of ink, the truck carried five gallons of methyl ethyl ketone, a highly flammable solvent, and several empty cardboard boxes in its two trailers, said East Rutherford Fire Chief Tom Miller.

Although the ink drum was punctured when the 40-foot trailer flipped, the ink did not spill on the roadway, Hodge said.

Caption: PHOTO – STEVE AUCHARD / THE RECORD – Hazardous-materials workers and East Rutherford firefighters working with a trailer that overturned on Route 3 west on Saturday.

CLOSTER MAN, 21, SLAIN IN MANHATTAN

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, November 2, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | One Star | NEWS | Page B02

New York City police are investigating the shooting death of a 21-year-old Closter man found lying next to his car Thursday on an exit ramp of the Henry Hudson Parkway in upper Manhattan.

Police did not know the motive or circumstances surrounding the shooting of Michael Papalia of 21 Oak St., said 34th Precinct Detective Michael Pisano, who is investigating.

Pisano said that although police found $6 on Papalia, they are not ruling out robbery. Papalia was shot once in the head.

Early indications were that the death was not related to drugs or violence connected to Halloween, the detective said.

Emergency Medical Services technicians on patrol found Papalia on the northbound side of the Henry Hudson Parkway at the Cloisters exit ramp at about 3 a.m., Pisano said.

After attempting to revive him, the EMS technicians took Papalia to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival at 3:45 a.m., Pisano said.

Papalia was a 1987 graduate of Northern Valley Regional High School in Demarest, school officials said.

The Rev. Simon Kenny of St. Mary’s R.C. Church in Closter said the family belongs to his parish.

Capt. John Rose, Closter acting chief of police, said he did not know the Papalias, but knew the family had lived in the borough for a long time.

DRUG CACHE USED TO LURE TRAFFICKING SUSPECTS

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, October 31, 1990

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

Federal agents in Newark used a cache of 11 pounds of pure heroin seized recently from a Saudi courier at Newark International Airport the largest haul of heroin imported through the airport to track down and arrest five persons believed to be major drug traffickers.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Fernandez said the monthlong investigation, dubbed “Operation Desert Horse” because of its Lebanon distribution base, eventually yielded 9 more pounds of heroin and $162,000 in cash.

The Drug Enforcement Administration estimates the 20 pounds of heroin would be worth more than $10 million on the street after its purity was diluted.

“This is a tremendous, a staggering amount of heroin. This will have a noticeable impact on the availability of heroin on the street,” Fernandez said.
“The defendants here were at the very source of the stream. They were at the top of the pyramid because they were the ones receiving this very pure heroin from the courier.”

Facing charges of conspiracy to import and distribute heroin are Walid El-Homeidi of Saudi Arabia; Samir Tehfe, a Lebanese national who lives in Guttenberg; Mohammed Hamye, also a Lebanese national, of Long Island; Benny Rodriguez of North Bergen; and Carlos Solis Payano and Angel Payano, both citizens of the Dominican Republic and residents of New York City.

All the defendants, now being held in the Union County Jail, face maximum life sentences and $4 million fines, Fernandez said. U.S. District Judge H. Lee Sarokin on Monday ordered the men held without bail pending trial.

Josephine Chouberrian, 38, and her 26-year-old sister, Jacqueline Minassian, of Watertown, Mass., in whose home the additional nine pounds of heroin was seized, and Fouad Gharib, a Canadian citizen, are due to be transferred to New Jersey to face charges in connection with the case, Fernandez said.

U.S. Customs and DEA agents in Newark began investigating on Oct. 7, after inspectors noticed that the sides of a suitcase carried by El-Homeidi, 28, were unusually thick, said Robert Van Etten, Customs special agent in charge.

An examination of the suitcase uncovered about 11 pounds of packaged heroin secreted in its sides, Van Etten said.

After El-Homeidi’s arrest on Oct. 7, Customs and DEA agents lured Tehfe, 31, and Rodriquez, 52, to a hotel in Newark to pick up the heroin on Oct. 13, when they were arrested. Fernandez declined to say how officials were led to Hamye and the Payano brothers.

Caption: PHOTO – JOHN DECKER / THE RECORD – Customs agents, from left, Robert E. Van Etten, Mark Shanley, and Kathleen Haage at Newark International Airport with nearly $170,000 in cash and 11 pounds of heroin, the largest-ever drug seizure at the airport.

SOVIET EMIGRES HELD IN GLASSES THEFT

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, October 28, 1990

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

Englewood Cliffs police have arrested a Queens, N.Y., couple they suspect of belonging to a group of Soviet emigres who steal designer sunglasses in the United States to sell on Russian black markets.

Eduard Fridman and Victoria Feldmus were being held in the Bergen County Jail on Saturday, each on $6,500 bail. They were charged with shoplifting and possession of four pairs of sunglasses, valued at $996, taken from a store in Fort Lee, said Englewood Cliffs Police Capt. George Kirschbaum.

Kirschbaum said authorities in Union City have an outstanding warrant forFeldmus, 30, on a shoplifting charge.

Police seized from the couple two key rings with about 60 keys for display cases and a notebook containing addresses of optical stores in New York City, eastern Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

Kirschbaum said Fridman, 32, and Feldmus are part of a large, well-organized group that ships stolen designer sunglasses to black markets in Russia for sale at more than three times their U.S. retail value.

“I’m sure there are a lot of victims in Bergen County, people who sell designer glasses,” Kirschbaum said, appealing for people to come forward with information. “Right now, if they make bail, they are going to hit the street and disappear. But, if we have more charges, they might panic and rat out their friends. “

Vahe Casparian, the owner of Crystal Optics in Englewood Cliffs, said he called the police when the couple hurriedly left his store Friday after he had become dissatisfied with their answers to his questions. Casparian said he has been wary of walk-in customers since two gunmen came into his store in April, handcuffed him, and stole about $30,000 in merchandise.

Kirschbaum, Patrolman James Rice, and Sgt. Thomas Bauernschmidt arrested the couple as they boarded a New York City taxicab parked across the street from Casparian’s store. Police traced the sunglasses to Sunny Vision at 2500 Lemoine Ave. in Fort Lee.

Sun J. Yoon, who owns the Fort Lee shop, said that when the couple came to his store on Friday, the woman obscured his view while the man, who was eating doughnuts out of a paper bag, roamed the store. The couple then left, he said.

“I turned around and saw the display case was empty,” Yoon said. “Then the Police Department called me and said, `You lost some glasses? “

POLICE CHECK NABS 28, SNARLS GWB TRAFFIC

By Michael O. Allen and Corky Siemaszko, Record Staff Writers | Sunday, October 28, 1990

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

A police checkpoint on the George Washington Bridge netted 28 arrests for drunken driving and other charges, but was called off less than two hours after it started because of severe traffic backups.

Westbound traffic on the bridge’s lower level was merged into two lanes at 8 p.m. Friday while a contingent of officers peered into passing cars looking for signs of intoxicated drivers. The checkpoint one of several mounted this year was ended around 10 p.m.

Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy called the roadblock the first at the bridge in two years a success and said his office will set up checkpoints on the bridge on a regular basis.

Twenty-eight people three from Bergen County were arrested on a variety of charges, including driving while under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicants, possession of controlled dangerous substances, and possession of drugs with the intent to distribute.

Bail amounts ranging from $250 for a 27-year-old East Orange man charged with driving under the influence and possession of drug paraphernalia to $25,000 for a Paterson man arrested on charges of possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia were set at the scene by Fort Lee Municipal Judge John R. DeSheplo.

Most of the defendants were released on their own recognizance.

The checkpoint was conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office, Port Authority Police, Bergen County Police, and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department. Police pulled over one of every 20 cars, but suspended the checks several times to let traffic through, Fahy said.

“The rule that we put in place was that if traffic backed up more than one mile that’s approximately 10 minutes we were going to let all the cars through,” Fahy said.

The roadblock was terminated when officials noted that traffic had not returned to normal after one of the suspensions.

Lt. Michael Koretzky, a Port Authority Police tour commander, said an accident two miles away, but unrelated to the roadblock, added to the backup.

“The last time we did a roadblock on the bridge, we were criticized because of long traffic delays,” Fahy said. “We were determined that that would never happen again.”

He said there had not been a roadblock in the past two years because of bridge construction.

NEIGHBORS SPAT GETS OUT OF HAND

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Saturday, October 27, 1990

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

A 31-year-old borough man was arrested Friday after he pointed a rifle at his neighbor’s head and then fought over the gun with him, police said. A shot was fired during the struggle.

Police Lt. Steven Nienstedt said the incident occurred early Friday morning when Jack Gordon of 135 Sylvan St. was confronted by neighbor Brian Murray of 121 Sylvan St., who objected that Gordon’s dog kept disrupting a party he was attending at 80 Highland Cross.

The third time Gordon went to retrieve the dog, Nienstedt said, Murray met him at the gate, and the men exchanged words.

Gordon then went into his house and returned with the rifle, placing its barrel on Murray’s forehead, Nienstedt said.

“I think we’ve got a problem here,” Gordon said, according to the police report.

Nienstedt said Murray and Gordon then struggled over the gun for about 30 seconds, during which the gun discharged. Neighbors called police, who arrested Gordon and seized the gun.

Gordon was charged with aggravated assault and possessing a firearm with the intent to use it unlawfully, Nienstedt said.

The lieutenant said it was unclear whether noise from the party disturbed Gordon, or whether he purposely released the dog. No one at the Rutherford police station received complaints of excessive noise from the party, he said.

SUSPECT IN BURGLARY SPREE WAS OUT ON BAIL

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, October 26, 1990

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

The chief suspect in more than 40 cat burglaries in four Bergen County communities over the past two months had been arrested on burglary charges in one of the towns in July and freed on bail.

Celious Lee Harmon of Teaneck, who was arrested Monday night on burglary charges, had spent nearly a month this summer in the Bergen County Jail after being arrested on burglary charges in Englewood, police said.

Harmon, who was captured Monday as he tried to flee from police at the Port Authority’s George Washington Bridge bus terminal in Manhattan, is fighting extradition to New Jersey, said Fort Lee Police Chief John Orso.

Police say that after Harmon posted $5,000 bail on the Englewood charges, he began burglarizing homes in Englewood, Englewood Cliffs, Fort Lee, and Tenafly in early September.

Orso said Harmon, 28, often rode the bus from New York City into affluent sections of the communities, broke into homes and stole valuables, and then rode the bus back across the bridge to the bus terminal, where he sold the stolen goods to support a crack cocaine habit.

Capt. C. Kenneth Tinsley of Englewood said that when the four-town burglary spree began Sept. 5, the Englewood Police Department knew who its chief suspect was. So did the Fort Lee Police Department.

“We knew who we were looking for because we had a set of footprints and a set of fingerprints,” Orso said. “We also knew he was traveling by bus between New York and New Jersey. “

The four communities formed a 30-person task force to track him down, but he eluded them. By the time he was captured Monday, he was suspected of more than 40 home burglaries in the four towns.

He was arrested after a chase by two Fort Lee and two Port Authority police officers at 180th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan.

Tinsley said that Harmon’s arrest in Englewood in July came after a chase. He allegedly had broken into a home in the East Hill section of city. Police also found property stolen from a residence on Gloucester Street strewn along the path of the chase.

Harmon was arrested in Fort Lee in 1985 and sentenced to five years in prison after conviction on three counts of burglary, two counts of receiving stolen goods, two counts for possession of burglary tools, and two counts of resisting arrest. He was also a suspect in 18 other burglaries in Fort Lee, Orso said. He was paroled in 1988.