OAKLAND MAN KILLED AS FIRE ENGULFS HOME

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, October 5, 1990

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

A predawn fire Thursday killed an Oakland man and destroyed a home he shared with a companion, who neighbors said was away on business.

Preliminary findings indicated the fire that killed John Casey, 59, and engulfed the house at 18 Mohawk Ave. was accidental, Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy said.

Fahy said the fire apparently started in the first-floor living room of the 1 1/2-story house. Casey was found dead in the foyer near the front door, Fahy said.

“Our theory is that he fell asleep in a chair while smoking, and the chair caught fire,” Fahy said. “The whole living room of the house collapsed into the basement. We believe that he tried to get out of the house, but was overcome by smoke and collapsed.”

Fahy said neighbors reported the fire at about 5:34 a.m.

Ann Chiusano of 16 Mohawk Ave. said she woke to a loud popping sound and looked out and saw the fire next door. Chiusano said Ruth Natale, who owns the home, was in Florida and is due back Saturday.

Cornelius Klepper, whose home at 19 Mohawk Ave. is directly across the street, said he heard his dog barking.

“I looked out of my bedroom window, and I saw the flames shooting up 30, 40 feet in the air,” he said.

Klepper said he saw Casey on Monday when he came into the Oakland Wine and Liquor Store, which Klepper owns, and gave him the lottery numbers he wanted for Monday and Thursday.

“It was the last time I saw him,” Klepper said. “It’s a funny thing, because I didn’t even think he was home. I thought he was with her. I think Ruthie works for a travel agency, and she was gone quite a bit. See, John, he won’t fly. So if Ruthie flies, he won’t go.”

Caption: COLOR PHOTO – STEVE HOCKSTEIN / THE RECORD – Firefighters removing the body of John Casey, who died in a fire that destroyed a home on Mohawk Avenue in Oakland early Thursday morning. Neighbors said that the owner of the house was away on a business trip.

THREATS ON JUDGE PROMPT ARREST

By Michael O. Allen and Caroline Herzfeld, Record Staff Writers | Thursday, October 4, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | One Star | NEWS | Page B04

State police have charged a 43-year-old Cliffside Park woman with making terroristic threats against an appellate court judge who is handling the appeal of her divorce case.

State police spokesman Danny Cosgrove said Judge James J. Petrella received two phone calls from Susan V. Waldman in his chamber in the Appellate Division of Superior Court in Hackensack Friday, threatening him with bodily harm.

Waldman was arrested at 10 p.m. Tuesday at her home at 250 Gorge St. She was released from the Bergen County Jail Wednesday after posting 10 percent of her $25,000 bail.

Waldman could be sentenced to five years in prison and fined up to $7,500 if she is convicted.

Waldman’s appeal of a Morris County Superior Court ruling in her divorce from Morristown dentist Herman Waldman was filed Oct. 24, 1989, and came before a three-judge panel headed by Petrella.

She said in phone calls to The Record this week that she filed charges of judicial misconduct against Petrella with John Sweeney, Governor Florio’s counsel. She claimed Petrella has been rubber-stamping all of her husband’s motions in the ongoing case while ignoring hers, and that Petrella was harassing her because of her charges against him.

Her former husband is a personal friend of Petrella and the two other judges hearing the case, Mrs. Waldman said in her calls to The Record.

Petrella and Herman Waldman could not be reached for comment.

COPS CHASE KEARNY MEN DOWN ROUTE 95

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, October 4, 1990

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

Two Kearny men led police on a high-speed chase along Route 95 and the New Jersey Turnpike before giving up after a foot chase and struggle. One of them suffered a superficial gunshot wound.

Donald V. Teixeira, 18, of 91 Beach St. and Richard T. Nice, 19, of 576 Forest St. were each charged with cocaine possession, assault on a police officer, and the receipt of stolen property, said Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy. They were in the Bergen County Jail Wednesday under $100,000 bail each.

Lt. Richard Touw, a state police spokesman, said Trooper Keith Nelson inflicted a superficial wound on Teixeira’s back during a scuffle for the trooper’s gun.

Touw said police gave chase after seeing the car a red 1983 Camaro being driven by Teixeira and reported stolen from Morris Plains on Monday traveling south on Route 95 in Fort Lee Tuesday night with no lights on.

During the pursuit, police saw Nice throwing from the car items they later determined were vials of crack, Touw said.

The Camaro careened out of control in Lyndhurst and struck a guardrail, he said. Bergen County and state police officers surrounded the car, but it began moving again, striking two patrol cars and causing minor damage.

The two suspects then fled on foot, Touw said, with three officers after them.

Touw said Teixeira hid in tall grass by the roadside, then grabbed Nelson’s gun when the trooper closed in on him. Touw said the gun accidentally discharged and grazed the suspect in the back.

Nice suffered face and head bruises in the car accident. Both suspects were treated at University Hospital in Newark and released into police custody.

Nelson was treated for cuts and bruises to the legs and left hand as a result of the struggle with Teixeira, Touw said.

DRIVER PULLED FROM WRECK, THEN CHARGED

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, September 30, 1990

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

A 33-year-old borough woman whose car hit a parked car early Saturday morning and burst into flames was pulled from the wreck by a policeman and a firefighter, authorities said.

Sandra L. Slockett of Center Avenue was rescued at about 1:30 a.m. by firefighter Albert Van Houten Jr. and Patrolman Michael Smith.

“When we got to the car, it was totally involved, and the driver was trapped in the vehicle,” said Midland Park Fire Chief Albert Van Houten Sr.

“Another 30 seconds, and it would have been too late. “

Van Houten said his son and Smith grabbed the door of the car, forced it open, and rescued Slockett, whom the chief described as semiconscious.

He said the accident occurred at 66 Bank St., a few doors from his home.

Slockett had been driving west on the street when the accident occurred, the chief said. He and his son left their house and headed down the street when they heard the fire alarm.

Police charged Slockett with careless driving, driving under the influence of alcohol, and driving with a suspended license.

A police spokesman said Slockett, who refused medical treatment when she was taken to The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood after the accident, told police she would return to the hospital later Saturday for treatment.

DENTIST FACES DRUG CHARGE

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Thursday, September 27, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B06

A Wyckoff dentist is facing charges of illegally obtaining 180 tablets of a prescription painkiller.

Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy said Dr. Steven Hutt was arrested in a Bergen County Narcotics Task Force investigation on Tuesday and charged with fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance. Hutt, 43, allegedly obtained the drug Fiorinal for personal use.

Hutt was arraigned on the charge Wednesday and was released on his own recognizance.

Fahy said Hutt phoned in the improper prescriptions to a pharmacy on at least six occasions between Dec. 15, 1987, and March 28, 1988.

Fahy said someone brought the alleged violations to the attention of task force investigators in the past month.

“This is a serious offense, given his position in the community,” Fahy said.

Hutt, reached at home on Wednesday, declined to comment. He referred questions to his lawyer, Andrew Baron of Cranford. Baron could not be reached by telephone on Wednesday.

Hutt could face 30 years in prison and fines of up to $45,000 if convicted.

PROSECUTOR WILL PROBE COP’S KILLING OF DOG

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, September 27, 1990

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

Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy said Wednesday that he will investigate a state trooper’s killing of a stray dog at a turnpike rest stop.

But New Jersey State Police said the trooper took the right action.

“Fearing he [the dog] was going to run into the road and cause an accident, the dog was destroyed,” said Sgt. David Duleba of the state police barracks in Newark. “As far as we can determine, everything was justified.”

Tim Sullivan, chief of the Bergen County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, had asked Fahy to look into the shooting.

State Police had called the county animal shelter after the dog, a rare blue Doberman, was spotted about 5 p.m. Tuesday at the New Jersey Turnpike rest stop in Ridgefield Park. After trying to catch it for 1 1/2 hours, warden Gary Kayser left to radio for help. Trooper Anthony DiPaula then shot the dog, authorities said.

“At that point, I started getting telephone calls [from witnesses],” Sullivan said. “I’ve never seen anything like this by a law-enforcement officer who is supposed to be a professional. They should have turned the scene over to the animal shelter and let them worry about catching the dog.”

The dog’s owner had not been located by Wednesday night. DiPaula could not be reached for comment.

DRUG LABORATORIES DAMAGED BY FIRE

By MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Sunday, September 23, 1990

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

Fire raged for two hours at the South Hackensack plant of a pharmaceutical company Saturday before Hackensack and South Hackensack firefighters could extinguish the flames.

Lt. Ralph Briggs, a Hackensack Fire Department battalion chief, said the fire severely damaged Tilden Laboratories Inc. at 89 Michael St.
Briggs said no one was injured in the fire, which started at about 1:30 a.m.

Notes: Bergen Page

ENGLEWOOD PILOT KILLED IN N.Y. ACCIDENT; PLANE CRASHES INTO HILLTOP LAKE IN FOG

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, September 21, 1990

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

A 44-year-old Englewood man who was trying to land his plane in dense fog and rain at an upstate New York airport was killed Wednesday when the plane crashed into a hilltop lake.

Divers removed the body of Mark Jacob Pressburger, 44, from the bottom of Sand Pond near Callicoon at about 2 p.m. Thursday.

Trooper Robert Gillespie, a spokesman for the New York State Police, said Pressburger was flying to meet his wife at the Concord Resort Hotel in Kiamesha Lake, N.Y., on Wednesday night.

Gillespie said Pressburger was apparently thrown clear of the aircraft when it shattered into three pieces as it hit the water.

“It appeared he was the only person on the plane,” Gillespie said. “They located his body at the bottom of the lake, near the wreckage of the plane.”

Greg Feith, an investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, said the Piper Apache took off from Teterboro Airport at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

As Pressburger approached Sullivan County Airport in White Lake, he had trouble attempting a landing on his first pass, Feith said, and was told to circle around and climb to 4,000 feet.

Airport officials and investigators reported that visibility in the area was poor due to dense fog and rain, and that the cloud cover was at 300 feet.

Pressburger, who an official said was co-owner of Bergen Wholesale Meats in Hackensack, acknowledged the instructions. Shortly afterward, at around 5:45 p.m., air controllers lost radio and radar contact with the plane in the Sand Pond area, about 11 miles northwest of the airport.

Gillespie said police began receiving calls reporting a crash shortly after 6 p.m. Searchers that night found debris from the plane, he said, but could not find the plane itself.

On Thursday morning, the searchers returned to Sand Pond Lake and found an oil slick that led them to the wreckage.

Feith said it might take weeks to determine the cause of the crash.

This article contains material from The Associated Press.

Caption: ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO – Divers returning ashore after finding the body of a pilot whose plane crashed Wednesday night in a Sullivan County, N.Y., lake.

SON HELD IN KILLING OF MOTHER; SHE WAS STABBED, BURNED IN RAMSEY

By Michael O. Allen and Chrisena A. Coleman, Record Staff Writers | Wednesday, September 19, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page A01

The youngest son of a Ramsey woman who was stabbed to death and burned 10 days ago was charged with murder and arson Tuesday.
Lee Vozza, 27, who relatives said lived off-and-on at his parents home at 128 Deer Trail North, was arrested in Rye, N.Y. He was being held without bail in Westchester County Jail pending a psychiatric evaluation.
Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy said his office would seek to have Vozza extradited to New Jersey. The prosecutor charges that Vozza stabbed his mother, Stephini Vozza, 54, 11 times in the neck and torso before setting the family house on fire in the early morning of Sept. 9.
Assistant Prosecutor Sharyn Peiffer said arson investigators found a blanket that smelled of gasoline next to the victim’s body.
However, Peiffer said, “She died of stab wounds. She did not die of carbon monoxide inhalation or burning due to the fire.”
Peiffer, head of homicide investigations, refused to comment on a possible motive for the killing.
The fire raged through the modern wood-and-glass, split-level home for about 30 minutes near 4 a.m. on Sept. 9. The contents of the house were burned beyond recognition, Peiffer said, and authorities could not determine if any items might be missing.
“The only charges filed right now are the murder and the arson charges,” Peiffer said. “Investigation is continuing into what was missing from the house. “
Fahy said Ramsey police put out a missing person alarm and stolen car report after determining that Lee Vozza and the victim’s 1980 Oldsmobile were gone after the fire.
Police in Rye found a disoriented Vozza at the Metro-North railroad station in that community early Tuesday.
“He was just sitting there looking real spacey, just staring straight ahead,” said Rye Police Detective Gene Berry.
Berry talked to Vozza, then led him across a parking lot to the nearby police station, where he asked Vozza his name and checked it through a police computer.
Peiffer said Vozza had apparently been staying at different New York locations since the fire.

Keywords: MURDER ; ARSON ; FIRE ; FAMILY ; RAMSEY

SON HELD IN KILLING OF MOTHER; SHE WAS STABBED, BURNED IN RAMSEY

By Michael O. Allen and Chrisena A. Coleman, Record Staff Writers | Wednesday, September 19, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page A01

The youngest son of a Ramsey woman who was stabbed to death and burned 10 days ago was charged with murder and arson Tuesday.

Lee Vozza, 27, who relatives said lived off-and-on at his parents home at 128 Deer Trail North, was arrested in Rye, N.Y. He was being held without bail in Westchester County Jail pending a psychiatric evaluation.

Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy said his office would seek to have Vozza extradited to New Jersey. The prosecutor charges that Vozza stabbed his mother, Stephini Vozza, 54, 11 times in the neck and torso before setting the family house on fire in the early morning of Sept. 9.

Assistant Prosecutor Sharyn Peiffer said arson investigators found a blanket that smelled of gasoline next to the victim’s body.

However, Peiffer said, “She died of stab wounds. She did not die of carbon monoxide inhalation or burning due to the fire.”

Peiffer, head of homicide investigations, refused to comment on a possible motive for the killing.

The fire raged through the modern wood-and-glass, split-level home for about 30 minutes near 4 a.m. on Sept. 9. The contents of the house were burned beyond recognition, Peiffer said, and authorities could not determine if any items might be missing.

“The only charges filed right now are the murder and the arson charges,” Peiffer said. “Investigation is continuing into what was missing from the house.”

Fahy said Ramsey police put out a missing person alarm and stolen car report after determining that Lee Vozza and the victim’s 1980 Oldsmobile were gone after the fire.

Police in Rye found a disoriented Vozza at the Metro-North railroad station in that community early Tuesday.

“He was just sitting there looking real spacey, just staring straight ahead,” said Rye Police Detective Gene Berry.

Berry talked to Vozza, then led him across a parking lot to the nearby police station, where he asked Vozza his name and checked it through a police computer.

Peiffer said Vozza had apparently been staying at different New York locations since the fire.