COPS CAST MASSIVE DWI NET

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Saturday, December 14, 1991

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

More than 200 law enforcement vehicles were ordered onto the streets and highways of Bergen County on Friday night in a 12-hour campaign to get drunken drivers off the road.

Operation Eagle was launched at 6 p.m. and involved all divisions of the Bergen County Public Safety Department, the state police, and officers from each of the county’s 70 towns. It was the brainchild of John Pescatore, director of the county’s Highway Safety Office.

“The eagle may have landed on Friday the 13th, but the feathers will be flying for a long time to come,” Pescatore said, because the crackdown is to continue into January.

The effort’s cost will be covered through fines levied against people convicted of driving drunk, not by the taxpayers, Pescatore said.

The state police established a sobriety checkpoint in Rutherford, and 15 troopers were deployed on Interstates 80 and 95 and routes 3, 4, 17, and 208.

The Bergen County Police Department had 20 cars in the field; the Prosecutor’s Office 15. “DWI Task Force” decals were displayed on the vehicles.

Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy said deterrence was the main focus. He said people tend to drink more during the holiday season, especially on weekends.

“If we end up with no arrests, I will be happy, because it would mean that we’ve had an impact,” Fahy said.

N. BERGEN COP HELD ON DRUG CHARGES

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Monday, November 18, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | 1 Star | NEWS | Page A03

North Bergen Patrolman Michael Williams was suspended from the township Police Department on Saturday after he was arrested in Union City on drug charges, authorities said.

Williams was being held without bail in the Hudson County Jail on Sunday, following his arrest by members of the Jersey City Police narcotics squad.

Jersey City Police Sgt. Brian McDonough said Williams would face charges of cocaine possession, distribution, aggravated assault on a police officer, and resisting arrest. North Bergen Police Lt. Bruce McBreen declined comment on the case Sunday, but he confirmed that Police Chief Angelo Busacco had suspended Williams, 34.

About 7:30 p.m. Saturday, McDonough said, Williams bought about 5 grams of cocaine in three clear plastic bags at 61 Graham St., a Jersey City residence that the squad had under surveillance because neighbors had complained of drug activities there.

He drove up to the house, knocked on a window and was let in through a door, McDonough said. When he emerged moments later and left in a car occupied by a woman, the detectives followed in unmarked cars, later stopping Williams at 13th Street and Kennedy Boulevard in Union City.

Williams appeared nervous and informed the detectives he is a North Bergen police officer, McDonough said.

After he was placed in the back of one of the unmarked cars, Williams “became very abusive,” McDonough said, and “in a threatening manner, quickly pulled up his sweat shirt” to reveal a small revolver in a holster.

The officer disarmed Williams and retrieved the drug.

The detectives later executed a search warrant at 61 Graham St., where they arrested three people and recovered $3,029 and an undetermined quantity of cocaine.

FIRED WORKER CHARGED WITH ATTACKING BOSS

By MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Saturday, November 2, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | Two Star B | NEWS | Page A02

A 31-year-old man who police said attacked his supervisor when she fired him for showing up drunk for work at the Dwight-Englewood School was being held in the Bergen County Jail on Friday.

Raymond Todd Walker of Morris Avenue, Englewood, was charged with aggravated assault, criminal mischief, and disorderly conduct, said Englewood police Capt. C. Kenneth Tinsley. Bail was set at $9,000.

The supervisor, whom police declined to identify, noticed that Walker was drunk when he arrived at work shortly before 8 a.m. Friday, authorities said. She told him his employment at the school was terminated. Tinsley said the supervisor told police Walker became irate, showering her with obscenities.

She said Walker then grabbed her by the arms, choked her, threw her over a desk, and banged her head over a partition. She was treated at Englewood Hospital for minor injuries and was released.

Police arrested Walker near the school on Palisade Avenue a few minutes after the incident. School officials could not be reached for comment.

SUSPECT CAPTURED, WITH HELP OF TIPSTER; LEFT SON WITH COPS AS HE DUCKED ARREST

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, July 19, 1991

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

An anonymous tip Wednesday led to the capture of a 42-year-old man who last week had fled police leaving his son in their custody after being recognized as wanted on several charges.
Officers from five municipal police departments chased Nicola Lomuscio after he bolted from his home at 176 Woodland Ave. and arrested him about 4:45 p.m., said Little Ferry Detective Sgt. Michael Walsh.
Lomuscio was being held on $56,536 bail in the Bergen County Jail on Thursday. Little Ferry police charged him with eluding police and with two counts of resisting arrest. Police in Hackensack, where the case originated, charged Lomuscio with violating a restraining order, harassment, theft, and escape from custody.
Hackensack Police Capt. John Aletta said the incident began July 11 at their headquarters, when an officer recognized Lomuscio as the man they wanted in connection with a domestic abuse case and other charges. Lomuscio had come to report that someone had assaulted his 10-year-old son. He fled, leaving the boy, Aletta said. The assault claim was determined later to be unfounded, police said.
Hackensack police released the boy to his mother, who lives in the city.
Police had been unable to find Lomuscio at home since that incident, until a caller told police Wednesday that Lomuscio was heading toward Little Ferry, Aletta said. Four borough officers were waiting outside his home when he arrived. He defied the officers, entered the home, and escaped out the back door, Walsh said.
Police from South Hackensack, Moonachie, and Ridgefield Park and a Bergen County Police K-9 unit joined the brief chase before Lomuscio was arrested on Route 46 in Little Ferry, Walsh said.

Keywords: POLICE; LITTLE FERRY; HACKENSACK; ABUSE; THEFT; ASSAULT

2 FACE SEX CHARGES IN ATTACK ON BOY, 16

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, March 31, 1991

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

Two Rutherford men were charged Saturday with sexual assault and criminal sexual contact with a 16-year-old boy.
Richard Amato, 32, of 10 Ayre Place was arrested about 9 p.m. Friday at his business, Big Rich’s Music at 114 Park Ave., and was being held on $20,000 bail in the Bergen County Jail, said First Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Paul Brickfield.
John Capodanno, 36, of 346 Union Ave. was arrested about 4 a.m. Saturday at his home, but posted the $20,000 bail and was released, Brickfield said.
Rutherford police detectives and the Bergen County Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Unit are investigating, Brickfield said, declining to discuss the case further.
Brickfield said the investigation of Amato and Capodanno is unrelated to that of another Rutherford man, Charles W. Confer Jr., 30, of 53 Feronia Way, whose case is now before a grand jury.
Confer was charged March 3 with two counts of sexual assault on a minor after two youths reported incidents a day earlier to police.
He was being held on $50,000 bail. Authorities at the jail would not confirm whether he was still there.

Keywords: SEX; ASSAULT; YOUTH; RUTHERFORD; ABUSE

BOSTON ACCIDENT KILLS N.J. STUDENT; CELTICS PLAYER IS ARRESTED

By Michael O. Allen and Chrisena A. Coleman, Record Staff Writers | Saturday, March 23, 1991

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

A 20-year-old Ridgewood woman and a college classmate, on their way to buy refreshments during a study break, were struck and killed in Boston early Friday by a van driven by a Boston Celtics player who had been drinking, police said.
Michelle Dartley of 118 Madison Place, Ridgewood, a Boston University sophomore, and An Trinh, 21, of Placentia, Calif., were pronounced dead on arrival at Beth Israel Hospital shortly after the accident on Commonwealth Avenue at about 1:45 a.m., authorities said.
Celtics reserve guard Charles Smith, 23, was arrested near the entrance to the Massachusetts Turnpike, about a mile from where the women were hit, police said. Smith pleaded not guilty to two counts of vehicular homicide, driving under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of an accident. He was released on $100,000 personal recognizance bail.
Albert E. Dartley said he was told that his daughter and her friend had taken a break from studying and were on their way to buy soft drinks at a convenience store when the accident occurred.
“It’s just not real. It is hard for me to accept,” Dartley said, shaking his head in disbelief. “I went to visit her last weekend. Thank God I didn’t cancel that trip.
“She had truly excellent values, just a very decent person, very fair-minded. “
Teachers and school officials at Ridgewood High School, where Michelle graduated in 1989, said her strength was in writing and she wrote for the school newspaper and a school literary magazine. She was a reporter for Boston University’s newspaper, The Daily Free Press.
“She had a really good sense for literature, a very good critical sense,” said Ridgewood English teacher Larry Coyle.
Police said a breath test showed Smith had a blood-alcohol level of 0.06 percent. A reading of 0.10 means a person is legally drunk in Massachusetts.

Keywords: ACCIDENT; RIDGEWOOD; DEATH; VICTIM; MOTOR VEHICLE; ALCOHOL; ABUSE; BASKETBALL; PROFESSIONAL; MASSACHUSETT

Caption: PHOTO – MICHELLE DARTLEY

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

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