RESCUERS SEARCH IN VAIN FOR PLANE CRASH VICTIMS

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, January 2, 1992

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A08

Calmer waters Wednesday permitted a boat search of Rhode Island Sound, but rescue crews came up empty-handed in their attempt to locate a commuter airplane that vanished last week with three crew members, including a Dumont man.

New Year’s Day was the first day that weather was good enough to allow a sonar-equipped boat to get to the area of the crash, about eight miles east of Block Island.

Rescuers had little hope of finding any of the three men alive.

Pilot John E. Murphy Jr., 28, of Dumont had been training pilots Michael Kane, 31, of Walden, N.Y., and Michael Lurie, 28, of Massapequa, N.Y., on the twin-engine turboprop aircraft when it disappeared Saturday.

A helicopter had patroled the area, but high seas had prevented a search by a boat owned by American Underwater Search and Survey Ltd. A lobster boat east of Block Island dredged up pieces of the aircraft Sunday, including a 30-foot section of the right wing, a fuselage section with seats, a door with stairs, and part of a bulkhead.

Another boat found a four-foot tail section on Monday about four miles south of Block Island.

HOMEMADE PLANE CRASHES; FRANKLIN LAKES MAN KILLED; CRAFT HIT CABLE OVER U.S. PARK

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, October 25, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | 6 Star | NEWS | Page B03

A 26-year-old Franklin Lakes man was killed Wednesday when a single-engine plane he was flying over a national park hit a television cable, landed upside down in the Delaware River, and broke into pieces, authorities said.

Laurence W.P. Rizzo died instantly from the impact of the experimental, homemade aircraft on the water, Pike County Coroner James J. Martin said.

Rizzo had been a flight instructor for about 15 months at Sussex Airport. He had taken off from the airport at about 2 p.m., airport manager Paul Styger said. The plane crashed about 50 minutes later in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in Pike County, chief ranger Barry Sullivan said.

Rizzo was pulled from 4 feet of water, Sullivan said. Martin pronounced him dead at 3:12 p.m. He said Rizzo died of a broken neck.

Rizzo was alone when the plane crashed. The tail section separated from the rest of the fuselage.

Styger said Rizzo, who was born and raised in Paterson before moving to Franklin Lakes in 1976, had been teaching flying at the airport while building up time to apply for work as either a corporate or commercial airline pilot. Rizzo was a 1990 graduate of LeTourneau University in Long View, Texas.

Witnesses told Stroudsburg radio station WSBG-WVPO the plane had been flying low and appeared to have engine trouble as it dipped over the river, striking a cable line.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the cause of the crash, agency spokesman Duncan Pardue said Thursday.

Pardue described the aircraft as a wood and fiberglass plane built from a kit.

This article contains material from The Associated Press.

Keywords: PENNSYLVANIA; AVIATION; ACCIDENT; DEATH; FRANKLIN LAKES; MAN; LAURENCE RIZZO

AIRPORT DRUG BUST SETS RECORD 40 POUNDS OF HEROIN SEIZED

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Saturday, August 24, 1991

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

Customs agents arrested two sisters arriving at Newark Airport from Sweden on Thursday with about 40 pounds of heroin, worth $18 million on the street, authorities said Friday.
“This is the largest heroin seizure at Newark International Airport,” said Robert Van Etten, special agent in charge for the U.S. Customs Service.
The previous largest shipment seized at the airport was 11.7 pounds on Oct. 11, 1990, Van Etten said. “As the number of international flights at Newark Airport increases, U.S. Customs has seen an increase in narcotics smuggling at Newark,” he added.
Judy Merle Corbin, 42, of Atlanta and her sister, Sandra Sue Corbin, 41, of Kansas City, Mo., were arrested about 6:30 p.m. Thursday in possession of a suitcase and roller bag that had secret compartments and false bottoms filled with heroin, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Ana T. Escobar.
Van Etten said the women were couriers for a Nigerian heroin-smuggling organization. The organization shipped the heroin from Thailand to Sweden, then employed the women to bring it into the United States, he said.
Van Etten declined to disclose what led Customs to the women or the circumstances of the arrest. He did say that the women had lengthy criminal records.
They were charged with importing heroin and were being held without bail in the custody of U.S. marshals, Escobar said.

Keywords: NEWARK; AVIATION; DRUG; CRIME; RECORD

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.

BRIDGE CHIEF TAKES WING; TOP COP AT AIR HUBS IN NATION’S CAPITAL

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, February 27, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | Section: SOUTHEAST/YOUR TOWN RECORD | Page 3

The retired commander of the George Washington Bridge took down the awards and plaques adorning his office with a pang of sadness, but a few weeks later, he was hanging them up at his new job as police chief for Washington’s airports.
Capt. Joseph Hurtuk went from overseeing one of the world’s busiest bridges to monitoring the airports that ferry some of the nation’s top lawmakers. In January, Hurtuk became police chief and chief of operations for Washington’s National and Dulles International airports.
“Being a Jersey kid all my life, it’s a big move. I’m not frightened of it though,” said Hurtuk, 45.
During his 23 years with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police, Hurtuk held several positions, including head of the Port Authority Police Academy and commander of the George Washington Bridge and Bus Station for the last 3 1/2 years.
Hurtuk’s most important task as bridge commander was keeping the traffic moving on the Hudson River crossing. With 300,000 motorists using the bridge each day, even a minor accident can snarl traffic for hours.
Over the years, Hurtuk’s job became increasingly difficult due to the growing volume of motorists, as well as the drug traffic that used the bridge.
Hurtuk, who retired as bridge commander in December, drew words of praise from Port Authority Police Chief Charles Newman and Ken Philmus, manager of the bridge.
“Joe had a tremendous impact on deciding which roadways to close and which ones to keep open,” said Philmus.
Added Newman, “We never gave him an assignment that he didn’t do to the best of his ability and in a superior manner. “
Hurtuk, who lives in Hillsborough, displayed the same devotion to volunteer work for retarded children and adults, becoming the director of New Jersey’s Law Enforcement Torch Run in 1984. New Jersey police officers have raised thousands of dollars for the Special Olympics, and the tally exceeded $300,000 in 1989.
“It’s just a way of giving back to people who are less fortunate than I am,” Hurtuk said. “Special Olympians try to do their best, and we in law enforcement have a certain synergism with them because we are trying to do our best, too.”

Keywords: FORT LEE; BRIDGE; POLICE; OFFICIAL; RETIREMENT; WASHINGTON, DC; AVIATION; JOSEPH HURTUK

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.

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.