PRESS COVERAGE OF DEAD TEEN ASSAILED

By Laura Impellizzeri and Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writers | Sunday, May 5, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A06

Fair Lawn residents said Saturday that autopsy results showing that alcohol played no role in the death of a local 15-year-old at a New Year’s Eve party also indicate that her family and the party hosts were treated unfairly by the press and the justice system.
They agreed, however, that teenage drinking is a dangerous problem and should not be ignored by parents or prosecutors.
Autopsy results released Friday show that Coleen Draney, captain of Fair Lawn High School’s junior varsity soccer team, died of heart failure while attending a party given by a classmate, Susan Gennat.
Susan’s mother, Gisela Gennat, was ordered in March to pay a $1,000 fine, perform 25 days of community service, and write an essay on “Why One Should Not Serve Alcohol to Minors,” which was published in The Record on Friday. Gennat declined to comment Saturday.
Fair Lawn Prosecutor Ira Levine said Gennat was prosecuted because alcohol was made available to minors, not because of Draney’s death. Fair Lawn police initially suspected that Draney died of an alcohol overdose after drinking and consuming “Jell-O shots” gelatin laced with vodka.
Margaret Wilde, a neighbor of both families, said: “The media . . . crucified the Gennats. That same thing that happened to the Gennats and the Draneys could have happened to anyone who has teenage kids. “
“It’s unfortunate they had to be in the spotlight for no reason,” agreed another neighbor, who would not give her name.
Prosecutor John J. Fahy said: “It’s the media that made that portrayal, not my office. We didn’t have the toxicological report, and I know I was very careful not to say what the cause of death was. “
Draney’s father, Robert, criticized the release of the autopsy report, but would not elaborate. He, too, complained about press coverage, which he said “crucified” his daughter.
Jerome Weiner, president of the Fair Lawn Board of Education, said: “I certainly hope that it’s a lesson, whether it’s a teenager or adult, what might happen when you are not careful. I would really hate to think that students would have the perception that it was OK [to drink] since it [Draney’s death] has not been related to drinking. “

Keywords: FAIR LAWN; ALCOHOL; ABUSE; YOUTH; FAMILY; DEATH; VICTIM; HEALTH; FINE

CHILD DROWNS IN RAIN PUDDLE MOTHER FINDS HIM ATOP COVERED POOL

Byline: By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Sunday, April 28, 1991

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

A 2 1/2-year-old boy drowned Saturday in a puddle of rainwater atop a covered swimming pool in the back yard of his Pine Street home, police said.
Emanual Balseiro was pronounced dead at 11:35 a.m., 50 minutes after paramedics took him to Hackensack Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Police Capt. John Aletta said the drowning was an accident.
Officers Jeff Simone and Ernie Wilczewski, the first to arrive shortly after a 10:14 a.m. call to police, applied mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and other measures, but were unable to revive the boy, Aletta said. Paramedics took over from the officers.
Detective Sgt. Walter Krakowski said the drowning occurred as the family went about a routine that is normal for a Saturday morning in spring: children playing around the house as their parents did yard work.
Salvador Balseiro, the boy’s 63-year-old grandfather, who is visiting with his wife from Valencia, Spain, confirmed that was what happened.
With Myrna Ubides, a cousin of Lucy Balseiro, the boy’s mother, interpreting, the grandfather said: “They were all working around the house when they noticed the kid was missing. He was always around his mother. They thought the boy was upstairs with his sister.”
They started looking around the house when they didn’t find Emanual upstairs, Salvador Balseiro said. That was when the boy’s mother discovered her son.
“The next you heard was the mother screaming,” Krakowski said. “The father jumped into the pool and pulled the baby out.”
The child’s father, Ed Balseiro, and mother were with the family pastor Saturday afternoon, Ubides said. The couple have two other children, Rosio, 11, and Eduardo, 8.

Keywords: CHILD; ACCIDENT; SWIMMING; DEATH; VICTIM; HACKENSACK

FBI ARRESTS MAN IN FAKE DEATH SCAM

MICHAEL ALLEN | Friday, April 26, 1991

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

A 40-year-old North Bergen man who allegedly faked his wife’s and son’s deaths, then tried to collect on a $2 million life insurance policy, has been arrested by the FBI.
Ahmad Sadiq Mufti of 3642 Lincoln Drive was charged in U.S. Magistrate’s Court in Newark on Thursday with one count of mail fraud in a scheme to defraud Amex Life Assurance Co. of San Rafael, Calif., of the money between 1987 and 1989, FBI Special Agent William Tonkin said.
Mufti gave up without incident when FBI agents went to his home about noon Wednesday to arrest him, Tonkin said. A hearing will be scheduled to transfer Mufti to California, where he would be tried on the charge, the agent said.
If convicted, Mufti faces up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines, Tonkin said.
John Holford, a special agent at the Oakland FBI bureau, said Mufti’s wife and son were in Pakistan. He said he did not know whether Mufti collected any of the money.
Representatives for Amex could not be reached for comment.

Keywords: NORTH BERGEN; FAMILY; DEATH; FRAUD; INSURANCE

BURGLARY SUSPECT MAY NOT HAVE DROWNED

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Saturday, April 20, 1991

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

A burglary suspect thought to have drowned after he leaped off a bridge into the Passaic River after a police chase may have escaped, police said Friday.
Police have developed new information that Herbert Pitts of 43 Graham Ave., Paterson, may have been seen running down a nearby highway ramp after the jump, police Lt. Ron Natale said.
“We combed the river thoroughly Wednesday and again yesterday,” Natale said. “We didn’t find any body. We are not absolutely positive that he did go into the river. We believe he may have, but there is a chance he did escape. Right now, we’ll continue on the assumption that Pitts is somewhere out there, possibly alive.”
A suspect in custody, Tyrone Jones, 28, of Paterson identified Pitts, 32, from a photograph as a suspect involved in the chase, which led to the drowning death of Terry Wilson, 25, also of Paterson.
The incident began Wednesday afternoon at the scene of a burglary in Hackensack. With Hackensack, Lodi, and Elmwood Park police pursuing, the suspects fled in a stolen van, weaving through traffic on Routes 46, 20, and 80 before crashing in the eastbound Route 80 lanes in Elmwood Park.
The men abandoned the van and ran across the highway, and Pitts and Wilson leaped 50 feet off the bridge into the river, near Market Street. Wilson’s body was later pulled from the river. Jones, who did not jump and was caught, was being held in the Bergen County Jail Annex on $100,000 bail.
Jones, charged by Hackensack police with 11 counts of theft, five counts of burglary, and one count each of receiving stolen property and resisting arrest, cooperated with investigators, giving them information on burglaries in Carlstadt, Fair Lawn, Maywood, Wyckoff, and other Bergen County communities.

Keywords: HACKENSACK; BRIDGE; BURGLARY; RIVER; MISSING PERSON; DEATH; VICTIM

VANDALISM INCIDENTS PROBED IN TEANECK

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Saturday, April 13, 1991

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

Township police are investigating five incidents of vandalism along Teaneck Road in which windows at two businesses, a private residence, and the Bryant School were broken Thursday night.
In the first incident, about 5:30 p.m., a woman reported that someone threw a rock through the passenger side window of her car parked on Sherman Avenue, near Teaneck Road.
The vandalism occurred in the wake of an impromptu march Wednesday by students marking the first anniversary of the death of Phillip C. Pannell, a black 16-year-old who was shot by a white township police officer. The window of a police cruiser was shattered.

Keywords: TEANECK; DEMONSTRATION; ANNIVERSARY; VANDALISM; POLICE; SHOOTING; YOUTH; DEATH

WASHED-UP BODY MAY BE LOST SUSPECT

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Wednesday, April 10, 1991

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

A body found Tuesday on the muddy bank of the Hackensack River may be that of a suspect who jumped into the frigid water March 14 while being pursued from the scene of a burglary, police said. The man is believed to be John Quinones.
Police say detectives investigating the March 14 burglary of the Liz Claiborne warehouse in Secaucus identified Quinones, 23, of Bayonne as one of the two suspects who fled in a van from the scene. The men abandoned the van and jumped in the river to avoid being caught.
Police found Raymond Simone, 32, of Jersey City, at about 12:30 a.m. on the west bank of the river, three hours after the search began.
Simone, suffering from exposure, was treated at Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center. He was charged with two counts of burglary, one count of theft, and eluding police, and later was transferred to the Hudson County Jail.
Surveyors working in the area found the body along the riverbank about 100 feet south of the North Bergen Foundry at about 1 p.m. Tuesday, police said.

Keywords: SECAUCUS; DEATH; PROBE

PANNELLS MAKING A `MEMORIAL JOURNEY’

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, April 10, 1991

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

The family of Phillip C. Pannell will make a “memorial journey” to the youth’s grave in Fair Lawn this morning.
The event, announced Tuesday by the Rev. Herbert Daughtry on the steps of the Municipal Building, is one of several planned today to mark the anniversary of Pannell’s death.
Daughtry was joined by Pannell’s parents, Phillip D. and Thelma Pannell; their 14-year-old daughter, Natasha, and black leaders as he announced the graveside visit. The Pannells will travel to the grave by car with members of community groups, all assembling at 10 a.m. at the Shiloh AME Zion Church in Englewood.
Another observance is planned today at the township high school, which Pannell attended. Principal James DeLaney said students will reflect on the events of the past year between 1:15 and 2 p.m.
Pannell, 16, was shot by Officer Gary S. Spath, who is awaiting trial on a charge of reckless manslaughter. Police say the black youth was reaching for a loaded gun when he was shot by the white officer. Witnesses have said Pannell’s arms were raised. The shooting inflamed racial tensions in Teaneck.
Wednesday night, Daughtry, a Teaneck resident who is national minister of the House of the Lord Pentecostal Church in Brooklyn, is scheduled to preside at a memorial service for Pannell at the Community Baptist Church in Englewood. It will begin at 7.
On Saturday, marchers will meet at noon at the Bryant School, near where the shooting took place, and walk to the Bergen County Courthouse in Hackensack, Daughtry said.
Also present at Tuesday’s news conference were the Rev. Al Sharpton; Dr. William B. Jones of the African Council; Robert H. Robinson of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; and the Rev. Stanley Dennison, president of the Black Clergy Council of Englewood-Teaneck and vicinity.
Record Staff Writer David Voreacos contributed to this article.

Keywords: TEANECK; BLACK; YOUTH; SHOOTING; DEATH; POLICE; ANNIVERSARY

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

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

WOMAN’S ASHES WASHED ASHORE; REMAINS FOUND IN CAN AT RESERVOIR

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, February 21, 1991

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

Woodcliff Lake police are waiting for relatives to reclaim a canister containing the ashen remains of a Westwood resident.
A Hackensack Water Co. maintenance crew found the canister on the bank of the Woodcliff Lake Reservoir.
It was the wish of the deceased, whom police declined to identify, that her remains be scattered over the reservoir, said Woodcliff Lake Police Capt. Richard Poliey.
“They just didn’t use the proper procedure or contact the water company for permission,” Poliey said.
Martha Green, a Hackensack Water Co. spokeswoman, said that, much as the water company respects a person’s last wish, this was one she thought the company could not grant.
“This comes somewhat as a surprise to me that that is how it got there. I haven’t seen a formal request, and I don’t think that is something that we could or would grant a request for. “
Poliey said he didn’t know how long the canister had been in the water or when it washed ashore.
The canister was sealed and the ashes did not get into the water, Green said. Workers found the canister while cleaning the bank of the reservoir Friday.
Woodcliff Lake is a storage reservoir that feeds the larger Oradell Reservoir, where the Hackensack Water Co. draws water for treatment and purification, before piping it to customers in 60 towns in Bergen and Hudson counties.

Keywords: WESTWOOD; WOMAN; DEATH; WOODCLIFF LAKE; LAKE; WATER; SUPPLY; UTILITY