KIDNAPPED MAN’S BODY FOUND

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Saturday, June 15, 1991

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

A 55-year-old Fort Lee man kidnapped earlier this week was found shot to death in the trunk of his car at LaGuardia Airport, authorities said.
Ralph DeSimone Jr. of 1516 10th St. was last seen leaving Brushless Car Wash at 1620 Bergen Blvd., where he was a manager, about 3 p.m. Wednesday, Bergen County Prosecutor John J. Fahy said. His family received a call demanding $150,000 ransom later that afternoon.
DeSimone, whose body was found late Thursday afternoon, was shot three times in the head and twice in the back, authorities said. He was hog-tied and had a plastic bag over his head.
The FBI is investigating whether DeSimone was involved with organized crime, Special Agent William Tonkin said. The Associated Press reported that New York police said DeSimone was a Gambino family associate.
“The motivation for the kidnapping is not known yet,” Tonkin said. “There are several avenues of investigation. Certainly, an organized-crime link will be pursued.” DeSimone had served a 10-year sentence, beginning in 1976, on federal drug charges, authorities said.
No witnesses to the kidnapping have come forward, Fort Lee Police Chief John Orso said. The ransom call came into the car wash, owned by DeSimone’s son, Anthony, about 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, Fahy said.
“We’ve got Ralph, and if you want to see him alive, come up with $150,000,” Fahy said a male voice told a car wash employee.
The family waited in vain for information on where to pay the ransom, Orso said. They called Fort Lee police at about 9:30 p.m. to report the kidnapping and the ransom demand, he added.
An FBI all-points bulletin led Port Authority police to DeSimone’s white-and-red 1984 Oldsmobile Cutlass in a long-term parking lot at the airport at about 6:30 p.m. Thursday, a New York City police spokesman said.

Keywords: FORT LEE; MAN; KIDNAPPING; VICTIM; SHOOTING; MURDER; RALPH DeSIMONE JR

FT. LEE MAN INJURED BY CAR HIT AT ROADSIDE PHONE BOOTH

By Michael O. Allen and Caroline Hendrie, Record Staff Writers | Sunday, May 19, 1991

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

An out-of-control car careered off Sylvan Avenue in Englewood Cliffs on Saturday and smashed into a telephone booth, severely injuring a 49-year-old Fort Lee man.
Kazuo Matsumoto of 8 Buckingham Road was listed in critical condition at University Hospital in Newark, where he was rushed by helicopter after the 12:10 p.m. accident.
The driver, Nathan Andors, 73, of 2200 N. Central Road, Fort Lee, suffered a minor cut to the forehead and was treated at Englewood Hospital and released, police said.
No charges had been filed in connection with the accident as of Saturday evening, said Lt. William Gallagher of the Englewood Cliffs police.
One bystander, who declined to be identified, said that Matsumoto was knocked about 25 feet in the air when the car struck him and that his glasses and shoes flew in different directions.
Andors car, southbound on Sylvan Avenue, uprooted the telephone booth, which was in front of a bus stop about 20 feet from the corner of Bayview Avenue. The car also knocked down a traffic control box, exposing electrical wires, and came to rest with its front end buried in a Public Service Electric and Gas Co. utility pole.
Gallagher said Matsumoto was talking on the phone with a member of his family when the accident occurred.
A University Hospital spokeswoman said that Matsumoto underwent surgery Saturday afternoon and that he was in critical condition when he left the operating room at about 6:30 p.m. Family members visited Saturday evening, said Dorothy Crews, assistant director of nursing.
In a ride that took less than five minutes, Matsumoto was taken to the hospital in the state-owned Northstar emergency medical evacuation helicopter. University Hospital is the only North Jersey medical facility classified as a Level I trauma center, equipped to handle the most serious cases, said John Nichols, a hospital flight medic who treated Matsumoto.
Nichols said the helicopter and its crew were in Somerset for a training seminar when they were summoned at 12:26 p.m. to the accident scene. The helicopter landed on the hospital’s roof at 12:56 p.m.
The Northstar helicopter has been used with increasing frequency in Bergen County recently, but it is still not common for the helicopter to be summoned to the area, Nichols said.
The accident disrupted traffic in both directions on Sylvan Avenue, which is Route 9W.
For about four hours, southbound traffic was diverted onto Route 9W north through the parking lot of the executive offices of the Prentice-Hall publishing company. Northbound traffic was also diverted.
Both northbound lanes were reopened about 3:40 p.m., and one southbound lane was reopened at 4 p.m. The remaining southbound lane was barricaded until about 4:45 p.m. to allow workers to repair electrical wires.

Keywords: FORT LEE; MOTOR VEHICLE; TELEPHONE; ACCIDENT; ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS; VICTIM; KAZUO MATSUMOTO, NATHAN ANDORS

DRUG DEALER RIVALRY HELPS COPS TIP LEADS TO ARREST OF 2 MEN

Byline: By Michael O. Allen and John Cichowski, Record Staff Writers | Monday, April 29, 1991

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

When Harry Kittrell returned from New York City early Saturday allegedly with a stash of cocaine and crack vials a convoy of police were waiting for him and a companion as their car crossed the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey.
Police said Kittrell is the latest reputed narcotics dealer to be turned in by rivals in a growing pattern of double-crosses that have become common in local drug traffic wars.
“There’s no better way to eliminate your competition than call the cops and `rat them out,” reasoned one narcotics detective.
“It happens all the time,” said Fort Lee Police Chief John Orso. “One dealer cheats another out of a couple of thousand dollars, so he waits for the day he can turn him in. “
Hackensack police believe the anonymous call they received at 1 a.m. Saturday came from a rival of Kittrell’s. The caller told them the make and model of the car he would be driving, and the time he was expected back from the city with drugs.
About 15 unmarked police cars, including state troopers and Port Authority police, kept the 23-year-old Hackensack man under surveillance after his car entered Fort Lee and drove to Lodi, said Port Authority Police Officer Peter Heller and Hackensack police Capt. John Aletta.
As the car left one jurisdiction and entered another along Routes 80 and 17, various police departments took up the surveillance, said police. They finally pulled Kittrell’s car over in a parking lot off Essex Street in Lodi, said Heller.
Police said Kittrell, of 185 Pine St., Hackensack, and James Johnson, 28, address unknown, had chunks of rock cocaine hidden in a plastic sandwich bag and a supply ofcrack vials. They were charged with drug possession, possession with intent to distribute, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Kittrell was being held in lieu of $15,000 bail in the Bergen County Jail. He had been out on bail from a November arrest for possession of heroin in Hackensack. Johnson was being held in lieu of $7,500 bail.
Police said Johnson, whom police described as Kittrell’s accomplice, declined to respond at first when he was read his rights. But a few moments later, police said, he began spitting rock cocaine out of his mouth.
Law enforcement authorities said it is becoming more common for drug dealers to inform police about their competitors.
“Nobody announces to police that he’s a rival drug dealer, but the type of information you’re getting generally can only come from a few kinds of sources, and one of them is a competitor,” said Passaic County Prosecutor Ronald S. Fava. “Usually, it’s some kind of grievance that prompts the call, like a turf war or a money dispute.”
An urban narcotics officer, who asked not to be identified, said competitors and spurned lovers often are the best sources for drug information.
“Sometimes a competitor will ask the ex-girlfriend about the route, then he’ll call police with the information,” said the narcotics officer. “It’s the least violent way to kill off the competition.”

Keywords: POLICE; DRUG

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.

SUSPECT HELD IN ASSAULT ON FAMILY IN FORT LEE

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, April 24, 1991

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

A 22-year-old Bronx man was being held on $250,000 bail Tuesday on charges that he was one of five men who assaulted a borough family during a robbery about seven months ago, police said.
Tri Minh Le was arraigned in Fort Lee Municipal Court on Tuesday on charges of burglary, robbery, and kidnapping, and was being held in the Bergen County Jail, Fort Lee Police Chief John Orso said.
The victims, whom Orso declined to identify because other suspects have not been arrested, saw Tri Minh Le’s face when he took off his mask during the attack, Orso said. The victims identified him in a police picture line-up, Orso said.
He said the suspects broke into the single-family home about 2 a.m. on Sept. 15 and menaced the family an Asian couple in their 50s and their teenage children. The man was beaten and required about 100 stitches on his face, Orso said. The wife also was beaten.
A breakthrough occurred in the case when Fort Lee Detective John Wemken recognized Tri Minh Le on a New York City television newscast of an arrest in February, Orso said.
Tri Minh Le was arrested Feb. 2 on automobile theft charges, but was released the following day for insufficient evidence, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said. With the cooperation of New York City police and the suspect’s consent, he was transferred to Fort Lee on Monday, Orso said.
Orso said gangs have been targeting Asians in Fort Lee and other Bergen County communities. Victims have been reticent about reporting the incidents to police. Orso has asked Asians to contact police if they are being intimidated by gangs or if money is being extorted from them.
Orso said he is trying to reach out to Chinese, Japanese, and Korean organizations in the area to see how police can gain their trust.
“They are not coming forward when something happens to them,” Orso said. “By helping us, they are helping themselves. They should not be afraid. We’ll give them all the police protection they need. But we can’t help them if they don’t come forward.”

Keywords: FORT LEE; ASSAULT; FAMILY

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

MAN FIGHTS OFF GUNMEN WHO TIED UP, ROBBED WIFE

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Saturday, February 23, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS| Page A02

A 32-year-old building superintendent Friday fought off three armed robbers after they forced their way into his apartment, tied up his wife, stole money and jewelry, and then shot an elderly woman as they fled, said Police Chief John Orso.
A woman walking her dog outside the robbery scene, at 293 Elsmere Place, was slightly injured by a bullet fired by one of the fleeing robbers. The woman, who was not identified, was in good condition at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, where she was being treated for a wound in her right arm.
The robbers, pursued by Fort Lee, Port Authority, and New York City police, escaped in a red Mercedes-Benz over the George Washington Bridge into New York City, Orso said.
The incident began about 1:30 p.m. when the trio, pretending they were to check a gas leak, pushed past Faviola Rodrigues, 30, tied her up, and stole $800 and jewelry, Orso said.
Her husband, Gabriel Rodrigues, was working outside the building when he saw one of the men in his apartment. He ran to the front door and confronted the three as they ran out. One man saw Rodrigues carrying a portable radio and told a partner to shoot, Orso said.
“They thought he was a police officer,” he said. “Gabriel grabbed the guy with the gun and he was wrestling the guy. The guy shot off two or three rounds. “
With Rodrigues in pursuit, the robbers ran two blocks and joined a fourth man waiting in the car. Rodrigues jumped on the trunk of the car as it pulled away and put his right fist through the rear windshield. He fell off the car and was treated at the scene for cuts and abrasions, Orso said.

Keywords: ROBBERY; FORT LEE; SHOOTING

MAN ACCUSED OF MAKING THREATS

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Thursday, February 14, 1991

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

Police charged a 33-year-old Carlstadt man with making terroristic threats after taking a butcher knife away from him and arresting him Tuesday at the home of a Center Avenue resident.
Fhahram Zarrabi of 612 Division Ave. threatened to kill two borough residents because they owed him $18,000 for work he did for them, said Fort Lee Police Chief John Orso. After his arrest, Zarrabi was released on $500 bail.

Keywords: FORT LEE; ASSAULT; WEAPON

DIVINING PASTOR NABS OFFERTORY THIEF IN ACT

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, January 4, 1991

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

A Fort Lee pastor said he sensed about midday Tuesday would be a convenient time for someone, if they were so inclined, to try to steal money from his church’s offering box. So he sneaked into the church and caught a man in the act.
The Rev. James Sullivan of Holy Trinity R. C. Church of Fort Lee said he had repaired the box six days earlier after someone stole between $10 to $35 from it. He said he noticed a few days later that someone had tampered with the box again.
Entering the church from a side door, Sullivan said he “could hear the box being tampered with. “
Fort Lee police arrested Carl Crawford, 34, of Bond Street, Freehold, a few minutes after Sullivan called 911 and reported a thief in the church.
Crawford had in his possession a tool for prying open boxes, six single dollar bills, and a check for $10 written to the Blessed Sacrament Church in Margate, said Fort Lee Police Chief John Orso. Crawford was charged with burglary, theft, and possession of burglary tools, and was being held in the Bergen County Jail Thursday on $2,500 bail.
Sullivan said Crawford, who is not a parishioner of the church, had been hanging in and around the church at “odd hours” for the past week, striking up conversations with church members.

Keywords: FORT LEE; RELIGION; BUILDING; THEFT

2 NORTH CAROLINA MEN HELD ON GUN CHARGES AFTER CAR CHASE

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, December 14, 1990

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

Two North Carolina men were being held Thursday in the Bergen County Jail on gun-possession charges after police arrested them following a chase from Fort Lee to Teaneck on Route 95.

County police charged Solomon Dunston, 23, of Raleigh and Paul R. Mack, 20, of Durham with two counts of possession of a loaded firearm without a permit and assault on a police officer, Detective Steve Blehl said. Dunston, who was driving, also was charged with attempting to elude police. They were being held on $10,000 bail.

The arrest occurred in the southbound lanes of Route 95 at about 9:45 p.m. Wednesday after Bergen County Police Officers Stephen Georgevich and James Giblin noticed the suspects car weaving in and out of traffic, Blehl said.

He said the suspects at first stopped. But as Georgevich reached inside the car to get a driver’s license, the driver rolled up the window and drove off, with the officer’s hand stuck in the window, Blehl said. Georgevich ran alongside the car for about 15 feet before he was able to remove his hand, Blehl said.

Georgevich was not seriously injured, Blehl said.

The ensuing chase ended at the Bogota-Teaneck line when the officers forced the car off to the roadside, Blehl said. As they approached the car, the men threw out a .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun, he said, adding that police found a loaded 12-gauge shotgun during a search of the car.