HUDSON COUNTY INVESTIGATOR CHARGED IN AUTO DEATH

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Sunday, May 12, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | Edition: All Editions | NEWS | Page A05

An investigator for the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office was charged Saturday with causing death by auto and driving while intoxicated. A passenger in his car died after the vehicle struck a traffic light, then a tree.
Hudson County Prosecutor Paul M. DePascale immediately suspended William Heaney, the 30-year-old investigator.
The front-seat passenger, Gregory Blicharz, 29, of Bayonne, died about 4:45 a.m. Saturday at Bayonne Hospital during treatment for a head injury. DePascale said in a news release announcing Heaney’s suspension that the medical examiner would determine the exact cause of death. It was unknown Saturday when an autopsy would be performed.
Shortly after 3 a.m. Saturday, Heaney’s car left the roadway at Kennedy Boulevard and North Street, police said. They said it struck and knocked over a traffic light, then came to rest against a tree.
Bayonne police administered a Breathalyzer test to Heaney, who lives in Jersey City, and determined that his blood-alcohol level was above the level at which a person is presumed to be too intoxicated to drive, DePascale said in the release. Policy dictates that any case involving a member of the prosecutor’s staff be referred to the state Attorney General’s Office, which DePascale said he would do Monday.

Keywords: HUDSON COUNTY; MOTOR VEHICLE; DEATH; VICTIM; ACCIDENT; ALCOHOL; ABUSE; ATTORNEY; WILLIAM HEANEY; GREGORY BLICHARZ

100-MPH CHASE, DRUG ARRESTS REPORTED BY PARKWAY POLICE

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

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

Two men were arrested on drug charges and a third led police on a 100-mph chase in three unrelated incidents on the Palisades Interstate Parkway, parkway police said.
In the first incident, police saw motorcyclist Charles Cherry, 25, of Manhattan traveling at a high rate of speed in Englewood Cliffs about 4:30 p.m. Thursday, said parkway Police Chief Vincent Arfuso, who gave this account of the incidents:
After a five-mile chase at speeds reaching 100 mph, Officer Vincent Cammarata stopped Cherry in Alpine. Cherry was issued several traffic summonses, including one for reckless driving, and released on $4,000 bail.
In the second incident, Officer James Paul stopped a car near Tenafly for a broken headlight about 1:50 a.m. Friday. A passenger, Juan Rodriguez Jr., 37, of Newburgh, N.Y., was charged with possession of about an ounce of cocaine and four small packets of marijuana. He was being held in Bergen County Jail on $11,000 bail.
The driver was issued traffic summonses and released.
Ariel Torres, 31, of the Bronx, was arrested about 2:50 a.m. on a charge of illegal possession of a weapon and drugs.
Officer Charles Jones stopped Torres northbound car in Alpine because of broken taillights. When Torres was unable to produce a valid license, Jones ordered him out of the car. Inside the auto, the officer found a loaded, 20-shot 9mm automatic pistol, 10 packets of heroin, and a small amount of cocaine and marijuana.

Keywords: DRUG; POLICE; ROAD; MOTOR VEHICLE; ALPINE; ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS; TENAFLY

BERGEN FIRM HIT IN $13M DRUG BUST

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

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

Federal drug agents have arrested the president of an Englewood Cliffs trucking firm, seized 1,087 pounds of cocaine found in a company truck, and confiscated the company’s assets, officials said.
Agents in New York, Los Angeles, and Tucson, Ariz., seized an additional 420 pounds of cocaine bringing the total value of the drug seizure to $13.3 million after the arrest of six individuals Wednesday in Queens, U.S. Customs Service Special Agent Martin Ficke said Friday. Three other people were arrested in Tucson, he said.
Jaime Quintero, president of Suffolk Overland Transport Inc. at 701 Palisades Ave., set up the deal for the truck to carry the drugs, Ficke said.
Ficke said about 12 trailers belonging to the company, which he said had been involved in “significant” drug trafficking since December 1989, were seized, along with other assets. The company’s 25 employees were effectively out of work, he said.
A man who answered Suffolk Overland Transport’s telephone in Englewood Cliffs on Friday declined to comment.
After the investigation began about two weeks ago in Tucson, agents followed a truck to Los Angeles, then to Newark, and finally to Queens, Ficke said.

Keywords: USA; DRUG; CRIME; ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS; BUSINESS; EXECUTIVE; MOTOR VEHICLE

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

WRONG GUY PICKS UP CAR FROM REPAIR SHOP

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

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A05

When Richard Petrocelli called a car dealership Thursday evening to see if the transmission on his 1987 Corvette had been repaired, he was told that he had already picked it up.
A service manager at the dealership, Malcolm Konner Chevrolet Geo in Paramus, had released the car earlier that day to a man impersonating Petrocelli, said Lt. Donald McNair of the Paramus Police Department.
Petrocelli said the manager told him the impersonator displayed a police badge or wallet card and said he needed the car immediately for an investigation, even though the repairs had not been completed.
“I still can’t believe this is happening to me,” Petrocelli said. “All you have to do is say the car is yours, and they turn the keys over to you? “
R. J. Konner, vice president of the dealership, called the situation “odd. “
Konner said Petrocelli knew the car was not going to be ready Thursday because the service department had received the needed parts only that day.
Petrocelli said he was told the work would be completed and the car ready on Thursday.
Petrocelli said his car is worth $30,000 equipped with a $3,000 compact disc player, a $1,000 cellular telephone, and special aluminium wheel rims that cost $750 each.
McNair, who said he has been investigating automobile thefts since 1972, agreed that the incident was “very unusual. “

Keywords: MOTOR VEHICLE; THEFT; PARAMUS; REPAIR

COPS PROBE CRASH OF TWO POLICE CARS

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Sunday, February 3, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A05

Borough police are investigating the circumstances surrounding a collision between two squad cars.
The crash, at Boulevard and Linden Avenue, occurred about 11:15 p.m. Friday and did not involve a pursuit, said Police Chief Byron G. Morgan.
Morgan declined to identify the officers involved until the conclusion of the investigation, but said they were not injured in the accident.
“Until we have an opportunity to interview both drivers and review the accident report,” Morgan said, “it will be premature to release any information. “
The front end of one squad car and the left rear quarter panel of the other were damaged in the accident, Morgan said. The borough has about 10 squad cars, three of which are in use during each shift.

Keywords: ELMWOOD PARK; POLICE; PROBE; ACCIDENT; MOTOR VEHICLE

Notes: Passaic page

HI-TECH LASER SNAGS SPEEDERS COPS EYE `TOTALLY ACCURATE DEVICE

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Saturday, December 15, 1990

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

Lead-foots and speed demons, beware.

New Jersey law-enforcement agencies are examining a laser speed-detection device that its manufacturer says will render radar detectors obsolete.

While radar emits a wide microwave beam, the new device uses a narrow, infrared laser beam that can be detected only after the target car’s speed has been measured. No longer will a motorist be able to argue,”Officer, are you sure you’ve got the right car?”

The device, made by Laser Technology Inc. of Englewood, Colo., can target a vehicle out of a group because of its narrow, 3.5-foot beam at 1,000 feet, compared with the radar-beam width of 200 to 400 feet at the same distance.

The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, several police departments from Bergen County, and one from Passaic County were at a demonstration of the device, which costs $3,625, in Fair Lawn on Friday. Earlier in the day, Mike Phippen, marketing director for the company, gave a demonstration to the state police.

“It’s amazing; it’s totally accurate,” said Oradell police Lt. Edgar Brennen. “The biggest hurdle that this thing faces is in the courts, and the fact that it has to be recognized as an accurate tool. Once the courts accept it, it will be all over.

Caption: PHOTO – ROBERT S. TOWNSEND / THE RECORD – Bergen County Police Officer Dwane Razzetti testing a new laser speed-detection gun on Friday.

BABY LEFT IN CAR IN WALDWICK

MICHAEL O. ALLEN | Sunday, December 9, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A05

Two passers-by discovered a 4-month-old baby lying alone in a Jeep on a freezing night last week, and police charged the baby’s mother with neglect after they found her inside a bar.

Debra Cuneo, 23, of Greenwood Lake, N.Y., was arrested shortly after the baby was found at 2 a.m. Thursday outside the Celtic Pub. She was released Friday on $10,000 bail.

Police said the baby, a boy, had been in the Jeep for several hours. The temperature was below 30 degrees. The baby was treated at The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood and released to the custody of his grandparents after police notified the state Division of Youth and Family Services, police said.

SUSPECT IS ARRESTED AS HE ASKS COP FOR AID

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, November 29, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B05

A 23-year-old Newark man allegedly trying to resell a stolen Cadillac to its owner apparently got lost on the way to consummate the deal and was arrested as he was about to ask a Teaneck police detective for directions.

Rosent “Nate” McCabe, 23, of 1863 Willberg St. told police upon his arrest that he was being a “good Samaritan” in returning the car.

But Detective William Grace said he and four plainclothes detectives, in unmarked cars, had been waiting at the home of the car owner for McCabe to arrive.

The owner, whom Grace declined to identify, told Teaneck police he had received calls from unidentified parties in Newark on Monday, telling him that they had bought the 1984 Cadillac Fleetwood and would sell it back to him for $1,500, Grace said. The owner had reported the car stolen in Newark on Saturday.

The owner negotiated the price down to $900, and a meeting was set up for between noon and 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Grace and the other detectives were waiting for McCabe when he drove north on River Road at about 2:30 p.m., past the owner’s house. Grace said he and the other detectives followed the car.

McCabe apparently realized he had gone too far when he reached River Road’s intersection with Riverview Avenue and began backing up, said Grace, who was directly behind the Cadillac.

Grace said McCabe was about to ask him for directions when McCabe approached his car.

“I got out and told him to put his hands on the hood of the car,” Grace said.

McCabe was charged with possession of the stolen car and was released from the Bergen County Jail Wednesday on $500 bail.

MAN, 27, IS CHARGED WITH DEATH BY AUTO

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, November 22, 1990

The Record (New Jersey) | All Editions | NEWS | Page A76

A 27-year-old Jersey City man has been charged with death by auto stemming from an alleged drag race with a Plainfield youth that killed a Ridgefield woman.

Franco Castella of 135A North St. was also charged with assault with an automobile and driving on a suspended license, stemming from the Nov. 7 crash on Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen, said North Bergen Police Officer George Alburtus.

Castella, whom police originally identified as Antonio Castella, was released on $1,000 bail following his arrest Tuesday, police said.

The Plainfield youth, who is 17, was charged on Tuesday with the same felony counts that Castella faces. The teenager, whose identity is being withheld by police because of his age, also faces a charge of driving without a license.

He remained in stable condition at the Jersey City Medical Center Wednesday.

Alburtus said at least one more person involved in the pileup on Tonnelle Avenue and 49th Street faces motor-vehicle violation charges. Allen Betancourt, 19, of Piscataway will be charged with allowing an unlicensed driver to operate a motor vehicle and allowing people to sit in a compartment not designated for passengers.

Betancourt borrowed the red 1985 Porsche, driven by the 17-year-old, from its owner, and was one of four people packed into the two-seater when the accident occurred, Alburtus said.

Carmela Berardo, 49, of 414 Abbott St., Ridgefield, was killed instantly when the Porsche crossed into the northbound lane of Tonnelle Avenue and struck the car she was riding in. Her husband, Florindo, who was driving, suffered a broken right foot and facial abrasions. His mother, Michelina Berardo, 69, broke both legs, suffered a fractured skull, and remained unconscious in critical condition at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City on Wednesday.