GUARDS BLAME INMATES FOR JAIL STAMPEDE; Testify in Overcrowding Suit

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, May 1, 1992

The Record (New Jersey) | 5 Star | NEWS | B03

Inmates protesting the food service at the Bergen County Jail trampled three corrections officers in a stampede for the dining room door before guard dogs were sent in to quell the January disturbance, several officers testified Thursday.

Corrections Officer Joseph Mastropole said the inmates ignored his command that they leave the dining room in an orderly fashion.

Mastropole’s account and those of three other officers followed testimony in February from six inmates in a federal lawsuit charging overcrowding at the jail. The suit was filed in Newark in 1988, and Thursday’s testimony was heard in Hackensack.

Instead of leaving one table at a time, with the first table in the room leaving first, several inmates at the back tables headed for the door.

“I said, `Wait a minute, the first table has to leave first, ” Mastropole said. “The next thing I knew, 20 to 30 inmates got up and were heading toward me. . . . I was just overwhelmed by the inmates. They pushed me to the floor.”

Corrections Officer Brian J. Irwin testified that he was kicked and punched by inmates. He said that Gregory Cannell, an inmate who later was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer in the incident, took a swing at him but missed.

“It happened so fast,” Irwin said, adding that the officers were unable to keep the inmates inside the dining room.

A grand jury will decide whether to indict Cannell and another inmate, Howard Tucker, on charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer in the disturbance.

The corrections officers versions of the incident matched that of the inmates, except on who attacked whom in the ensuing melee. Officers said Cannell and Tucker physically attacked them, and were cursing and yelling at them.

In their February testimony, six inmates said the officers on duty were the ones who attacked them and ordered guard dogs after them. Cannell, who later served 37 days in isolation and is being housed in the main jail as a problem inmate, was treated for three dog-bite wounds.

Although most of the officers involved went to the medical unit for examination, none was injured.

Deputy Bergen County Counsel Murshell Johnson said outside the courtroom that the officers testimonies showed they resolved in a calm and professional manner a dangerous situation that could have led to many injuries.

Assistant Deputy Public Advocate Audrey Bomse questioned the officers credibility, however. She asked each officer if he had ever verbally or physically abused an inmate, or had seen another officer do so. All said no.

The hearings, part of a federal lawsuit to reduce overcrowding in the Bergen County Jail, will resume in May for further testimony from officers.

BODY FOUND ON GOLF COURSE IDENTIFIED

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Friday, November 15, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | 5 Star | NEWS | Page B03

The skeletal remains of a body found on a Rockland County golf course have been identified as those of a 23-year-old Paramus man who had been missing since August, authorities said.

Jay Karl Papa died from numerous stab wounds to the chest, the Rockland County Medical Examiner’s Office said. He was identified Wednesday through dental records.

Papa’s body was discovered Monday afternoon in bushes at the old Chateau D’Vie Golf Course in New Hempstead by a man walking his dog.

Dr. Frederick Zugibe, Rockland medical examiner, said it was unclear whether Papa was killed at the scene or was dumped there later.

“This is such a horrible death. He was a nice kid,” said Paramus Police Chief Joseph Delaney, whose department, along with state and federal authorities, had been working on Papa’s disappearance.

Delaney said Papa, a 1986 graduate of Paramus High School, had been missing since the last week of August.

Fort Lee police found Papa’s red, two-door 1987 Mitsubishi parked on a borough street, near Route 9W, about a week and half ago, Delaney said. The car’s doors were locked, and there was nothing in it.

Residents in the area said the car had been parked there since Labor Day weekend, Delaney said.

Papa was wearing an extra-large short-sleeve shirt with a Florida State University logo, a crucifix, slacks, and white sneakers, the chief said. A Mitsubishi car key found on the body started the car found in Fort Lee.

Ramapo town police are investigating.

The Chateau D’Vie Golf Course is now being redeveloped under the name of the New York Country Club Golf Course.

Delaney said he played in the same windmill softball league with Papa, and that his father, former Paramus recreation commissioner Victor Papa, coached teams in the league.

“A very nice kid, very polite. He was liked by many people, especially people in the league,” Delaney said.

“The family was well-known and respected in the community.”

Caption: (5s, 3s, 2s, 1s) PHOTO – Jay Karl Papa in Paramus High School yearbook picture, 1986.

WIFE OF FORMER OFFICIAL IS FOUND DEAD

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, September 26, 1991

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

Josephine Irene Mary Schmid, wife of former Teaneck Township Manager Werner Schmid, has died in an incident police are investigating, officials said.
Josephine Schmid, 60, died Monday of multiple fractures, internal injuries, and hemorrhaging after she tumbled from a bridge on the New Jersey Turnpike’s western spur in Kearny, Pat Raviola, a Hudson County assistant prosecutor, said Wednesday.
Police did not know what happened. State Trooper Nick Cagnole found what appeared to be an abandoned car along the turnpike. He found Schmid’s body on a dirt road under the spur, adjacent to the Conrail tracks, police said.
Schmid was pronounced dead at the scene, and her husband identified her body, Raviola said.
Werner Schmid retired as township manager in July 1988 after 33 years in office. He could not be reached Wednesday.
Frank Hall, a Teaneck councilman and former mayor, expressed regret at the death. Werner Schmid is a private man who shielded his family from his public life, Hall said in declining to comment further.
Acting Township Manager Gary A. Saage called Werner Schmid the most honest public official he knew in the 25 years he worked with him, but declined to comment further.

Keywords: TEANECK; OFFICIAL; MARRIAGE; WOMAN; DEATH; PROBE

FUND-RAISING ACCUSATIONS FAMILIAR TO PAL

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, August 28, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | Four Star B | NEWS | Page B01

The arrest Monday of two men for allegedly passing themselves off as police officers to obtain $1,000 on behalf of the Hackensack Police Athletic League was not the first time a fund-raiser for the organization has come under scrutiny.
Five men hired by a Connecticut fund-raising firm were acquitted of charges stemming from their January 1985 arrest for solicitation of funds under false pretenses to benefit the group.
The men had been charged with using aliases instead of their real names in soliciting funds. Although police accused them then of impersonating officers in their pitch, they were never formally charged on those counts.
The Hackensack police said the Hackensack PAL is not connected to the department.
John Simonelli and Mark Carter, employees of Theatrical Marketing Services of Middletown, were arrested Monday and were being held in the Bergen County Jail on Tuesday on $7,500 bail each.
In 1990, Theatrical Marketing Services a Monmouth County firm raised about $106,000 on behalf of the Hackensack PAL, according to a financial statement filed with the Consumer Affairs Division. About $31,800 went to the PAL, with the firm and an office manager dividing the remainder.
Simonelli, of Pawtucket, R.I., was arrested after he gave John Carrino of Race Excavations Co. on Sussex Street a receipt for a $1,000 check that Carrino had given him in the presence of a detective, police said.
Carter, of Feeding Hills, Mass., was arrested shortly afterward at the 302 Ridge Road, Lyndhurst, office of the fund-raising firm. Police said they recorded a telephone conversation between Carter and Carrino in which Carter told Carrino several times that he was a member of the Hackensack Police Department.
Both were charged with wrongful impersonation of a police officer and theft by deception.
Ollie Hartsfield, a spokeswoman for the state Consumer Affairs Division, said they have no record of complaints about impersonations against Theatrical Marketing Services. The company has contracts with a number of other PALs around the state, she added.
Charles McHarris Jr., PAL executive director, said he did not find out about the arrests until Tuesday but declined to comment until he consults with the group’s lawyer. He said, however, that Simonelli and Carter were innocent of the charges against them.
No representative of Theatrical Marketing Services could be reached at the Lyndhurst or Middletown office.

Keywords: HACKENSACK; POLICE; FINANCE; FRAUD; PROBE

TONS CONFISCATED, 8 ARRESTED; NEW JERSEY’S BIGGEST DRUG BUST

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Saturday, June 1, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | Two Star B | NEWS | Page A01

In what is being called New Jersey’s largest drug haul ever, undercover U.S. Customs Service agents Friday seized 4,700 pounds of cocaine, 7,000 pounds of marijuana, and $995,000 in cash, and arrested eight men connected to the shipment, officials said.
“New Jersey, unfortunately, is becoming a central transit place for heroin, cocaine, and other forms of narcotics,” said Robert van Etten, special customs agent in charge.
Friday’s arrests culminated a four-month investigation in which customs agents infiltrated a New York metropolitan area drug-smuggling organization that was supplied by the Cali drug cartel in Colombia, Van Etten said. The marijuana was to be delivered to Illinois and Indiana, he added.
The cocaine had a wholesale value of $58.2 million, and the marijuana was valued at $11.2 million wholesale, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart Rabner.
Van Etten said a private transport plane brought the drugs first to Miami, then to Newark International Airport about a week ago. The drugs were transferred to a rented truck, which was seized by agents in Newark Friday.
Among those arrested were North Jersey residents Enidio Abreu, 42, of 310 Warwick Ave., Teaneck, and Julio Menendez, 29, of 1614 83rd St., North Bergen.
The eight were charged with conspiracy to import and distribute cocaine and marijuana. They were being held without bail in the Union County Jail.

Keywords: DRUG; NEWARK; PROBE; SHIP; NEW JERSEY; SMUGGLING

Caption: COLOR PHOTO – BB BRUSH / THE RECORD – Workers in Newark unloading cocaine and marijuana seized Friday after a four-month investigation.

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

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

ASSAULT PROBE LOOKS AT PAIR; ENGLEWOOD MAN, TEEN ARE SUSPECTS

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Wednesday, January 30, 1991

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

A 20-year-old city man and a 16-year-old accomplice who have been charged with robbery are being investigated in connection with 12 other assaults in the past two weeks, police said.
Malik McKinnon of 210 First St. was being held Tuesday on $10,000 bail in the Bergen County Jail. The juvenile, whom police declined to identify because of his age, was released to the custody of his parents.
A 20-year-old employee of Chicken Magician of Teaneck had just delivered food to a West Palisade Avenue residence when he was accosted by two males about 9:15 p.m. Sunday and robbed of about $100, Englewood Detective Capt. C. Kenneth Tinsley said.
Police arrested the juvenile later that night after the victim, who recognized the juvenile from a playground basketball game, gave police a description.
McKinnon turned himself in Monday, Tinsley said.
The money was returned to the victim, he said.
Starting with a Jan. 7 mugging of a 50-year-old man in the parking lot of a church, 13 people were assaulted in separate incidents, Tinsley said, and eight of them were robbed in dark and isolated areas in the 1st and 3rd wards.
“We haven’t confirmed it yet but we are checking to see if they [the two suspects] were involved with the other incidents,” Tinsley said.
He added that increased patrols in the 1st and 3rd wards would continue.

Keywords: ROBBERY; ASSAULT; PROBE; ENGLEWOOD; YOUTH

TEANECK SHOOTING IS PROBED

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Saturday, January 19, 1991

The Record (New Jersey) | Two Star B | NEWS | Page A07

Police are investigating the circumstances under which a 20-year-old township woman was shot in the toe Friday, police said.
Paula Slade of 555 Wyndham Road was admitted to Holy Name Hospital shortly after 1 a.m. and was in good condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Slade and her boyfriend, William Reynolds of the Bronx, initially told police that an unknown motorist shot her in the foot as they walked along Cedar Lane, Police Sgt. Robert Adomilli said.
However, during questioning, Adomilli said, Reynolds told police that he found a gun in New York and was showing it to Slade, who he said had never seen or held a gun before.
Reynolds told police that Slade took the gun from him and ran away, cocking the .22-caliber revolver by mistake. The gun went off and struck the fourth toe of her left foot when Reynolds reached out to take it, Adomilli said.

Keywords: TEANECK; SHOOTING; PROBE

POLICE SEEKING MORE SUSPECTS IN RASH OF BURGLARIES

By Michael O. Allen, Record Staff Writer | Thursday, January 10, 1991

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

Police in Bergen and Passaic counties continue to investigate links between a string of burglaries in the two counties and a 20-year-old man in custody on charges of burglarizing his parents house in Oradell and intending to kill them and his brother if they were home.
Allen M. Essner was being held in the Bergen County Jail on Wednesday on $60,000 bail. He was being held on several charges, including attempted murder, burglary, and unlawful possession of a loaded weapon.
Oradell Detective Scott Bonsper said police believe Essner was working with other people, including 20-year-old Dennis Pereira, who was arrested with him on Dec. 26, in a series of burglaries in the area.
“We are dealing with quite a few people here,” Bonsper said. “That is what makes it so difficult. . . . We know of at least two weapons that we have not been able to recover or account for. There is a strong possibility that arrest warrants will be issued for other suspects. “
When Essner burglarized his parents home on Dec. 17, he went with a loaded gun and murderous intent, Bonsper said.
“Fortunately enough, the parents were not around, and his brother, although he was off work that day, was somewhere else,” he said.
Bonsper said police found out about the alleged plan to murder the family members from talking to people some of whom are being investigated for their link to the burglaries with whom Essner had conversations.
Working with North Haledon Police Detective Alan Swartz, Bonsper said, he and other Oradell police officers went to residences in Lodi, East Rutherford, and other communities before arresting Essner in Wallington on Dec. 26. They recovered a gun and also arrested Pereira a short time later, he said.

Keywords: PC; BC; HOUSING; THEFT; PROBE