NEWS BRIEFS: Wednesday, October 21, 1998

Students loses $590 in third flim-flam of year This time, a male University junior was approached Saturday evening on the 4000 block of Chestnut Street by a man claiming to be a new arrival from South Africa, according to police reports. The man told the student that he needed to return to the train station to pick up his luggage but was worried that he would be robbed of a bandanna full of money he was carrying. He offered the student $250 in exchange for holding onto the money until he returned from the station. As a sign of good faith, though, the man asked the student to put $60 of his own money and his ATM card -- which the man professed to be amazed by, asking how it was possible for the "magic card" to make money come out of a wall -- in the bandanna as well. The con artist then asked if they could pray together -- which they did -- after which he left. When the student got home, he found that the bandanna contained only paper, and his $60 and MAC card were gone. Bank officials told the student that another $530 had been withdrawn from his account. Police do not believe the incident is connected to either of the previous scams, one involving a Penn senior and the other an employee of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. -- Ben Geldon Distinguished prof to testify in Microsoft case Penn Computer and Information Science Professor David Farber, a renowned authority on the Internet and computing, will testify for the prosecution in the U.S. Department of Justice's anti-trust suit against Microsoft Corp. Farber, one of only 12 DOJ witnesses, is expected to testify in early November as one of the government's last witnesses. The 64-year-old Farber said yesterday that he could not comment on his testimony, explaining that the DOJ had asked him to reveal nothing but "his name, rank and serial number." He also derided several newspaper accounts of his testimony, which have "tried to psychoanalyze what he might say," saying that they "for the most part have gotten it wrong." Justice Department officials referred all questions about Farber's testimony to spokesperson Gina Talamona, who could not be reached for comment yesterday. Farber -- who is widely regarded by both the federal government and the country's technology establishment -- is a member of President Clinton's Advisory Committee on Information Technology. Farber also maintains an "Important People" listserv, through which he sends out computing and technology information to about 25,000 subscribers, including tech-company CEOs, government officials and some Penn students. -- Dina Bass Tenet delays bid to buy Allegheny hospitals In an expected development, Tenet Healthcare Corp. asked a judge on Monday to postpone the closing date on its $345 million purchase of eight Philadelphia-area hospitals owned by the now-bankrupt Allegheny Health, Education and Research Foundation. The new deadline is November 5. The move was precipitated by Drexel University's decision last week not to take control of Allegheny University of the Health Sciences. Tenet says its deal for the eight hospitals is contingent on finding an academic partner for the university, located in Center City. The university, which has enrolled 3,000 students in four schools, lost $25 million last fiscal year. Tenet, based in Santa Barbara, Calif., has declined to release the names of "several" institutions it is speaking with, but all of the region's major health care providers have disavowed interest. The new deadline is no more binding than the last but Allegheny is running out of money to operate its hospitals. As of the third week of September, Allegheny had used $56.5 million of a $100 million emergency financing package extended in June. At that rate, the system will be out of money by mid-November. -- Binyamin Appelbaum Penn Tower assault trial set to start today The trial of a man accused of brutally assaulting a University Health System secretary in her Penn Tower Hotel office last January is set to begin today with jury selection. Larry Ray, 28, of the the 1500 block of Hemberger Way, allegedly assaulted the woman in her sixth-floor office in an attempt to rob the complex. The incident caused administrators to revamp and improve security measures at the hotel and office building. The victim, Toby Laiken, suffered serious wounds to her jaw and eye socket, forcing her to stay in the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for a week after the incident. She was released after surgery to her lower jaw. After robbing offices on several floors via the service elevator, the suspect allegedly made his way to the sixth story of the 23-floor building, where he met Laiken arriving at work at about 5:15 a.m. Ray has been arrested seven previous times for offenses including aggravated assault and robbery. The trial is taking place in room 1005 of the Criminal Justice Center at 13th and Filbert streets before Common Pleas Judge Monica McInerney. -- Andrew Ribner Republican candidate quits mayoral race George Bochetto, a Republican candidate for mayor of Philadelphia, announced yesterday at a Center City press conference that he was stepping out of the race because his candidacy was hurting the GOP's chances at winning the mayoral race for the first time since the late 1940s. Bochetto had declared his candidacy at a June 10 City Hall rally. Bochetto, 46, is the state's boxing commissioner. He was the first mayoral candidate to air television spots and had already announced a campaign platform based on eliminating the wage tax and hiring 4,000 new police officers. Democrat Ed Rendell, the city's popular mayor, is ineligible to run for a third four-year term in 1999. Sam Katz, widely expected to announce his candidacy for the GOP nomination for mayor, attended the press conference held at Bochetto's law offices. Katz, who lost in the 1991 mayoral and 1994 gubernatorial elections, was endorsed by top Republican leaders in July. GOP leaders reportedly met with Bochetto several times over the last couple weeks to encourage him to defer to Katz, allowing Republicans to support one candidate. Katz is known as a city finance expert and a veteran fund raiser. -- Binyamin Appelbaum