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(11/05/98 10:00am)
He was just trying to give the poor guy a hand. So said the College junior, whose attempt to be a good samaritan cost him $590 -- not to mention his pride and dignity -- when he fell victim to a "flim-flam" scam on the night of Saturday, October 17. He was the third person during a three-week period to fall victim to such a scheme, according to University Police reports. The student's loss was small by comparison: a female University senior lost $1,100 on October 7, and an employee of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was out a whopping $12,500 nine days earlier. Police are investigating the incidents. The junior was cheated out of the money by a con artist claiming to be from South Africa. He told the student he was worried about being robbed and asked him to hold his money while he returned to the train station to pick up his luggage. To prove he would take care of it, the student put his own money and his ATM card in a bandanna with the scammer's money. While they were praying together at the request of the "South African," the con artist apparently switched the bandanna with another one. "I'm an idiot," said the student, who asked not to be identified on account of his embarrassment. "I felt like I should have had a little more sense, but apparently I didn't." "Too Embarrassed" Flim-flams, as they are called, are frauds usually perpetrated in one of two main ways, according to police. One of the schemes -- called the South African or Jamaican switch, depending on where the scammer claims to be from -- is what the junior encountered. In the other method, known as the "pigeon drop," a person claims to have found a large amount of money lying on the street. After asking the soon-to-be-victim if it belongs to him or her, the con artist offers to split it with the victim. But first, the con artist asks for money to show that his prey is serious. The victim is promised the cash back, along with a share of the found money. A few hours later, the victim usually finds himself waiting at a bank for someone to give him his share, which of course never arrives. Or, like in the South African switch, the victim leaves with a bag of what he thinks is his share of the cash, but, in reality, is just shredded newspapers. According to Philadelphia Police Officer Lou Sgro, who investigates flim-flams in the department's major crimes division, there are 15 to 20 flim-flams reported in the city each year. "It's probably more," he said. "But some don't get reported because people are too embarrassed." Guard Down Looking back at it, the College junior said in a recent interview, he was "an absolute idiot," and still can't believe that he fell for the fraud. The scam started while he was walking toward his girlfriend's house on Sansom Street at around 8 p.m. A black man with a heavy accent approached him claiming to have just arrived in Philadelphia from South Africa. The con artist said he was robbed on his way to University City from the train station, and was looking for a place to stay. "He made himself out to be real innocent, real naive," the student said. "So I said, 'Yeah, I'll help this guy.' It seemed like he needed it." Since the scammer said he did still have some cash on him, the junior walked him toward the Sheraton University City hotel. The man related how he "doesn't know about the civilized world, how he was a victim of Apartheid [and] doesn't understand the liberties we have." But on the way, the man claimed to suddenly realize he needed to return to the train station to pick up his luggage from a locker. Not wanting to get robbed again, he asked the student if he would hold his cash for him until he returned. In exchange, the man said, he'd give the student $250. By this time, the student said, while there was some doubt in his mind about the man's veracity, he had done an excellent job of "getting my guard down." "It occurred to me [that it was a scam], but I didn't act on it," he said. So he thought nothing of it when the man said he wanted to know that the student had money of his own and wouldn't need to steal his. He thought nothing of it when they went to an ATM machine and he withdrew $60 as proof that he had money of his own. And he also thought nothing of it when the man told him to put his money and the money access card inside the bandanna that held the man's cash. It sounded like a reasonable enough request. "His excuse was that if I had all my stuff with his stuff, I'd protect it more," the junior said. "And being an idiot, I was like, 'No problem.' " Finally, before they parted ways, the con artist asked if they could pray together. So they sat down on the street and quickly said a prayer. During this time, the man apparently switched the bandanna with the money and MAC card with one that contained some old newspapers. Hours later, while the student was bragging to a friend that he was about to earn $250, the student realized he had been had. He called his bank and found that the man had already withdrawn $530 from the account. Apparently, while professing his amazement at the wonder of "money coming out of a wall," he was actually looking over the student's shoulder to find out his personal identification number. A Profitable Scheme The scammers, Sgro said, are "really good." And it's profitable for them too --Efor just a few hours' worth of work, they can earn several hundred dollars. And people are usually all too eager to fall into the trap. "It's a combination of wanting to help somebody and make a few dollars at the same time," Sgro said. The two other incidents on campus were of the pigeon-drop variety, according to police reports. The CHOP employee who lost $12,000 was approached by two women as she left the ATM machine near 39th and Walnut streets. They claimed to have found a wallet with $100,000 nearby. They first asked if it belonged to her, and then offered to split it. To prove their trustworthiness, all three of them were required to put up cash of their own before getting their share. The 25-year-old woman withdrew $3,500 from her bank account and took out a $9,000 advance on her credit card. She gave the cash to a third person who was in on the scam. The con artists told her to wait in a bank and the manager -- who just happened to be a friend of theirs -- would count the money and give her her share. The third incident involved a similar scheme and cost the victim, a College senior, $1,100. Sgro said people need to think logically when encountering situations like that. "You have to ask yourself if you found $100,000, why would you split it with anybody?"
(11/05/98 10:00am)
But other ill students had eaten elsewhere. Penn officials blame an influenza-like bug. and Danielle Lewin An outbreak of nausea and vomiting that many students charge was linked to tainted food in the three main University dining halls struck at least three dozen people Tuesday night, though the actual total could be almost twice that. Penn officials disputed the food-poisoning claims, saying the illnesses were likely the result of an influenza-like bug. The exact number of victims is unclear, with official and unofficial tallies varying wildly. University spokesperson Ken Wildes said last night that 30 to 35 students visited Student Health Services or the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and several more called to ask for medical advice. Many also suffered symptoms but did not seek medical advice, students said last night. University and Philadelphia public-health officials are investigating the maladies, Wildes said. The bulk of the illness reports came from Hill College House, where some residents estimated that as many as 50 students had become sick since dinner Tuesday night. At least a dozen more students from other parts of campus reported similar symptoms, many students said. "There's no common thread that would tie [the illnesses] to food," Wildes said. "The thinking now is that it is not food-related. It's some sort of a viral infection." Additionally, there was no one food that all the sick students ate. Many sick students, however, said their doctors told them it was food poisoning. Wildes said laboratory tests to determine the source of the illnesses are already underway, and results will be back in a few days. According to people who were at HUP's emergency room Tuesday night, there were at least 11 people in the waiting room with food-poisoning symptoms. Students reported many symptoms, including vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, fevers and headaches. In addition to Hill, several students who had eaten Tuesday night in Stouffer Dining Commons and Class of 1920 Commons said they had gotten severely ill in the 24 hours following dinner. Officials at Dining Services refused to comment, referring calls to Wildes. Wildes said several students who had not eaten at the dining halls also reported similar symptoms, which he cited as evidence that the illnesses were not from food poisoning. Most of the sick students seem to have been from Hill, where resident Andy Schaps, an Engineering junior, said up to 50 Hill residents were showing symptoms of food-poisoning, though not all had gone to the hospital. Hill Faculty Master James O'Donnell said many students in his residence had become sick, but he had not received an exact count. Hill House Dean Tracy Feld also sent an e-mail to all 540 residents urging students who felt sick to seek medical attention. One Hill resident who fell victim to the malady, College sophomore Seth Scanlon, said doctors told him that "dozens and dozens" of students came in throughout the night complaining of similar symptoms. Several graduate associates at Hill confirmed that many students in their suites had been hospitalized. Scanlon said he was feeling nauseous and threw up for two hours before he decided to go to HUP. Once there, doctors gave him antibiotics and an intravenous saline solution to hydrate him. He stayed in the ER for more than 12 hours. Other students reported similar treatment. "It was pretty bad," Scanlon said. "I didn't think I could keep anything down." Another Hill House resident, who requested anonymity, said she was "in excruciating pain" and "was throwing up for two hours." Scanlon said the doctors had ordered him to stay away from solid foods for 24 hours, and then to stick with bland foods like rice or applesauce for several days. In addition to the students from Hill, there were several confirmed cases in the Quadrangle and the high rises. College sophomore Nick Kruse, a Hill resident, said he went to Student Health yesterday morning and saw several other students with similar symptoms. During his four-hour stay, more and more students were arriving and several additional doctors showed up to handle the tide, Kruse said. Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer Jeremy Reiss contributed to this report.
(11/04/98 10:00am)
To the surprise of no one, U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter breezed to re-election last night, becoming the first person in state history to be elected to a fourth term in office. The results of the election -- pitting the Republican Specter against Democrat Bill Lloyd, a little-known state legislator from Southwestern Pennsylvania -- was never really in doubt, as pre-election polls showed Specter leading by as many as 46 percentage points. With 98 percent of precincts reporting, Specter had 61 percent of the vote compared to 35 for Lloyd. "I'm very grateful for the strong showing," Specter, 68, said in his acceptance speech. "It is especially gratifying? to find that so many people -- Republicans, independents and Democrats -- have voted for us in this election." Specter's road to re-election this year was a far cry from six years ago, when he barely edged out Democrat Lynn Yeakel following his controversial grilling of Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings in 1991. About 500 friends and supporters of the moderate Republican showed up at the senator's glitzy victory party at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Center City. Many of them attributed Specter's wide margin of victory to his integrity and independence. "When he takes a stand, he won't back down from it," said College freshman Keith Zeuner, who interned in Specter's Washington office last summer. "People have seen he's an independent thinker who makes independent decisions," added fellow intern Chris Almand, a senior at the University of California at Los Angeles. And Paul Catinella, 43, a Philadelphia native, said the senator has "established himself as a Republican who votes for what's right for Pennsylvania." Specter, a University alumnus who briefly ran for president in 1996, enjoyed widespread support even from many Democrats, who appeared with him at various public events to thank him for his work for the state, though they mostly avoided officially endorsing him. He stressed his experience and seniority throughout the campaign, which he said would enable him to bring projects home to the state. Last night, he emphasized a theme of nonpartisanship in helping to achieve what the American people want. "Party ideology has to lead to practicality when we look for what is in the public interest," he said. "Crossing party lines and party ideologies is really the key to what the people are looking for." He also spoke of the need for bipartisanship in the ongoing investigation into the Monica Lewinsky scandal, which he called a "a virtually unprecedented occurrence." "I believe the American people are looking to the Congress to handle that matter in a nonpartisan way, in a judicious way," he said. The celebration was marred for many supporters, though, by the unexpectedly poor showing of Republicans across the country. Lloyd, 51, an 18-year state legislature veteran, spent most of the campaign driving across the state trying to introduce himself to as many potential voters as possible. But he was never able to drum up much excitement among voters or convince them that a change was necessary. "I knew that it was going to be an uphill struggle, especially when I realized that I was not going to have any money for a media campaign," Lloyd said in his concession speech. He also hinted that he may run again for statewide office in the future. The Associated Press contributed to this article.
(10/30/98 10:00am)
Unless the man known as 'Brother Stephen' becomes disruptive or dangerous, he can do as he wishes. His words might be incendiary and might make some feel uncomfortable. But unless "Brother" Stephen White is actually disruptive to classes or poses an immediate physical danger, University officials will likely let him continue to preach from his familiar pulpit on College Green, several administrators said this week. So far, officials have received few formal complaints about his presence, though there have been some about his loudness. Penn Police officials said he agreed to be a little quieter after they asked him to do so, though White said officials have not approached him. But administrators said they are committed to protecting White's First Amendment rights. "Our position on freedom of expression is clear," said Vice President and General Counsel Peter Erichsen, the University's chief lawyer. "We want to encourage it." White has been a campus fixture since the beginning of the semester, often attracting crowds as large as 75 people as he quotes from scripture and urges students to repent for their "whoremongering" and "fornicating." Over the past six weeks, White has transformed his image from a hateful religious zealot to a popular campus curiosity who has been invited to fraternity parties and recently appeared on UTV13's Midnight Live viewer call-in show. Princeton University, though, was far less welcoming. Authorities told White last month to leave, but he reappeared two weeks later. He was arrested for trespassing on October 15 when a professor complained that White was distracting his class. On Monday, White signed an agreement promising not to set foot on Princeton's property for six months, according to Princeton Public Safety official Barry Weiser. In exchange, Princeton Borough officials downgraded the charge against him to a violation of a city ordinance rather than a trespassing charge, Weiser said. White was back at Princeton yesterday, though, scouting out non-school-owned property. He said he plans to continue preaching there on public sidewalks. Last week, Penn Director of Police Operations Maureen Rush said she was having discussions with other administrators about possibly telling White to stop preaching on University-owned property. But according to Associate Vice Provost for University Life Barbara Cassel, who oversees implementation of the University's Open Expression policy, White is entitled to free expression unless he is violating someone else's rights. Indeed, according to the policy, several enumerated rights -- including the right to "hear, express and debate various views" -- are "fundamental rights which must be upheld and practiced by the University." Some criticisms of White -- that his speech is offensive to many and his anti-gay rhetoric could promote hate crimes -- would probably not be enough for officials to justify expelling him from the campus. Larry Frankel, the executive director of the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, suggested that "the way to respond would be for students who disagree with his speech to organize some kind of event." Such an event would let White know his message is not getting across and let those who feel offended by him know that they are not alone, he said. "You combat bad speech with good speech," Frankel added. White emphasized in an interview yesterday, though, that he does not condone violence. "Christians are totally nonviolent," the 35-year-old Philadelphia resident said. "Jesus wasn't violent at all, and I'm not violent. I've never done anything violent in my life." Since White's on College Green is technically on private property, Frankel said the University probably could constitutionally ask the evangelist to leave. Erichsen, however, said that officials are hesitant to take that step. "It is private property, but on the other hand we permit lots of people to use it and we don't want to be selective," said Erichsen, who was a White House counsel before he came to Penn last December. "There would have to be other circumstances." White said he has received little direct criticism while at Penn. Recently, though, a woman told him that "we are going to have you removed from this campus because you are preaching hate," White recalled. To that, according to White, one of the several dozen people listening to him responded, "Excuse me, but we are adults. If we want to hear this, we will hear this." Open-expression policy has been a touchy subject at the University for much of the decade. Many derided Penn in 1993 as an example of political correctness gone too far, when the University garnered national attention for its handling of two controversial incidents. In January, a student got in trouble for yelling "Shut up, you water buffalo" to a group of African-American women making noise outside his High Rise East apartment. Three months later, a group of African-American students confiscated 14,000 copies of the Daily Pennsylvanian because they were upset about a column they viewed as racist. Penn did not prosecute any of the students involved in the theft. The backlash from those incidents led then-Interim President Claire Fagin to suspend the University's "speech code," which punished students for making racial slurs.
(10/29/98 10:00am)
The cashier's office says it's recently received about $600 in fake currency, including a copy of the new $50 bill. Those bills in your wallet might not be worth as much as you think. In fact, they could be worth nothing more than, well, the paper they were illegally printed on. Officials in Penn's cashier's office have found about $600 in fake U.S. currency -- including one of the redesigned $50 bills that the Treasury Department released last year to combat counterfeiting -- over the past several weeks, according to Lynn DePorter, who heads the office. The roughly 18 counterfeit bills range from $5 bills up to $100 bills, DePorter said, and have been funneled to the cashier's office from all across the University. All cash and checks from every University department go through the cashier's office before being deposited. The bills she's seen are of "very, very poor" quality -- some, she said, look like they were simply xeroxed. But it's the one $50 bill that DePorter said concerns her most. "They've made such a big thing about how these bills are going to be so hard to counterfeit," DePorter said. "So people are looking at the new $50s and think they're fine." But the new money can be copied just the same as the old, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Secret Service, which investigates counterfeiting. The difference, he said, is that counterfeits of the new bills are easier to detect. "It's not that it's more difficult to counterfeit; it's more difficult to counterfeit well," he said, meaning that it is up to the public to "know what genuine currency is." "One problem is that most of the American public doesn't take the time to authenticate its currency," the spokesperson said. Indeed, according to DePorter, the fake bills she has seen should all have been detected immediately as counterfeit. "They look like they've been made in 10 minutes," she said. Some of them had the same serial number, while on others, the coloring was off or they simply felt fake to the touch. DePorter said her division has bought 200 counterfeit-marking pens, which can be used to determine whether currency is real, and will distribute them among the various Penn departments that accept cash. She plans to send all of the bills to the Philadelphia branch office of the Secret Service. The Treasury Department has been slowly putting the redesigned currency into circulation; new $100 bills went public two years ago and the new $50 bill was released last year. And earlier this month, the redesigned $20 bill went into circulation. The new bills' most obvious difference is that the face shot of the given presidents and dignitaries has been shifted to the left, and there is now much more white space -- which contains invisible watermarks. Three years ago, a rash of counterfeit bills led University officials to institute a policy under which no bills over $20 would be accepted. But with the advent of the new currency, the policy is no longer being strictly enforced, DePorter said.
(10/27/98 10:00am)
Eugene Harrison started the robberty which led to Vladimir Sled's murder. Following a contentious debate about the semantics of the jury's verdict, a judge sentenced Eugene "Sultan" Harrison to seven to 14 years in jail for his role in the 1996 slaying of University biochemist Vladimir Sled and the robbery of a truck driver the same day. Harrison, 34, one of three people charged with the murder, was convicted in May of two counts of robbery and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery. He was acquitted of all charges directly stemming from the stabbing death of Sled, including murder. Bridgette Black, 27, who pleaded guilty to actually stabbing Sled, was sentenced in July to five to 12 years in prison. Yvette Stewart, 31, was convicted in May of third-degree murder and two robbery charges. She was sentenced last week to 15 to 30 years in jail. The 38-year-old Sled and his fiancee, former University researcher Cecilia Hagerhall, were walking along the 4300 block of Larchwood Avenue late Halloween night when Harrison approached them and tried to take Hagerhall's purse. Sled struggled with him, and Black emerged from the getaway car and stabbed him to death. She has maintained that she meant only to "scare" him, and that she emerged from the car only when she saw that Stewart had a gun, which she later allegedly fired into the air. The sentencing followed a spirited debate between Assistant District Attorney Mark Gilson and defense attorney Tariq El-Shabazz about whether Harrison's conviction was for first-degree robbery -- which requires "serious bodily harm" to have been done during the commission of the robbery -- or third-degree robbery, which simply requires "force, however slight," according to state law. The verdict sheet signed by the jury in May stated only that it found Harrison guilty of general robbery for attempting to snatch the purse belonging to Hagerhall. The written transcript of the trial never clearly states which degree of robbery the judge charged the jury with finding. The issue was complicated by the August death of trial judge Eugene Clarke Jr. Common Pleas Judge James Lineberger eventually settled on second-degree robbery after hearing from Dick Carroll, who led the case's prosecution until resigning from the D.A.'s office over the summer to work in private practice. The debate was at times acrimonious. El-Shabazz erupted at one point, calling Gilson's arguments "ridiculous" and saying he was offended that the court would not accept his account of his discussions with Carroll and Clarke. El-Shabazz said Carroll had agreed to only seek a third-degree conviction. Carroll denied to Lineberger making such a statement. After the hearing, El-Shabazz said he would appeal the judge's opinion that the robbery was second-degree. Following that pre-sentencing argument, El-Shabazz urged Lineberger not to consider the Russian-born researcher's death in the sentencing because the jury absolved Harrison of any responsibility for it. But Gilson disputed that claim. "But for [Harrison] alone, Vladimir Sled would still be alive," he said, noting that it was Harrison who instigated the robbery which led to the stabbing. Harrison's parents both spoke briefly, apologizing for their son's actions and asking the judge to show mercy. Harrison himself told the court that he was remorseful and did not mean to hurt anyone. Gilson read from a mental evaluation of Harrison, which said his "motivation for change appears to be non-existent," and that he has shown "very little concern or remorse" for the murder. The nearly two years Harrison has already served since his November 1996 arrest will count toward his new sentence. Also yesterday, Lee Mandell, Stewart's attorney, filed a motion requesting Lineberger to reconsider Stewart's sentence, citing the "great disparity" between Stewart's punishment and Black's. Lineberger will consider the motion at a hearing tomorrow afternoon. The three defendants' sentences are vastly different from what prosecutors initially said they expected out of trial proceedings. Carroll told The Daily Pennsylvanian in January 1997 that he intended to pursue the death penalty for all three suspects and that the evidence clearly supported such a punishment. Under state law, a murder committed during the commission of another felony is automatically second-degree murder, even if the defendant is not the actual killer. Juries, though, are not required to follow that rule. Gilson said after the hearing that while he can't fault Lineberger for the sentences, the verdicts were "a complete miscarriage of justice." "No one is being held responsible for the murder of Vladimir Sled," he said. And Sergei Vinogradov, who was one of three former colleagues of Sled's who attended yesterday's hearing, called all three sentences "outrageous," asking how "you can kill someone and get five years in prison."
(10/26/98 10:00am)
Officials will begin a test run of the device, which they hope will improve dormitory and campus security, in two weeks. and Jeremy Reiss High Rise North is about to go high-tech. In an attempt to boost security in campus residences, officials are preparing to install a futuristic hand-scanning device in the entrance to Hamilton House -- or High Rise North -- next month, according to several people familiar with the project. The device is part of a pilot program designed to determine whether it is feasible to install hand scanners in all campus residences. The cost of the project was not immediately available. The biometric reader will actually be inside a fully-enclosed, glass portal to which students and staff can gain access by swiping their PennCards, according to a Public Safety official familiar with the project. Once inside the portal, the student will place his or her hand on the reader to open the second door and get past the building's reception area. The portal automatically detects if more than one person is inside, in which case the second door will not open. "We're always looking for new and better ways to provide efficient, cost effective, high level security," said the Public Safety source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Sue Smith, a spokesperson for the University's college house residential-life system, said Hamilton is scheduled to begin the pilot program on November 10. She refused to comment about any specific details of the pilot, which is a joint project between the Division of Public Safety and the Office of College Houses and Academic Services. Eventually, Public Safety officials hope to use the portals to free up the security guards who currently swipe PennCards at residential entrances to patrol the campus during off-peak hours. The Public Safety official emphasized that there will still always be at least one person -- a guard or house staffer -- in the reception areas in case of a problem with the scanners, and during peak hours there will likely still be a second guard using the current card scanners to supplement the new technology. The source said there is no reason to worry about the system breaking down, but even if it does, technicians will respond on site immediately. In addition, the building would always be able to return to the current card-scanning system while the new system is down. At certain times of day, the official said, "we might more efficiently utilize the services of the officer while still providing the same level of positive identification." For now, use of the portal will be optional, according to Hamilton House Dean Roberta Stack. Students will have the choice of registering their hand prints next month. Stack said she was unsure of how successful the program would be. "We'll just all wait and see how it works," she said. For the duration of the pilot program, there will still be a security officer swiping cards at the entrance for people who do not want to use the portal, the Public Safety official said. "We're going to encourage the students to use the portal as well as the guard at the desk," the source said. "We would like folks to try it out and see what they think." Officials hope to get extensive feedback from students in the building to help determine the success of the pilot and the feasibility of expanding it to other residences. Emily Pollack, the chairperson of the student Residential Advisory Board, which has been involved in the planning for the project, said RAB is approaching the experiment "rather cautiously." "We want to ensure that student input is heard on this issue," she said, adding that the main concerns the group is considering are accessibility into the residences, the aesthetics of the portal and whether or not the hand scanners could cause physical harm. Meanwhile, several students in Hamilton House said they were skeptical about the need for the hand scanners. "I don't think it's necessary," said Barry Schwartz, a College sophomore. "It's not like it's going to be saving time." Schwartz also said that some students were actually a little scared of the Orwellian prospect of scanning their hands, referring to the fears that the government or the University can find out everything about a person from his or her hand print. But if the guards are eventually freed up to patrol campus, the program will be worth it, he added. Wharton senior Ron Sion said he was uncertain that safety in the building was a significant-enough concern. "I'd have to find out a statistic or two, like how many crimes have been committed inside the high rises," Sion said, adding that if the amount was not very high, the hand scanners are not needed. Officials have been discussing this kind of advanced technology since 1996, when the University entered into a buying agreement with Sensormatic Electronics Corp., a Boca Raton, Fla., security-equipment maker. Sensormatic partially manufactured the devices, but another company, Security Technologies Group -- which has a subcontract with Public Safety -- will install and maintain the equipment, the Public Safety source said. The University does not plan to implement the portals in non-residential buildings. Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer Danielle Lewin contributed to this article.
(10/21/98 9:00am)
About 50 students entered the closed dining hall, cooked and stole boxes of food yesterday. and Alex Wong About 50 students broke into Stouffer Dining Commons early yesterday morning and helped themselves to the cafeteria's food, used its kitchen appliances and went into the building's administrative offices and storage areas, witnesses and Dining Services officials said. While most of the students were only eating cereal, many used the kitchen's stoves and tried to steal some larger appliances, including a television set, witnesses said. The students went to the dining hall expecting to be let in for the daily midnight breakfast, but found the door to the building not fully locked, the power on and no Dining Services employees to supervise them. The dining hall was actually closed for fall break. "I've lost more than just food and bowls," Stouffer Dining manager Addie Flowers said. "I've lost faith in the students." Police arrived at around 12:50 a.m. after they received a report of a homeless person in the building, and the students all apparently left. The police then chained the door shut and left. University Police officials said yesterday afternoon they had not received any report from Dining officials of any thefts from Stouffer. Dining Services Director Bill Canney said the student manager was responsible for failing to close the open door and said the power was left on because of maintenance work. While some of the antics were "mildly amusing," as one participant said -- several students were seen cooking eggs on a stove -- others were looting the premises. One student said he saw a group of students trying to take a television set off the wall, while others rummaged through the management offices, kitchens and refrigerators. Many students were seen leaving the building with boxes of food. Flowers arrived at 2 a.m. and cleaned up what she called "a complete mess" that was left by the students. "There was cheese and cereal scattered on the floor," she said. After a "a quick glance over," Flowers said foodstuffs and decorations were taken, food carts were rolled out of the refrigerators and food station signs were taken down and strewn about. The looters rationalized their actions by blaming Dining officials for leaving the building open. "It's pathetic, irresponsible and rather sad that [Dining staffers] left the place open," one student said. The two police officers on the scene, meanwhile, listened to students tell them that it was the regular midnight breakfast -- and left the scene without taking any action against the students. Dining Services held a meeting yesterday to deal with the incident, Canney said. "What's done is done. There's no way for us to know how much was really taken," Canney said after the meeting, adding that no large equipment was stolen.
(10/21/98 9:00am)
An evangelist who has attracted huge crowds of students on Locust Walk this semester by calling passersby "whoremongers" and "fornicators," among other things, was arrested last week for trespassing at Princeton University. And, according to Penn's police chief, he could soon find himself in a similar predicament here. Stephen White -- known across campus simply as "Brother Stephen" --Ewas handcuffed and taken into Princeton Borough Police custody last Thursday after Princeton University Police received complaints that he was disrupting nearby classes. White, 35, a Philadelphia resident, was arrested after being asked to leave campus and not return two weeks earlier, according to Princeton University Public Safety crime-prevention specialist Barry Weiser. White said he returned to Princeton after consulting his lawyer, who advised him to speak only on public property -- such as the sidewalks surrounding the campus. The preacher has been visiting Penn several days a week this semester and quickly became notorious for his approach to religion. White said in an interview on College Green yesterday that after speaking to police, they allowed him to go without posting bail as long as he returned for a court hearing on October 26. The authorities also told White that he could not return to Princeton at least until April as a result of trespassing. Princeton Public Safety officials received complaints from a professor in a nearby classroom that White was disturbing the people in the building. "Certainly, we don't prohibit free speech by any means," said Princeton University spokesperson Mary Caffrey. "But we do have certain parameters, and one of them is not disrupting classes." White said he "told [the police] that I was just trying to bring Princeton back to its roots," adding that the university was founded by a "hellfire" preacher. He added that after his arrest, he went to nearby Rutgers University, where more than 100 students listened to him without incident. Yesterday, Penn Director of Police Operations Maureen Rush said she has been in contact with other administrators about telling White to stop preaching on Penn property. "It's something we are examining," Rush said. "People are feeling his communication? is starting to make people feel very unsafe." White frequently attacks homosexuality and non-Christians beliefs but does not usually talk to individuals unless they respond to him. Rush said the issue of White's preaching was brought up at last week's candlelight vigil on campus for Matthew Shepard, the gay University of Wyoming student who was brutally murdered earlier this month. Participants in the vigil said that "it was scary to walk by him and hear the kind of hatred that was coming out of his mouth," Rush said. Rush said in a follow-up interview last night, though, that if White is asked to leave, it will be because he is being noisy and disruptive, not because he is making people feel unsafe. Asking him to leave for the latter reason might violate Penn's open-expression policies, she said. University spokesperson Ken Wildes said yesterday that while "Penn embraces free speech? if someone is a danger to the campus community or that person is disruptive to the business of the University, then I think the University would have to take appropriate action." Still, Wildes emphasized that universities are "the last bastion of free speech" and should remain so. Daily Pennsylvanian editor Jennifer Arend contributed to this story.
(10/21/98 9:00am)
Yvette Stewart was given 15-20 years for her role in the biochemist's killing. Yvette Stewart, one of three people convicted on charges related to the 1996 murder of University biochemist Vladimir Sled, was sentenced on Monday to 15 to 30 years in prison for her role in the incident. Stewart, 31, cupped her hands over her mouth and swayed back and forth as Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge James Lineberger read her the sentence. The judge told her sister to leave the courtroom after she cried out, "Oh no." Stewart has been in jail since her November 1996 arrest. The sentencing for another defendant, Eugene "Sultan" Harrison, 34, was delayed until next Monday because of confusion over the legal degree of the robbery charges he was convicted of in May. The charges also included the robbery of a Philadelphia Daily News driver by Stewart and Harrison, which took place several hours before the murder. Stewart has 10 days from Monday to request the judge to reconsider and 30 days to appeal the sentence to a higher court. Harrison, Stewart and a third defendant, 27-year-old Bridgette Black, were all convicted earlier this year of various charges stemming from Sled's stabbing death on the night of October 31, 1996, on the 4300 block of Larchwood Avenue. Harrison was trying to take Sled's fiancee's purse, but the 38-year-old Russian-born researcher fought him to the ground. Black emerged from the getaway car and stabbed Sled, though she has said she did not mean to hurt him. Stewart remained in the getaway car and allegedly fired a gun into the air. On May 13, Stewart was convicted of third-degree murder, two counts of robbery and several related charges. Harrison, though, was acquitted a week earlier by a different jury of the murder charge and found guilty of robbery and conspiracy. Black, who testified against Harrison and Stewart during their trials, pled guilty to a general charge of murder and was sentenced in July to five to 12 years in prison. In an interview following the hearing, Assistant District Attorney Mark Gilson said that while Stewart's sentence was "fair under the circumstances" it was "truly outrageous" that the three defendants were tried separately and not all convicted of second-degree murder -- which, given the set of facts, state statutes mandate. "I can't walk out of here and say justice was done," said the prosecutor, who took over the case in July after prosecutor Dick Carroll went into private practice. "They deserve to spend the rest of their lives in prison." Stewart's attorney, Lee Mandell, was unavailable for comment after the hearing and did not respond to a telephone call yesterday. During the sentencing hearing, Lineberger read from Stewart's mental evaluation and pre-sentencing report. Before the Sled incident, Stewart had already spent six years in a state penitentiary for drug dealing, had a $200-a-day crack habit at the time of the murder and had a history of mental illness. She tried to kill herself while in prison, Lineberger said. Mandell called Stewart's mother and sister to testify on her behalf. Her aunt, grandmother and 14-month-old daughter were also in attendance. Frankie Stewart, Yvette's mother, said that her daughter is "really truly sorry. She's a better person now. My daughter's changed." But Lineberger didn't seem to sympathize and asked Frankie Stewart what she expected of him under the circumstances. "Here's an individual [Sled] who left Moscow to come to the home of the free and the land of the brave. What am I supposed to do?" Lineberger asked. Yvette Stewart also spoke, expressing remorse and asking for a chance to be with her infant daughter, who was born while Stewart was in prison. Stewart said she underwent drug rehabilitation while in prison and is now free of her addictions. She has also taken several vocational training courses. "I'm just trying to be the best that I can. I just want to be a mother to my daughter," she said, her voice cracking. Mandell brought up Black's relatively light sentence, pointing out that it was she who actually stabbed Sled, while his client waited in the getaway car. But Gilson emphasized the differences between them, saying that Black gave a full confession immediately following her arrest, had cooperated with the prosecution without any promise of leniency and was not involved in the robbery earlier that same day of a Daily News driver, of which both Harrison and Stewart were convicted. Also entered into evidence were victim impact statements from Sled's ex-wife, with whom he has a teenaged son, and his fiancee at the time of his murder, Swedish-born former University researcher Cecilia Hagerhall. "I miss him tremendously and I find it impossible to stop loving somebody simply because they are dead," Hagerhall's statement said. "Thus my remaining life seems to be childless and lonely." Gilson told the judge that given her prior record and seeming lack of remorse until now, Stewart should not be shown any leniency. When Mandell pointed out that Stewart's prior convictions were mainly drug arrests and shoplifting charges, the judge shot back, "That's no comfort to the victim," and then went on to pass his sentence. After reading his sentence, Lineberger told Stewart she was "lucky" that the jury showed leniency by not convicting her of second-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence. When it came time for Harrison's sentencing, his attorney, Tariq El-Shabazz, claimed that he and Carroll, the former prosecutor, had agreed that the robbery convictions were third-degree, which means a low level of force and carries a maximum of seven years in prison for each charge. But Gilson disputed that, saying that while the robbery of the Daily News driver was probably third-degree, the Sled robbery should be first-degree, which carries a maximum 10-year sentence. Carroll could not be immediately reached for comment.
(10/16/98 9:00am)
The sentencings will likely end the saga surrounding the murder of Penn biochemist Vladimir Sled. The nearly two-year-long saga that has followed the murder of University biochemist Vladimir Sled is scheduled to come to an end Monday when the final two people convicted of charges related to his death receive their sentences. Eugene "Sultan" Harrison, 34, and Yvette Stewart, 31 -- who both celebrated birthdays in prison this week -- are scheduled for sentencing hearings Monday afternoon in front of Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge James Lineberger. In their back-to-back May trials, Harrison was convicted of robbery and other related charges but acquitted of the murder charge. Stewart, though, was convicted by a different jury of third-degree murder. Both were also convicted of charges stemming from the robbery of a Philadelphia Daily News driver earlier that same day. Harrison and Stewart, as well as a third defendant, 27-year-old Bridgette Black -- who was found guilty of third-degree murder over the summer and sentenced to five to 12 years in prison -- were charged in connection with the murder-by-stabbing of Sled, 38. The incident occurred on October 31, 1996, on the 4300 block of Larchwood Avenue. Sled and his fiancee Cecilia Hagerhall, then a University researcher, were walking home at around 11 p.m. when Harrison approached them and tried to take Hagerhall's purse. When Sled started fighting with Harrison, Black emerged from the getaway car wielding a knife, and stabbed Sled. Black, a prostitute who had no previous criminal record in Philadelphia, expressed extreme remorse for the act and has maintained that she meant only to "poke" Sled to "scare him." She said she only involved herself in the struggle because Stewart had a gun and she was worried that Stewart might use it. Stewart had denied having a gun, though she said in a statement given to police after her arrest that she had heard a gunshot. A jury convicted her of possessing an instrument of crime, on top of the other charges. Black did not contest the charges against her, and testified against Harrison and Stewart during their trials. During the joint sentencing hearing, Lineberger will review pre-sentencing reports and mental health evaluations for the defendants, according to Assistant District Attorney Mark Gilson, who took charge of the case since June, when then-prosecutor Dick Carroll went into private practice. "The judge wants to take a lot of things into consideration" before imposing sentences, Gilson said. Both sides will have the chance to present evidence and call witnesses. The defense may call family members or the defendants themselves to talk about their remorse and their overall character and background. The prosecution may then respond by presenting evidence showing the impact of the crime, Gilson said, including letters written by Hagerhall as well as Sled's ex-wife, with whom he has a teenage son. Gilson said he may also call some of Sled's Penn colleagues to present a live witness. Lawyers for Harrison and Stewart did not respond to repeated phone calls this week. Based on the specific crimes they were convicted of, Harrison and Stewart could receive up to 65 years and 94 years in prison, respectively, under state guidelines. But those guidelines are only suggestions, and the judge can go above or below them. Prior records and mitigating circumstances must also be taken into account. Gilson speculated that since Lineberger did not preside over most of the trials -- he took over for the last month after Common Pleas Judge Eugene Clarke died of a heart attack -- he may "more or less just stick with the guidelines because he's not really familiar with the case." The hearing is scheduled for 4 p.m. in Room 701 of the Criminal Justice Center at 13th and Filbert streets, though Gilson said that the time could change right up until Monday morning.
(10/13/98 9:00am)
No one was injured in the incident outside the Newman Center Sunday. Two gunshots were fired from an automatic weapon early Sunday morning as police broke up a fraternity party at the Newman Center. The shots hit a car's fender and tire but injured no one, police said. The shots rang out at about 1:30 a.m., after police arrived at the request of officials at the University-affiliated Catholic center to break up the Kappa Alpha Psi party, which attracted a police-estimated 400 to 500 students from Penn as well as Drexel and Temple universities. A security guard at the Newman Center, located at 3720 Chestnut Street, had called police and asked them to break the party up because it was "getting out of hand," said Father Charles Pfeffer, the center's director. According to University Det. Commander Tom King, a group of men jumped on a car with five female Temple students inside while they were trying to exit the parking lot. The Temple students told police that people were reaching in through the windows and hitting them while they tried to leave. One of the men on the car then fired the shots, one of which hit the front passenger fender and flattened a tire, police said. While many people heard the shots, King said, "nobody saw anyone fire a gun." The Temple students were taken to the Philadelphia Police Department's Southwest Detectives bureau at 55th and Pine streets, where they gave descriptions of the men they saw. They recognized some of them as fellow Temple students but did not know their names, King said. Police recovered two shell casings from the scene, which are being studied by city police. King said the weapon was automatic, but officials do not know what kind of gun it was. The Penn Police are "aggressively investigating the matter" along with city authorities and the Temple police, King said. Khalilah Bryan, a Penn Alpha Kappa Alpha sister who attended the party, said the incident was not as frenzied as one might expect. "It wasn't chaotic. People just moved out of the way," the College sophomore said. "No one was stampeded or anything." She also expressed fear that the gunfire will mean that the Newman Center will stop allowing parties there. "No one knows whether Greeks will be able to have parties at the Newman Center," she said. Pfeffer said he and his staff will "most definitely" re-evaluate hosting parties at the Newman Center in light of the incident. Groups holding parties there must already sign an agreement promising that there will be no alcohol or drugs on the premises. Pfeffer said there have already been several parties held there this year. "It's really unfortunate," he said of the incident. "By and large most people were respectful and having a nice time. It's a shame some folks have to ruin it for other people." College senior Fungayi Kapungu, the president of Kappa Alpha Psi -- a fraternity in the BiCultural InterGreek Council -- said the incident should not reflect on his fraternity because it occurred outside after the party was over and did not involve fraternity members.
(10/12/98 9:00am)
While officials concede the need for accurate crime-reporting, they wonder if the new law will really help. A new federal law designed to make colleges safer by giving students and prospective students a fuller picture of campus crime will probably fail to accomplish its goals, University officials maintain. The law -- part of the far-reaching Higher Education Act which President Clinton signed into law last Wednesday -- seeks to expand what crimes colleges and universities must report to its students and the federal government. In the past, schools could claim that many campus crimes occurred in places that were technically "off campus," as defined by a 1990 law. Earlier this year, a year-long U.S. Department of Education investigation cleared Penn of charges that it was intentionally underreporting campus crime statistics. The new law attempts to close that loophole by requiring colleges and universities to report crimes that happen in areas designated as "noncampus," like fraternity houses or other buildings used by student organizations, and "public property," which includes streets and sidewalks running through campus. Proponents of the law say it will make current students more knowledgeable about campus crime and thus better able to protect themselves, while enabling prospective students to make an informed decision about where to go to school. Penn's top crime-fighting official, however, said that while he agrees with "the concept of crime-reporting," the new bill probably won't make campuses safer. "Crime reporting is important and ought to continue," said University Vice President for Public Safety Tom Seamon. "I just think that this legislation, an effort to make the original bill better, may have the opposite effect." He explained that the law will now require the University "to devote personnel and money in equipment to do the crime reporting," resources that could otherwise be used to fight crime directly. But Daniel Carter, the vice-president of Security On Campus Inc., a non-profit group that lobbied extensively for the new legislation, termed that argument "a bogus criticism." "The reporting burdens are not that much higher," he said, adding that the information should be at hand anyway because "you can't adequately assign your campus security resources if you don't know what's going on or what's happening." And John Ullyot, deputy chief of staff to Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the law's sponsor, said the crime-reporting is "a worthwhile endeavor? even if it increases the effort." "It does increase the burden on the university," Ullyot said. "But that doesn't necessarily have to come out of the portion of the budget that the university places on maintaining a secure campus." Seamon also questioned whether students review crime statistics at all, saying that perceptions of safety are based more on a few major but largely unavoidable random crimes -- like shootings -- than on everyday thefts and burglaries. But Ullyot disagreed. "Having accurate statistics, giving students and their families the most accurate picture possible, enables those students and their families? to make the right decisions about how best to protect themselves against such crimes," he said. Seamon also questioned the vagueness of the term "reasonably contiguous," which the bill uses as a test to determine whether property is close enough to the main campus to be classified as non-campus or public property. "What does that mean?" he asked, adding that he has asked the University's Office of the General Counsel for guidance, and hopes to get clarification from the DOE. Carter responded that Congress was simply "trying to leave some degree of reasonableness." "If the schools just employ an honest, straightforward, reasonable approach, I don't think there will be a problem," he said. In the past, Carter said, schools used a "dishonest and deceitful" approach to reporting crime -- especially at Penn. "Penn definitely was deceitful," Carter said. "They were exploiting the fine line letter of the law to defeat the spirit of the law." Charles Masten, an analyst for the DOE who has worked on the campus crime issue, said the department will spend the next several months writing rules and regulations for how the law is to be followed. Those directives, he said, will "get more down to the nuts and bolts of how this translates to practical directions" than does the actual legislation. The rules will define "reasonably contiguous." Masten said DOE officials will consult with college students and administrators to get their input on how to properly enforce the law. Also, since the new law explicitly gives the government the right to fine schools who are not in compliance, the DOE may take a more forceful approach to enforcing the law, which critics -- including Carter -- have said it failed to do in the past. "We are certainly committed to ensuring that college campuses are safe and that schools are complying with the letter and the spirit of the law," Masten said. University officials lobbied both publicly and privately with Specter to change some aspects of his bill. One change recommended by Penn officials -- including University President Judith Rodin -- was that the law should have different requirements for schools based on their size and location. "Many rural schools don't have city streets running through them and they have much more articulated boundaries," Rodin said. "Penn was designed exactly the opposite, [so as to] welcome the community." Carter conceded that there are differences between different schools, but said he thought putting such a distinction in the law would make it too difficult for students or prospective students to compare the statistics from different schools. The new law will likely not affect how Penn reports crime to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Seamon said that the state law does not specifically define campus, and that the University has always used the federal definition. Officials have not yet decided whether to change that, he said.
(10/07/98 9:00am)
Police arrested former Penn student Yale Zhang for alleged e-mail fraud. University Police arrested a Penn student yesterday for allegedly hacking into another student's e-mail account and sending threatening and harassing letters last spring. Yale Zhang, 20, who was a College sophomore last year, had confessed to the crime in April and was suspended from school for at least one semester, police said. Yesterday, after University Police told him his arrest was imminent, he turned himself in and was taken to the Philadelphia Police Department's Southwest Detectives bureau at 55th and Pine streets. He will be charged with 16 counts of unlawful use of a computer, harassment and ethnic intimidation, according to University Police Det. Frank DeMeo, who is investigating the case. Only the ethnic intimidation charge is a felony. Computer crimes are "serious," said University Police Det. Commander Tom King. "If you get caught, you're going to be arrested." Neither Zhang, who last year's Penn student directory lists as being from White Plains, N.Y., nor his family could be reached for comment. Zhang allegedly sent 19 vulgar and "extremely vitriolic" e-mails to three students, two male and one female, last April, King said. Police refused to cite specific examples from the threats. All the e-mails had the same return address, that of another Penn student who was friends with all three of the victims. With the help of Information Security Officer Dave Millar -- who is in charge of campus computer security -- detectives were able to pinpoint the on-campus computer from which the hacker sent the e-mails. From there, detectives interviewed witnesses and came up with a list of suspects. After being interviewed by detectives investigating the incidents, Zhang confessed in late April, leading to his suspension. But because the victims would be returning home for summer vacation, authorities decided not to charge Zhang until this week. Philadelphia Police officials refused to comment about Zhang specifically yesterday, but said that if he were arrested yesterday afternoon he would likely have remained in custody through the night. Computer crimes such as this one are "growing like weeds," DeMeo said. They are also getting increasingly complex, according to King. Law enforcement has always been "a step or two behind" electronic and computer crimes, King added. To combat the growing trend, though, University Police officials are working more with Penn computer experts and also getting their own training. DeMeo recently attended a Federal Bureau of Investigation electronic-crime training session and is currently investigating several alleged computer-related crimes.
(10/07/98 9:00am)
Penn's Division of Public Safety has something to prove. Although the department has the largest private police force in Pennsylvania and is implementing new policies that will soon radically reduce its dependence on city police, Public Safety officials are seeking to counter anyone who thinks they are "just" a campus security force. Penn is now about halfway through the several-year process of gaining national accreditation, a move that would cement its growing reputation as a top-notch police force. Such a change would improve operations and efficiency, boost morale and save money on insurance and lawsuits, officials said. "It's proving that we're a professional police agency," said University Police Lt. Michael Fink, who has coordinated the department's efforts since it initiated the process in 1996. Only 2 percent of U.S. law enforcement agencies are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, a 19-year-old coalition of police groups that seeks to professionalize policing by setting rigorous voluntary standards. Other accredited forces include those at Georgetown and Brown universities, and a few in Pennsylvania, like the state police and the Philadelphia Housing Authority. The Philadelphia Police, and most other big-city forces, do not have accreditation. And while Public Safety is still about two years away from gaining accreditation, officials say the process has already immensely improved the division's efficiency. "There are a lot of issues the accreditation process has helped us with," Fink said. "There are a lot of things we're doing now that we might not have done [otherwise]." Vice President for Public Safety Thomas Seamon -- who oversees the entire Division of Public Safety, which includes the University Police, Security Services and Special Services -- considers the effort so important that he included it in his campus security "master plan" released in 1996. Seamon, who was a deputy Philadelphia Police commissioner before coming to Penn in 1995, said in a recent interview that the process "forces us to look at every nook and cranny" of the department to make sure that everything is up to par. Indeed, the magnitude of the project forces law-enforcement agencies to improve every aspect of policing. "They literally go from A to Z in everything a police agency needs to do," Fink said. To become accredited, the Division of Public Safety -- which has 102 sworn police officers and about two dozen civilian employees -- must satisfy 338 mandatory standards set by the accreditation group, as well as 80 percent of another 98 standards. Standards include the way an agency should recruit and train new officers, what type of equipment and facilities the department should have and guidelines on the general operations of the agency. Many standards also stipulate that the department must have a written set of rules, regarding things like "a code or a canon of ethics," or "procedures for responding to routine emergency calls and includes guidelines for the use of authorized emergency equipment." According to the Fairfax, Va., group's Web site, the standards "prescribe 'what' agencies should be doing, but not 'how' they should be doing it." Accreditation brings with it several advantages, Fink said. The first is that the introspection forces law-enforcement agencies to improve themselves before qualifying for accreditation. "One of the ultimate goals is to continually progress and professionalize the department," Fink said. It also often leads to cheaper liability insurance and a better defense in lawsuits against it, since the agency can point toward its accreditation as proof of its excellence. Employees also get a morale boost from knowing that they are part of "a professional police agency," Fink said. Fink has spent the past two years combing through regulations and re-writing departmental policies so they are in step with the requirements. Once officials believe the department is in compliance with the standards, they will hold a "mock assessment," where a team of police officials who have been through the process before will inspect the department in much the same way as the actual assessors will. Then, the commission will send three people to Penn to spend several days "literally going through every file" of the department to ensure that Public Safety meets all of the stringent regulations, Fink said. The assessors will interview officers and ride along with officers on duty. They will also hold a public information session, where they can talk to the community about its police force. Seamon promised that the assessment will be while classes are in session so that students are in town to attend the public meeting. Once the assessment is complete, the team will issue a preliminary report to Seamon and report back to the full commission. Public Safety would then be officially accredited a few months later at a hearing. Agencies must then apply for re-accreditation every three years to ensure continued compliance.
(10/06/98 9:00am)
University Police are warning area merchants, students and security officials about a man impersonating a Penn security guard who robbed a 7-Eleven convenience store near campus at gunpoint early Sunday morning. According to police, two men entered the store at 42nd and Walnut streets around 4:30 a.m. Sunday. One of them drew a gun, police said, and they left the convenience store with $100 in cash. The two were last seen fleeing east on Walnut Street. Police say the suspect entered the store dressed as a Spectaguard employee. The suspect stole the white shirt with a Penn Security emblem on the shoulder from a vehicle belonging to a Spectaguard late last week, police said. Yesterday, officials posted signs and handed out notices to University City merchants advising them of the situation. "We're not going to take any chances," said University Director of Police Operations Maureen Rush. "We didn't want to sit back and not alert people." Police described the man who wore the Spectaguard uniform as a 6'1" African American with a thin build, medium complexion and a little bit of facial hair. His accomplice was a thin black man, 5'5" tall and about 16 years old. The man who allegedly wore the Spectaguard shirt did not have a Spectaguard cap, police said. The suspect wore a dark baseball cap during the robbery. Rush said community members should remember that all police officials carry identification -- and all Spectaguards wear the paramilitary-type hats. If a person wearing the uniform is not wearing the hat, Rush said, that may be a tipoff that he is an impostor. "When in doubt, if someone's acting strange, always ask for ID," Rush said. If a man wearing a Spectaguard uniform refuses to show identification, the letter said, one should call University Police immediately. Rush said detectives are considering the possibility that the robber was in fact a Spectaguard employee, but she said she is "about 99.9 percent sure" that he isn't. Spectaguard has been the University's security contractor since 1996. It employs about 200 guards to provide security on all campus facilities and to provide supplemental patrol to University Police officers.
(10/05/98 9:00am)
Blair Mundy was arrested Friday night when he allegedly tried to break into a house on Pine Street. University Police on Saturday arrested a man they believe is responsible for stealing thousands of dollars in electronic equipment, bicycles and other items in at least eight recent burglaries in student housing near campus. Blair Mundy, 29, of Upper Darby, Pa., was arrested at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday after trying to break into a house on the 3900 block of Pine Street, according to University Police Det. Commander Tom King. Mundy was taken to the Philadelphia Police Department's 18th District headquarters at 55th and Pine streets, where he was charged with burglary, illegal possession of a firearm and several related charges. He was released on bail yesterday, Philadelphia Police officials said. The amount of the bail was not immediately available. University Police officers Joanne Kettler and Daryl Blair allegedly saw Mundy prying open the bars blocking a window on the second floor of the residence. After being spotted by the officers, Mundy fled on foot. Details of the chase were not immediately clear, but the officers called for backup and the suspect was quickly apprehended. Mundy was carrying a loaded .22-caliber automatic weapon at the time of his arrest, King said. Police recovered the crowbar Mundy was allegedly using. Because of similarities between this incident and the eight other burglaries over the past three weeks, University Police suspect that Mundy is the man who broke into eight houses between 38th and 42nd streets since September 17. It was not immediately clear last night whether Mundy had been charged with the eight other burglaries. King said officials will compare fingerprints found at the older crime scenes to Mundy's to see if they match. And while there may not be much physical evidence, the "common scheme and design" of the burglaries link them together to Mundy, he added. The burglar gained entry to most the other houses by prying open the bars on the windows as well. The times of the burglaries and the objects stolen are also similar. The pursuit of the suspect indirectly caused a car accident at the intersection of 38th and Spruce streets. A University Police car driving south on 38th Street toward the scene went through a red light at the intersection, and crashed into a taxi cab driving east on Spruce Street. The driver, Officer Oscar Benjamin, was placed on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. King said he has been released from the hospital and his condition is not serious, though he is being given some time off. There were two passengers in the taxi, at least one of whom is a Penn student. They were taken to HUP and treated for minor injuries. Hospital officials refused to release any information on any of the patients. King said police are still investigating the accident. Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer Azmat Yusuf contributed to this report.
(10/02/98 9:00am)
The 25-year-old fell, victim to a "flim-flam' near 39th and Walnut streets. You're walking down the street, when two people walk up to you with a wad of cash. Is this yours? they ask innocently. You, of course, say no. But they persist. Well, we don't know who it belongs to, they say, offering to split all $100,000 -- yes, $100,000 in cash from a wallet they found -- with you. All you have to do is put up $12,000 of your own money so they know you're not scamming them. Then you'll get it back plus lots more. Sound too good to be true? It is: A 25-year-old woman fell victim to exactly this scheme on Tuesday, police said. University and Philadelphia police are investigating the incident, which began outside the PNC Bank automated teller machines near 39th and Walnut streets and left the victim with an empty bank account and a substantial credit-card debt. Such "flim-flam" schemes -- which involve defrauding a person by deception -- are surprisingly common, University Police Det. William Danks said, although this is the biggest one he has seen on campus. Why would people believe something that sounds so patently false? Danks conjectured that the ones who fall for it say to themselves, "I have a chance to turn my money into big money, and I really don't have to do very much." The victim, a foreign-born employee of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, was approached by two women at around 11:30 a.m. as she exited the ATM pavilion, Danks said. The women showed her a wallet with what looked like a two-inch pile of cash. When the CHOP employee said it wasn't hers, they generously offered to split the money -- all "$100,000" of it -- three ways. A third person --Ethis one a man who the two women apparently knew -- then showed up, claiming he had a friend who worked at the First Union bank at 40th and Chestnut streets. His friend at the bank could make sure the bills were real, and then they could all rake in the money. So the four of them went to the bank. The victim and the two women waited outside while the man went in and "talked" to his friend. He soon re-emerged, proclaiming that the money was real. But they couldn't just go and split the cash -- the three told the victim they must all put up "good faith" money as collateral, to make sure that none of them is going to cheat the others. Then, they all drove into Center City, where the victim withdrew not just the $3,500 she had in her bank account, but also took out a $9,000 advance on her credit card. They returned to the bank, and asked the victim to wait inside for the friend to divide up the money. And in case you couldn't figure out what comes next, she never saw her "benefactors" again. "It doesn't make sense," Danks said. "It is absurd. But people [fall for] it." In this case, said University Det. Commander Tom King, the perpetrators involved a bank, a smart move intended to make the victim feel more comfortable. "It adds legitimacy," King explained. The victim spent yesterday afternoon at the Philadelphia Police Department's Major Crimes division, looking through mugshots. The women are described as African-Americans in their 30s, both about 5'8" with medium builds. One wore a lot of gold jewelry, police said. The man was described as being in his late 30s, 6' tall and weighing about 200 pounds. They were driving a gold Nissan Altima with Alabama license plates. Danks said it's "difficult to tell" whether the con artists will continue to operate in University City. But in the meantime, police urged students to be wary of such scams.
(10/02/98 9:00am)
It's a question of whether the glass is half empty of half full. Faced with three alcohol-related hospitalizations last month, University officials are going with the latter, expressing optimism that the incidents are a sign that more students are willing to seek medical attention, not that more students are simply engaging in binge drinking. "It's not that the problem has gotten worse," said Kate Ward-Gaus, adviser to the Drug and Alcohol Resource Team student group. "It's that students are getting the help that they need." There were at least three alcohol-related hospitalizations last month, involving two males and one female living in the Quadrangle. All of the students recovered quickly. The fact that students are willing to get their friends medical help shows that students are becoming better educated about the dangers of alcohol abuse, officials said. "Because students know about the hazards associated with alcohol-poisoning, they're making sure that their friends get the medical attention they need," said Associate Vice Provost for University Life Barbara Cassel. Educational efforts include DART workshops in each of the 12 college houses, Ward-Gaus said, as well as training sessions with all house deans, resident advisers and graduate associates. The 23-member DART is focusing on "getting the message out" that not everyone at Penn drinks, Ward-Gaus said. "If we can [do that], maybe we'll be able to prevent the students who [drink] because they think that's what they're supposed to be doing," she explained. But Ward-Gaus added that the University "acknowledges that some students, no matter what, are going to drink to the level where they need medical attention." University President Judith Rodin, who said she's "horrified" about the recent hospitalizations, noted that administrators can only do so much to solve the problem. "It's not like security where we're putting more cops on the street," she said. "This is about students' behavior." Because of that, Cassel said, it's important to encourage students to seek medical attention when necessary. "In other situations across the nation where students just ignored it, they're the ones who have ended up having serious medical complications," Cassel said, alluding to the high-profile string of alcohol-related deaths last year at colleges across the country. Ward-Gaus said DART hasn't changed any of its programming because of the hospitalizations, but more groups are now trying to schedule workshops. Besides education efforts, a recent University report on the issue made many policy recommendations on how to reduce binge drinking, defined as five drinks in an hour for men and four drinks for women. The report made a sweeping set of suggestions, including improving data collection on binge drinking, notifying parents after any alcohol-related incident and scheduling more classes on Fridays to reduce heavy drinking on Thursday nights. It also suggested the hiring of a coordinator to oversee and administer the University's academic, disciplinary and medical responses to problem drinkers, and to offer a more non-alcoholic programming to students who might otherwise drink. Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer Edward Sherwin contributed to this article.
(09/30/98 9:00am)
Police believe the eight burglaries - which occurred between 38th and 42nd streets - may be related. University Police are investigating several burglaries over the past two weeks that they believe to be related, Det. Commander Tom King said yesterday. Eight burglaries -- all of which occurred in residences between 38th and 42nd streets -- have been reported since September 17, including two Monday night. King expressed cautious optimism that University Police will be able to apprehend the burglar. "We're reasonably optimistic that we're going to arrest this guy," said King, who supervises the department's squadron of eight detectives. "[But] burglaries are a bit more difficult than many crimes to make an arrest because it's a crime of stealth." Besides the fact that all of the burglaries occurred within a few blocks of each other, King said several other factors link them together. In all but one, the burglar gained entrance by prying open window bars on the first floor, most likely with a car jack. With one exception, they also all happened between midnight and 7 a.m. Another connection -- termed "odd" by King -- was that several of the houses reported bicycles being stolen, which King said is somewhat uncommon. He speculated that the burglar is "trying to take items that he can sell quickly to turn around into cash." Most of the stolen items were electronic equipment, including televisions, stereos, laptop computers and video cassette recorders. Residents in two of the burglarized houses reported that a man came to their door before the burglary and asked for someone who didn't live there. The descriptions of the man were similar, King said. King declined to comment on the specifics of the investigation. Most of the victims were students. The eight burglaries were on the 200 block of S. 41st Street on September 17; the 4000 block of Pine Street on September 18; the 3900 block of Baltimore Avenue on September 20; the 3800 block of Walnut Street on September 24; the 300 block of S. 42nd Street on September 25; the 4000 block of Baltimore Avenue on Saturday; and the 3900 block of Sansom Street and the 4000 block of Walnut Street on Monday.
