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(09/30/98 9:00am)
The comprehensive bill may stop schools from underreporting crime. The U.S. Senate voted unanimously yesterday to enact a sweeping set of new federal guidelines dealing with security and crime issues on campuses nationwide. The provisions -- some of which are attempts to close loopholes that have allowed urban schools like Penn to report substantially fewer crimes than actually occur on their campus -- were part of a comprehensive, 600-page bill touching on all aspects of higher education, from student loan interest rates to binge drinking prevention. The bill, which was approved by the House on Monday, is expected to be signed into law by President Clinton. Proponents of the legislation promised that the security aspects of the bill would make campuses safer, by mandating how schools must report crime to its students. "This will save many, many, many lives. Thousands of lives," said Security on Campus, Inc. founder Connie Clery yesterday at an afternoon press conference with Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.). Clery applauded Specter's role as a "great champion" of the legislation. Clery and her husband founded Security on Campus, a non-profit advocacy group, 11 years ago after their daughter was raped and murdered while a student at Lehigh University. Part of the legislation is named after her daughter. Specter said of the legislation that "we'll all be the better for it? [especially] the universities, which will have safer grounds." The security provisions address several issues. The most important one for Penn will likely be the new rules regarding which crimes must be reported as having occurred on campus. Previously, urban schools routinely underreported the crime that occurred on campus because of loopholes in the way the term "on-campus" was defined. "The schools? abused [the definition] in a way that defied common sense," SOC Vice President Daniel Carter said in an interview earlier this week. "They were not reporting incidents that a normal person would assume is on campus." Only 10 percent of the robberies reported to University Police in 1995 were designated as having occurred "on campus," a statistic which drew a year-long Department of Education review of the University's crime-reporting methods. The review found no major violations. But according to Carter, it opened Congress' eyes about how far colleges and universities will go to underreport crime. Under the bill, the definition of campus is expanded to include stores and businesses used by students in a campus area but not necessarily owned by the university. Schools will also have to disclose crime statistics for certain areas that don't fall under the new definition of "on campus." Guidelines governing the release of student disciplinary records will also be modified under the new legislation. Schools will now be allowed to release the names of students accused of violent crimes and their punishments. In original drafts of the legislation, all student disciplinary records would have been made open to the public. Officials from many universities, including Penn, testified against those provisions, and Congress decided to make the disclosures optional. Michelle Goldfarb, director of Penn's Office of Student Conduct, said that since the bill does not require schools to release the information, it will not immediately cause changes in how disciplinary records are disclosed. "It's really a policy decision that the University will have to grapple with," Goldfarb said. The bill also allows schools to contact parents of students under age 21 about alcohol- or drug-related disciplinary problems. Goldfarb, who testified in front of the Senate last spring about the bill, said it's important, however, to maintain the student privacy rules that have always prevented colleges and universities from releasing sensitive information about its students. Top university officials openly lobbied against aspects of the bill since its introduction last spring. University President Judith Rodin wrote Specter a letter in May in which she expressed concern that "the changes you propose to the definition of campus would greatly complicate what is already a confusing issue." The law also addresses the increasing amount of binge drinking on college campuses. The legislation urges colleges to "change the culture of alcohol consumption," with alcohol-free activities, a zero-tolerance policy on students found illegally possessing alcohol and the creation of a task force to recommend policy and program changes that would reduce alcohol-related problems.
(09/28/98 9:00am)
The change is aimed at helping crime victims and boosting efficiency. In an attempt to provide better service to the University community and investigate crimes more efficiently, Division of Public Safety officials are preparing to radically change the way crimes in University City are investigated and catalogued. Under a proposed new set of arrest protocols, anything that happens on campus or involves University students, faculty and staff members in the University Police patrol area -- from Market Street to Baltimore Avenue and the Schuylkill River to 43rd Street -- will be handled by University Police, from the moment of the crime until the suspect's arraignment. In the past, the Philadelphia Police Department has technically been in charge of every criminal investigation, though University Police have a squadron of eight detectives that investigate and solve crimes on their own. The changes mean less duplication of effort between the two departments, less hassle for University-affiliated victims of crimes and greater self-sufficiency for Public Safety. "We understand the University better, we understand the students better," Vice President for Public Safety Thomas Seamon said last week. "We can give more specialized service." And Philadelphia Police Commissioner John Timoney said through a spokesperson that the new procedures will "improve the operation and efficiency" of both University and Philadelphia police. Seamon said he expects to hammer out an agreement with the city within the next two months. Preliminary estimates suggest the cost of implementing the new protocols will be around $50,000, officials said. That's a small fraction of Public Safety's annual budget, which last year was about $10 million. The plan makes sense for the University, officials said, because the PPD's 18th District, which encompasses a swath of West Philadelphia from the Schuylkill to Cobbs Creek, is overburdened with crimes usually more serious than what occurs on or near campus. "Oftentimes [Philadelphia Police are] not able to spend as much time as we are investigating these kinds of things," because they have so much else to worry about, University Police Det. Commander Tom King said. For instance, last winter several University vending machines were burglarized by what police called a "career thief," said Penn Director of Police Operations Maureen Rush. Compared to the violent crimes that the PPD must often deal with, the rash of thefts was relatively minor. But it was "a very important issue to us," Rush said, because it's the type of quality-of-life crime that makes people think University City is unsafe. Currently, University Police officials have to go through the PPD to obtain an arrest warrant and, when a suspect is apprehended, University Police must take them to the PPD station for booking and questioning. Victims must also trek down to the 18th District office at 55th and Pine streets to give interviews to Philadelphia detectives. University Police, meanwhile, would conduct their own investigation. If the new procedures are agreed upon, as expected, PPD detectives will not investigate crimes in University Police jurisdiction unless asked to do so. Penn officials will be able to get arrest warrants and book suspects at the new Public Safety headquarters at 4040 Chestnut Street. Once a suspect is booked, they will be held in a temporary holding cell inside the Public Safety office. Then they'll be taken to the Police Detention Unit at 8th and Race streets for arraignment, which is when a judge reads the charges to the suspect and sets bail. Seamon said the suspect's time in the holding cell will be short. "We don't want to be a jail," he said. One potential downside, though, is that much of the built-in cooperation and communication between University Police -- the state's biggest private police force -- and the city department would be eliminated. King said Penn officials were "cognizant" of that potential liability and will work to make sure it doesn't create a problem. "It's important to take steps to ensure that we don't lose that liaison" with the city, King said. "And I don't think we will." He said Penn has always had excellent relations with its Philadelphia counterparts, and that it will continue to rely on them to patrol the area and to provide information tying University City crime to the greater West Philadelphia area. There will also be some instances, Seamon said, where University Police "won't want to handle [a case] alone," and will request the city department's help. Public Safety will spend most of the $50,000 on three machines: a two-computer Preliminary Arraignment System, which transmits data about the suspect and the crime for use in the arraignment; a photoimaging machine for taking mug shots and showing photographs of potential suspects to victims; and a device that electronically reads suspects' fingers and stores images of the fingerprints.
(09/21/98 9:00am)
The 17 year-old female Quad resident was taken to HUP Friday morning. and Brian D'Ottavio A female freshman was rushed to the hospital early Friday morning after passing out due to an alcohol-related illness. Paramedics arrived in the Quadrangle a little before 1 a.m. to take the 17-year-old victim to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. "She looked horrible. It was scary," said one witness, who saw the victim taken from her dorm room in Community House. Friends of the victim said she consumed about 10 mixed drinks and at least two shots of tequila at a hotel party at the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. Each room in the fraternity house served a different type of mixed drink. When she started feeling sick, two of her friends took her back to the Quad at around midnight. Once they returned, the victim started throwing up and "was not responsive to anyone," a friend said. As she drifted in and out of consciousness, her friends notified their resident advisor, who called for an ambulance. According to witnesses, two ambulances and several police cars arrived, and the unconscious victim was taken out of her room in a stretcher. The University has traditionally maintained a policy where students who seek help for themselves or friends are not punished for underage drinking. In an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian, the victim said she was treated in the emergency room with intravenous fluids to rehydrate her body and received an oxygen tube in her nose because she was having trouble breathing. But doctors did not need to pump her stomach. Hospital officials declined to comment other than to confirm that the victim was treated in HUP's emergency room. The girl was discharged at about 5:13 a.m. and returned to her dorm. She spent Friday recovering in her room. The incident comes on the heels of another alcohol-related illness reported last weekend, when a freshman in Ware College House in the Quad was hospitalized. It also comes less than a week after the University released a 10-page report outlining strategies for combatting binge drinking, defined as five or more drinks for men and four or more for women. The report makes a sweeping set of recommendations, including improving collection of data on binge drinking, notifying parents after any alcohol-related incident involving a student and scheduling more classes on Fridays to discourage students from beginning weekend drinking on Thursday nights. College junior Jon Fenkel, a member of the AEPi executive board, would not comment on the situation. He deferred to the president and Wharton junior Dan Tehrani. Tehrani did not respond to repeated phone calls. Inter Fraternity Council President and College senior Josh Belinfante said he does not think that fraternities should be blamed for problems resulting from binge drinking. "Social organizations in this country use alcohol," he explained. "To say that we as a system could eliminate hospitalization is ridiculous. We are trying to educate our members, which is more than anyone else is doing." Another recent report, issued by the Harvard School of Public Health and published in the September issue of the Journal of American College Health, showed that about 40 percent of college students nationwide routinely binge drink. The study also noted that the number of drinkers who had binged three or more times in the past month increased by 22 percent over the past four years. Drinking to get drunk was up 33 percent over the same period. Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer Catherine Lucey contributed to this article.
(09/18/98 9:00am)
The man arrested for assaulting a Penn Law School student Tuesday posted bail the following day after being charged with aggravated assault and robbery, Philadelphia Police Department officials said. William Gurganious, 43, of the 1400 block of North 53rd Street, allegedly beat the 33-year-old Law student Tuesday afternoon with a three- or four-foot pipe in the Franklin Building parking lot near the corner of 36th and Walnut streets before fleeing with the student's wrist watch. University Police arrested him within minutes. The victim struggled with his assailant after being struck once in the face. A deliveryman for Lee's Hoagie House, Donald Klipstein, saw the melee and attempted to wrestle the man to the ground. Klipstein said yesterday that he "held on to him for 15 or 30 seconds," in an effort to at least slow the assailant down before the police could respond, but the assailant slipped out of his grip. Rather than running from the scene, the man walked away slowly, Klipstein said, apparently trying to blend into the lunchtime crowd. Klipstein, 37, called police from a nearby blue-light phone, but they were already on the way. Two officers arrived at the scene and arrested Gurganious inside the Mellon Bank next to the parking lot. Klipstein said he made his delivery inside the Franklin Building and when he got back outside the alleged assailant was already in handcuffs. After identifying Gurganious as his assailant, the victim was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and treated for facial lacerations. Gurganious, meanwhile, was taken to the Southwest Detectives bureau at 55th and Pine streets for arraignment. The watch was recovered from the ground of the parking lot. Philadelphia Police declined to give the amount of Gurganious' bail.
(09/17/98 9:00am)
Family and friends filled a service in honor of Shannon Schieber. There was the time last spring when a friend of Shannon Schieber's endured a disastrous plane trip to Philadelphia. He missed his first flight and then his second plane was delayed by three hours. When he landed here at about 1 a.m., Schieber was there waiting for him with a couple of beers. It was times like this and many others when Schieber's warm smile, generous personality and zest for living made her stand out throughout her life, which was tragically cut short four months ago. In a memorial service yesterday, friends and classmates of the first-year Wharton doctoral student described her as a vibrant, intelligent woman and compassionate friend who accomplished a great deal in her 23 years and nine months. Though Schieber studied at Penn for less than a year, about 80 students and faculty members attended her memorial service -- sponsored by Wharton's Insurance and Risk Management program -- in a large Logan Hall lecture room. "The University of Pennsylvania is dimmer today," said University Chaplain William Gipson, who is responsible for overseeing and coordinating religious activities on campus. "Her loss casts a deep shadow over us." Schieber, a native of the Washington, DC, suburb of Chevy Chase, Md., was found strangled to death in her Center City apartment May 7. Police have yet to make an arrest. But there was as much laughter as there were tears yesterday, as friends and colleagues remembered a life full of promise. Insurance Professor Olivia Mitchell, who organized the service, opened the afternoon by praising Schieber as a "strong leader, generous with her friends [and] giving to the world around her." Wharton Dean Thomas Gerrity, noting the large turnout, said Schieber's "impact is just so clear today with the presence of all of you here." Many of the 15 or so speakers talked about Schieber's contributions to her community. While in high school, she spearheaded a campaign to find ways for the cash-strapped public school system to restore eliminated programs, at one point making line-by-line suggestions to changing the budget in front of the county council. In Philadelphia, Schieber tutored inner-city children and helped run a Junior Achievement economics program at a local Catholic high school. One friend recalled meeting an elderly neighbor of Schieber's at church, who told of how Schieber spent three hours one afternoon helping him move boxes. She worked just as hard in school. Schieber managed to graduate in three years from Duke University with three majors -- mathematics, economics and philosophy. Friends said that Schieber was always there for them when they needed something, whether it was a ride to Washington or just a hug on a gloomy day. Shannon's mother, Vicki Schieber -- who attended the service with her husband Sylvester and son Sean, who discovered Schieber's body -- thanked everyone for coming to the service and urged them to help her create a "living memorial" to Shannon. "We ask you to join with us to carry on Shannon's goals and dreams," Vicki Schieber said. "We're asking you to make a difference." She went on to ask the mourners to follow Shannon's example of trying to give back to the communities in which she lived. "It doesn't matter how long you live, but what you did with the time you're given," she said. Reinforcing the general theme of allowing Schieber to live on through the memories of those who knew her, Mark Pauly, the vice dean of Wharton's doctoral program, announced the creation of two memorial funds in Schieber's name. Pauly awarded one of them, the Shannon Schieber Memorial Doctoral Scholarship, to Wharton graduate student Susan Hogan, who said she was honored to receive the award. Pauly said the scholarship will be awarded annually to a female Wharton doctoral student entering her second year of study and exhibiting "personal integrity, high promise for a gifted teaching and research career and commitment to the community." The second memorial, the Shannon Schieber Memorial Doctoral Research Fund, will be a source of funding for Wharton Insurance doctoral students to "buy the tools they need to craft their research," including books, software and travel expenses, Pauly said. Philadelphia homicide detectives -- many of whom attended the service -- are still investigating the murder, Philadelphia Police Homicide Capt. Stephen Glenn said yesterday in a telephone interview. Glenn said they are "following a variety of different paths," but declined to comment on any specific leads. Police no longer believe that Schieber's murder is related to an assault at 14th and Lombard streets late last month. Still, Glenn said one of the best chances they have of solving the case is to find a connection between it and similar incidents.
(09/16/98 9:00am)
A Law School student was injured when a man struck and robbed him. A man used a plastic rod to pummel a University Law School student's face during an attempt to steal his wristwatch yesterday afternoon in a parking lot near 36th and Walnut streets, police said. One officer was patrolling the area and arrived on the scene within minutes, before the alleged assailant had a chance to flea the area, said Penn Police Det. Commander Tom King. Officers arrested the alleged assailant, 43-year-old William Guranious, within a block of the lot. Guranious was taken to the Philadelphia Police Department's Southwest Detectives bureau at 55th and Pine streets and charged with aggravated assault and robbery, according to University Police. PPD detectives were unavailable for comment yesterday. After he identified the suspect, the third-year Law student was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and treated for facial lacerations. He was not admitted to the hospital and returned home. According to the police report, at about 1 p.m., Guranious hit the student in the face with the rod several times during an attempt to steal his watch. The watch was found on the ground of the Franklin Building parking lot. King called the incident "bizarre" since it occurred in broad daylight in a very visible area of campus. He also praised the officers, Robert Delaurentiis and Ted Farrell, for making an arrest so quickly. He said incidents like this "send a message that [Penn] isn't a friendly environment" to commit crimes. In a separate incident, construction workers at the nearby Sansom Common site discovered that more than $10,000 worth of tools were stolen from a secured tool shed sometime over the weekend. The hinges on the shed's door, located on the second floor of the part of the complex still under construction, were removed, University Police said. Officials at Turner Construction Co., the contractor that the University hired to build Sansom Common on Walnut Street between 36th and 37th streets, were unavailable for comment yesterday afternoon. University Police are investigating the burglary.
(09/15/98 9:00am)
University Police are "cautiously optimistic" that they will find the man suspected of setting fire to the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity house early Sunday morning, Det. Commander Tom King said yesterday. King, who supervises University Police's squad of eight investigators, said police believe the suspect broke into the house at 307 S. 39th Street and set the fire as a "diversion" in order to rob the house. A wallet and a compact disc player are believed to be the only items stolen. No one was injured in the incident, though about 30 brothers were forced to evacuate the chapter house. Brothers said they were awakened at around 5:45 a.m. by smoke and fire alarms. At least three of them saw the suspect running through the house yelling, "There's a fire!" King said University Police, who are investigating the incident along with the Philadelphia Police Department and the Fire Marshal's Office, spent yesterday interviewing DKE brothers and other potential witnesses. Descriptions of the alleged arsonist are sketchy since brothers were asleep or groggy during the fire and were more concerned about getting everyone out of the house than finding out who the man was. At least three brothers saw the suspect. DKE Vice President and College senior Keith Crivello said he saw the man enter his bedroom yelling that there was a fire before allegedly stealing Crivello's wallet from atop his dresser. Crivello -- who said his credit card company notified him that someone attempted to use his card yesterday -- described the suspect as a man in his mid-30s, with average height and "a very thin face." Police have not yet shown DKE brothers any sketches or photographs of potential suspects because they don't want to risk polluting "what memory [the brothers] have" of him, King said. The one-alarm fire left the house with little permanent damage, though some of the furniture in the house's common room was destroyed and yesterday burn marks remained on the carpet. The first floor, where the fire originated, has been mostly cleaned up. The cost of the damage, which has not yet been determined, will likely be paid for by the fraternity's insurance, Crivello said.
(09/14/98 9:00am)
The University Police Department filled out its management team last month by promoting three people to the lofty rank of lieutenant and two more to sergeant, the next-highest rank. Pennsylvania's largest private police force, which has about 100 sworn officers, now has 10 sergeants and four lieutenants. In the Penn Police, lieutenant is the highest rank below Maureen Rush, the director of police operations. The promotions were mainly intended to fill the eight-month vacancies in some of the shift commander positions, Rush said. The changes mean that there is now one person in charge of each shift who reports directly to Rush, in addition to several sergeants who report to the lieutenants. "The overall mission of these positions is to round out the management team [and to provide] easier access" to police officials for students and community members, she said. The three new lieutenants are Tom Rambo, who was formerly in charge of Public Safety's Special Response Team, which was formed in 1996 amidst an extensive crime wave; Tom Messner, the department's training officer; and Michael Fink, who has been the accreditation officer for the past two years. The men have been with University Police for an average of 12 to 14 years each, Rush said. Rambo is now the shift commander on the midnight to 8 a.m. shift, while Messner will take over from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Another lieutenant, Gerald Leddy, remains on the third shift. Fink will remain in his current position until the department completes its efforts to gain national accreditation. "Each one of them has made a distinct mark on this department," Rush said of the three. She praised Rambo as one of the major reasons for the reduction in University City crime over the past two years, and said that Messner has changed the way the department trains its officers. Fink, she added, has done a "fabulous job" in his capacity. Promoted to sergeant were Gary Heller, who has worked his way up the chain of command from officer to detective and now sergeant, and Cheryl Graham, a police officer with Penn for two years. Additionally, Sgt. Len Harrison was named to replace Rambo as the head of the Special Response Team. All candidates for promotion took written tests administered by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and also had outside evaluators assess their knowledge, communications and management skills and general fitness for command positions, Rush said. The outside consultant made recommendations to Rush and Vice President for Public Safety Thomas Seamon, who interviewed the finalists and made the final decisions. Seamon swore in the officers at an August 24 ceremony.
(09/14/98 9:00am)
No one was injured in the Sunday morning blaze, which caused damage to parts of the fraternity house. Philadelphia and University Police are investigating an arson that occurred early Sunday morning at the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity house on South 39th Street. No one was injured in the 5:45 a.m. one-alarm fire, although about 30 brothers evacuated the house and some property was damaged. The Philadelphia Fire Department has declared the incident an arson, a Philadelphia Police official said. According to College senior and DKE president J.D. Beiting, some of the brothers in the house reported seeing a suspicious-looking man running around the house during the fire, and several items -- including a wallet and a portable compact disc player -- are missing. "[The man] was running around the house saying 'There's a fire,' but I think he was just throwing things into a bag," said DKE Vice President Keith Crivello, who woke up to find the man in his room yelling and later realized that his wallet was gone. None of the brothers recognized the man, and he was nowhere to be found once the building had been evacuated. DKE brothers speculate the man lit the couch on fire with the intent of robbing the house during the ensuing confusion. The blaze apparently began when a couch in a first floor common room caught on fire. Smoke soon filled the entire three-story building, which is located south of Spruce Street near the Veterinary Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Beiting and several firemen went through the house room by room to make sure everyone was evacuated. "I could just hear people coughing and trying to get out," Beiting said. "It was pretty bad." According to fire department officials, four fire engines responded within minutes of the alarm going off. It was quickly brought under control, though brothers were not allowed back in the house until around 8 a.m., Beiting said. The house has extensive damage on the first floor and soot litters much of the house. The exact cost of the repairs has not been determined. Television news reports erroneously reported yesterday that the fire occurred at the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity house, which is on 39th Street about a block north of DKE.
(09/11/98 9:00am)
Despite being victimized by what federal authorities call the largest counterfeit operation ever, Penn won't lose a dime. University Treasurer Scott Lederman said yesterday that officials have identified 12 or 13 false checks written in the University's name, totaling about $75,000. However, Mellon Bank will be picking up the tab, since banks routinely reimburse customers who are defrauded. "We're pretty sure we're not going to lose anything in something like this," Lederman said. Last week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested 38 people on charges of racketeering, bank fraud and money laundering. The suspects stand accused of obtaining thousands of fake checks -- which drew from the accounts of Penn and several other major area businesses and institutions -- and then writing them to themselves. All told, authorities said, members of the ring wrote themselves between $100 million and $1 billion in fraudulent checks. The actual losses amount to about $6 million, with banks having to foot the bill. The ring, allegedly led by 38-year-old Reginald Greene of the city's Overbrook Park section, obtained microfiche copies of checks and then "fraudulently represent[ed]" themselves to printing companies to order more checks, federal authorities said. In at least one situation, authorities said, a member of the group stole checks from the company in which he worked and gave them to Greene. Other area institutions the group allegedly victimized include the Philadelphia 76ers, WPVI-TV, U.S. Healthcare and PECO Energy Co. Earlier this week, prosecutors said most of the suspects in the ring had already been arrested. Bail hearings are being conducted this week and will continue through next week.
(09/09/98 9:00am)
Federal authorities last week busted what they said was one of the biggest counterfeiting schemes in U.S. history, which allegedly used phony checks to try to bilk hundreds of millions of dollars from many prominent Philadelphia institutions -- including the University. A federal grand jury indicted 38 people on charges of racketeering, bank fraud and other charges related to a massive fake-check scam. Members of the group allegedly obtained microfiche copies of corporate and business checks and then "fraudulently represent[ed] themselves" to printing companies to order books of blank checks, according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney's office. Reginald Greene, 38, of the city's Overbrook Park section -- about four miles west of campus -- is accused of being the operation's ringleader. Greene served 20 months in prison in 1991 on fraud charges. In 1996, authorities in Delaware prosecuted him on similar charges but failed to get a conviction and eventually dropped the charges. Greene's attorney, Dennis Cogan, said yesterday that Greene plans to plead not guilty. He emphasized the charges so far are simply "accusations." "He's been down this road before and knows it's an accusation and that's all it is," Cogan said. The scheme, which allegedly began in 1993, centered around large Philadelphia-area corporations, including the Philadelphia 76ers, WPVI-TV, U.S. Healthcare, the Cozen and O'Connor law firm and several charitable and educational organizations. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office statement, Greene's organization was very complex. Greene and 15 "lieutenants" allegedly ordered tens of thousands of blank checks and then delivered them to various "check passers," who deposited or cashed them. Check passers often had false identities and disguises, the statement says. The real victims, though, are the 14 financial institutions and credit unions, which agreed to repay Penn and the other organizations the collective losses of $6 million. Total losses could have been in the range of $1 billion had more of the group's checks cleared, authorities said. University officials yesterday were still reviewing the case. Because the banks have agreed to repay the institutions, it is unlikely that Penn will suffer any economic losses. Most of the defendants have been arrested and are in custody. Bail hearings are being held this week and next. Cogan said he expects a trial to begin in about six months. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Kurland, who is one of the lead prosecutors for the case, said she expects many of the defendants to plead guilty and that she will try those who don't together. Agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Secret Service and the Philadelphia Police Department have been investigating the alleged scheme for several years. Officials are still trying to determine how the ring was able to obtain the microfiche copies of blank checks. One of the suspects arrested worked for one of the institutions that was victimized, authorities said.
(09/04/98 9:00am)
University Police had a relatively uneventful summer this year, as the number of major crimes remained unchanged from last year in most categories and the amount of thefts plummeted 31 percent. There were 375 reported thefts between June 1 and August 31, 1997, including 252 on-campus incidents. During the same period this year, however, there were only 142 reported on-campus thefts out of a total of 257, according to official figures. The drop included a 50 percent decrease in reported bicycle thefts. Car thefts also fell this year, dropping to 14 from the 18 reported to police last year. Additionally, an increasingly high percentage of robberies have resulted in arrests this summer, said Det. Commander Tom King. Police have made arrests in 10 of the 17 robberies that occurred during the second half of the summer. King said those numbers have a "two-pronged deterrent effect" on campus crime: First, the perpetrators themselves are arrested and thus taken off the streets; and second, the "word goes out that Penn is not such a great place to commit and get away with crime." King said SpectaGuard security officers aided patrol officers in several of the arrests. The number of burglaries and robberies reported to Penn Police was largely unchanged from last summer, though far fewer occurred on campus. One robbery led to violence on July 4, as a man in his late teens or early 20s stabbed a 46-year-old man in the abdomen during a robbery attempt on the 200 block of South 43rd Street. No arrests have been made in the incident. The victim, who is not affiliated with Penn, was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in good condition. In August, three men allegedly attempted a bizarre robbery of the brand-new Computer Connection store in Sansom Common near 36th and Sansom streets. The trio allegedly crashed a pick-up truck through the store's windows in the early-morning hours of August 6, then loaded "thousands of dollars" worth of electronics equipment into the vehicle, King said. When a police officer arrived at the scene, the three fled and were chased for a few blocks until the truck crashed into a tree at 33rd and Baring streets. Police arrested James Turner, 25, of the 2900 block of Patton Drive and Juan Johnson, 26, of the 3800 block of Baring Street, on charges of burglary and theft. A third suspect remains at large. In an attempt to escape arrest, one of the men threw some of the equipment at the police car during the brief chase, police said. There were no reported homicides and one reported rape this summer, compared to one murder and two rapes -- all off-campus -- last summer. The number of aggravated assaults, which include stabbings, gunshot wounds and serious beatings, jumped from seven last year to 13 this summer. King said there was no specific reason for the increase.
(09/04/98 9:00am)
If a Penn student is robbed outside the food court at 3401 Walnut Street, is it technically an on-campus crime? How about outside the Cinemagic movie theater near 40th and Walnut streets? Although most people consider those locations part of the Penn campus, the answer to both questions has long been "no." The culprit? A controversial federal law regulating how colleges report campus crime statistics to parents, students and the government. Under fire from critics both inside and outside the government, however, that law may soon change. Congress and the Senate passed legislation over the summer that would re-define what constitutes "on-campus crime." The changes could dramatically increase the amount of reported crime at urban schools like Penn. Crimes labeled as "off campus" do not have to be reported in the University's annual crime report, which is typically mailed to parents, students and the government. Only 10 percent of the robberies reported to the Penn Police in 1995 were designated as having occurred "on campus," according to a Philadelphia Inquirer story which sparked a federal government investigation. The U.S. Department of Education conducted a year-long review of the University's crime-reporting methods to determine if officials were illegally underreporting the crime rate. It found only a half-dozen minor violations of the original law, none related to the accusation that Penn broke the law by not reporting all of its "on-campus" crimes. Daniel Carter, vice president of Security on Campus Inc., an advocacy group which has championed the new legislation and been a vociferous critic of the University, said this week that the revisions are necessary to eliminate any "chance of confusion." "There were too many schools not living up to the spirit and intent of the original campus security act," he said. "Many of the legislators originally thought that if they provided a general framework, [universities] would be honest. That has not turned out to be the case." The two versions of the bill -- which contain several inconsistencies and must be reconciled in a conference committee -- seek to close loopholes in the original Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990. The bills expand the definition of campus to include retail establishments, dormitories, streets, parking facilities and other buildings that are "reasonably contiguous" to the school. The legislation is part of Congress' all-encompassing higher education bill, which authorizes all federal student aid programs. The new law might also impose a penalty on schools for infractions, which the previous version did not do. Despite the fact that the government has found 63 schools in violation of the regulations, none has been penalized under the existing law. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) called the current execution of the law a "disservice to parents and students." "I believe it is preposterous to suggest that if a student fell victim to a crime, say on a sidewalk which he or she was using to get to class, that it would go unreported," the Penn alumnus said on the Senate floor May 20. Several Penn officials have gone on record with opposition to the new legislation. In a letter to Specter dated May 18, University President Judith Rodin said she is "concerned that the changes you propose to the definition of campus would greatly complicate what is already a confusing issue." Rodin said this week that Congress is "mislead[ing] itself if it thinks it can find a perfect definition that can suit all kinds of campuses." Instead, she suggested, the law could use different definitions of "on campus" for different types of schools, segmenting them by size and proximity to a city. "Whatever the law is, Penn will comply like it always has," Rodin stressed. Both versions of the bill would require campus police departments to maintain a public campus crime log that records all reported crimes. Penn's Division of Public Safety already keeps a public log. The House version of the law specifies that offenses handled by the campus disciplinary office be included in crime reports. Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer Edward Sherwin contributed to this article.
(07/09/98 9:00am)
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As the nation's capitol attempts to prove to Congress that it can once again take care of itself, University alumnus Jack Evans is hoping to persuade Washington voters to choose him to be the one that leads the city's 600,000 residents to the promised land of home rule. Evans, 44, a member of Washington's city council since 1991, is running for the Democratic nomination for mayor of the embattled city. "I've done a lot as a councilmember, but in order to really effect the changes that I want to in the way our government is run, you have to be in the mayor-level position," the 1975 Wharton graduate said. Evans' candidacy became much more plausible last month when Washington's colorful and popular "mayor-for-life" Marion Barry announced he would not seek a fifth term in office. Barry has been at the epicenter of D.C. politics for two decades, including the year he spent in a federal prison on drug charges. However, Evans still faces several obstacles -- perhaps the most important being the color of his skin in this heavily African-American city. "[Being] a white person running in a predominantly black city has been a challenge," Evans said, though "much less of a challenge than one might expect." "This city, like many cities across the country, is less focused on race than it once was," he added. Still, Evans remains an underdog for the Democratic nomination. His opponents include two other city councilmembers, the District's former chief financial officer and a wealthy restaurateur. The general election following the primaries is largely a formality, since the city is almost exclusively Democratic. Unlike Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell, a 1965 College graduate, Evans did not have any aspirations of public office while a student at Penn, though he did find political science "fascinating." "I guess there are those people who focus on running for office, but I can't say that was what I was thinking about at that time, and the opportunity didn't really present itself until the late 1980s," Evans said. Instead, he studied finance at Wharton and studied political theory rather than engaging in its practice. He was also a brother in the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity, and served as its secretary for two years. "It was a great time to go to college," he said of his years at Penn. He added that living in Philadelphia after having grown up in a small town was eye-opening. Evans said he particularly remembers some of his political theory professors, one of whose textbooks he still has in his office. He began to discover his political instincts when he attended law school at the University of Pittsburgh, where he was elected law school student president. After he graduated in 1978, he moved to Washington and began a six-year stint as a lawyer at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Since he left the SEC in 1984, Evans has maintained a practice specializing in securities and transactional law. Also in the 1980s, Evans began volunteering for local Democratic groups, culminating in his election to the D.C. city council in 1991. Evans ran against 16 candidates after the incumbent in his ward was elected the council's president. Each ward, or separate geographic area of the district, elects its own council member. "Opportunities don't come along much, so I seized the moment," he said. He was re-elected by wide margins in 1992 and 1996. Besides his entrance into the world of politics, the 1990s have also found Evans starting a family. He was married in 1994, and became the father of triplets two years later. Raising a family while running for mayor of a large city is difficult, Evans admitted, but he has tried to spend as much time with his children as possible. Evans was the first candidate to formally announce his candidacy, and he has raised more money than any of the others -- which he says is a factor in the race, but not the most important one. "Money helps in elections. It doesn't win you elections, but it certainly helps," he said. Filled campaign coffers are probably more important this year than any in recent memory, since all of the candidates suffer from poor name recognition among voters and will need a heavy dose of television advertising to get their messages across. District politics have changed since Congress and President Clinton appointed a control board to oversee the city's finances four years ago after it posted several consecutive huge budget deficits. Since then, the board has taken on additional powers, leaving the mayor as little more than a figurehead. In fact, the only city agency the mayor still has direct control over is the Department of Parks and Recreation. But the board is scheduled to go out of existence in 2001 if the District's finances continue to rebound. And Evans said he is willing to be patient and work with the control board in a "coalition government" until then. The next few years are very important for Washington, since Congress could change its mind and extend the control board's term. Evans said he thinks with "the right man" as mayor, Congress would allow District residents to once again run their own city.
(06/11/98 9:00am)
For more than a year, the chain of events on the night of the October 1996 murder of University biochemist Vladimir Sled had been anything but clear. During recent court proceedings, a more complete story of the night in question finally emerged, but some details remain murky due to conflicting statements and the darkness that still continues to shroud the Halloween night incident. Three people were charged in connection with the murder of the 38-year-old Sled, which occurred around 11:15 p.m near the corner of 44th Street and Larchwood Avenue. Sled was walking home with his fiancZe, 34-year-old Cecilia Hagerhall, at the time of attack. On May 5, a jury acquitted Eugene Harrison, 33, of the murder charge but convicted him of other crimes. He faces 32 1/2 to 65 years in jail. Yvette Stewart, 30, was convicted May 13 of third-degree murder and other charges and faces 47 to 94 years in jail. And last Friday, Bridgette Black, 27, was also convicted of third-degree murder and could be in prison for 20 to 40 years in prison. Black testified during the trials of Harrison and Stewart as a prosecution witness. She was not promised anything in return, although Assistant District Attorney Dick Carroll will tell her sentencing judge that Black cooperated with the prosecution. The following is based on testimony by Black and Hagerhall -- who flew in from Sweden to testify at both trials -- and statements made by all three defendants after their November 1996 arrests. Several inconsistencies are evident in the statements. For instance, Stewart denies having known that Harrison was going to rob anyone, whereas Black said she heard them planning it together. Also, Black and Harrison are both silent as to whether they smoked crack that night, while Stewart admitted they did. But taken together, the testimony and evidence in the matters of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Bridgette Black, Eugene Harrison and Yvette Stewart tell a compelling and frightening story. The day started for Harrison and Stewart at about 10 a.m. with the robbery of a Philadelphia Daily News driver, Arthur Palestini, at 52nd Street and Girard Avenue. Both were convicted of that crime. Stewart waited in their car while Harrison approached Palestini. It did not go according to plan though, because the stocky, 53-year-old driver fought back. Nevertheless, Harrison succeeded in robbing him of $600, money Palestini was carrying because the safe in his truck was broken, he said during Harrison's trial. After hitting Harrison, Palestini chased him down the street, but he jumped into the waiting car. Palestini said he saw Stewart in the driver's seat, though he would fail to identify her in a police lineup three months later. At some point, the duo separated, but they met up again around 10:30 p.m. at the corner of 49th and Reno streets. According to Stewart's statement, Harrison asked her for some crack cocaine. But as she didn't have any, Harrison offered to take her to get some. Harrison's attorney told the jury during his trial that Harrison was a crack addict at the time of Sled's murder. They then drove to Parrish Street and found a dealer. They also found Bridgette Black. According to Stewart's statement, the three of them "smoked a couple bags of cocaine." In her testimony, Black described what happened, beginning from the moment she met up with Harrison and Stewart around 10:30 p.m. at 50th and Parish streets. She was looking for a ride to Center City, where she planned to prostitute herself, she said. Though she didn't know Harrison, she had known Stewart for a year. Once she was in the car -- a stolen, beat-up Buick Skylark with a makeshift roof of thin cloth -- she realized that the two other passengers were planning a robbery. "I'm gonna get mine," she quoted Harrison as saying several times that night. Black, sitting in the back seat, asked Steward to join her in Center City. Stewart agreed, but Black said that she was not dressed for the occasion. "She didn't look like a girl," Black said. They decided that Stewart should change clothes and get fixed up before attempting to solicit men. Harrison, meanwhile, was getting increasingly agitated, Black said in her testimony. He called Black a "bitch" several times. They drove east on Chestnut Street, and made a stop near 38th Street, Black said. Harrison briefly got out of the car at a convenience store. Once he returned, they drove to a dimly lit, residential area on the 4300 block of Larchwood Avenue, parking nearby on 44th Street. Harrison again got out of the car, and this time Black said she urged Stewart to drive away. But before she had a chance, Harrison returned to the car. The trio did a lap around the block, parking again in the same place. The residential area was eerily quiet. Harrison got out of the car for a third and final time, while Black and Stewart waited in the automobile. In his statement, Harrison said he walked towards a white couple carrying some bags. He looked down and pulled his Oakland Athletics baseball cap over his head as Sled and Hagerhall -- who was carrying a purse and a bag containing a teapot -- walked toward him. He grabbed Hagerhall's purse, but the leather strap did not break. "The girl and guy started fighting me," Harrison said. After about 10 minutes, Black said she heard a woman screaming. Stewart drove the car closer so they could see what was going on. From the new parking space, they could see Harrison struggling with Sled a few feet away while Hagerhall stood behind them yelling. Stewart started to get out of the car with a gun, Black said. Ironically, Black said that she got out of the car to prevent Stewart from hurting anyone with the gun. So instead, she ran towards the melee with a small pocketknife in hand. She grabbed Sled from behind to separate him from Harrison and forced Hagerhall out of the way. "I was just waving [the knife] around," in an effort to scare Sled, she said. But since she was behind the Russian-born researcher, he couldn't see the weapon. "I started to poke at him," Black said. "I just wanted to apply enough pressure for him to know he was being poked." Around this time, Black said she heard two gunshots coming from the car, where Stewart was still waiting. Sled fell to the ground at about the same moment. Stewart denies having fired a gun, but area residents also reported hearing gunshots that night. Harrison ran to the car and he and Stewart drove away. Black ran after them, eventually catching up and jumping in the vehicle as it sped off. The trio were unaware that the injuries they had inflicted on Sled were fatal, Black said, though they did see him fall. "There was chaos in the car," Stewart said in her statement. Harrison at one point tried to run her over. Finally, Black left them and ran to her home on the 5100 block of Reno Street. Just a few hours after the murder, Harrison and Stewart were photographed at an automatic teller machine, using Hagerhall's money access and credit cards. The pictures led to their arrests three weeks after the murder. It was not until then that Black said she discovered it was she who had inflicted the mortal injuries to Sled. She had believed Sled died of a gunshot wound, she said during her testimony.
(06/11/98 9:00am)
Bridgette Black could face up to 40 years in prison for her role in the 1996 killing of University biochemist Vladimir Sled. The third and final defendant charged in connection with the 1996 stabbing death of University biochemist Vladimir Sled went before a judge last week, and like the first two, Bridgette Black will likely spend at least the next few decades in prison. Black, 27, of the 5100 block of Reno Street, was convicted on June 5 of third-degree murder for her role in the October 31 death of Sled near 43rd Street and Larchwood Avenue. Black had earlier pled guilty to a general charge of murder, and left it up to Common Pleas Judge Carolyn Temin to determine her degree of guilt. The other two defendants charged with the murder, Eugene "Sultan" Harrison, 34, of the 5200 block of Arch Street, and Yvette Stewart, 30, of the 500 block of North Allison Street were tried last month. A 12-person jury convicted Harrison on several charges of robbery but acquitted him of murder. He faces 32 1/2 to 65 years in prison. Stewart, on the other hand, was convicted for her role in the murder as well as the robbery charges, and faces 47 to 94 years. Black testified as a prosecution witness in both of the trials, which may work in her favor when Temin determines her sentencing in September. Harrison and Stewart are scheduled for September sentencing dates in front of Common Pleas Judge Eugene Clarke, who oversaw both of their trials. Fred Goodman, one of Black's court-appointed attorneys, said he agreed with the verdict. "I think legally, it was absolutely correct," he said earlier this week. While not as effusive, Assistant District Attorney Dick Carroll, who prosecuted all three defendants, said he "can't categorize the verdict as incorrect." Before the hearing, he said that he hoped Temin would find Black guilty of second-degree murder, but added that the judge might "cut [Black] a break" due to her cooperation with the police. The 38-year-old Sled was murdered when he fought back against Harrison, who was attempting to rob him and his fiancee, former University researcher Cecilia Hagerhall. Seeing the struggle from the getaway car, Black jumped out and ran towards the fight, where she said in her testimony she "poked" Sled with a small pocketknife. Stewart, meanwhile, allegedly fired a gun into the air. Since Black was not disputing the facts of the case, Temin had to choose whether to convict her of second-degree or third-degree murder. To convict Black of second-degree murder, Temin would have had to believe that Black killed Sled while participating in the robbery, which she has denied. Black claims she emerged from the car in an attempt to break up the fight after she saw that Stewart had a gun. "When she stabbed [Sled], being involved in the robbery was the furthest thing from her mind," Goodman said. A second-degree conviction carries a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. Third-degree murder, according to state sentencing guidelines, carries a suggested sentence of 20 to 40 years. While Carroll said the verdict was not unexpected, he acknowledged that since Black is the actual killer, "it's pretty hard for people to swallow if they're thinking purely on an emotional level." Indeed, Black's conviction illustrates just how much perceptions of the case have changed since the trio was arrested in November 1996. Early in the legal proceedings, Carroll told The Daily Pennsylvanian that he believed he had an open-and-shut case for first-degree murder for all three defendants and would probably seek the death penalty. It became clear that the prosecution had no evidence of first-degree murder and, since Stewart and Black denied any part of the robbery which led to the murder, would be hard-pressed to prove second-degree -- used for unplanned murders that occur during the commission of another felony. Harrison was acquitted of all murder charges as his court-appointed attorney, Tariq El-Shabazz, convinced a jury that Harrison could not have known Black would kill Sled and should not be held responsible for her actions. For her part, Black has expressed regret for killing Sled, a Russian-born researcher with a son who was 12 years old at the time of the murder. "Every single day she thinks about Mr. Sled and his son. The whole thing is just an incredible nightmare," Goodman said.
(05/15/98 9:00am)
Planning to hold a big event on campus? It's not going to be as easy as it once was. All requests for holding major campus events or using large University venue must now undergo scrutiny by a committee of senior University administrators, officials announced in late-March The decision came less than a month after the March 1 shooting outside the Palestra that killed one person and injured three -- including a University student -- following the School District of Philadelphia's Public League basketball championship game. Although police officials do not believe the shooting was directly related to the basketball game, University administrators came under criticism for agreeing to host the event, since gunfire had also been reported after the previous year's game. No one was reported injured that year. In the wake of the shooting, University officials pledged to review Penn's facilities-usage policies. According to a March 30 memo from University President Judith Rodin, the committee is being formed to "help make wise decisions in the future about requests to schedule events in campus facilities." "We want to make certain that the events Penn does decide to sponsor go off as well as they possibly can," University spokesperson Ken Wildes said. Officials hope the committee will help the University better prepare for major events, whether it be adding extra security or addressing public-relations concerns. It is still too soon to decide where to hold the basketball tournament next year, a School District of Philadelphia spokesperson said. And Wildes said the University has not made a decision about whether it would host the game next year. A recent Daily Pennsylvanian survey of 153 random undergraduates found that 57 percent of students believe Penn should not offer the use of the Palestra for the 1999 game. The poll had an 8 percent margin of error. Thirty-six percent of those surveyed said Penn should host the event next year, while 7 percent were not sure. While Wildes called the shootings a "factor" in the decision to appoint a committee to review facilities uses, he said officials have been trying to formulate such an approval process for more than a year. The committee will also look at many other considerations besides safety. "Safety and security is an issue," he said, but not the only one. The memo says that events must be brought up before the committee if they have "significant public safety or security dimensions, significant open expression implications, significant public relations challenges or opportunities, the potential to attract a particularly large University audience [or] the potential to attract a particularly large external audience." For instance, events featuring major guests such as last fall's visits by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chinese President Jiang Zemin would go through the committee. Also, events at the University's major venues including the Palestra, Irvine Auditorium and Zellerbach Auditorium will have to pass the group's muster. A formal procedure for handling events is difficult to implement, Wildes said, because the University is very decentralized. Each of the 12 schools operates for a large part on its own, and until now there was no formal or informal process for groups to consult officials before using University space. In her memo, Rodin stated that the committee will not "reject any event based on the anticipated content of speech at the event." The committee is comprised of Vice President for Facilities Services and Contract Management Omar Blaik; Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum; University General Counsel Shelley Green; Vice President for Government, Community and Public Affairs Carol Scheman; Rodin's Chief of Staff Steve Schutt; Managing Director of Public Safety Tom Seamon and Wildes. The group is a subcommittee of the Senior Planning Group, a committee that includes all University vice presidents and department heads and reports directly to Rodin.
(04/29/98 9:00am)
The trial of the alleged killers of University biochemist Vladimir Sled got off to a rocky start Monday, when a three-week old U.S. Supreme Court decision forced prosecutors to try the two defendants separately. Eugene Harrison, 34, and Yvette Stewart, 30, are both being tried on more than a dozen charges stemming from the October 31, 1996, murder of Sled on the 4300 block of Larchwood Avenue, as well as the robbery earlier that day of a Philadelphia Daily News driver. Another defendant, 26-year-old Bridgette Black -- who has admitted to being the one to actually stab and kill the 38-year-old Russian-born scientist -- is not contesting her role in the crime and is scheduled to testify for the prosecution. Jury selection for Harrison's trial, the first of the defendants to face charges, began yesterday and will continue today. Both trials could last as long as eight days apiece. Assistant District Attorney Dick Carroll had planned to try Harrison and Stewart together, using as major pieces of evidence the statements that both defendants made within hours of their arrests, in which they place themselves at the scene. Harrison admits in his statement to playing a role in the robbery, while Stewart denies having had any foreknowledge of it. But both Harrison and Stewart make repeated reference in their statements to their co-defendant. Allowing such references is unconstitutional, the Supreme Court ruled in a March 9 decision, because it violates defendants' Sixth Amendment right to cross-examine their accusers. Until the high court ruled in Kevin Gray vs. Maryland, prosecutors could use statements by one co-defendant if the other name was erased. Common Pleas Judge Eugene Clarke quickly made his interpretation of the decision clear. "If it mentions the co-defendant in any way, I'm not going to let it in," Clarke told the attorneys. Carroll said he had planned to use both statements in a joint trial because "he did not read [the decision] as strictly as [Clarke] read it." The prosecutor then asked to proceed with separate trials so he could use the statements against the person who made it. Clarke was clearly agitated that lawyers filed the motions based on the Supreme Court case --Eparticularly because all the lawyers had assured him Friday that the Gray case would have no impact on the trial. "We have wasted a whole day doing something that could have been done last week," he said. Eventually, the veteran judge agreed to hold the two trials back-to-back in his courtroom, room 702 of the Criminal Justice Center at 13th and Filbert streets. Stewart's trial will follow Harrison's. Carroll said he will essentially be presenting the same case twice, with the only difference being which statement to admit into evidence. Neither defendant showed much emotion during the opening days of the trial. Harrison, the only defendant in the room yesterday, frequently spoke to his attorney but avoided eye contact with the potential jurors. Stewart was only in the courtroom Monday when the joint trial was still scheduled. Opening statements are now set for tomorrow morning, with testimony starting in the afternoon. Tomorrow's testimony is expected to be dominated by police officers, detectives and the medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Sled's body. Black will likely testify Friday, and former University researcher Cecilia Hagerhall, 34, who was engaged to Sled and was with him during the attack, will likely take the stand Monday. She now resides in Sweden, and is flying in for the trial Friday. The jury could begin its deliberations as early as Monday afternoon. Immediately following the verdict, jury selection for Stewart's trial will begin, and all of the witnesses will have to testify once more. In a testament to the highly publicized nature of the murder, 38 out of the 40 prospective jurors yesterday said they had heard about the case from the newspaper or on television. Carroll and Harrison's attorney Tariq El Shabazz agreed on seven jurors out of the pool. Selection of the 12-member jury and two alternates will continue today. Of the seven jurors, five are women. Four are black and three white. All three accused killers, who are West Philadelphia residents, are black, while Sled and Hagerhall are white. Potential jurors were asked such questions as whether they or someone they knew had been the victim of a crime or charged with a crime. El Shabazz asked most potential jurors if they understood the legal doctrine that the defense does not have to present any case at all since the onus is entirely on the government to prove its case. That may be an indication that the defense does not plan to mount its own case, relying instead on cross-examination of the prosecution's witnesses. El Shabazz declined to comment after yesterday's session. Harrison admits in his statement to the robbery, but said he did not know Black had a knife and did not plan to kill Sled. Since Clarke ruled that statement admissible, El Shabazz is likely hoping the jury finds his client guilty of manslaughter rather than second-degree murder, Carroll said. During jury selection, each side is given seven peremptory challenges, where they can dismiss a potential juror without giving a reason. They can also request that one be dismissed for "cause." Selection should move quicker today, since the defense has only one peremptory challenge left, while the prosecution has three. Sled's murder is the only homicide of a Penn employee or student since August 1994, when a group of teenagers robbed and killed Mathematics graduate student Al-Moez Alimohamed, 27, near 48th and Pine streets.
(04/29/98 9:00am)
After four years of selling discount textbooks outside The Book Store, Campus Text Inc. is preparing to move to a new location. The Bala Cynwyd, Pa.-based company has yet to receive University permission to remain in its spot under the 38th Street footbridge, where it sells books at reduced prices out of a Ryder truck during the first few weeks of each semester. Campus Text needs permission because of a May 1997 agreement between the small company and Penn, which settled a lawsuit the company filed in September 1996 against the University, the City of Philadelphia and bookstore owner Barnes & Noble College Bookstores Inc. for allegedly harassing Campus Text's employees. Michael Saewitz, co-owner of Campus Text, refused to disclose the business' proposed new location, which he said is "ideal" and convenient for students. An attorney for Campus Text owners Saewitz and Doug Levy -- a 1995 Penn graduate -- wrote a letter to University Associate General Counsel Robert Terrell dated February 25, which formally requested permission to stay. They have yet to receive a response to that letter, a second letter or repeated phone calls, Saewitz said. According to the settlement agreement, Campus Text had to abide by certain conditions, such as where it can market its products and when it can sell books. In return, the University pledged not to hold the lawsuit against Campus Text when deciding whether to allow them to stay. Terrell said last week he "will respond" to the request, but refused to comment beyond that. "It's being considered," Terrell said. "I'll respond to them, not to the press." The Office of the Executive Vice President will likely make the decision, Terrell added. But now, Saewitz said he expects the company to be in a new spot this fall. "We're not throwing in the towel and we're not going to be bullied out of business," Saewitz said. He said the space is on private property, and he is currently "in negotiations" with the owner. The settlement with the University stipulates that the company cannot sell from any street directly adjacent to a Penn-owned building unless Penn approves. Nevertheless, Saewitz pledged that the new location will be convenient to students. Saewitz said he is "disappointed" but not "shocked" about the University's failure to formally respond. "It bothers me and it tells me they aren't acting in good faith, whereas we have," he said. The letter to Terrell asks to remain in the current location for one to three years. "Campus Text has honored the terms and conditions of the settlement agreement and believes that the University will act in good faith at this time by renewing the license granted under the agreement," said the letter, signed by attorney Phillip Berger. According to one University official familiar with the discussions, the Office of the General Counsel didn't want to respond until City Council passed the long-awaited vending ordinance, which will regulate vending on and around campus. But the "needs and interests" of Campus Text differ from other vendors -- which for the most part sell food -- and the company should not be considered part of that group, the letter says. Council unanimously approved the Penn-endorsed vending bill last week. The Penn Book Store is operated by Barnes & Noble and is scheduled to move this summer to the under-construction Sansom Common complex at 36th and Walnut streets, about two blocks from where Campus Text currently operates.
(04/24/98 9:00am)
Eighteen months after the brutal slaying of University biochemist Vladimir Sled, the murder trial for two of the people charged with killing him is getting set to begin. The trial -- scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. on Monday in Room 702 of the Criminal Justice Center in front of Common Pleas Judge Eugene Clark -- is expected to last about three weeks, according to Assistant District Attorney Dick Carroll, who is prosecuting the case. Eugene Harrison, 33, and Yvette Stewart, 30, are being tried for murdering the 38-year-old Russian-born researcher near 43rd Street and Larchwood Avenue after he tried to prevent them from robbing his fiance, then-University researcher Cecilia Hagerhall, on October 31, 1996. The pair are also being charged with the similar robbery of Philadelphia Daily News driver Arthur Palespini earlier that day. A third defendant, Bridgette Black -- who has admitted to being the one who stabbed Sled to death -- is scheduled for a "degree-of-guilt" hearing next month, in which she will not contest her role in the killing and ask a judge to determine exactly what crime she committed. Black has agreed to testify for the prosecution in Harrison's and Stewart's trial. Prosecutors have not promised her anything concrete in return, but they will appear at her hearing to tell the judge she cooperated. During the first week of the trial, defense attorneys are expected to challenge the admissibility of statements made by the defendants after their arrests, and will likely attempt to suppress other evidence as well. The next step will be jury selection. Opening statements are expected to begin Friday or the following Monday. Harrison's and Stewart's statements pose a particular problem for Carroll, because they can only be used against the person who actually said it -- not the co-defendant. Since the same jury is trying them both, he will have to delete any reference to Stewart in Harrison's statement and vice versa. That method often enables prosecutors to get around the accused's constitutional right to face their accuser, although recently the courts have decided the statement is still inadmissible if a jury can conclude from the context who is being talked about. While Carroll said the statements are "not crucial," he wants to use them to corroborate Black's testimony. "She's a bit of a corrupt source" since a jury might believe she is lying to earn herself a lighter sentence, Carroll said. "I don't want to make any unnecessary gambles. There's a lot riding on this." He said there is a small chance he will still decide to try Harrison and Stewart separately, or take the rare approach of trying the case together but with two juries. However, Carroll said he does not think he will have to resort to either of those methods. The prosecution's three primary witnesses will likely be Palespini, Hagerhall and Black, Carroll said. But Hagerhall, 34, who is flying in from Sweden to testify, cannot positively identify the defendants because her glasses were knocked off during the struggle. In a preliminary hearing last year, when asked to identify Harrison, she pointed to an attorney. Palespini is able to identify Harrison and Stewart, and since the two robberies were so similar his testimony ties the defendants to the Sled robbery as well, according to Carroll. Black --Ewho was uninvolved in the prior robbery and has expressed extreme remorse for her role in the murder -- would testify "consistently with her statement," Carroll said. In that statement, she says she and Stewart were waiting in the getaway car while Harrison began the robbery. When Sled fought back, Black jumped out of the car to help him, and ended up stabbing Sled to death. Stewart, meanwhile, remained in the car and fired a gun, according to Black's statement. Stewart denies that accusation, and maintained in her statement that she stayed in the car and remained largely ignorant to what was going on. Hagerhall also heard the gunshots, according to Carroll. Since both Harrison and Stewart admitted in their statements that they were at the scene of the crime, their lawyers are expected to argue that they did not know Black had a knife, rather than that they are completely innocent. Attorneys for Harrison and Stewart declined to comment this week.
