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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 1995

GThe ;%tar'Iebger

SUNNY AND PLEASANT

FINAL EDITION

THE NEWSPAPER FOR N!?W JERSEY

Jeweler admits accidental killing of wife in holdup

PRICE; 25 CENTS

2 Newark officials convicted of taking thousands in bribes By GW STERLING

e Jurino « botched robbery ot the coople'i jewelry store

By MICHAEL DREHVIAK Tbe husband of a Somerset CouQty Jeweler klUed during a botched holdup has admitted he shot his wife acddentalty. aban domng his earber stoiy that one ' of the robbers murdered her, the husband's lawyer said yesterday. The shooting of 31-year-old Brenda Lee Wolf by her husband. Jeffrey, was a tra^ accident m the panic and confusion of the

suffer from post-iraumaUc stress disorder, Albin said Wolf, 32. IS under a psychia­ trist's care and has bMn pre­ scribed tcanquilizers and antiarudety and anti-panic medica­ tion, he said. Albio said the tra-jmatlc stress disorder diagnosis explains why Wolf held on to an oqilanaUon of tbe shooting that authori­ ties discounted almost from the start - that accused robber Marqls Kennon of Kansas shot Wolfs wife in the face at pomt-blanlt range. Following the shooting, ballistics lesu proved the bullet that Idiled Brenda Wolf came from her husband's licensed

Inside

Boseboll ployers look over owners' compromise pitch, no setilemenT e*pected soon. Federol Reserve leo^■es inieresi roles unchonged os It owot's deselopmenis

Superhighway tested os cit'y 'Mom Street

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Newark Councilman cAy Harris and nis sister, Joanne Faroan, leave the federal courthouse after the guilty verdict in hl$ corruption trial. Former Council President Ralph Grant Jr., who was also found guilty, reacts to the verdict as his son, Ralph 30, rear, and his attorney, Clarence Faines, listen

were read m the packed courtroom of U.6. District Judge John Lifiand in Ncwart at around 12:30 p.m Gram s sort Ralph 3d. charged out of the court­ room. slamming, the door Newa.*k City

Revenue shortfall projected Brenda Lm Wolf Prosecufor sfili has questions

Smith & Wesson 357 Magnum. Albin said be agreed with the conclusioa ' I'm accepting tbe Qndings of the prosecutor's office." Albin said during an interview. "Obvlouslv. these are scien­ tific bailisUcs tests, and I assume their accuracy And Please turn to Pape 14

Insurance 'churning' blamed on state laxity By STCt’EN A. BOSENBUSR Churhing of life insurance policies, which has sparked lawsuits a^pinst Prudential Insurai^ Co. of America, is a widespread practice and occurs in one of the loosest regulatory environ ments in consumer finance, experts saidyesterd^ The sale of life Insurance, which provides cash for your benefactors

Two Newark politicians, one a sit ting coundlmari and the other a former council member, were convicted of sell­ ing their offices m a federal corruption'" trial yesterday. After deliberating nine hours over two days, a panel of seven women and five men found that Ralph Grant Jr.. 59. and Gary Harris. 41. had accepted thousands of dollars in pajtiffs for help­ ing a Oed^ing towinp outfit m its ef­ forts to obtain a city contract in the early I990s. Unbeknownst to tbe pair. KitK Towing was part of an FBI sting operation. t Hanis. a Newark coundlman since 1989 and son ofalongtime Ne'.rark pollucian. was charged ^h taking 318.500. while Grant, who lost his council seat in last year’s municipal elections after four terms, was aonised of accepting S25.000 Both men were members of the city's governing body at the time of the offenses The two were named In a nine-count conspiracy and enbruon indictment returned last year With their convictions on all counts yester­ day. they face maximum sentences of 60 years in prison and fines exceeding 31 million. Supporters of the defendants cned and scteamei-,. the verdicts

when you die. is monitored by 50 sepa­ rate suie agencies, without the federal overaght that exists in the world of banking and stocks and bonds And those state regulators cannot spend all their time monitoring questionable practices Uke churning, or replacing existing life Insurance policies with larger ones Just to generate sales com­ missions "The life insurance industry has pretty much eqjoyed the freedom to do what It wants." said James Hunt, a for­ mer Vermont insurance commissioner and current consultant to the Con­ sumer Federauon of America. "In many ways It is virtually uitfettered m lU maiteiing practices. "Life Insurance policies represent major invesimenu for millions •! Americans and are probably the least understood financial instruments that consumers buy" The New Jersey Insurance Depart­ ment had 63 iDvesUguors on hand last year to handle 13,000 complaints fibout lift insurance and other types of poli­ cies "1 think It’s indi^iuuble yhat (In­ surance companiesi have many more resources than you could possibly have in an insurance depaitmenl." said James Sheeran. who ran the New Jer­ sey Insurance Oepanment from 1974 to 1982 "We couU not compete with the knowledge of tbe insurance industry ’’ The fonner commtssfoners from New leiaey and Vermont said regula­ tors ca#otIt spend s all their time mon. Please (urn te Pag* M

rang out as Ufland issued a warning

Please turn to Page 9

GARDEN PARTY Jordan burns the Knicks for 55

The Whitman administration has oversuted revenues by nearly 3700 mil-, lion for the 1995 and 1996 budget years, according to the Legislature's non-par­ tisan research staff A prehminary report by the Office of Legislative Services lOLSi projects revenues for this budget year, which ends June 30. and next year will be 3680 million lower than the-adminl^ration anticipates. The shortfall is mainly in the income tax. The revelation raises questions about whether OoV. Christie Whitman can afford to move far^'ard with her planned income tax cuts. In addition to reduced revenue from local taxes, the state is expected to lose substantial federal aid as a result ofbudget-cuUing in Washington by the Republican-controDed Congress Lisa Kruse, a Treasury Depart­ ment spokeswoman, said the report is "unreliable" and that the administra­ tion is slicking with its'numbers. "It makes mistakes in its assumpHionS and its methodology and the trea­ surer wiD refute those estimates in his testimony tomorrow." she said last night. Both Treasurer Brian Clymer and OL5 officials are scheduled to testify on revenue projections today before the Joint legislative budget committees in Trenton Kruse said. "The bottom Use iswith our numbers We ■ confidence, m them. Pleas* turn to Pag* 1S

Council President Donald Bradley also left before the proceedings were fin­ ished. Family and friends of Hams wept and aaBed. Shouts of'That's un­ fair" and "How could you do this'*"

mi Michael Jordan of fne Chicago Bulls drives to the hoop past Knicks guards Derek Harper, left, and John Starks during last night's game at Madison Square Garden

Michael Jordsm is back, with a vengeance. vrThe Chicago Bulls superxtar shot the li^ts out at Madiaon Square Garden last night scoring 55 pomts In leading hL< team past the New York Knicks. 113-111 It was only Jordan's fifth game back after returning from a self-imposed retirement, during wtucb be i^ayed profession^ base­ ball in the Chicago White Scat bna system. The sellout crowd at the Gar­ den knew they were in for some­ thing special almost at the outset as Air Jordan drilled 9 of 11 shots in the first quarter, scoring 20 points He almost kept up the tor­ rid pace m the second stanza, drill­ ing 15 more poinu. leaving the fiobr at intemussion with 35. Yet. the Bulls trailed the Knicks. 56-50 Jordan canned 14 poinu in the third quarter as the Bulls fought back Tbe Knicks held " him so six poinu in the fourth quarter, as they tried using John Starks Anthony' Bonner. Derek Harper. Hubert Davis and Greg Anthony at different limes m an at ^tempt to defense Jordan. None had Ymuch success But tbe all-star saved perhaps his best for last as. with the score tied, be spun into the lane, drawing the Knicks' defense to him. only to pass to a wide^jpen Bill Wennmg • ton for the game-winning dunk with 3.1 seconds temaming Details «n Page 41

OJ. limousine driver holsters pppsecution^ «Nr* S»rv»c>i

LO$ ANGELES 0 J Simpson stood tall in court and smiled yesterday as a Umouslne driver told jurors that the brawny ex-football player was the same size as a shadowy figure ihe driver saw entering Simpson's home the night of a double murder. Sunpson whispered constantly to his attorneys and jurors took notes as Allan Park, a key witness m the prasecuUon's case against Simpsoa offered other poleniially li^riniinatmg details. ■ i(e said he saw no white Ford Bronco when he pulled up to Simpson’s ga{e at 1022 the night of the killings, ettherin the driveway or on the street ■ During the limo dnve to the airport on a mild, foggy nl^i. Simpson repeat­ edly complained that he was hoi; he rolled down a rear window and turned on tb^ air conditioning. ■ Simpson was protecuve of a small black b^ tbe llmo driver saw on his PI**** tom to Pag# IJ '

Prosecutor Marcia'Liark shows a photo of O.J Simpson's Bronco to llmo driver Allan Park, who picked up Simpson the night his ex-wife and Ron­ ald Goldman were murdered -

2 Newark officials convicted of taking thousands in bribes BvGlA'STERLING Two Newark politicians, one a sit ting councilman and the other a former council member, were convicted of sell­ ing their ofSces in a federal corruption'' trial yesierda}'. . After deliberating nine hours over two days, a panel of seven women and five men found that Ralph Grant Jr.. 59. and Gary Harris. 41. had accepted thousands of dollars in payoffs for help­ ing a fledgling towing outfit in its ef­ forts to obtain a city contract in the early 1990s. Unbeknownst to the pair. K&K Towing was part of an FBI sting operation. f. Harris, a Newark coundlman since 1989 and son of a longtime Ne-.rark poli­ tician. was charged w;:h taking $18,500, while Grant, who lojt liis council seat in last year's municipal elections after four terms, was.accused of accepting $25,000. Both men were members of the city's governing body at the time of the offenses. The two were named in a nine-count conspiracy and eiobruon indictment returned last year With their convictions on all counts yester­ day, they face maximum sentences of 60 years in prison and fines exceeding $1 million. Supporters of the defendants cned and screame o the verdicts

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Newark Councilman Gwy Harris and his sister, Joanne Fardan, leave the federal courthouse after the guilty verdict in his corruption trial. Former Council President Ralph Grant Jr, who was also found guilty, reacts to the verdict as his son, Ralph 3d, rear, and his attorney, Clarence Faines, listen

were read m the packed courtroom of U.S. District Judge John Lifland in Newark at around 12:30 pm Grant's soa Ralph 3d. charged out of the court­ room. slamming, the door Newark City

Council President Donald Bradley also left before the proceedings were fin­ ished Family and friends of Harris wept and wailed Shouts of "That 's un­ fair" and "How could you do this?"

rang out as Lifland issued a warning that spectators creating disturbances wuld be ejected from the courtroom One woman was so overcome with Pleas* turn to Pag* 9

THE STAR-LEDGER, Wtdnetday, Mareli l*. ms

CORRUPTION CONVICTIONS 2 Newark officials gui/fy of taking thousands in bribes Continuad fram Pagt Om

emotion that she needed help gett Irom her seat Into the coi the shouting continued. The sobbtnfUQdShneldng echoed through^the building, faring curi­ ous couRioom personnel and visitors into the hallways and to the atrium of the Qv^-story Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Courthouse on Walnut Street to see what was occurring However, the defendants showed no sign of emotion as the verdicts were announced and later as the Jury was poDed. During the polling. paMl mem­ bers either said they concurred with the decision or nodded in agreemei’t with the group’s finding Jurors declined to comment on the case as they were escorted from the courtroom to a parking lot behind the courthouse an hour after the verdicts were announced. They had stayed be­ hind to have lunch and to be thanked b^Ufiand for their service. Officers with the U.S. Marshals Service said the courtroom uproar had so upset the Jurors that none desired to talk. Four of the panel members are black as are the defendants, while seven panelists are white and one is Fliipino. Lawyers for Grant and Harris said they were surprised by the suddenness of the decision, and they also expressed shock that the defendants had not been acquitted. They vowed tb appeal Thomas Ashley, representing Har­ ris, blamed the defeat on a -pervasive climate” brought on by so many inves­ tigations in and around Newark in re­ cent years, probes that have resulted in the convictions or guilty pleas of Essex County Executive Thomas D'Alessio and one other Newark City Council member "The public must have a negative perception of politicians because the evidence wasn’t there to support these convictions." he maintained, “I’m obvi­ ously disappointed We worked very hard, and it’s unfortunate the jury didn’t see things the same way we did.” ■"This is a sad day for the process,” said Clarence Falnes 3d, Grant’s attor­ ney "I just don’t think the jury consid­ ered aU of the evidence in the context of reasonable doubt My client main­ tains his Innocence ” Fames said he harbored no regrets that neither Grant nor Harris had taken the witness stand in his own de­ fense. saying their decision not to testl^' was a "trial strategy.” Grant complained that there had not been ’’a shred of evidence" impli­ cating him in any wrongdoing on any of the three dozen secretly recorded tapes pla^ by the prosecution during . the six-week trial •There was no evidence I ever afted for an.v money, acknowledged receipt of any money or thanked any­ one for any money.' he said, speaking in calm tones Grant added that he was disappointed but "not without hope ” Harris refused comment, choosmg instead to help his distraught support­ ers from the courtroom But Ashley said the councilman will hold a press conference today to discuss his conviction In his presentaUoa Harris will probably disclose his plans about remalrung in office, Ashley

"me testimony of Charles Geyer and John Cloooan ranked among the high points In the case'for the prosecu­ tion, Stephen said. Geyer is a Newark businessman % ‘‘: who became a government informant A ill In the sting and surreptitiously taped conversations with Grant and Harris He was the first major prosecution sviiness to tase the st^ An FBI under­ cover agent, Cloonan appeared as the final prosecution witness. During the inquiry, he posed as a New York finan.dcr bao^ning K&K. Those two, along with Frank Me­ gan), a city council aide, and Boble Cottle, a former Newark policeman in­ terested in starting a minority-owned towing company in the dty, were the other prosecution witnesses tesU^Ing that t^ bad passed money either toQrant or Harris to benefit lUK in 1992 and 1993. The cross-examination of Cottle, who had numerous lapses in memory and admitted that be had been less than candid in his statements on the U.S. Ariorney Faith Hochberg discusses the guilty verdicts in the corrup­ tapes and in the courtroom, was the tion trial of Newark Councilman Gary Harris and former Councilman low point m the trial for the prosecu-. Ralph Grant Jr. She is accompanied, from left, by Assistant U.S, Attor­ tion, Stephen said. Cottle and Megaro pleaded guflty ney Jeffrey Smith, FBI Assistant Special Agent Stanley Harris and Assis­ to a count of corrupting government tant U.S. Attorney Larry Stephen for their Involvement in the influence Larry Stephfcn and Jeffrey Smith, peddling case and are awaiting sen­ the government lawyers who handled tencing ’They were not aware of the prosecution, said they felt the Jury FBI sUng operation until confironted ‘The case was strong, the had come to resent the politics of with evidence of their participation at but the tapes were Grant and Harris as the case evolved, the end of the investigation two years damning and adding tiiat the tapes may have been ago. Stephen, who is black, shrugged the most crucial evidence against the certainly helped in off suggestions by the defense that two. gainmgthe ■The case was strong, but the there was a racial motive behind the convictions.' tapes were damning and certainly prosecution of Grant and Harris. "In this day and age. race comes helped m gaining the convictions." said up when it rtauMr.’t.’’ he said, "But Stephea chief of the special prosecu­ this case had — Lorry Stophon, nothing to do with race ” tions division m ihtU.S Attorney’s Of­ prosecutor Stephen and Smith said the mes­ fice. "The fther circumstantial evi­ sage of the prosecution and convictions dence made it clear there bad been a is that federal authorities in New Jerseymanipulation of the pobtical process in have no intention of looking the other added. Bute law requires that Harris,' Newark for no other reason than the way when public officials betray their son of fotaer Newark Councilman Earl personal gain of the councilraen.” public trust "The tapes were there and Harris, give up his council seat at some •The citizens of Newark deserve a couldn’t be changed." added Smith, shot at honest government." Stephen point, the defense lawyer said. At a press conference held m her •plus. I don’t.thlnk the jury members said office one block from city hall in New­ liked these guys (the defendants I They Garey Chin, assistant special ark, ‘,.4 Attorney Faith Hochberg didn’t seem receptive to the defense ar­ agent in charge of the FBI in New Jer­ called ihc convictions "a great day for guments ” sey, hailed the verdict as demonstrat­ justice and an important day for the Stephen credited Ashley with ing the FBTb ••continuing responsibility citizens of Newark." “finding most of the holes in our case" to the citizenry of New Jersey to re­ Residents of the state’s largest he said the prosecution’s case was spond to alleg^ns. Involviiig abuse city deserte public officials better than But structured to have a strong beginning of trust by pubbe officials.” Grant and Harris, she said, insistiig and a strong Robert Rudolph contributed inend to avoid any low that the two had forgotten their duty formation for this story. and served themselves instead of their pj^ts in the ipidd)^,. consUtuenta. Under federal sentencing guidelines, the defendanu should each be sentenced to seven to 10 years in prison without parole, Hochberg said. Lifland scheduled sentencing for June 20. The ju^ allowed Grant and Harris to remMn free on 110,000 personal re­ cognizance bonds yesterday until 'heir sentencings ■ Hochberg declined to spe<-uhite on whether the government would seek cooperation from the defendants in any mvestigatlons in Newark, although she did note that Ashley and Falnes know the phone number of the U.S Attor­ ney’s Office in Newark. Dozens of sub­ poenas have been served In city ball smee last sununer seeking records of city business dating to the late 1980s.

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