Courier-Post from Camden, New Jersey • Page 16

COURIER-POST, Sunday, March 8, 1992 4B New trials urged for drivers arrested 2B i Preparing for a disaster by Oaldyn cop who falsified records I II li.ll m1P)W "OK. we had a bad cop. We got 3 IF tf 1 should have for a fair trial. I think a lot of people pleaded guilty who weren't just because it's nearly futile to challenge a Breathalyzer and to do so is like calling the cop a liar." Wixted's theory is Kane stopped drivers on a random basis for the opportunity to steal. Since the law requires him to have probable cause for stopping a motorist, he invented drunken driving as the cause and supported it with phony test results.

This is easy to do in New Jersey since the machines do not print out their own results. The officer must record the reading by hand. Wixted will argue his clients deserve new trials because their civil rights were violated, a premise that could have far-reaching effects for hundreds of people stopped by Officer Kane. rlVf ft xr -V k-v i A Vi 11 Patrolman serving jail term for theft, misconduct counts Courier-Post photo by Avi Steinhardt Emergency help: A volunteer playing the Memorial Hospital in Washington Township, part of a hospital patient is loaded into an ambu- The hospital staged a mock disaster drill to pre-lance Saturday to be evacuated from Kennedy pare workers to deal with the real thing. Raids on auto body shops flawed, consumers left in dark, owners say Courier-Post Staff Oaklyn Police Patrolman Robert Kane, an eight-year veteran of the force, was caught in a sting operation in May 1991 for stopping an undercover agent on the White Horse Pike on the pretext of drunken driving.

The agent actually an employee of the Camden County Prosecutor's Office was not intoxicated. It didn't matter. Kane said he registered .11 on the breath test and stole $30 from him. The legal blood-alcohol concentration is .10. In August, Kane, 41, of Laurel Springs, pleaded guilty to one count of falsifying a breath test and 14 counts of stealing money from motorists, based on confidential statements from arrested drivers to the county prosecutor during the previous year.

The complaints triggered the sting operation that resulted in his arrest In October, Kane was sentenced to eight years imprisonment on theft and misconduct charges, which he is serving at the Wagner Correctional Facility (formerly Bordentown) in Chesterfield Township. He is eligible for parole 18 months from sentencing. According to a number of local i I ii ii E( fi -J. 8 8 i. i i'.

Motorists seek damages, clean records Continued from Page 1B companies from their money in a variety of ways, Parisi said. Sometimes, the shops make repairs that don't need to be made. In some cases, they repair the car in a shoddy fashion, but charge the cost of a first-class repair. Or they simply repair a car and inflate the price. Parisi said he has sent fraud investigators posing as adjusters into shops where owners offered bribes to exaggerate damage to a car.

He said indictments are forth-' coming. Consumers aren't always the victims at shops willing to commit fraud, Parisi said, For example, take a car covered under a policy with a $500 deduct Death Notices DURKOW-Chrzanowski On March 2, 1992. Stella T. (nee Jacon-ikl) of Runnemede, N.J. Age 78 yean.

Mother of Carol P. Lohram and John Chrianowtkl; titter of Walter Jaconjkl, Prancet Pormanek and Florence Lack, eight grandchildren, four great-grandchildren. Relative! and frlendt are Invited to attend the Memorial Mass 7pm Tuesday, March 10th, at St. Maria Gor-cttl RC Church, Orchard Runnemede. Family requests In lieu of flowers Mats Cards would be preferred.

Arrangements under the direction of GARDNER FUNERAL HOME, Runnemede. SIMPSON Joseph J. Sr. On March 1992. Age 84.

Of Merchantvllle, J. Beloved husband of Ruth (nee Case). Dear father of Joseph J. of Mlddletown, and Mar- Continued from Page 1B their attorneys initially, then to Camden County, who used this information to extract a guilty plea from Officer Kane. Of all the persons complaining in these matters, this group seems most suited to a disposition in their favor, eipe-cially given the numerous clouds of doubt hanging over Patrolman Kane's conduct," said Raywood in alettertoBernardin.

The underlying assumption is if Kane would steal money, he probably would falsify a breath test reading to justify his reason for stopping them in the first place. Rand declined to discuss the matter. "This is an unprecedented, regrettable situation. The questions are: 'Who knew what and when and were these people advised to keep quiet about the thefts at their trials so as not to interfere with the sting said Bernardin. "If the judge grants new trials, in all probability I will drop the charges against this group of 12.

But I'm not committed to anything yet Just because a bad cop is involved, doesn't mean every arrest and every conviction is bad." More than a year elapsed from the time drivers started talking to the prosecutor's office and the sting operation which led to Kane's arrest. Another question is the interaction of local and county law enforcement agencies. Both claim they had no knowledge of what the other was doing. Ultimately, the matter was referred to the Attorney General, who isn't talking. Michael F.

Daily former public defender for Oaklyn, said it would not have mattered if defendants charged with DWI accused the arresting officer of stealing in court because without witnesses it would have been their words against the police officer's. "The very fact they had a sting operation means the court would not have believed the uncorroborated evidence. It would have been an exercise in futility and have no bearing on whether they were drunk or not," he said. Deputy Attorney General Raywood also urged the Oaklyn court to re-examine the DWI convictions of five people who complained of theft after Kane's arrest and 20 more who claimed they were arrested unfairly. Bernardin said the cases would be examined individually.

However, two factors would carry significant weight One, if a guilty plea might prejudice a person's request for a new trial. Two, if another officer was on the scene to corroborate Kane's testimony, as was true in a handful of cases, the conviction would stand. If people do get new trials, Bernardin was unsure about how he would proceed without his lone, star witness. "Kane's credibility is shot, so I wouldn't bring him into court again to testify," he said. Dennis Wixted, a Camden attorney who is representing four of the 37 people the Attorney General has singled out for re-examination, said under the circumstances he believes "any new trial is an acquittal." Nonetheless he is puzzled by Judge Rand's reluctance to grant them.

"The more severe the penalty and they are very severe for drunk driving, the more protection you A resident of the Wiley Village section of Evesham since 1985, Mr. Benjamin formerly lived in the Somerton section of Philadelphia. He retired after 33 years as a machinist with the Budd Co. in Philadelphia. He was also a member of Local No.

92 Machinists of Philadelphia. He was a member of the Men of Vision of the Wiley Church in Evesham. He had previously been the choir director of the Primitive Methodist Church of Levittown, Pa. for 25 years. Surviving are his wife, Irene (nee Zuch); two sons, H.

Kenneth of Levittown, Pa. and Ronald B. of Nicholson, and five grandchildren. Services will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Wiley Church, Main Street, Evesham.

Friends and relatives may call from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday and after 10 a.m. Tuesday at the church. Burial will be in Keswick Cemetery, Manchester Township, Ocean County. Joseph A.

Mauro, 60, stand-up comedian MOUNT LAUREL Services will be Tuesday for comedian Joseph A. Mauro, who died Saturday of a stroke following triple bypass surgery at Deborah Hospital in Browns Mills. He was 60. A resident of Mount Laurel for 22 years, the stand-up comedian appeared on television shows such rid of him. Now, we have to start over again with new trials to restore public confidence in the system.

Otherwise, it's just a smear on the overwhelming majority of honest cops," Wixted said. Philip S. Fuoco, a Haddonfield attorney who specializes class-action lawsuits and who won nearly a $100,000 settlement for the Atco motorists unfairly charged with speeding in 1983, said the Oaklyn matter was ripe for another class action. "This matter just shows there are no checks and balances in the drunk driving system. One guy can say you're drunk and you have no defense.

This, plus the present climate in which special interests groups want to throw all the bums in jail, makes it very difficult to protect people's rights," Fuoco said. ROBERT KANE In sting law enforcement officials, Kane, or "Killer Kane" as he was known, was a legend along the Pike, issuing more than 100 tickets a year. Some say he was obsessed with drunken drivers; others say his real motive was theft, and that he would follow up with a drunken driving charge to establish probable cause for stopping motorists in the first place. "The New Jersey Supreme Court has found the Breathalyzer to be infallible. Put this machine in the wrong hands and you have no defense.

The law has made gods out of local cops," said Michael F. Daily former public defender for Oaklyn. embarrassment and, in some cases, loss of work because they couldn't get there without a driver's license. To date, three people have filed lawsuits against the Camden County Joint Insurance Fund (JIF), a self-insurance cooperative that insures 25 towns, including Oaklyn. Fourteen more have begun the paperwork with the intention of filing claims.

"They're claiming a lot of things like malicious prosecution, false arrest loss of civil rights and negligent supervision and training in the police department No one has indicated the amount of damages they're seeking," said Ralph Kmiec, attorney for the insurance fund. Regardless of whether the plaintiffs are granted new trials or their convictions are overturned, the civil suits may continue, said Kmiec, though no hearing dates have been set. who focused on human relationships, drowned while snorkeling in the Caribbean. He was 60. Mr.

Sifford, of West Chester, died Friday off the coast of Belize, where he was vacationing with his wife, Marilyn. An autopsy performed Saturday in Belize City determined chronic heart and lung disease contributed to his death, but the official cause was listed as drowning. Mr. Sifford wrote about relationships between husbands and wives, fathers and sons and workers and bosses. He often wrote in the first person about his own family, fears of aging and two heart attacks.

"He had an extraordinary relationship with the readers of the paper, based on a kind of trust and intimacy that journalists rarely achieve with the public," said Inquirer editor Maxwell E.P. King. The column was syndicated by the Knight-Ridder newspaper chain, which owns the Inquirer. Mr. Sifford, born in Jefferson City, worked at the Newa-Tribune in Jefferson City, The Courier-Journal in Louisville, and the Charlotte (N.C.) News before joining the Inquirer in 1976.

He wrote three books: The Only Child, Father and Son, and A Love of the Land. Survivors besides Mrs. Sifford include two sons, Grant and Jay. Plans for a memorial service were incomplete. it Wf Molyneaux owns a license and was able to produce it for the Cou-.

rier-PosL He said he belongs to the Better Business Bureau, serves on the board of trade groups such as South Jersey Auto Body Rebuilders and publicly calls for tighter auto-body regulations. "I'm the one that turns these shops in," he said. "I'm the one that pays lobbyists to fight unlicensed shops. For me to have this happen is unbelievable. "One of our biggest problems, with the state is that they're irresponsible on their end.

If they don't know who's licensed, they don't know who's unlicensed." Ron Brimfield is president of Brimfield Brothers, an auto repair company in Winslow that he said doesn't do body work. The state cited a company called Brimfield's Auto Body, which used to occupy a building occupied by Precision Auto Body on Route 73 and Brad-dock Avenue. Brimfield said Brimfield's Auto Body, which was owned by his uncle, has been closed for two years. Precision, which is not affiliated with Brimfield Brothers, has a license. And, he said, Brimfield Brothers doesn't need one.

"We never had a license to do body work because we never needed it," he said. "I do some underrating once in a while, but if something needs to be painted, I go next door." But Brimfield said he's going to apply for a license anyway just to keep the the state from pestering him at work. "Hey, give us a license; get out of my face," he said. "I understand what they're trying to do. There are so many places out there breaking the law." Obituaries Helen M.Ward, 89, Pennsauken resident PENNSAUKEN Services will be held Tuesday for Helen M.

Ward (nee Dugan), 89, who died of natural causes Friday at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center in Camden. A homemaker, Mrs. Ward was a member of St. Peter's Church in Merchantville. She moved to Pennsauken in 1968.

She is survived by her husband, Francis; a daughter, Mary Ward of Pennsauken; a son, Robert Ward of Pennsauken; three sisters, Lor-retta Fitzgerald of Bryn Mawr, Elizabeth M. Byrne of Philadelphia and Kathryn Sparks of Broomall, and four grandchildren. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Peter's Church, West Maple Avenue, Merchantville.

Friends may call from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday and after 9 a.m. Tuesday at Ing-lesby and Sons Funeral Home, Cove and Wyndam roads, Pennsauken. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, Cherry Hill. Howard S.

Benjamin, retired Phila. machinist EVESIIAM Services will be held Tuesday for Howard S. Benjamin, a retired machinist who died Saturday at West Jersey Hospital, Marlton, after suffering a heart attack. ible. It sustains $1,500 in body damage.

The shop owner can charge the driver for $2,500 in damage. Now the shop owner can pocket an extra $500, while the driver beats his deductible. Parisi said the prevalence of all of those types of fraud contribute significantly to the high cost of an auto insurance policy in New Jersey. If abuses can be curbed, insurance costs come down, he said. That's fine with Randy Molyn-eaux, owner of Rick's Route 73 Auto Body Shop.

He firmly believes that the state should crack down on unlicensed and fraudulent shops. But the state accused him of being unlicensed, and he said he isn't. WARD Helen M. (nee Dugan). On March 6, 1992.

Age 89. Of Pennsauken, NJ. Beloved wife of Francis P. and dear mother of Mary Ward and Robert Ward, both of Pennsauken. Also three sisters Lor-retta Fitzgerald, Brynmawr, Elizabeth M.

Byrne, of Phlla and Kathryn Sparks, of Broomall. Also four grandchildren. Relatives and friends of the family are kindly Invited to attend the funeral Tuesday, starting 9AM, at the FUNERAL HOME OF INGLESBY SONS, Cove and Wyndam Pennsauken. Mass of Christian Burial 10AM St. Peter's Church.

Interment Calvary Cemetery. Friends may call Monday eve. 7 to 9 PM at the funeral home. In Memoriam HYSON In loving memory of our sister Loretta: Gone Is the face we loved so dear. Silent the voice we loved to hear.

Tit tad but true, wo wonder why the best are always the first to die. Love your sisters, Maize and Cathy RENZI In memory of Rose (nee Agozzlno). 385 Wedgewood Dr, Turnersvllle. Our beloved sister. Age 80.

Deceased December 20, 1991. A tribute from her only living sister and brother. Dear Rose: We miss you and grieve even more for not having been told about your Illness and death til long after If happened. We are sorry that our offers of forgiveness didn't heal the long years of estrangement as we had hoped. Thank you for filling our early years with loving motherly care so badly needed and appreciated.

We shall miss you and love you always, Jennie Favazza of Havertown, PA and Joseph Agozzlno of Tapanga, CA. RICHBURG To Nancy, our lovely Aunt who passed away two years ago today. My heart and soul Is full of sadness and sorrow. I can't believe there's no you for today and tomorrow. I still cry with thoughts of you and wishing you were here.

On this day my Auntie dear, two yearsago we said our love for you Is still so strong and good thoughts of you we will always carry on. Love you, Yvonne and kids. 'Turn your keimgs into Sower's" CANDLELITE FLORIST Sming lU Tri-Camly Ami Optn 7 day All cradil cwdt I MAC Kopted STRATFORD 784-2255 to C. JACKEL "Smce 1 907' 963-0007 Camden Mijor Credit Card Accepted l-80O-2S7-fnan vaihu i mur BASKETS Fruit Ihuketa lor All for All Hnuoni VIm UC Dtaeonr i cella.of Sara and Eve. Relatives and friends of the family are kindly invited attend the viewing Wednesday, starting 9AM, at the FUNERAL HOME OF INGLESBY SONS, Cove and Wyn-i, dam Pennsauken.

Mass of tlan Burial 11AM St. Peter't Church. In-f' ferment Holy Crots Cemetery, Yeadon, PA. Donations to the St. John of God School, 532 Delsea Westvllle Grove, NJ 08093 By EILEEN STILWELL Courier-Post Staff Some drivers arrested by Oaklyn Police Patrolman Robert Kane want more than their licenses and $3,000 in insurance surcharges back.

They want their driving records expunged of the convictions so they won't be liable for the heavier penalties of a second offense, if stopped in the future; and they want their insurance companies to rebate any increases in their premiums that resulted from the guilty verdict They also want to be reimbursed for the sundry court costs they had to pay as a result of being plunged into the legal system. But Kane's conviction last year for falsifying a breath-test reading and stealing money from motorists has angered 17 people enough to push for civil damages, a cash payoff for their pain, suffering and as The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and Saturday Night Live. Mr. Mauro's theme song could have been My Way said his daughter, Julianne Baker of Mount Laurel. "He lived his life his way," Baker said.

"He was the most amazing man in the world. No one could say anything bad about him." Baker said her father was on the road a lot, "but he was a wonderful daddy and granddaddy." Mr. Mauro was scheduled to appear in Atlantic City next month, and had performed in clubs throughout the United States. In addition to his daughter, Mr Mauro is survived by his wife Jeanne (nee Galezniak); a son, Joseph F. of Mount Laurel; another daughter, Jeanine of Mount Laurel; two brothers, Peter of Philadelphia and Frank of Toms River, and five grandchildren.

Friends may call Monday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Lewis Funeral Home, 78 E. Main St, Moores-town. A Mass of Christian Burial will be 10 a.m. Tuesday at Our Lady of Good Counsel, 42 Main St, Moorestown.

Burial will be in Sunset Memorial Park in Somerton, Pa. Carrei! Smcrd, wrote newspaper column PHILADELPHIA Darrell Sifford, a nationally syndicated Philadelphia Inquirer columnist TALAROWSKI On March 6, 1992 Helen (nee Parus) of Pennsauken, formerly of East Cam i) den, NJ. Age SO years. Wife of the late Edmund Talarowskl, survived by one daughter son-in-law Joanne (Talarowskl) and Donald Ermel of Bensa-lem, PA, one sister Theresa Mori of Cherry Hill, and one brother Harry Parus of Utah, three grandchildren. Relatives and friends are Invited to attend the funeral on Tuesday morning at 10:00 a.m.

from the ALLOWAY FUNERAL HOME, 31S E. Maple Ave, Merchantvllle, NJ. Mass of Christian Burial 12 o'clock St. Peter's Church, Merchantvllle. Interment St.

Joseph's Cemetery. No viewing Monday evening. Relatives and friends may call after 10:00 a.m. Tuesday morning at the funeral home. In Memoriam Verses Available upon request.

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