New Jersey Nightly News; 05/21/1979

A. New Jersey nightly news. With a bucketful in Trenton and Clayton Vaughn in Newark. Good evening. In the news tonight Jersey Central Power and Light a major utility company came close to going bankrupt today. The state Senate has overwhelmingly passed the Pinelands moratorium bill. And there was an apparent murder suicide in Chesterfield. A man killing three people and then himself. Good evening Rebecca. In sports ball Buntline reports on a golf tournament with a storybook ending. And on a closer look. We'll begin a three part series of investigative reports

called cracking with the mob. Company officials said Jersey some Power and Light came within hours of bankruptcy today. A last minute bank loan however save the day. But the terms of that loan were so stiff that the State Board of Public Utilities had to ratify the action even as that same board was hearing a request for a one hundred thirteen million dollar rate increase a rate increase Jersey Central says it needs to survive. Jack Conway has more on today's tense deliberations. Normally the BPU doesn't involve itself in financing problems but these aren't normal times. Officials of Jersey central holding company general public utilities say the company is nearly run out of cash since the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island. And late last week a consortium of New York banks withdrew its lines of credit. Jersey Central in places over 30 million dollars in debt this month and eight million of that was due today. For power it's been buying to cover its loss of Three Mile Island. Vice president Fred Hafer spelled it out. I'd

like to. Stress that the. Situation is so dynamic and so fluid that. It literally changes hour by hour. We are merely at a point now where with absolutely essential that we have the additional 8 million dollars of borrowing today. In order to meet the obligations. Because there is no other alternative. If the company is to remain financially viable. But those banks wanted collateral more than one and a half million pounds of uranium ore valued at 60 million dollars and they got it almost by default. The BPU thought the terms of the loan were too steep. But the alternative was to leave Jersey Central down the complicated road to bankruptcy. And nobody here is ready for that. One board member called the regulation by crisis and he warns that this kind of brinksmanship can't continue. But no one is really sure it won't or the GDP. You can keep its head above water in the run of bad. The began with a nuclear accident.

Less than two months ago. I'm Jack Harvey. The state Senate today easily passed an 18 month building moratorium for the New Jersey Pinelands. The bill will limit construction in a fifteen hundred square mile area of the Pine Barrens. That covers almost a fifth of the Garden State. One of the opponents of the bill Senator John Russo of Ocean County said the bill covers too large an area of land. He said the moratorium should be limited to what's called the preservation area. Five hundred seventy five square miles that are considered the most sensitive ecologically. I don't think. Closing down the industry in that entire area. Is compelling that a future of preservation apply a landed estate in New Jersey. I just don't believe it. But one of the sponsors of the bill Senator Joseph Leno said the entire area needs protection now and in the future. To ensure that our legacy to our children and our grandchildren may include

more than highway smokestack driving fast to. Vital things maybe to our daily lives. We must ensure. That to our children may enjoy the natural and historic features of the last well the area in the northeast. In the end no one in the Senate passed the measure with only two legislators opposing it. Senator and Senator James Caffie erro of Cape May County and the bill now goes to the assembly for a vote. The wisdom of State Legislators in Trenton is sometimes lost on the people of the Pinelands. Today was one of those times. My power explains. It's not that people in the pine lands are against preservation. Many people are all for it. But even those who support preservation have a lot of questions about it. Will the state pay people whose land is placed in areas to be protected. If so how much

will farmers still be able to draw water from the pine Barrons without any restrictions. The state doesn't have any answers now. The law says the newly created pine lands Preservation Commission will have to come up with them. Some local officials in the Pine Barrens say the lack of answers leaves them in limbo. Well I feel that we do need preservation there's no question about that but it leaves us with a lot of unanswered questions even in our township. As of right now we're standing on the side of our municipal building which is in the restricted area. It's restricted but there's still a building going up. Well we have started the building before but now if we want to expand we'll have problems just expanding with a building like this. Developers complain the loudest about Thailand's preservation. They say of the pines are closed off to development. People lose jobs and towns will lose tax money. But not every businessman in the Pines is a builder. Hobart gardener owns a mobile home park a small industrial park and a sod farm.

Our family's been farmers down here since 1982 and of course we've expanded our acreage some sense and how much you know now is somewhere between five and six hundred acres altogether. What's likely to happen to it. Well it looks like the gun is going to confiscate it by regulation. Mr Gardner like Mayor OTT has many questions about what will happen to the land and show among township the answers will come from the pine lands Preservation Commission in Trenton. And they'll come slowly. Ensure mung Township. I'm Mike power. Police say a truck driver interest a field trip this morning apparently shot and killed his wife teenage daughter. And a family friend and then turned the shotgun on himself and committed suicide. Police identified the man as 53 year old Charles Lita. His victims are as 54 year old wife Mary and. Their 15 year old daughter Joyce said. And 27 year old Mrs. Betty did well. Police say the bodies were found at 6:45 this morning when the couple's other daughter Mrs. Rose Jones. Stopped by to drop off her infant son before going to work. Police say they have no

motive for the murder suicide other than a neighbor's observation that lead guy had been suffering from severe health problems. Former Cherry Hill teacher Otto Krupp was sentenced today to life in prison plus an additional nine to 10 years for the stabbing murder of his girlfriend. The additional sentences on a charge of murder while armed. Superior Court Judge Leon Wingate in sentencing Cross told the icepick murder a vicious and horrendous act. Who claimed he had killed his girlfriend. Kathleen you are also a teacher while under the influence of LSD said he thought the sentence was harsh. Authorities say the life sentence plus the additional sentence will push back up the chance of a parole until 1995 at the very earliest. Clayton. The defense rested today on the labor racketeering trial of former New Jersey Teamsters boss Anthony Tony Pro Provenzano. The jury should start deliberations Wednesday problems on all three associates are accused of shaking down trucking companies to ensure labor peace.

I was already doing a life term for murder in New York State for the killing of a Teamsters rival back in the 60s. A move to limit or eliminate news coverage of that potentially dangerous chemical dump site on the lives of both was killed. Today a lawyer for chemical control Corporation asked a state supreme court judge to force the state to limit its public statements about conditions at the dump. The judge said that would be obnoxious. Jeffrey Hall reports. State officials have called the dumpsite a time bomb. There were between 30 and 40 thousand chemical storage drums here some containing nitroglycerin. Some containing Pickwick acid. Earlier this year the state was ordered to clean up the site and safely destroy any potential hazards in state Superior Court in Elizabeth. John modify the attorney representing chemical control asked not only for a court order to limit the state from talking publicly about the clean up but also for authority to have chemical control conduct the cleanup. What if you still argue that his clients could clear the

area quicker and cheaper than the state. Deputy Attorney General Stephen Tasher representing the state was opposed. He said that the owners of chemical control or the very people who put the site in its current condition to turn the cleanup of the area over to people whom Tasher are characterized as incapable incompetent and dishonest would be a serious mistake. Judge Harold Ackerman agreed. He denied both of chemical controls motions. ACKERMAN ruled that the state has already demonstrated a competence for managing the cleanup. The judge said he didn't want to put control in the hands of a corporation already found guilty of violating state environmental and safety regulations. And on the motion to censor the news Ackerman said quote to throttle information to the public through the news media is in my mind obnoxious. Ackerman said he will tour the site personally in another two or three weeks. There were some stipulations in today's ruling that might keep New Jersey taxpayers from paying for the cleanup. One of them is in order to force the

state to find out of chemical controls principal stockholder northeast pollution control of New York can be held financially responsible. Outside the Union County Courthouse in Elizabeth my Jeffrey home. It was a demonstration by labor organizations and Linden. The rally was at the Exxon Research Center and I had two purposes first to protest rising oil prices and second to support a proposal in Congress to retain federal party controls on oil rally planned by the industrial union council the Building Trades Council the United Auto Workers and the electrical radio and machine workers. One spokesman said that the oil companies are already making fermenters profits. The control would just mean more. Rebecca. We thought it was going to be a great weekend we were wrong we admit it. The air currents changed and so did any hopes for dry weather. Hopefully we'll get a break from the clouds soon. Tonight it will be clear and cool temperatures in the north in the upper 40s a bit warmer along the shore in the south mostly cloudy chance of a founder shower temperatures in the low to mid

50s tomorrow mostly sunny highs in the low 70s in the north and 70s in the south. And on Wednesday the clouds will start rolling in again. Cooler with a good chance of rain later in the day. I'm with the Latvian this week in Jersey probably talk about foster care as originally conceived foster care is meant to be a temporary plan for a child whose parents are unable to care for him. Eventually the child has to be returned to his real home. When his parents are able to care for him very the plan is an ideal one to learn how it works here in our state. B with a recent Jersey where we discussed the care in New Jersey. Watch Jersey filed Tuesday at 8 on New Jersey public television there was a terrific golf tournament this weekend and here's Paul Budde live.

Thanks to Becky you could not write a better ending. The Coca-Cola Classic at Upper Montclair went up in a five way tie after three days of play and a sudden death playoff turn into a battle between Micky Wright the winningest woman golfer in history and Nancy Lopez currently the dominant force in women's golf on playoff hole number one Mickey Wright reached back in time for this magnificent tee shot to within 18 inches of the cup. It looked like right when our first tournaments in 1973 it would be her eighty third career victory. But wait Nancy Lopez the best putter on the tour rolled in this 18 footer to stay alive. The other three in the playoff were eliminated it was only 22 year old Nancy Lopez and 44 year old Mickey Wright as the gallery moved to the second playoff hole. They're the putting magic of Lopez worked again. This time it was a tense border for another birdie. Chance he was in command Mickey Wright had to sink her to stay alive. Wright had to settle for second as Nancy Lopez won her second consecutive Coca-Cola Classic

a sensational finish with two of the great names on the LPGA tour. It was Giorgio Alya day at Giants Stadium yesterday the top goal scorer in the North American Soccer League was honored before the cosmos took on the Tulsa roughnecks then responded in his usual manner. Big Number nine scored two goals in the three to one cosmos win and show the crowd that he's not only a shooter watch this perfect header pass that Carlos Alberto in the second half. As it turned out that goal was disallowed due to offsides but it didn't matter the cardinals wanted 3 to 1 is 2 goals provided a perfect ending for George joking Alya day and gave the cosmos their eighth win in games. Some other honors were handed out today in Jersey City where this was proclaimed to be Jim spun Oracle and Mike Corrine day three hundred people turned out to pay tribute to two of the country's top collegiate basketball players both Jersey City natives James when Arkle is graduating as Duke University's all time leading scorer. While Michael Coren will be a senior at North Carolina he's

currently in Indiana playing for the national team. Oh it's been Arkle and Corrine were selected this past season. First team All-American. And the Seton Hall baseball team lost today three to nothing to St. John's but they still received an at large bid of the NCAA tournament by tournament will be beginning later on this week and the fourth Rebecca. Thanks Paul. A New Jersey pharmacist will not be able to sue the government even though he says the Army exposed him to massive doses of radiation which later developed into cancer. The U.S. Supreme Court today let stand a ruling barring such a lawsuit. The case involves Stanley Jaffe a 47 year old Riveredge pharmacist. Jackie says he was among soldiers who without protective clothing were forced to witness a nuclear bomb test in Nevada in 1953. Jaffe who has a wife and three children says he has since developed in operable cancer. This to me working in New Jersey Public Schools was judged right in enforcing the author on a

fishing portion of the New Jersey constitution on public education. This Thursday quality equality and the expense of education in New Jersey will be highlighted on the New Jersey new special report. Education Commissioner Fred Burke and Judge Theodore body will discuss the impact of DNA at a town meeting in Montclair. That's this Thursday at a New Jersey Public Television. For decades trucking has been one of New Jersey's major industries but organized crime has muscle its way into the parking business. Tonight we present the first installment in a special three part closer look entitled cracking with the mob. New Jersey Nightly News spent two months preparing this report organized crime infiltrates a legitimate business. It's a story that involves a convicted banks one lawyer from Hackensack. A high ranking New Jersey Teamsters official on his family's. Well-known Fortune 500 corporations and some of New Jersey's largest supermarket chain. Now part one of

cracking with the mob. Trucking is one of New Jersey's largest industries. The state's strategic position makes east coast transportation as well as a base of operations for numerous regional trucking concerns. More than 7000 trucking companies operate within the state employing more than 200000 people. But New Jersey's trucking industry is in trouble. Over the past decade numerous companies have had to cut back operations or close up altogether. The movement of jobs out of the northeast into the Sunbelt states undoubtedly played a role in this trend. But there may be other more sinister forces also at work. Fred Harman is president of brand brand trucking an old bridge. Van Brunt was founded in 1837 in the days of stage coaches and horse drawn wagons. Today it continues to haul freight throughout New Jersey. But the firm's days may be numbered. Mr. Herman spoke with New Jersey Nightly News producer on offer. What was it like running a trucking company. I mean there are a lot of trucks on the road.

You have a big problem. Running an outfit in New Jersey especially if you've been in business for a while. Buy them off with contracts. Where. Are. My mind controlled unions. Still run business with much lower rates. The trucking industry is highly unionized with the Teamsters the predominant force. So much so that the word Teamster has almost become synonymous for trucker Frank Greco of Edison is a teamster a member of prod a reform group within the Teamsters reco is upset about what he sees happening to his union. Well there's a certain element of organized crime that operates in the union. Through their representatives. And you have certain local such as 560 with this dominance of organized crime that takes a lot of what goes on out of day to day basis on our jobs. You have certainly. That element. In our price 60 and in other areas. Control contracts especially the sweetheart contracts.

A sweetheart contract is a sub standard contract one that does not adhere to the so-called national master freight agreement the contract that most Teamsters are supposed to be covered by and for a company to get a sweetheart contract it was usually deal with a corrupt labor leader or with organized crime. Jonathan Quick writes for The Wall Street Journal. He's also the author of vicious circles a book which explores the impact of organized crime on the American economy. Does organized crime play in the trucking industry in particular here in New Jersey. It affects consumers primarily in two ways One is by adding a tremendous tax on the cost of the almost everything we buy because of pension contributions and contributions to the pension and health and welfare fund that comes out of our pockets every week $65 and it's going to grow tremendously. After about $95 a week for everybody covered by the National Minister faith agreement warehouseman truckers everybody. Goes not in the pockets of the Teamsters. Their paycheck into these funds which have been

systematically looted of hundreds and millions and billions of dollars over the years this money is added on the price of everything we buy from McCain a piece to a television set to a new set of clothes. There is adequate evidence the Teamsters themselves have been deprived of their pensions because of this mobsters were Black Keys because of it. We're paying for labor leasing has revolutionised trucking just as you can rent a secretary or other temporary help. You can now rent a truck driver someone who will drive a truck you own for which is supplied as part of the rental agreement. There are many legitimate companies operating in this field leasing business is proven to be highly susceptible to infiltration. Organized crime. The Justice Department has initiated a massive national investigation into labor leasing. Probe centers upon the activities of this New Jersey man Eugene Bof A senior at Hackensack. Is a key figure in the operation of a number of labor leasing firms including universal coordinators Countrywide personnel and universal consultants

all of which have operated out of offices in Bergen County. Where Eugene Baucus started the racket. Eugene Buffett was very close to the management of the Teamsters in Washington. Eugene Buffett is the big fixer Eugene is the man that when you have a big corporation that's trying to save some money they go to Gene. He has moved in and where a company was paying international master freight wages for. It's workers he will replace those workers with other people who will work for a half or two thirds that amount hire the same people who were working for the company originally and they'll be doing the same jobs the same supervisors working exactly and exactly the same way. And yet the earning far less money because the money is paid through him. And of course he gets an override on it all and of course the Teamsters don't get close to a major mob characters either themselves a convicted

criminal a convicted felon and 1061 pleaded guilty to 17 counts of conspiracy to defraud and misapply the funds of the manufacturer's bank of Edgewater the bank subsequently collapsed. Mr Boffin received probation. But his criminal record hasn't deterred a large national corporations like the continental group formerly known as Continental can and Crown Cork and seal from hiring him to handle all their transportation needs. When this Continental plant in Colorado employed company drivers it paid workers about $7 an hour. But drivers say that when the office leasing companies replaced Continentals own nationwide trucking operations over years ago wages fell to about $5 an hour. Many of the drivers continue to hauling Continental products often driving the same trucks they had driven his company employees. Only now they work for Eugene and they make up to 30 percent less. Surprisingly the drivers union the Teamsters remain silent about all this. Former Continental company officials told us that they had avoided doing

business with Buffalo because of his reputation and because of rumors that a criminal element was trying to muscle in on private profit operation. Continental's current management apparently doesn't share these feelings. M-W Owings Continentals vice president for public affairs told us he saw nothing inappropriate with his company's dealings with Eugene As to Mr Boffin's criminal record and published allegations of ties to organized crime. Mr Owings claims people can call people anything these days because of weak libel laws. Mr Owings declined to be interviewed on camera on the advice of Continentals legal council. In North Bergen Crown Cork and seal another major manufacturer of cans has been hiring drivers from his companies for more than eight years. Just like Continental Crown Court replaced its company employed fleet drivers with operators rented from a labor agency. But now there have been questions raised over the methods Botha has used to retain this lucrative account.

The manager of Crown Courts transportation evasion in Philadelphia one vestment has admitted that he received a $23000 along for a long festoons apparently never had to repay Mr fast can also receive the free use of a Lincoln Continental again courtesy of Eugene. Nestor fastens currently on sick leave from Crown Court was not available for comment. Drivers leased by Eugene bought his company to crown court in C all have many of the same complaints as the drivers at Continental. But some contend they are afraid to speak up to do so means risking their jobs little prospects. Help from the Teamsters. Three former Crown Court drivers have filed a formal complaint with the United Labor Relations Board charging that's exactly what happened to them when they protested conditions at Crown Cork North Bergen plans. There are also other economic means of intimidation. Dead cat sorrow says a member of Teamsters Local 282. When he spoke up at a union meeting complaining about conditions in his local He discovered the high price that Teamster dissidents sometimes pay.

Two minutes later he came up to me. And said something and he threw a punch at me and two guys help me from behind another guy came at me and they just about seven guys. Barrage me and I got kicked and punched and everything and a long time. The fellow who worked with was a business agent came running over and he jumped on top of me and that kind of broke it up. When you get into this. Labor leasing and that type of thing what you're doing is you're coming in and people of course that they're working a lot faster and harder than they should. And they try to up production standards by intimidating these people because they don't have the request for the contract. And then they say well look what he did now you want to build it. And this is being done. When you have a sweetheart contract many times the fellow is making up his wages by long hours. This means that he's working these excessive hours now here and there's the fact well if you had 900 truck drivers killed last year in the United States how many were killed. Do the. Officials at Crown Cork and seal maintain that their drivers if they do have any complaints should

direct them to you Jean as to questions regarding the propriety of dealing with the ongoing investigations into alleged criminal associations and the $23000 loan to Baskins. We found it impossible to find anyone at Crown Court who was either authorized or willing to talk to us on the record. We tried reaching your gene by office Sr. to get his side of the story. Mr Boffin failed to return our repeated phone calls. Law enforcement officials have been surprised at the willingness of large Fortune 500 corporations to deal with leasing companies and they've been equally intrigued by the silence of the usually vocal Teamsters Union about working conditions at Continental Crown Cork and other affiliated companies. For a union with a reputation for fighting for its members. The silence might seem puzzling until one understands the links between Eugene Botha and the teamsters union leadership. We'll examine the role of the Teamsters Union in labor in part two of this report.

Once again our top stories. A last minute loan approval saves Jersey Central Power and Light from. Bankruptcy. And the state Senate approved the Pinelands moratorium bill. Thirty three. To two. And that's the name. Goodnight Clayton. Good night for the New Jersey nightly news.