Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 122

final chaser I Loophole remains in fingerprinting of school applicants State board able to withhold data from local panel By Karen McCowan The Arizona Republic A felony conviction can strip a person of his right to vote or hold an elected office, but it may not prevent him from working with Arizona schoolchildren, education officials hole in Arizona's system for screening potentially troublesome educators from school jobs, lawmakers say. And, they say, the case may prompt revision next year of a bill signed into law last week by Gov. Rose Mofford that requires fingerprinting and background checks of applicants for state teaching and administrative certificates. The new law, which was introduced by Rep. Bev Hermon, a Tempc Republican and chairwoman of the House Education Committee, said Friday.

And lawmakers, who vowed to tighten a recently signed law requiring that applicants for school posts be fingerprinted, said their concern is that local school districts be informed of such records, not that all felons be barred from the classroom. According to state Hoard of Education policy, two years after a felony conviction, a person may apply for a state teaching certificate. The board reviews the age of the applicant, the nature of the crime, evidence of rehabilitation and other factors. The board docs not tell school districts about a teacher's criminal record. "Some young people make mistakes, and it could conceivably be a felony, and yet later become redemptive and lead very good lives," said Ikldic Basha, president of the The issue was raised this week after Roosevelt Elementary School District officials learned that one of their principals had concealed his 1976 conviction on a felony drug charge when applying for his job in 1986.

Frank R. Solano was issued Arizona administrative and teaching certificates in 1980, despite revealing to the state Hoard of Education his conviction for possession of 254 pounds of marijuana. The Roosevelt governing board voted Thursday to suspend Solano for 10 days without pay for lying on his job application, but he is still working, pending his appeal. The case has pointed up a new aims to prevent Arizona school districts from unwittingly hiring someone who has a criminal record but lies about it on a job application. But the Solano case illustrates that a criminal record detected by the Department of Ivducation through the fingerprint checks still could be hidden from local school districts when they hire workers.

Hermon said the intent of the law is that such criminal-history information "would follow the person" to -SwlOOPHOLE, pngclil2 Mofford ires 2 members of parole board 1 1 Jacques DarbcyThe Arizona Republic Food and fun are the order for the day at the Cinco de Mayo celebration in Patriots Square, where Ramond Vadilla shares a balloon with his 2-year-old son, Steve, and Sheldon and Carol Garner of Chicago share a snack. Mexican fete offers revelry for weekend Pair vow fight; replacements already named By Martin Van Der Werf The Arizona Republic Two of the most colorful and controversial members of the state parole board were fired Friday by Gov. Rose Mofford. But Patricia Gilbert and Ron Johnson vowed to fight for their jobs in court. Gilbert's attorney, David Dwlncy, called Mofford's action "a shameful abuse of power." And Johnson called Mofford "overhanded, overbearing and arrogant." The firings came four days after Mofford asked Gilbert, a Democrat like Mofford, and Johnson, a Republican, to resign.

When they refused, she put them on administrative leave, citing, among other reasons, that they had walked away in March from parole hearings without hearing 17 inmates. In addition, Johnson requested and Gilbert authorized with out documentation the erasure of 152 hours of leave from Johnson's vacation records. Mofford appointed two Democrats as replacements: Robert Araza, 55, a parole supervisor at the Arizona State Prison in Yuma and a parole board member from 1975-86, and Luis Vega, 46, a hearing officer with the Board of Pardons and Paroles since July 1985. Both start Monday, but arc subject to Senate confirmation. Araza's term will expire in January and Vega's in January 1992.

Board members are paid $46,575 per year. Mofford now has named four new members to the seven-member Board of Pardons and Paroles since March, ormcr Senate President Stan Turley replaced Darwin Aycock, who withdrew his name from Senate confirmation. Robert Tucker replaced Dick Ortiz, whose term had expired. Even with the turnover, however, questions remain about two other board members Ray Mores, who walked away from parole hearings last April without hearing any inmates, and Chairman Arter Johnson, who 5oc 2 FIRED, pagelil2 mil fj i By Julie Newberg The Arizona Republic Viva Mexico! On the 127th commemoration of Mexico's defeat of Napoleon Ill's army, Cinco de Mayo revelers took to the streets Friday as a celebration at Patriots Square and along Washington Street got under way. Cinco dc Mayo marks the defeat of the French military by Mexican forces in a battle May 5, 1862, at Pucbla, Mexico.

But most festival goers downtown didn't have history on their minds, just having a good time. "We came down to party," said Macvc Johnson of Phoenix. Her daughter, 10-ycar-old Katie, did have an idea of what Cinco de Mayo meant, likening it to St. Patrick's Day. On second thought, she figured it might be more like the Fourth of July in the United States.

Children with parents in tow had a wide variety of activities to choose from at the festival: getting their faces painted; riding on rides; playing games; eating; and watching the bands on the Patriots Square stage. "I like to see the mariachis," said 12-ycar-old Francisco Caballcro of Phoenix. Sec ACCENT'S, pagcD3 Body found is that of business owner Angelo Desideri His body, which was identified through dental records, was found near Jacumba, Calif. i Search for new ASU president narrowing Discovery linked to slayings on Coast, in Valley By Jim Walsh The Arizona Republic A decomposed body found last week by campers near San Diego has been positively identified as that of Phoenix businessman Angelo Desi-dcri, who is believed to have been the first victim in an alleged string of murders in Phoenix and California. The body of Desideri, 57, which was identified through dental records, was found April 29 near Jacumba, a mountainous area about 40 miles cast of San Diego, said Sgt.

Andy Anderson, a Phoenix police spokesman. Deputy Danny Goodrich of the San Diego County Sheriffs Department said the body had been in a shallow grave and was discovered after it had been dug up by animals. Desideri, formerly the owner of an Italian import business, had been shot in the head, Goodrich said. are Donna Shalala, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison; C. Peter Magrath, president of the University of Missouri system; and Tomas Arcinicga, president of California State University at Bakcrsfield.

The regents have promised to publicize a short list of finalists, although they have offered no guarantees of how many names will be on the list. Chancn said he hopes a short See 8-MONTH, page B2 Members of the Board of Regents' presidential-search committee have refused to comment on any names, citing a confidentiality vow they took at the outset of the search. Herman Chancn, president of the Board of Regents and chairman of the search committee, estimated Friday that eight to 10 names remain under serious consideration. "We're still doing interviewing and rc-intcrviewing," Chancn said. "We have not advised anybody that they're on a short list." Rumored replacements include the current president of the University of Colorado, E.

Gordon Gee. Colorado is familiar breeding ground for ASU's top post: departing President J. Russell Nelson came to ASU from his job as chancellor of the University of Colorado's Boulder campus in 1981. Other candidates believed to be of high interest to the search committee Dr. Norman Spcrbcr, chief forensic dentist for San Diego and Imperial counties, said Friday that Desideri's dental X-rays matched the extensive dental work found on the body.

Guiseppe "Joe" Calo, 34, who was arrested March 16 in Phoenix and charged with six counts of first-degree murder, also faces charges relating to the disappearance of Desideri, whose burned-out Cadillac was found in San Diego on June 6. According to search warrants from Phoenix investigators, Calo implicated James David Majors, 41, a Phoenix painting contractor, in Desideri's death. Majors was arrested in Phoenix See BODY, pagetis II 'Ilium ill1 UHHIMIIMBU yiiui.w u.mwmi.i HMV.j.uUMBfV I tv 'II i V. If tV I 4 i I p4 Few AIDS drugs tested on patients in Arizona By Mary Jo Pitzl The Arizona Republic As the search for the next Arizona State University president enters its eighth month, a few names continually surface as top contenders for the job. The strongly rumored candidates are all university presidents or chancellors, and all hail from outside of Arizona, sources close to the search say.

DPS officer queried in phone threats By Pamela Manson The Arizona Republic A Department of Public Safety officer was placed on administrative leave Friday pending completion of an inquiry into harassing telephone calls made to a supporter of former Gov. Evan Mccham. Officer Van E. Jackson who worked on the DPS security detail at the state Capitol during Mccham's impeachment trial last year, will be on paid leave until either a Phoenix police probe or an internal investigation is completed into calls placed to Leon; Woodward, DPS spokesman Sgt. Allan Schmidt said.

Sthmidt said the DPS was notified late Thursday about a complaint from Woodward that he had received harassing calls. "The Phoenix investigation developed information that some calls may See DPS OFFICER, page B3 By Peter Aleshire The Arizona Republic A bewildering array of drugs is being tested on the virus that causes AIDS, but few are available to the more than 740 AIDS patients in Arizona, experts said Friday in Phoenix at a national conference on AIDS therapy. About 60 drug companies are developing drugs to treat AIDS and the related infections, but the experimental trials are conducted primarily in such cities as New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, cities with research universities and large clusters of AIDS patients. "It's total chaos," Dr. Layne Gentry, chief of the infectious-disease section of St.

Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston, said of the scramble to test new AIDS drugs. "We had no idea things were going to move so fast." In addition, doctors in Arizona often arc slow to learn of the new treatments for many of the infections to which people with AIDS are prey, according to experts who addressed about 200 doctors specializing in the treatment of infectious diseases. The physicians are attending a three-day conference in Scottsdale sponsored by Glaxo Pharmaceuticals. "AIDS is a moving target, and we're making tremendous progress," said Dr. Jay Levy, a researcher at the University of California at San Francisco.

Me was one of the first scientists to isolate and describe the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, See STATE, pagelU fWWWlgBlff www Christine KeithThe Arizona Republic SPECIAL SPEEDSTERS Frances Sesma pulls ahead of Lucy Flores (center) and An-tionette Strawhorn in the women's 400-meter race-walk event at the Arizona Special Olympics. The games, part of an international program that promotes physical fitness and athletic competition for mentally retarded children and adults, will continue today and Sunday at Arizona State University..