Democrat and Chronicle from Rochester, New York • Page 6

Jury awards $90,000 in case against police It wasn't so much the monetary thing. Justice worked correctly Theodore Antonucci It's a totally unsupported verdict not based on any wrongdoing M. Malarney, town's lawyer that Antonucci had proved his case. Five of the six jurors must agree before a verdict is announced, and the vote was 5-1 for Antonucci. Antonucci's lawyer, Charles Schiano, grasped a dogeared file, leaned against a wall in the Hall of Justice and said he was "delighted" with the jury's finding.

For Antonucci the verdict ends four years of lawyers and courtrooms that began the night he was the honored guest at a surprise birthday party hosted by Armand Gallucci, owner of Nero's restaurant on Ridge Road. Police found and arrested two prostitutes working in a van parked behind the the Irondequoit Police Department and not on any wrongdoing" by the officers. Jurors declined to comment when asked if they would characterize the police work as "malicious" or simply "bungled." One document Schiano used extensively during the trial showed that Antonucci was arrested at 1:01 a.m. at the restaurant. Police said it was 1:01 when the department received a call about a possible burglary.

Schiano also used a newspaper article about the incident reminding jurors that police had released the information, By NANCY MONAGHAN A state Supreme Court jury yesterday awarded $90,000 to Theodore Antonuc-ci, saying he was prosecuted maliciously by the town of Irondequoit. "It wasn't so much the monetary thing," Antonucci said outside the courtroom as he accepted congratulations from friends. "Justice worked correctly." The five-figure award drew gasps from lawyers who followed the case and from employees at Irondequoit Town Hall. An appeal is likely. "I think that is in order, based on that amount, considering the information I have," Irondequoit Town Supervisor Stephen R.

Johnson said. The Town Board will decide whether to appeal, and board members may discuss the issue at their meeting tomorrow night, Johnson said. By its verdict jurors found that the police officers who investigated the case against Antonucci lied about the circumstances of his arrest for promoting pros- 1 Metro DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE, Wednesday, June 4, 1980 New landfill plan may keep Penfield open through '81 1 f-v, If III I i Taking time to smell the flowers Kalyani Madhu enjoys the aroma and Eric Applebaum, both of of a handful of flowers as she Rochester, take a stroll around Few problems here, Cobbs Hill Park yesterday. De- the day, the sun peeked through spite some misting rain during long enough for this walk. EPA official told restaurant They charged Gallucci and Antonucci with promoting prostitution, saying Gallucci supplied the women and Antonucci supplied the van.

The charges against Antonucci were later dropped by a Monroe County grand jury. Gallucci was indicted, but the prostitution charges were thrown out in court. The crucial issue in Antonucci's lawsuit, jurors said, was the time of his arrest. Antonucci said he was under arrest by 2 a.m. but Irondequoit Investigator Ronald Eisenhauer said it was 3:30 or 3:45.

The two incriminating statements police used as their probable cause to arrest Antonucci were signed at 3:00 and 3:04 a.m. Jurors said they believed police didn't have the statements when they arrested Antonucci. "It's a totally unsupported verdict," said Michael Malarney, lawyer for the town. He said he believes jurors reached their verdict based on "incomplete or defective record-keeping procedures by 1 1 DC pzofo fey Damd Cook TXjC rthntn ht Rlirr l.Ptuis at resource recovery plant plant's staff points out equipment. "But I'm encouraged there's Sen.

(Daniel Patrick) Moynihan," said Flacke. The New York Democrat understands the acid rain problem, Flacke said, "and is a feisty Irishman who has no problem letting people know what's on his mind." of fifteen, maybe twenty grand a year. At that rate, I'd never pay for it." City building codes require various levels of qualification for boiler operators, depending on boiler horsepower. An operator must be on duty whenever the boiler is in use. Steam problems at the Kurlash which makes eyelash curlers and nail files, are typical of problems suffered by old downtown buildings on the steam system.

Not only is steam becoming increasingly expensive to buy, Russo said, his building's old steam system is wasteful, inefficient and produces unpredictable building and manufacturing temperatures. "There's a great deal of waste," he said. Pipes that carry steam from one part of the building to another are hot to touch. "Wasted heat," Russo said gingerly touching a hot pipe while touring the building. A snarled web of pipes line several walls and ceilings in the building.

Many are corroded. Rusted steam valves and titution May 26, 1976. But three jurors, interviewed ouside the courtroom, would say only that "there were some discrepancies" in the testimony. Johnson said no action will be taken against the officers at this time. But he said he will review transcripts of the trial and of earlier pretrial proceedings to see if the police testimony is consistent.

"I think we have to do some investigation," he said. "If we think there are any problems (with discrepancies in testimony), we'll decide then." Jurors said they agreed on the $90,000 figure in about 90 minutes after they had deliberated about five hours and agreed Gerald McDonald during lunch discussed the EPA's objections to paying for the improvements to stop the overflows. "I'm glad they got together," Flacke told Morin later. After the lunch, Flacke and Warren toured the county's resource recovery center at Emerson Street and Lee Road. The $62 million recovery plant, which is still being tested, is expected to go into full operation by year's end, said Howard Christensen, the county's solid waste director.

Officials explained before the tour that there was no odor problem at the plant. But as Warren walked into the three-acre receiving building where refuse is put into the recycling system, he smiled and told Flacke, "It smells like garbage to me, Bob. I know garbage when I smell it." They also visited the county's Van Lare sewage treatment plant. On the tour's first day, Warren had joked with Flacke after the two disagreed about what EPA can do about the acid rain problem in the Adirondacks. "What should we do, wrestle to see who stays in the helicopter?" he asked Flacke at a stop in Ray Brook, in Essex County, to learn more about acid rain.

Flacke thinks the EPA can end the acid rain problem by enforcing the federal Clean Air Act more stringently in the Midwest, particularly Ohio. But Warren said the act simply doesn't address problems like the long-range transport of pollutants, which apparently causes acid rain. He said yesterday he hoped the acid rain problem could be addressed when help! percent sales tax and the salesman asked me to pay the remaining 3 percent sales tax, $21, in cash. I paid it and the salesman noted on the con" tract that the money would be refunded if the financing didn't go through. The financing wasn't approved and I've been trying to get my money refunded.

I've called the main office in Syracuse, but the manager never returned my calls. MRS. M.A. GEORGE, Rochester A. Robert F.

Tamutus, nresident of Suburban Foods, sent you a $21 check. "I apologize for this oversight. I do not know how it happened and can only say that it must have been lost in the transfer of our office from one place in Rochester to a new location," he said. I 1 i not Antonucci arrest at 1:30. that put the time of Eisenhauer said he read Antonucci his rights at 2:31 a.m.

and made the formal arrest about an hour later. Immediately following the verdict Malarney asked Justice Robert E. White to reduce the award or set aside the verdict, but White refused. The town has 30 days to file an appeal, which Malarney said he will "strongly" advise the town to do. If the town appeals, Antonucci will not collect the judgment until the appeal process has been exhausted.

-( Landfills in Seneca Falls (1) Penfield (2) and Greece (3) PLANK RO. in KENNEDY fin tz ATLANTIC fa Jm AVE. a 0 Map pinpoints landfill off Gloria Drive in Penfield about that commitment." Gloria Drive was planned as an interi im county landfill that would give the legislature time to find a more permanent site. Five years later, a new site still hasn't been found. Three sites in the southwest part of the county are under consideration.

Another key element of Milton's proposal would require the legislature and Monroe County Water Authority to provide municipal water service for homes that border the landfill to replace wells that neighbors claim have been polluted from the garbage buried nearby. "I don't think anybody was jumping for joy with all the items that were put in there," Legislature President Ralph Esposito said after the Republican majority heard details of the proposed agreement. But he called it "a significant propos- al" that would temporarily ease a shortage of landfill space while the legislature continues the long search for a permanent site. "I think we could support something along the lines of what was discussed by the Town Board," Esposito said. "I'd like to get it before the Public Works Committee so maybe we can vote on it at our June 17 meeting." He said Republicans are concerned about the high cost of the proposal to the county and want to talk more about -that.

When the steam goes, Russo said, he's hoping that some of his steaming problems will end. When the company decided to change to an electric manufacturing system to save labor costs electric prices were two and a half times steam prices. "Now that's not true," Russo said. "I think we're going to luck out I'm not sure what our comparison in fuel costs will, about $19 million in revenues. believes there are other changes it could make to keep steam prices stable, Silvestrone said.

But he wouldn't say what those changes are. Asked whether plans to reduce the size of the area served by the steam system to help make it more profitable, Silvestrone said: "We are doing some of that now." Jtk. 0 MUS (J UKt ONTARIO MONROE 1 5 i 2t-I ONTARIO I ft OA 2 By MARK WERT State Environmental Conservation Commissioner Robert F. Flacke brought a top federal environmental official here yesterday and told him there weren't many environmental problems in Monroe County. "Monroe County is in good shape," Flacke told Charles Warren, regional administrator for the federal Environmental Protection Agency, during a luncheon with local officials at the Wishing Well restaurant in Gates.

Warren later smelled garbage at the county's resource recovery plant and toured the Van Lare sewage treatment plant. Warren was named chief of EPA's New York City regional office earlier this year. He is the top federal environmental official in the state. Flacke arranged the visit as part of a tour to let Warren know there are other environmental issues upstate besides chemical contamination at Love Canal. Flacke and county officials, including County Manager Lucien A.

Morin, used the visit to tell Warren about the county's pioneering efforts in its Pure Waters and resource recovery programs. Morin and other county officials bragged about the county's programs. They also tried to explain why the county needs federal money to prevent Rochester sewers from overflowing and polluting the Genesee River. Heavy rainfall causes the city's sewers to overflow into the river. The overflows have been considered the river's worst pollution problem, but that problem has lessened now because of construction and better operation by Pure Waters.

The county is constructing deep sewer tunnels to stop the overflows. Warren and Pure Waters Director By RICHARD POPELY Penfield would get $275,000 more a year and the Monroe County Legislature would get some breathing room in its search for a new landfill under a plan to keep the Gloria Drive landfill open another 18 months. That would temporarily solve the landfill needs of the northeast suburbs that have been using the Gloria Drive facility since 1975 and of the town of Greece, which will close its own landfill June 30. Penfield Town Board member Donald S. Milton suggested keeping Gloria Drive open, despite what seenns to be a prevailing sentiment in the town that it should close June 30 as planned.

"It was a hard decision to make," Milton said. "I hope that I made the right decision. Time will only tell." Milton said keeping Gloria Drive open also will stabilize garbage collection rates charged to homeowners. He said private haulers serving the suburbs said they would have to raise their monthly collection rates from about $7 a month to $11, and maybe to $14, if Gloria Drive closed. The collectors would have to charge more because they would be hauling garbage to distant landfills outside of Monroe County, like the landfill in Seneca Falls, 50 miles southeast of Rochester.

The Penfield Town Board approved Milton's proposal 3-1 Monday night. Supervisor Anna Bundschuh voted against it, but she says she now will support it as it goes before the legislature for consideration. The legislature must approve an increase in the dumping fee it pays to Penfield from 25 cents a ton to $3 a ton. That would raise Penfield's revenue from the county-owned landfill from $25,000 a year to nearly $300,000. The landfill has been getting nearly 100,000 tons a year from the northeast quadrant of the county, an area that includes Irondequoit, Brighton, Webster, Penfield and part of Rochester.

Gloria Drive is scheduled to close June 30 when a five-year agreement with Pen-field runs out. Until now, the agreement that the landfill would be open for only five years had been considered sacred by the Town Board. Mrs. Bundschuh warned yesterday that keeping it open for another 18 months raises the possibility that Pen-field will be stuck with a permanent landfill. "I think the strong incentive for the County Legislature to find another landfill.

has just disappeared," she said, suggesting a similar extension might be sought at the end of 1981. "The legislature certainly has a commitment to the five-year period. I feel the town should be equally concerned traps wear out quickly, Russo said. Last year the company hired a heating contractor to estimate the cost of insulating pipes to prevent heat loss. The cost: $10,000.

Another gadget to prevent corrosion was priced at $5,000, Russo said. "Sure, you could fix these problems, but it's too expensive." In May, Kurlash began conversion of its manufacturing operation from steam to electric, cutting its steam use in half. FUTURE From Page IB cover enough of the cost to make it worthwhile, he said. The city has indicated it will ask the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for a grant to pay for a third of such a project.

"But if it costs $9 million to convert, that leaves $6 million for us to pay. That's a lot of money to ask our customers to pay." has 295 steam customers, and last year took in Need window cranks EPA official Charles Warren Warren listens as Dick Meyer of the act is amended next year but said he was worried that it could be weakened without Secretary of State Edmund Muskie in the U.S. Senate. Muskie, who wrote the act, was considered the environmental movement's strongest ally in the Senate. From Pase IB steam).

We were thinking of ourselves." Other downtown building operators have lived through recent steam rate increases the hard way by paying the bills. In March 1978, the steam bill for the Kurlash Co. at 128 South was $3,395. In March this year, the bill was $5,876, a 73 percent increase. "And I believe we're using less steam," said plant manager Nick Russo.

In 1976, the company studied the cost of installing its own boiler: $20,000, which would be repaid in fuel savings within 1 Vi to two years. "It would have been worthwhile -for us, but we didn't have the money to do it," Russo said. Kurlash requires a low-horsepower boiler, so the company wouldn't have had to hire an operating engineer. "That's a deciding factor in a small operation," he said. "If you have to hire a boiler operator, you've got to pay a salary Q.

I've tried in vain to get answers to my letters to Albee Homes Inc. in Niles, Ohio. We are in need of six awning-type window cranks for an Albee home, built 16 years ago. I'm willing to pay for the cranks but they can't be purchased anywhere. JOSEPH DeBELLO, Holley A.

There's a slim chance that the owner of Albee Homes which is out of business and involved in bankruptcy proceedings, has some of the cranks that you need. His wife has asked that you trace the crank on a piece of paper so that she can see what size you need and send the drawing to her. Refund check sent Q. I signed a contract in October for a freezer and food service plan through Suburban Foods Inc. The contract I signed was figured at 4 i.