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The Pittsburgh Press from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 6

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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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A-6 Pittsburgh Press, No v. 5, 1981 Fatal Blaze Termed Arson torcycle parts and clutter be cleared from the area. Another neighbor said "no one liked it because everyone around here tries to keep his house nice. But I never complained because he was a good neighbor." Neighbors speculated that the mattresses were outside because Meinert was renovating the house. Several residents said they had known the victims when they were young because they had lived in the house until their parents separated a few years ago.

Meinert's sons had moved in with him a few months ago, just before school started. Firefighters stopped the flames from spreading to the basement, where two bottles of propane gas were stored, thus averting an explosion, according to Sharpsburg Fire Chief Earl Blaser. Robert Kroner, county police superintendent, said investigators have been unable to find any trace of an accelerant such as gasoline or a flammable chemical. There have been complaints about Meinert's auto-repair and body-shop business in the neighborhood, which has been zoned a residential area. Complaints have been filed with Sharpsburg officials, who ordered that the tires, engines, mo A i UPI Telephoto U.S.

To File 6 Suits On Steel Dumping Dr. George Nichopoulos, wife Edna celebrate acquittal. Doctor Ruled Innocent In Elvis Drug Case (Continued from Page A-l) prompting many U.S. steelmakers to announce layoffs and to threaten delays in planned plant modernization programs. The government has never before initiated a major case to stop the import of subsidized foreign goods, said Heinz, who added that it was about time the U.S.

did so. "We seem to forget that the rest of the world is so much more pro-tectionistic than we are," he said. "As a result, we become the trade patsy of the world." A number of major U.S. steelmakers including U.S. Steel Corp.

Flag Charges Out Against 2 Police have withdrawn the complaint against two North Side men charged with stealing and defiling an American flag because the suspects replaced it. The suspects, Richard D. Lane, 23, of 1303 Island and Andrew J. Skubak, 22, of 1131 Island were arrested Sept. 27 after they allegedly stole the American flag from a pole outside the post office at South Commons and Federal Street, North Side.

They had been scheduled for a hearing in City Court today, but Magistrate Joseph James said police withdrew the complaint after restitution was made. (Column by Carl T. Rowan, page 3-2 MEMPHIS, Tenn. (UPI) Jurors acquitted Elvis Presley's former physician of overprescribing thousands of pills, saying he helped the rock 'n' roll singer with his drug problem when "other doctors just washed their hands of him." Dr. George Nichopoulos, described by his attorney as a good Samaritan who prolonged Presley's life, closed his eyes and smiled yesterday after the six-man, six-woman jury found him innocent of 11 counts of overprescribing drugs for Presley, singer Jerry Lee Lewis and seven others.

The five weeks of testimony indicated Nichopoulos prescribed 19,000 addictive pills to Presley in the last 31 months of his life, but jury forewoman Diane Blair said she was impressed by Nichopoulos' decision to try to substitute dummy pills for Presley's drugs. Ms. Blair said only one juror had mixed feelings about the verdict, but the juror agreed with the 11 others after a brief discussion. Defense attorney James F. Neal asked the jury to remember testi mony depicting his client as a "courageous and compassionate" physician who took on problem patients other doctors shunned.

In a booming voice, the defense attorney recalled testimony from Presley aides who said the rock star would have died much sooner without Nichopoulos' care. Neal compared the doctor to the good Samaritan who went out of his way to save a man left by thieves to die in a ditch after a priest and a Levite (priest's assistant) passed the victim by. Prosecutors told the jury Presley took at least a dozen stimulants, depressants and narcotics daily the last years of his life and died Aug. 16, 1977, with 14 different drugs in his body of the type Nichopoulos prescribed for him. Despite autopsy results showing traces of the drugs in the body of the overweight, 42-year-old singer, the cause of death was ruled heart disease.

Evidence showed Nichopoulos dispensed 5,458 "uppers," 9,567 "downers," and 3,988 painkillers to Presley from 1975 to 1977. have said they are prepared to file anti-foreign-steel suits with the ITC. Baldrige today indicated that he hopes the government filings will preclude any "massive" action by private industry. Under questioning by Heinz, the commerce secretary said he would rescind the trigger-price mechanism a regulatory device designed to limit foreign steel imports if U.S. steelmakers deluge the ITC with their own suits.

Steelmakers contend the trigger-price mechanism doesn't work. Heinz is one of a number of congressmen from steel areas who have said they are thinking about legislating an improved TPM. After Baldrige's testimony, Heinz said he is still thinking about it. Specter, Coyne Discuss Issues A number of national issues will be discussed by two of the state U.S. Congressmen tomorrow at a Common Cause Western Pennsylvania regional meeting in Shadyside.

Sen. Arlen Specter and Rep. William J. Coyne will discuss clean air, dairy price supports and congressional attempts to override Supreme Court decisions through legislation, as well as other topics. The congressmen will appear at the Friends Meeting House, 4836 Ellsworth from 11 a.m.

to 12:30 p.m. The public is invited. Von Geis said Allison strangled the victim with a shoelace from her tennis shoe while the two argued at her home. Allison's trial began yesterday, and the district attorney's office was seeking a first-degree murder conviction. However, the trial was called off when Allison accepted a plea bargain in which he agreed to accept the maximum sentence for third-degree murder and avoid a possible life term.

4 Cops Charged In Fracas (Continued from Page A-l) incident and have charged the pair with aggravated assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. A preliminary hearing on charges by both sides has been scheduled for Dec. 10 before Common Pleas Judge Robert E. Dauer. The elder Robinson has charged that he and his son and their wives were returning home from the reception when they were stopped along South Braddock Avenue by a police car parked in the road, its red lights flashing.

After waiting in vain for the police cruiser to move, Robinson reportedly asked an officer: "What's the trouble?" The officer responsed with a vulgarity, the elder Robinson has charged. When Robinson's son answered back with coarse language of his own, he was pulled from the car by his hair, Robinson charged. According to the Robinsons' complaints, the younger Robinson was "kicked and sprayed with Mace after being handcuffed." The elder Robinson said he also was handcuffed, sprayed with Mace and bitten by a police dog without provocation when he tried to act as a peacemaker. Police have contended that they used necessary force to control the Robinsons after they allegedly attacked the officers. But the Robinsons' attorney, Daniel M.

said he will call "about a half-dozen witnesses" who will substantiate the prison director's account. Robert Hainsey, acting Swissvale police chief, this morning said the department had not been "officially notified" of the charges against the officers. "I feel my officers were within their rights," he said. "They're willing to take a polygraph test. They have no qualms about it.

"When we get into court, this thing will all be straightened out," Hainsey said. PennDot OKs Road Pacts In East, South PennDot District 11 today announced the award of a $2.2 million contract to resurface 12 miles of roads in the East Hills and South" Hills this spring. Some preliminary work will be done this fall, but the successful low bidder, Black Top Paving Inc. of Washington, will do most of the projects next year. The projects will be 100 percent state funded, reflecting the increased revenue available to PennDot from the wholesale gasoline tax imposed earlier this year.

East Hills work sites are: East Pittsburgh-McKeesport Boulevard between Westinghouse Avenue and Port Perry Road, North Versailles; and Brinton Road between Braddock-Forest Hills Road and Maple Avenue, Edgewood and Braddock Hills. South Hills project sites are: Washington Avenue between Chartiers and Murray streets, Bridgeville; Poplar Street and Mansfield Avenue, Green Tree; Library Road (Route 88) between Castle Shannon Boulevard and Sixth Street, Castle Shannon; Chestnut Street and Forsythe Road in Scott Township and Carnegie; Boyce Road between Route 19 and Washington Pike, South Fayette Township and Upper St. Clair, May-view Road in South Fayette Township; McFarland Road between Beverly Road and Dormont Avenue, Mt. Lebanon; and Castle Shannon Boulevard between Willow Avenue and Route 88. By JANE-ELLEN ROSENBERGER County fire officials have ruled that the Sharpsburg fire that killed three young brothers early Monday was arson.

The county fire marshal said yesterday that a pile of mattresses on the front porch of the home at 1012 Penn St. was deliberately set afire. Killed in the three-alarm blaze, which swept through the front of the frame home, were George Aitken, 16; Marvin Aitken, 14, and Steven Aitken, 12. Their father, Franklin Meinert, escaped unharmed through the rear of the building, then pleaded with firemen to give him a mask so he could attempt to rescue his children. The investigation has been turned over to the county homicide bureau, and police have been questioning neighbors, some of whom had complained that the auto-repair business Meinert operated in his back yard was unsightly.

Lt. Charles Mosser, county homicide chief, said police have.no suspects and "no leads at this time." Thomas Ulrich, who lives across the street from the house, said he was the first to alert firemen. He said, the fire spread quickly and several firemen at the scene expressed suspicions about the intensity of the fire and the speed with which it engulfed the house. Court Ruling Hikes Auto Crash Benefits (Continued from Page A-l) pay Mrs. Tubner only basic loss benefits under the No-Fault Act and nothing under the Uninsured Motorist Act, she sued.

Common Pleas Judge R. Stanton Wettick ruled in favor of the insurance company. However, Wettick was overruled by state Superior Court and the Supreme Court today upheld that decision. In a six-page opinion by Justice Bruce Kauffman, the high court reviewed the complex no-fault law and emphasized that a claim assigned to an insurance company under the law is to be treated by the company as though it had issued a policy to the individual involved. Thus, since Mrs.

Tubner is the administrator of her son's estate, she is entitled to up to $15,000 in basic loss benefits and up to $15,000 of uninsured motorist benefits. Kauffman wrote that "any other interpretation" of Mrs. Tubner's rights under the no-fault law "would frustrate the Legislature's intention to provide maximum feasible restoration to all accident victims (or their survivors) in a comprehensive, fair and uniform manner." To do otherwise, "would have the discriminatory effect" of treating people like Mrs. Tubner differently than others covered by the law "and thus would perpetuate many of the harsh results of the outdated fault system by denying general damages to innocent victims of irresponsible drivers." Justices Robert N.C. Nix and Samuel Roberts dissented.

They said their colleagues had misinterpreted the law and predicted that the financial impact of the majority's ruling will have serious ramifications as to the possibility of providing the low cost coverage sought to be achieved under the No-Fault Act." In his 10-page dissent, Nix points out that the No-Fault Act "makes no reference" to the Uninsured Motorist Act. The two laws, adopted more than 10 years apart, stand on their own, he said. Although both laws sometimes complement one another, they shouldn't be considered one and the same, he wrote. Reg. $39 Pate flexible tie moc with snug fit ting comfort.

City Man Admits Killing Church Council Maps Membership Drive lining the increasing seriousness with which the established churches view the religious alienation of the 18- to 35-year-old population. It urged member churches to use the Lenten season the 40 days preceding Easter to reexamine their commitment to young adults and to use evangelization, education, and advocacy "which understands who they are, in their search, in their diversity and in their gifted-ness." At the same time, the Governing Board also elected by acclamation United Methodist Bishop James Armstrong to a three-year term as president of the council. Today, the council considers a report from a team of religious leaders it sent to El Salvador and a -message to the churches in China before adjourning to participate in the three-day "ecumenical event" celebrating the council's three-decade-old history. A Terrace Village man was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison today after he abruptly ended his jury trial by pleading guilty to third-degree murder in the strangulation of his girlfriend. Clarence Allison, 20, of 466 Burrows told Common Pleas Judge Gerard M.

Bigley that he killed Robin R. Clark, 18, of 2490 Waring Court, also Terrace Village, last March 13. Assistant District Attorney Paul Our Bridge Coat warms handsomely Adapted from the British naval officer's watch coat, this good-looking model is of navy wool melton and features a belted back and double-breasted front with brass eagle buttons. Sizes 4 to 16 regular, 6 to 14 petite. $305 ONE WEEK ONL Your favorite sporty wedges at a tremendous savings CLEVELAND (UPI) Looking to an uncertain future and the possibility of empty churches, the National Council of Churches is urging local congregations to use the spring Lenten season as a time of special outreach to the nation's young adults.

"The cynicism, fear and hopelessness of much of today's world is living proof that we are proclaiming the Good News in a language which, for many, cannot be understood," the 266-member Governing Board, highest policy-making body in the 32-member Protestant and Orthodox interfaith agency said. Governing Board members debated the "message to the churches" for more than an hour yesterday before voting their approval, under- Portable Meter To Aid Diabetics NEW YORK (UPI) A $250, portable electronic meter lets diabetics check their blood sugar in a little more than a minute, using a drop of blood from a pricked finger. The new instrument called a Glucometer and being unveiled today gives digital readouts of blood sugar levels and can be used by any of the 10 million American diabetics to closely control their disease. wanted to present two character witnesses who would testify about Scott's reputation for being peaceful. But he decided not to call the two witnesses after Clarke informed him that he would allow the prosecution to ask the witnesses if they were aware the defendant had been arrested on two previous occasions on assault charges.

Scott was acquitted in both earlier arrests. The Supreme Court said Clarke's ruling unfairly deprived Scott of calling two witnesses who could have aided his contention that he did not provoke the incident that led to Infante's death. Until today's ruling, Pennsylvania courts have allowed the prosecution to ask character witnesses if they were aware of a defendant's prior arrests, even if those charges ended in an acquittal. Libya Accuses U.S. BEIRUT, Lebanon (UPI) The state-run Libyan news agency charged the United States will use B-52 bombers in an attempt to assassinate Libyan leader Col.

Moammar KhJafy next week. Ex-City Man To Get 3rd Trial In Killing National pucker moc with gold tone buckle 6-10 5-12 4-12 5-10 1 1 -j Block, navy, wine, amber leather Repraientatlv lelection 1 6-10 5Vi-12 4-12 I 5-10 The state Supreme Court today awarded a former Bloomfield man his third trial in a slaying of a man during a 1975 racial confrontation and also struck down a long-held mle concerning cross-examination of defense character witnesses. In a unanimous opinion written by Chief Justice Henry X. O'Brien, the high court held that Harold Scott, 36, formerly of North Mill-vale Street, must receive a new trial for the slaying of Paul Infante, 26, of Taylor Street, also Bloomfield. Scott originally was convicted in 1976 of first-degree murder and received a life sentence that was overturned two years later by the state Supreme Court.

In his 1979 retrial, a jury convicted him of third-degree murder and Common Pleas Judge James F. Clarke sentenced him to an 11 Mi -to-25 year term. Scott, a black man, killed Infante, who was white, during a racial confrontation near the defendant's home. Scott claimed that Infante was leading a group of white men who were harassing and chasing him and testified that he fatally shot the victim in self defense. Defense Attorney Paul Boas Block, omber wine leather at all stores III Mall Westmoreland Mali Mifflla Creemburg joyce-selby shoes 600 SMITHFIELD ST.

MELLON SQUARE PITTSBURGH, PA. 13222 5160 Forbes Ave Century Squirrel Hill West.

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