The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 12

2 Ii Thursday. IW.2t.lQSl Philadelphia Inquirer METROPOLITAN Teenager suing 'grandpop' squad The Scene In Philadelphia and its suburbs By Mike Uary Insurer Stuff Unlet A teenage girl who has contended that a controversial Philadelphia police "grandpop" team framed her two years ago on a robbery charge and also permitted its attack dog to bite her has filed a damage suit against the team. The girl, Tracey Woodrit, who was 16 when the incident occurred Dec. 19, 1979, is also a witness in a federal criminal case charging the team's four members with violations of civil rights laws. The team, which is no longer functioning, was led by Robert Flanagan, whose job was to pose as an elderly derelict in hopes of attracting and arresting muggers.

He was backed up by three other officers, James Kewe-shan, Thomas McNamee and Sidney Landis, who was in charge of the team's attack dog, a large schnauzer. The suit was filed in Common Pleas Court last week and seeks damages of more than $15,000. It said the officers had falsely arrested Miss Woodrit and then directed the dog to bite her, "causing her to suffer numerous bite wounds." "As a result of the assault," the suit said, Miss Woodrit suffers from "physical and mental scars." Miss Woodrit's mother said in an interview earlier this year that her daughter had often woken up screaming in the night because of the incident. Miss Woodrit was one of six people whose statements that they had been framed by the- Flanagan team were reported in an Inquirer story Feb. 1.

State and federal investigations followed, culminating in the federal civil rights indictment in September. After the indictment, Police Commissioner Morton B. Solomon ordered the team suspended from street duty and its members assigned to the police radio room. Landis has since resigned. The incident occurred when Miss Woodrit and a friend, Vance Young, who was then 14, were on their way home from Center City.

When the two came upon Flanagan in a subway station near 16th and Market Streets, the two said in a January interview, Flanagan was moaning "I want to go home" and spitting on a toy bird he sometimes used to make would-be muggers think he was deranged. They said that Flanagan then dropped a roll of bills on the ground and that when Young stooped to help him retrieve it, Flanagan shouted that he was being robbed. Backup officers moved in for the arrest. Miss Woodrit said that one of the officers had struck Young several times and that the attack dog lunged and bit her, breaking the skin and resulting in three visible scars on her right thigh. After the arrest, the district attorney's office consented to a court-supervised arrangement that resulted in the dropping of the robbery charges after six months.

Young did not join in the lawsuit. I i run ii. ii I 4Jf ft jL.iry,;SB From Saigon, come the faithful THIS LOVELY CHESTNUT HILL HOME features four airy be rooms, two working fireplaces, hardwood floors and an unbedi able security system. Actually, it's not for sale. It's a painting bj Mayor Green's home by local artist Paul Rickert that appeared qt the mayor's Christmas cards this year.

In case you were wonder ing, Green paid for the painting; the city as it has in the past picked up the tab for the 7,500 cards and postage. I PacManiai Now there's a song si. VIETNAMESE, from IB sters in the service's next group of 10 have already been placed with an uncle in Wyndmoor. Nevertheless, the service is more worried than it has ever been before. It is so worried, in fact, that since the start of the fall, it has been putting on its first advertising and recruiting campaign.

"It used to be that people would just call us, ask what they could do for the Vietnamese," said Dale Dye, the agency's placement coordinator, "but we're just not getting the calls, even with the advertising." "People just don't seem to think that the Vietnamese problem is that bad anymore, which is a sad thing, because 'boat people' are still leaving all the time, and a lot of them are just children kids all by themselves." As part of her effort to recruit sponsors, Ms. Dye has even sent out a plea for help to all the Lutheran churches in the area and all those others who have helped in the past. Thus far, she said, the response has been "disappointing, tepid." "And this is all happening at a time when there's a backlog of kids ready to leave the camps for this country," she said. "We have a list of about 100 kids ready to come here ourselves." The local Lutheran Service was one of the first agencies in the country to run a program finding homes for Vietnamese children, and it remains one of the largest and is considered a model operation. Although refugee officials at the federal and local levels say they have no accurate statistics about the "unaccompanied minors" now in Southeast Asian refugee camps, all agree that the percentage of children arriving in the refugee camps has increased significantly.

Consistent reports are being received, they say, about boatloads of children arriving in Malaysia and Hong Kong with few, if any, adults. As explained Tuesday by William Eckhof. national program manager of the federal Office of Refugee Re- settlement, this exodus of children appears to be the result of a Vietnamese government policy excluding the children of former South Vietnamese officials from higher education and many good jobs. Many of the teenage boys, he said, are also escaping the draft, which is used to fill the ranks of the Vietnamese army in Cambodia. I "Try to imagine the desperation of these parents and kids to try what they're trying," he said.

"An awful lot of them won't make it, and everyone knows that." For those children who do escape, the U.S. government has started a program to help them start over. Since refugees began arriving in 1975, the cost of caring for the Viet- You've probably noticed the nation's latest addiction. It's not heroin or designer jeans. It's Pac-Man, an arcade video game irt which a playifr tries to gobble his way through a maze while being chased by several speedy blue meanies (if you've played it once, you understand).

And it's not just kids who are pumping quarters into the machines it's lawyers, journalists and even adults. In a pizzeria in Doylestown, for example, the Pac-Man machine is taken over during lunchtime by Bucl County assistant district attorneys and public defenders. Well, it had to happen. A couple of songwriters from Atlanta haw come out with a 45 disc entitled "Pac-Man Fever." The snappy tune utilizes sound effects from the game, along with some clever lyrics, sutji as: "I'm really cooking now, eating everything in sightAll my money's gone so I'll be back tomorrow night Cause I got Pac Man FeverIt's driving mecrazy." Philadelphia DJs say they've been swamped with requests for the song. "The little sounds of the Pac-Man eating the little cherries is enough to drive people to the phones and ask for more," says Joe music director.

The song was written and recorded by Jerry Buckncr and Gary Garcia, two Pac-Man fanatics who produce radio commercials. According' their manager, Arnie Geller, it is their first recording. And it won't be their last. The manager said Buckner and Garcia w.fll release an album in January that will feature other songs about electronic video games. Sixersi So why not hockey sticks? i a The Philadelphia 76ers will be giving out baseball bats to all childrdh 14 years and younger who attend the game Jan.

9 against the New Jersey Nets. Baseball bats at a basketball game? We called the team's front offie to see what the heck was going on. "In the dead cold of winter, we're going to make people think of sunshine, and spring training and nice warm weather," said general manager Pat Williams, who admitted the promotion was his idea. "We are wooing the sports fans of Philadelphia shamelessly, and if 5,000 baseball fans happen to wander into our game, we will not be upset." The team has ordered more than 6,000 genuine Louisville sluggers with the Sixers' slogan, "We've got the place jumpin' again." Ttfg McGraw will also be on hand to give out photos before the game. You remember that guy.

He used to play guard for that other team South Philly. 'J Attention Santat Bring him a new dentist We hate to embarrass anyone, especially anyone who works for the Philadelphia School District, but we couldn't resist telling what happened yesterday to Irvin Davis, the district's beleaguered finance director. It seems Davis, who has been working overtime lately on the proposed settlement between the city and the teachers' union, had his two front teeth removed last week. But his dentist has yet to come up with- a new bridge. So when a local television station called him yesterday morning and asked him to appear for an on-the-air interview, he adamantly refused.

"Absolutely not," he was overheard saying. "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth." More Santat Hey, Virginia, read this Immmm mmmmmmmmmm Since tonight's the big night, the one when old St. Nick pulls out te big sleigh (we heard he traded it in for a Datsun this year) and goes fjr that long ride, we thought we'd let you in on some inside informatien on the merry gift-giver. 1 The facts were provided by Rachel Cashman, a 5-year-old preschooler from Chester. She is enrolled at the Child Development Center at Wid-ener University, where she is majoring in Santa Clausology.

In an interview with the center's staff, Ms. Cashman noted that Mr. Claus is 13 years old. "He lives far away where the penguins live and.it snows. It's about 24 miles away from here," the expert said.

How does he get all those toys in the sleigh? "The elves pack all Je toys. Then one elf checks all the toys," she said. Why? "To make sure bo one steals any." Finally, as to how the bearded man obtains his gifts, she disclosed, "He makes presents at his house and buys the toys at Kiddie City." Won't the folks at Toys Us be surprised. Steve Stecklow Clark DeLeon is on vacation. His column will resume Tuesday.

Dinh Cong Hoang sharpens Philadelphia Inquirer CHUCK ISAACS his Ping-Pong game in the basement of the Lutheran agency now that it will support these Vietnamese kids 100 percent financially, but some states are afraid that the funds will disappear later and they'll be left paying for the kids," said Robert Wright of the Catholic Conference in New York. "And so they won't expand their programs, and some are even cutting back." In Pennsylvania, counties are the legal custodians, though, and it was because of similar fears, local officials say, that Bucks County recently put a limit on the number of Vietnamese children it will accept, and Berks and Lehigh County decided to accept none at all. Although Lutheran Service officials in Philadelphia worry about the future of their program as public interest lags, they seem confident that the Dinh brothers will be able to find a home. They say they will not be separated: the younger boy, placement coordinator Ms. Dye said, is very cute, and his age and disposition will probably land them a foster family soon.

It is the single boys in their later teens, like the older Dinh brother, she said, who will have real problems. "These are always the hardest to place, even though Vietnamese have shown themselves to be diligent and hard-working people here," she said. "I'm just afraid that all the bad publicity about Cuban refugees and Haitian refugees together with the economy and everything else will tip that balance, and leave these boys homeless for quite some time. It's a shame, after all they've been through." La Salle worker held in nursing-class holdup A La Salle College cafeteria employee has been arrested and charged in the Nov. 23 robbery of 16 nurses attending a night class at the college, police said yesterday.

Freddy Bell. 18, of the 100 block of West Hansberry Street, was arrested Tuesday after the instructor of the children has been borne entirely by the federal government, which contracts through the states with either the Lutheran Children and Youth Service or the U.S. Catholic Conference to make the actual placements. The families who take in the Vietnamese youngsters receive a daily stipend for providing room and board. It is this program, which brought in almost 3,000 children between January 1979 and November 1981, that is now having a hard time.

Spokesmen in the national offices of both the Lutheran and Catholic organizations report that Philadelphia is not alone in its recruitment problem, and that fears of Reagan administration budget cuts are also making placements more difficult. "The Ifederall government says class, Zane Wolf, had recognized Bell as one of three men who had burst into the classroom and robbed the nurses of $3,000 cash and jewelry. Police said that Wolf had identified Bell while he was serving food during a college Christmas party and that several other victims had later and ripped his dollar-changer off," said Capt. Angelo Gerbino. "We had men everywhere, volunteering to work overtime, to try to find the guy.

We looked all over the place, checked everything, but we couldn't find him." 4 Graterford inmates charged with having weapons Four inmates at Graterford Prison in Montgomery County have been arrested by state police and accused of carrying handmade weapons, a spokesman for the state Bureau of Corrections said yesterday. Police said all four inmates were arraigned Monday by District Justice Carroll A. Rosen berger in Schwenks-ville on charges of possessing weapons or implements of escape. Preliminary hearings for the men have been scheduled Dec. 31, police said.

The four inmates are Vincent Ha-nible, 25, serving two to 10 years for robbery; Gregory Bush, 23, two to five years for criminal conspiracy; William G. Mayes, 27, life in prison for murder; and Michael Dorsey, 21, three to 10 years for robbery and burglary. Police said the inmates, all of whom are from Philadelphia, were discovered to have weapons in September and October by prison guards during routine searches. Metropolitan Area News in Brief on Olney Avenue between 18th and 19th Streets. Police said the men had ordered the students to empty the contents of their purses and to lie on the floor.

A third man then entered the classroom through a rear door and collected the valuables, police said, and the three then fled. in a wooded area along the Susquehanna River near Safe Harbor. He said the spill appeared to pose no danger. A national chemical identification service identified the waste as na-phid, a byproduct of petroleum refining, according to Deck. He said the chemical was not explosive but added that police and fire officials at the scene had been advised that it could cause skin burns.

The train's engineer, William Neway, 27, of Dauphin, was in fair condition in St. Joseph Hospital in Lancaster last night with possible back and internal injuries. Burlco forms permanent post of county jail warden The Burlington County freeholders created the permanent position of county jail warden yesterday and indicated that acting jail administrator John Bradman would be named to the new civil service post on Jan. 1. Bradman, of Chesterfield, N.J., a former commandant of the defunct Bordcntown Military Institute, was promoted from correction sergeant to the interim administrative post June 22.

At that time the freeholders took charge of the jail, ousting Sheriff Francis P. Brennan as administrator of the facility. The new post pays S25.000 a year. been sent into the cafeteria to confirm the identification. The two other suspects in the robbery were being sought, police said.

The robbery occurred when two men, one armed with a shotgun and the other with a nightstick, entered the front door of a second-story classroom in Holroyd Hall Science Center 2 men rob Delco bank, spray chemical on tellers Two men, one of them armed with a handgun, robbed a Delaware County bank yesterday and, as they left, sprayed tear gas on two tellers, police said. Police in Aston Township said the men entered bpringiield Savings Loan Association on Pennell Road at 11:23 a.m. and inquired about opening an account. One of the men then pulled a small handgun, while the other vaulted over a counter and took an undetermined amount of money from the cash drawers, police said. The two tellers were not seriously injured.

Police said the FBI had joined the search for the two men, who fled toward Marcus Hook in a gray sedan. Part of freight train derails, spilling petroleum waste A tank car on a Conrail freight train spilled about 30,000 gallons of petroleum waste into a culvert in southwestern Lancaster County after a derailment at about 6 p.m. yesterday, in which the train's engineer was injured, police said. Roy Deck, a county police dispatcher, said the chemical leaked after the tank car, 12 other cars and two diescl engines on the 82-car train derailed 2 men hurt in car crash on Delaware Expressway Two men were injured, one critically, last night in a fiery two-car collision that closed the northbound lanes of the Delaware Expressway in Society Hill for more than 40 minutes. Accident investigators said a northbound car driven by Frank J.

Gaspero. 25, of the 12400 block of Rambler Road, Northeast Philadelphia, struck a car occupied by Michael J. Foley, 29, of the 1600 block of East Lycoming Street, Juniata Park. Foley's car was disabled in the left traffic lane, police said. The collision occurred shortly after 9 p.m.

near the Spruce Street overpass, police said. Both cars burst into flames. Passing motorists helped Gaspero out of his car, police said, and firefighters rescued Foley. Foley was taken to the St. Agnes Hospital Burn Center, where he was reported in critical condition suffering from extensive burns.

Gaspero was reported in stable condition at Metropolitan Hospital with head injuries. Police probe shooting death of man in N. Phila. project Police are investigating the shooting of a young man who was found dead in an apartment of the Richard Allen Homes housing project in Chesco man, 28, dies after car is hit by truck A Chester County man was killed early yesterday morning in Tredyff-rin Township when his car was struck from behind by a tractor-trailer, police said. Arcordine to police.

William John Woodland. 28. of the 1200 block of Grove Road in West Chester, was driving south on Route 202 about 5:15 a.m. when his car was hit by the truck, driven by Joseph A. Garber of Dauphin, Pa.

Woodland was dead on arrival at Paoli Memorial Hospital, police said. No charges were filed against the truck driver, but witnesses to the crash were asked to call police at 647-1440. Police at shore seek suspect in theft of blind man's coins Atlantic City police are looking for 'a bandit who robbed a blind businessman of $18 in coins. Phillip Eustace, who operates a candy and food stand at the Atlantic County Civil Courts Building, lost his change belt Tuesday when a man ripped it from his waist, police said. Police said Eustace, 35, is legally blind, can distinguish only shadows and was unable to provide a description.

"He was getting ready to open for business, and the guy came up North Philadelphia. Police said Darryl Williams, the 1300 block of Vlavis Street Hunting Park, died of multiple gtfn-shot wounds. Police said Williajpis was shot in the home of his girlfriend in the 100 block of Reno Plae. Police said the young woman, whom they did not identify, told thpni ihat she was sleeping in a bedroom and was awakened by gim-shots. She said she went to the living room of the apartment and saw unidentified man fleeing, police sajd.

A slogan is selected for N.J. anti-litter effort The slogan "Pick Up, New Jersey" will be displayed on trash cannd billboards in a new anti-litter advertising campaign, Gov. Byrne announced Tuesday. New N.J. law allows state -to take over water company A bill allowing New Jersey to take over a small water company was signed yesterday by Gov.

Byrne, who had proposed the bill as part of a package of measures to improve, the water system in New Jersey. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Pat Dodd Essex), establishes a procedure for the state to declare thai a small water company has not followed state orders on availability and potability of its water supply..