The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 56

S2 THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Tuesday, June 20, 1995- In South Jersey i in here wants her to scratch his back." Well, I went in there yesterday, and I didn't ask Mary to scratch my back. You see, I'm married. I asked her to scratch my belly, but I dpn't think she heard me. Anyway, Mary, 45, a lifelong Maple Shade resident who graduated from Merchantville High, has not always had these airbrushed 2'j-inch nails on every finger. When she worked in the nursery at a South Jersey hospital, in her fingers looked pretty normal.

But about 15 years ago, she took this job doing a little bit of everything at the art-supply store. That was when she began to let her hair down and her nails out. "I had plastic tips put on, and then I had my own nails grow underneath," Mary told me. "They just started growin' and growin'. I like odd stuff." Believe it or not, the long fingernails have posed very few problems in her job, Mary said.

"I got my finger caught in the typewriter once, but I wiggled it out, she said. "The other day I hit the cash register for $10, and it came out $10,000. But usually I have no problem. I use my knuckles to dial the phone. I've even unloaded trucks." nuts, she said.

Mary has an American Indian design tattooed along the side of her right foot. In her right ear, eight earrings gradually diminish in size from lobe to top. She wanted to have a nose ring, too, "but that's where my husband drew the line," she said. At Christmastime, Mary has her fingernails painted to include Santa Claus in a sled, with all his reindeer. A Willingboro woman airbrushes Mary's fingernails every four or five weeks.

Sometimes, when Mary is in the mood, she will have her toenails done in the same pattern and colors. But she keeps her toenails short. Also, Mary has no intention of letting her fingernails get so long that they start to twist and turn like those that Howard Hughes had in his last, eccentric years. After all, she said, she's just a regular person. "At least I think so," said Mary.

"I hope so." A quick course in air conditioning Even though summer starts officially tomorrow, we've already had our share of serious heat and humidity, thank you. On one sizzling weekend day recently, a Blackwood woman phoned a Washington Township heating and air conditioning contractor, begging him to come over to her condo to fix an "awful-smell" emanating from her air conditioner. She kept on begging, even after he protested that he was on his way to a picnic with his family. Finally, he told her: "Look, I'll come out but it's a weekend, and it's going to cost you a $75 service charge." "I don't care," said the distraught woman. "Come out." Well, when this fellow showed up at the condo, he knew exactly what the woman's problem was, but feared that if he told her she wouldn't write the check.

"You write the check first," he said, "and then I'll tell you what's wrong." And so the woman paid $75 to learn that her neighbors downstairs were smoking pot. I take mine with cream and sugar In a similar vein, I thought you might be interested in this sign, posted near the bar at Dillon's Saloonery on Cove Road in Pennsauken: BEER: So much more than just a breakfast drink. For The Inquirer JERRY TRITT Mary Cassidy's fingernails always get noticed. "There is nothing she doesn't do," agreed Mary's colleague, Fran. To care for her nails, she soaks them in white vinegar or peroxide once or twice a week.

She said her husband, Frank, a carpet installer, thinks she's crazy but has never asked her to trim back her nails. Her sons, Frank, 23, and Corey, 20, also think she's trial opens in Mount Holly The Scene Living art at the art-supply store They're long and vivid, and they change color and pattern periodically. Yesterday, for example, they were a melange of hot pink, raspberry, yellow, green and white. You can't miss them if you happen to stop by New Jersey Art Drafting Supply, across from Garden State Park in Cherry Hill. No, I'm not talking about the window displays.

I'm talking about Mary Cassidy's fingernails. "They come in here from all over, just to look at her nails," said Fran Conner, who works with Mary in the store at 926 Haddonfield Rd. "Philadelphia, down the Shore, everywhere. Nobody can believe it. Every male customer that comes Patricide Martin Holloway admits he punched his father but only to keep him from driving drunk.

By Tom Avril INQUIRER CORRESPONDENT MOUNT HOLLY It wasn't until several days after Carl Holloway was buried that state police heard that he might not have died of natural causes. After receiving a tip, police "literally began digging for evidence," Assistant Prosecutor John Brennan told a Burlington County jury yesterday. They obtained a court order to have Holloway's body exhumed, and now his son, Martin C. Holloway, 33, of Southampton, is on trial, accused of striking the fatal blow on March 31, 1992. Charged with manslaughter, he could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

In opening statements yesterday, both sides agreed that Holloway punched his father, who then fell backward and struck his head on the concrete patio outside the family's Carranza Road home. The prosecution contends that Holloway threw the punch during an argument over delinquent car payments. The defense contends that Martin Holloway hit Carl Holloway for the father's own good to keep him from driving while intoxicated. The elder Holloway had a blood alcohol level of .224 more than twice the legal limit defense attorney John P. Yetman Jr.

told the jury. The only way the medium-size Holloway could stop his 6-foot, 280-pound father from getting into the truck was to hit him, Yetman maintained. In a hearing prior to jury selection, Superior Court Judge Victor Friedman specifically prohibited prosecutors from pointing out the irony of a story's coming the day after Father's Day. Undaunted, Brennan remarked to the jury that most people have a special bond with their father. Most, he added, but not the man on trial.

David Lee Preston I in '--v yi I jr i lf7 4 flity Jb f'X I South Jersey News in Brief 1 rdreiub vieia 10 penalties 7 for students for nude prank iue (juiunis in HJgu scuoui siu, dents who planned a bawdy scaven-j1 Oftr hunt in Rnritnn Tnunehirv have withdrawn their appeals of ttieT seniors' 10-day suspensions, a school official said yesterday. Hunterdon Central Regional High, School officials and the parents have reached a "mutual that the four seniors involved will be1 suspended for 10 days and be from attending the commencement ceremony and a Project Graduatidrr all-night party. The decision after the students acknowledged they planned a May 25 hunt that sent more than 90 students clamoring though Raritan Township, collecting'" curios and, in a lew cases, cavorting i naked on school property, high i i i scuooi spoKeswoman anena rer--nekes said. In a statement released the administration said the pnne was aeemea appropriate Because the students breached "relations between the public and-1. pupils, conducted an improper" contest where participation involved a monetary contribution," and nm- used school property.

Whitman uaf a unhAMe wiiMia viw uptiuiuj blip on resale price of tickets Gov. Whitman yesterday coniiC tinnallv VPtnH a hill tn rcmnal a on the resale price of tickets for cmuiaiuuicui iiiiu apui is events. Since 1983, profits on the resale to in-state events have been limited to 20 percent of a ticket's fac value or $3, whichever is greater. Ticket brokers say the cap unfairly restricts their business and drives' customers to out-of-state agents. In her veto message, the governor 1 said she was willing to allow repeaV of the cap, but only for an 18-monttev trial period.

The bill now goes bac to tne legislature, which can vote to override or concur. Or it can decide not to act, in which case the old law i i wuuiu leiUUIU unciiaiigeu. Man charged with setting irp tn Hinor ha nnra nmnaA i viivv vniibu Ibrahim Yildiz, 32, of Vineland, charged early yesterday with setting fire to the former South Star Diner, which he used to own, in Franklin Township Police Officer' Joseph Pepe said a passing motorist reported seeing an unidentified man1 pouring gasoline outside the former diner, located at Routes 40 and 47. A fire at the corner of the building was' extinguished by the Malaga Fire'" Company before damaee occiirrprf. Yildiz was taken into custody and' charged with arson after police spot-'' ted him nearby.

He was being held itf me uioucester county Jan last night after failing to post $50,000 ball. .1 Decision delayed in case of parolee's drug charge A New Jersey appellate court yes' terday delayed a decision whether to release New Jersey parol- ee Neil "Dutch" Hunterson, saying it needed additional paperwork lawyers in the case. Hunterson, 47, a convicted murder- 51'' er who has been on parole for two-' years, was jailed last week by New', Jersey authorities. Officials said the 11 move came because of a marijuana-' arrest nine months before. son claims he is being singled out'-" because he and his girlfriend, a for- mer New Jersey parole executive have publicly criticized the statels-parole system.

S. Camden beating victim identified as W. Atco man The man found beaten to death early Saturday morning in South, Camden has been identified as An- drew Alexander, 27, of West An autopsy by Camden County Medical Examiner Robert Segal re-, vealed that Alexander died of blunt' trauma to the head. Police were -called to the 2200 block of South Eighth Street shortly after 4 a.m.!':' Saturday by neighbors who reported hearing of gunshots. Alexander was.

i found lying on the sidewalk. .1. South Jersey; South Jersey is a section of local and sports gathered by members of The1 Inquirer's bureau in Cherry Hill and pub-'. lished every Monday through Friday.1' Readers are invited to call the bureau on weekdays at the numbers listed below to'' comment on the newspaper, report news tip, place an advertisement or cob1-duct other business. Ui Matt Golas Deputy Editor Rfek Lyman' Nignt Hegional Editor Mark Wagenveld Assistant Editor Porus Cooper" Sports Editor Don McKee Photo Editor LeX Henkels Burlington Co, Editor Mathews-Bowen Camden Co.

Editor Glnnie Micke Gloucester Co. Editor Caren Crockett N'9ht Editor Michael Coakley N'9ht itor Ewart Ro(J3e Advertising Manager Tricia McLane-Perotti Circulation Manager John Petrrfcci Address: South Jersey Inquirer 53 Haddonfield Suite 300 Cherry Hill, N.J. 08002 Telephones: News 779-3840 FAX 779-32P1 Advertising 779-3801 circulalion 1-800-523-9066 The Scene 779-3866 779-3900 To report srprts results: 1-800-756-4571 For The Inquirer MICHAEL PLUNKETT his attorney John P. Yetman Jr. (right) yesterday in the Burlington he hit his 6-foot, 280-pound father but did not mean for him to die.

Police Blotter otherwise attributed, the following reports are based on statements of local police. Camden County Camden Edwin N. Nieves, 34, reported that he was robbed at gunpoint Sunday afternoon by two men near Bank and Morse Streets. Nieves told police that two unidentified men walked up to him at 5:30 p.m. and that one of the men stuck a sawed-off shotgun in his face while the other held a gun in his back.

Police said the man armed with a shotgun reached into Nieves' pocket and took his wallet containing $278 in cash and personal identification. Both robbers fled toward thp Ma. guire Gardens housing project. Calareze Kinlow, 27, of Camden, reported that she was assaulted Sunday morning by a unidentified man near 10th and Sycamore Streets. Kinlow told police she was in the area at 9 a.m.

when a man "came out of nowhere," grabbed her and pushed her into a brick wall and fled. Police said Kinlow suffered a hrn. ken nose and an injury to her left leg. She was taken to Cooper Hosp-tial-University Medical Center, where she was treated and released. Tyrone Wilburn, 27, of Camden, reported that he was robbed at gunpoint early Sunday at Park Avenue and Baird Boulevard.

Wilburn told police that he and his wife were sitting in their car at 12:40 a.m. when a man approached and flashed a gun. Police said Kelly Wilburn, the victim's wife, handed the gunman $4 in cash and the robber fled on foot. Mickell Kilsoni, 29, of Camden, reported that she was robbed at gunpoint early Sunday as she was walking in the 1600 block of Broadway. Kilsoni told police that she was walking down Broadway at 6:55 a.m.

when a man pulled up in a car and called her over. Police said the man pulled out a gun and took her pocket-book containing $2 before driving away. Kareen Shakour, 45, of Cherry Hill, reported that he was robbed at gunpoint Thursday afternoon by two men who fled with his paycheck. Shakour told police that he was in the area of Mount Ephraim Avenue and Walnut Street at 3:45 p.m. when two men approached on foot and one of the men placed a gun in his face.

Police said that Shakour handed over his $550 paycheck and that the two men ran north through the nearby cemetery. A search of the area failed to locate the two subjects, police said. William Maldanodo, 44, of Camden, reported that he was assaulted Thursday evening by a man who believed he was a police informant. Maldanodo told police that he was standing on the corner of Sixth and York Streets when he was struck from behind by an assailant who continued punching him and hit him with a brick. The man then fled the area in a yellow Toyota Corolla, police said.

Witnesses told police that the man assaulted the victim because he thought the victim had given police information. Maldanodo was treated for minor injuries at Cooper Hospital-University Medical Center and released. An attendant at the Amoco Gas Station at 1901 Admiral Wilson Boulevard was robbed shortly before 3 l.m. Thursday by two men wearing green rain gear. The attendant told police he was pumping gas into a red Ford Taurus when he was approached from behind by the men, one of whom pointed a gun at him and demanded money.

Police said the attendant handed over $30 in currency and the pair drove off in the Taunt, After riot, questions about privatizing Martin C. Holloway, conferring with County Courthouse. Holloway said "Sadly, Martin Holloway's memories of his father are not of the warm and fuzzy variety," said Brennan. As his first witness, Brennan called Sally Volpe, a loan-collections officer at the Medford branch of the Cherry Hill National Bank. She told the court that Carl Holloway signed for a loan on his son's 1988 Ford Ranger and that Martin Holloway was late with the monthly payments 38 times over the life of the 48-month loan.

Volpe said she called and wrote numerous times to both Holloways to remind them that the payments were overdue. She said she told both men on March 30 that if they did not make a payment by the next day, the car would be repossessed. The payment, Immigration and Naturalization Service spokesman Michael Manuel said the Esmor based in Melville, N.Y., expects to reopen the facility within 45 days. But Ruotolo said he would go to court if necessary to block it, citing public safety concerns. Ruotolo said the Esmor staff was incapable of dealing with Sunday's uprising.

Of 11 unarmed guards on duty, two were grabbed by detainees who pushed them out a door, one hid behind a ceiling panel until he was rescued by police, and the others fled. "Their idea of dealing with a politically chaotic atmosphere was to call 911," Ruotolo said. The detainees were moved Sunday to INS facilities in New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Rep. Robert Menendez N.J.) said that as a lawyer, he's seen hardened criminals treated better than the immigrants awaiting deportation or asylum hearings at Esmor.

"I never met with inmates who Guards at the Esmor detention facility in Elizabeth, N.J., were not trained to handle a crisis, said the Union County prosecutor after Sunday's riot. she testified, was made by Martin Holloway on April 1, the day his father died. In a pretrial hearing, Volpe had testified that Martin Holloway had called her on April 3 to complain about a $10 late fee and had threatened her with violence. She testified then that when she learned later that the elder Holloway had died, she called State Police to tell them about that conversation. After interviewing others who had known both father and son, police determined that they had had a violent relationship, according to prosecutors.

But during yesterday's pretrial session, the judge prohibited Brennan from questioning Volpe about the alleged phone conversation, saying were shackled to the table, as they were here," said Menendez, who had asked the Justice Department to investigate allegations of beatings, verbal abuse, spoiled food and poor living conditions. Menendez and reporters were given a tour of part of the damaged facility yesterday as workers cleaned torn books, legal papers, clothing, inmates' belongings, and other debris off water-soaked floors. Toilets and sinks had been smashed, and there were holes in the ceilings. Concrete stools bolted to floors had been broken off, and a window to the control room had been smashed. "You wonder what makes people driven to the point to react in such a way," Menendez said.

The center is entirely concrete, with few windows. Detainees slept in open dormitories on thin mattresses buttressed by yellowish concrete walls. INS officials said yesterday they would have to finish their investigation before drawing conclusions about privatization of such facilities. Manuel said INS has five other privately-run detention centers: one each in Colorado, New York and Washington state, and two in Texas. Esmor runs the one jn Seattle.

it did not relate to Holloway's state of mind on the day his father died. Volpe was followed on the witness stand by Rescue Squad member James Gates, who told the court that he was dispatched to the Holloway home at about 10:30 p.m. March 31. The elder Holloway, shoeless and wearing no coat on the chilly March evening, lay comatose and smelling of alcohol on the patio, Gates said. He further testified that Martin Holloway told him that he had punched his father to keep him from driving but that he had not meant for the incident to happen.

Carl Holloway died the next day of head injuries at Memorial Hospital of Burlington County in Mount Holly. His son's trial is scheduled to resume today. Although Manuel insisted that Esmor operated according to standards set forth by the American Correctional Association, Ruotolo read off a list of criteria that were not met during the uprising. Ruotolo said there was no blueprint of the facility available to show police how to obtain access to the building, so they had to storm it. There was only one set of keys to the facility in an office the detainees controlled.

There were no marked outlines of where telephone, electric and water lines were located, so police could not turn those utilities off, Ruotolo said. Detainees smashed plumbing fixtures and set off overhead sprinklers, causing much water damage, he said. Worst of all, Ruotolo said, the Esmor security guards were not properly trained. "They received minimal training some as little as three days," he said. The Esmor facility is New Jersey's only privately run detention center or prison.

"Before you turn over that awesome responsibility of running such a facility, you must be careful to set standards that make sense," Ruotolo said. "There are such facilities that do work." By Donna Do la Cruz ASSOCIATED PRESS ELIZABETH Immigration officials began an investigation two weeks ago into allegations of poor conditions and harsh treatment of detainees at a privately-run detention center here. But about 300 detainees at the Esmor Immigration Detention Center apparently decided they couldn't take another day in the converted concrete warehouse. They overpowered two guards, sent others fleeing, and set about trashing the place early Sunday. Police retook the building after nearly five hours with no serious injuries.

But the uprising raised questions among politicians and law enforcement officials about the idea of "privatizing" detention centers and prisons an idea they said failed miserably here. Union County Prosecutor Andrew Ruotolo Jr. said Esmor was an example of "privatization at its worst" and demanded that the facility not be allowed to reopen..