The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 83

B2 North THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Tuesday, April 11, 2000 Many families struck with puppy love They want to adopt two German shepherd-mix pups that were tossed along a road. Warminster politician on trial in theft of $7,500 An unauthorized $327 check led to a secret checkbook kept by Letitia Troshak, the township manager testified. check on the pups' well-being and offer them a home. She said the SPCA probably would decide early next week on placement. First, however, Honey and Hugo must be neutered.

Irwin said she had heard of no arrests in the case but hoped that a $1,000 reward offered by the Citizens' Crime Commission would help find those responsible and lead to an arrest and conviction. To be eligible for the reward, people with information should call 215-546-TIPS, and must receive a code number. Irwin said it was possible the pups were part of a larger litter. She suggested that anyone who might have adopted similar-looking pups contact the SPCA at 215-794-7425. By Richard V.Sabatini INQUIRER STAFF RITER LAHASKA Officials of the Bucks County SPCA say they've had many calls from people who want to adopt the two German shepherd-mix puppies who survived being tossed onto a darkened rural roadway in a trash bag last week.

The pups, named Honey and Hugo, are "playfully wagging their tails and appear to be putting the past behind them," said Anne Irwin, director of the Bucks Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. A passing motorist struck the bag containing three pups late Wednesday on Taylors-ville Road, south of Aqueduct Road, in Upper Makefield. The animals were found by passersby, who also discovered the third puppy had crawled into a ditch and died. Irwin said the tan puppies, about 3 months old and weighing 20 pounds each, had attracted much attention and received dozens of telephone calls. "Let's just say right now, we've got a lot more applicants than pups," Irwin said yesterday.

She said about a dozen people had visited the shelter in Lahaska and had submitted adoption applications. The morning after they were found, Irwin described the pups as "traumatized and scared." But yesterday, she said, they're "doing much better, thank you, acting like normal puppies. They come up to the front of their cage and are a little more playful." Irwin said it was "very gratifying" to see all of the people who came forward to By Lacy McCrary INQUIRER STAFF WRITER DOYLESTOWN An investigation into an unauthorized check led Warminster officials to a secret checkbook kept by Supervisor Letitia Troshak, the township's manager testified yesterday in Bucks County Court. Warminster Township Manager Robert Camarata said the $327 check, issued in March 1998 purportedly for office supplies, prompted an investigation by township officials and law enforcement. Troshak, 51, is charged with stealing more than $2,000 from a township tax account and about $5,500 from a local political-action group, the Committee to Restore Honest Governrnent, between 1997 and 1998, when she was the township's chief administrative officer.

According to a grand-jury indictment, Troshak placed some of the money into her personal bank account and used $140 of it to pay her daughter's cellular-telephone bill. A longtime Republican activist, Troshak helped to create the Committee to Restore Honest Government and ran the group from her home in the 400 block of Fir Street, Warminster. She has been a township supervisor since January 1996. WW Camarata, who testified that Troshak had supported his efforts to become Warminster's director of public safety and later township manager, said the $327 check had not been approved by the Board of Supervisors. He said he suspected a "mispro-priety" and contacted police and the District Attorney's Office when an internal investigation determined that no office supplies had been purchased.

He said that the township's four other supervisors directed him to take the checkbook from Troshak on May 7, 1998, and that he did so. "Essentially, she drained the account of the PAC in the last year of its existence, unknown to its chairman and donors," C. Theodore Fritsch, chief deputy district attorney, said in his opening statement before Judge Michael J. Kane. Troshak's attorney, Albert Cep-parulo, disputed that, contending: "The heart of the charges are that this woman stole money from the township and the committee, both of which are unequivocally not true." Cepparulo said Troshak would testify about each of the 28 checks written on the township's account, explaining their use.

Ut- hit I ffi HW1.T I I I) if i A 'I Man sentenced for role in death of skinhead BARBARA JOHNSTON Inquirer Suburban Staff Four freight cars fell over when five cars derailed in East Norriton, Montgomery County, yesterday morning about 6:10. Conrail CSX investigators and local firefighters and police surveyed the scene. 5 Conrail freight cars derail in ditch No injuries were reported. One car carried a dry-cleaning agent and another home heating oil. No leaks occurred.

Paul Minton received probation and community service for his part in the killing of Yohan Lee. ByMattArchbold INQUIRER SUBURBAN STAFF The mother of a murdered 18-year-old asked for mercy for a former friend of her son's who pleaded guilty yesterday to helping another skinhead hide the body. But moments later, she said the court imposed a far too lenient sentence. Paul Minton, 23, of Philadelphia, was sentenced to two years of parole followed by two years of probation, in addition to 50 hours of unspecified community service. Minton had pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to tamper with evidence and abuse of a corpse for helping to dispose of Yohan Lee's body in a Norristown park in September.

Prosecutor Maureen Coggins stressed to Montgomery County Court Judge Maurino J. Rossanese that Minton's actions came after Keith James Pearce Jr. struck Lee over the head 30 times with a two-pound hammer, killing him. "The cars worked as they were designed to and everything stayed intact," Sullivan said. A third car, which jumped the tracks but did not tip over, spilled plastic pellets onto the tracks, Sullivan said.

He did not say what the cargo was on the other two cars. Police evacuated about 20 residents from part of the Deer Run condominium complex, which is next to the railroad, "as a safety precaution," said Police Chief John McGowan. CSX officials were trying to de By Michelle Jeffery INQUIRER SUBURBAN STAFF EAST NORRITON Five cars in a Conrail freight train derailed yesterday morning in a muddy ditch between Germantown Pike and Township Line Road. No injuries were reported. One of the cars was carrying tet-rachlorethylene, a cleaning agent used in dry cleaning, which is hazardous, according to CSX Corp.

spokesman Robert Sullivan. The other tanker car was hauling home heating oil. "There were no leaks," Sullivan said. Man shot by Murder trial opens in strip club death A N. J.

man was killed at Diva's in Bristol last year. Prosecutors say he was shot during a robbery. By Stephanie Doster INQUIRER SUBURBAN STAFF A Trenton man faces life in prison if a Bucks County jury convicts him of second-degree murder for his alleged role in a February 1999 robbery that resulted in a slaying at Diva's International Gentlemen's Club in Bristol. In opening statements yesterday, Assistant District Attorney Terence P. Houck said Courtney P.

Boone, 21, was a willing accomplice to the botched robbery that ended in the death of Charles Bethea, 52, of Yardville, N.J. Bethea, a gambler known to carry large rolls of cash in his pockets, was killed Feb. 8, just after he arrived at Diva's, where his girlfriend had danced for the first time. Police said he had at least $1,400 in his pockets when he died. 'Second-degree murder' are the watchwords of this entire prosecution," Houck said.

"It's a killing committed in the course of a violent robbery. It's a situation where taking a victim's valuables is just not enough." The charge carries a mandatory life sentence, Houck said. The prosecutor said Boone and co-defendant DeWayne J. Housley, 23, followed Bethea from a gambling club in Trenton to Diva's, a strip club on Route 13, planning to steal his money. The men are charged with criminal homicide, robbery, conspiracy and related offenses.

Housley is awaiting trial, but he faces the death penalty if convicted. Houck said Bethea walked into the club to pick up his girlfriend, Elysha Perry ,24, of Claymont, and was confronted by Housley. Police have said that Housley followed Bethea into the club and executed him by shooting him in the mouth. While Bethea was being shot inside, Boone was outside, sliding over into the driver's seat of Housley's car "as the getaway guy," Houck told the court yesterday. At least one customer who says he saw the shooting testified yesterday.

Housley then left the club, and the pair "high-tailed it out of there," Houck said. Boone's attorney, Jack Fagan, told the jury yesterday that Boone was unaware of any plans to rob or kill Bethea. He asked the jury of seven women and five men to put themselves in the shoes of a scared 19-year-old. The defense attorney said Boone, who was at the gambling club before Bethea arrived there, got into Housley's car "looking to hang out" and did not realize until later that Housley was following Bethea. Fagan said Boone drove Housley to a nearby convenience store after the shooting, Fagan said.

"Unfortunately my client didn't have enough guts or enough brains to get out of the car," Fagan said. "But that doesn't mean he agreed to the robbery." Houck called several witnesses, who testified about the floor plan at Diva's and where and how the robbery and shooting occurred. In an unrelated case, a woman who danced at Diva's, Rachel Siani, 21, was found dead April 1. A Buckingham Township man has been charged in the case. officer was paroled robber Police say Andre Craddock was killed while trying to rob the off-duty officer early Saturday outside a restaurant.

Pearce was found guilty of first-degree murder last month and sentenced to life in prison. Minton, who fled to New York with Pearce, was instrumental in Pearce's arrest and conviction. Minton, who at one time was a codef endant in the murder case, testified against Pearce at his trial. "It's a joke," Suzanne Lee of Plymouth, Lee's mother, said about the sentence. "Minton should be getting more," Suzanne Lee said.

Just moments before, Lee had asked Rossanese to order counseling and community service rather than jail for Minton. She also asked that Minton be ordered to remove tattoos that related to his skinhead past. Lee criticized the court for not giving Minton more than 50 hours of community service and for not requiring that his community service be with minorities. She said she would have wanted Minton entered into intensive sensitivity training for at least eight weeks. Minton's attorney, Stephen Heck-man, said his client was in counseling and working on getting some of his tattoos removed.

The lawyer added yesterday that Poust was using the cell phone to call his girlfriend to tell her he was going to be late meeting her. Poust told police that he was dialing and failed to see the stop sign at the intersection. His car slammed broadside into the Jeep driven by Pat-ti Pena, injuring her and her little girl. Morgan Lee died of her injuries. The Penas almost immediately began a campaign to make Pennsylvania drivers aware of the dangers of driving while using cell phones.

A hearing was held on state legislation that had been introduced earlier by State Rep. Joe Conti Bucks), and Gov. Ridge ordered the state Department of Transportation to begin keeping records ori cell-phone involvement in crashes around the state. Since the tragedy, three Pennsylvania municipalities Conshohocken, Hilltown and Lebanon have banned cell-phone use while driving. Rob Nichols, director of public relations for Delaware Valley College, confirmed yesterday that Poust was an employee there but declined further comment.

Fallon said he filed the suit against the college after taking Poust's deposition in the Penas' wrongful death suit against him, which was filed on Jan. 18. Parents add driver's boss to wrongful-death lawsuit termine what caused the accident, which occurred about 6:10 a.m., Sullivan said. He added that Norfolk Southern, the railroad company that maintains this section of the tracks, would aid in the investigation. The northbound train was headed from South Philadelphia to Lans-dale on the Stony Creek branch of the railroad, Sullivan said.

The train, which makes one round trip per week, is the only train that uses the tracks. "It is a very lightly used rail," he said. Sullivan said he was not aware of any other accidents along this section of track. spokeswoman Vicki Wilken. Craddock had been on parole since February 1999 after serving 13 years for the 1980 robbery conviction, Wilken said.

He had been sentenced to 12 to 30 years for the incident and had twice been denied parole, she added. Craddock only began serving that term in 1985. After disappearing while the jury was deliberating his sentence, he later was found serving time in a federal prison in Kansas and was brought back to Pennsylvania He was convicted of burglary in 1976 and of forgery and theft in 1978. Lower Merion police and Montgomery County detectives continue to investigate Saturday's shooting, but said they have every reason to believe it was justified. "It appears to be just what it is a thwarted robbery attempt.

There is no indication that the victim did anything wrong. As a police officer, Kojer is licensed to carry a firearm. He was just protecting himself," Daly said. Inquirer staff writer Thomas J. Gibbons Jr.

contributed to this article. used as bait spread of nonnative species," said commission spokesman DanTredin-nick. A similar regulation existed until 1980, when the laws were recodified and the goldfish legislation was inadvertently omitted. Saturday's vote, which took place with little comment, was to correct that. The new rule also applies to koi, comets and common carp, a close and edible relative of the goldfish.

By Erin Carroll INQUIRER SUBURBAN STAFF LOWER MERION The armed man who was shot to death in a restaurant parking lot Saturday morning by an off-duty Philadelphia police officer had recently completed a 13-year prison term for robbery and aggravated assault and was wanted for violating his parole, authorities said. Andre Craddock, 41, of Philadelphia and Upper Darby, was described by Lower Merion Police Superintendent Joseph Daly yesterday as a "career criminal" with burglary, theft and robbery convictions dating back to 1976. In 1980, he jumped bail while a jury was deliberating his fate for stealing $3,600 from a Philadelphia supermarket and shooting at a security guard. "This guy is no stranger to violence," Daly said yesterday of the danger Craddock posed to Philadelphia Police Officer Joseph Kojer, 25. "But he ran into the wrong person that night." Kojer shot Craddock outside the International House of Pancakes restaurant on City Avenue shortly after 1 a.m.

Saturday. Authorities say Craddock, armed with a loaded semiautomatic handgun, tried to rob Kojer and his girlfriend as they were getting into a white BMW. When Craddock told Kojer to "Give it up," Kojer responded by throwing cash onto the ground, police said. As Craddock reached to pick the money up while pointing his gun at the couple Kojer shot him a number of times in the chest, they said. Craddock had been wanted by Philadelphia police since March 10 for parole violations.

While under "intensive supervision," the highest level of parole supervision, Craddock had missed a meeting with a parole officer and had failed a drug test, according to state Board of Probation and Parole erated and threatened native species. Pennsylvania has experienced no serious problems, although biologists can always count on finding a few goldfish in many of the state's waterways. During the mid-1980s, huge schools of goldfish swam the Schuylkill between Pottstown and Phoenixville. "It's not a huge concern here, but at same point we want to have something on the books to slow further The cell-phone-using motorist who killed their girl, they note, was running an errand for his employer. By Lacy McCrary INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Delaware Valley College has been added to a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the parents of a 2-year-old Perkasie girl killed last year in a crash caused by a driver using a cellular telephone.

The suit against the Doylestown college was filed by Robert and Patricia Pena, parents of Morgan Lee Pena, who died Nov. 2 in the collision at Route 152 and Rickert Road in Hilltown Township. The Penas' attorney, Christopher Fallon noted in the suit that Frederick R. Poust 3d, driver of a 1993 Ford Explorer that hit the Penas' vehicle, is an employee of the college and was on an errand for the school when the accident occurred. Fallon said Poust, at the request of his supervisor, had been en route to Scott Communications in Hatfield to get a walkie-talkie-type radio owned by the college repaired.

Fallon said Poust has been a security guard at the college for years. Pa. imposes ban of goldfish By Sandy Baucrs INQUIRER STAFF WRITER The goldfish has been outlawed. No longer can anglers to use the ubiquitous little aquarium species as bait. The state Fish and Boat Commission took the action Saturday because of concerns over introducing nonnative fish into the commonwealth's waterways.

Other states have watched in frustration as goldfish in the wild either escaped bait or released pets prolif.