News-Press from Fort Myers, Florida • Page 13

lllSL3rDi(Q)llil3i SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1984 FBI expert points finger at Piatt 3-day DER hearing ends Dredge and fill decision could take months i By KEVIN BLOOM Charlotte Bureau Chief By ERNESTINE WILLIAMS News-Press Bureau 'i 1 'it 4 PUNTA GORDA An expert FBI analyst in the murder trial of Albert Daniel Piatt said the fingerprints found on a newspaper in the home of a 1983 murder victim are Identical to Piatt's. Fingerprint expert Quintus Ferguson, a 19-year veteran of the FBI, said fingerprints taken from Piatt after his arrest are Identical to those found on two pieces of newspaper in the murder victim's home. Piatt was indicted in January for first-degree murder and burglary in the 1983 death of Martin Kightlinger, an 85-year-old resident of the Municipal Mobile Home Park. Ferguson said fingerprints on the newspaper match the right index finger, right middle finger and right index finger of the 27-year-old defendant. Ferguson was one of three FBI expert witnesses to testify Friday In opening statements Thursday, Assistant State Attorney Ed Volz said the state would rely on scientific evidence to link Piatt to Kightlinger's death because there are no eyewitnesses.

Part of the proof, Volz said, would be fingerprints on the newspaper found in Kightlinger's home. But defense attorney Phil Jones cautioned the jury against putting too much faith in testimony about fingerprints on a newspaper. The paper, Jones said, could have come from anywhere. Special Agent Michael P. Malone, an expert in hair and fiber analysis, said he found no evidence linking Piatt to the Kightlingers mobile home.

Special Agent William Eubanks, an expert in blood serums, said he found no evidence connecting Piatt to the crime scene. The state has alleged Piatt struck Kightlinger on the head with a blunt instrument, dragged him into his mobile home at 41 Second then took a television set. Medical Examiner Dr. Riazul Imami testified Friday that Kightlinger's death was related to a blow to the back of his skull. Imami said he first examined Kightlinger Aug.

30, 1983, four days after the elderly man was found See TRIAL, page3B 2,900 septic tanks may be installed in Rotonda Villas and nearby Rotonda. Meadows and Springs, which are all of comparable size, before the central sewage system is installed. Rodrick has conducted research, in shellfish contamination in Apala-' chicola, where cases of hepatitis were reported in people who bad eaten shellfish taken from waters where septic tanks were nearby, he testified. The presence of viruses in waters approved for shellfishing is a potential public hazard, Rodrick said. Catfish and Whidden creeks, which run through Rotonda feed into the aquatic preserve, an approved shellfishing area.

Under cross examination by Cape Cave Corp. attorney Alan Rodrick testified that he knew nothing about the filtering process of septic tanks. He was also unaware of the survival rate of viruses after going through the filtering process of a septic tank. However, he noted that viruses can travel through several hundred feet of sandy soils and there is a likelihood that they would enter local surface water after passing through the development's storm water management system. It could take 30 days for the transcripts from the three-day hearing to be prepared for attorneys from each side, an official said.

After receiving the transcripts. Gold and Tom Reese, attorney for the environmental confederation, will have 30 days to prepare proposed orders showing their opinions of how hearing officer Diane Keesl-ing should decide the case. Keesling then will pass a recommended order to the secretary of the Department of Environmental Regulation, who will then make the final decision on whether to issue the permit, she said. PUNTA GORDA It could be more than three months before a decision is reached on whether to issue a permit to dredge and fill an area of Rotonda. A three-day state Department of Environmental Regulation administrative hearing on a dredge-and-fill permit for Cape Cave Corp.

ended Friday shortly after an expert witness discussed the possibility of viruses traveling from septic tanks in Rotonda Villas to area tidal creeks which lead to the Cape Haze Aquatic Preserve. Dr. Gary E. Rodrick, an associate professor at the University of South Florida, testified for the Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida, which was granted legal standing to call for the administrative hearing. The hearing is to determine whether Cape Cave Corp.

should be granted the permit to dredge and fill some 20 acres of wetlands in Rotonda Villas. However, Rodrick's testimony was in regard to another aspect of the project: temporary septic tanks planned there. Viruses can survive without a human host and they can duplicate in seawater as well as survive in shellfish, Rodrick said. Testimony also touched on the cumulative effects of septic tanks in an environmentally sensitive area. Rotonda Villas is a development planned by the Cape Cave Corp.

for an area east of State Road 77 1 and south of South Gulf Cove. If plans for Rotonda Villas remain unchanged, 695 septic tanks will be installed before the construction of a central sewage system. All the houses with septic tanks would go on the central system once it was installed. Previous testimony in the hearing has indicated that more than News-PressGarth Francis Reflections A colorful anhinga interrupts Its swimming and reflection in the water. The anhinga, also known diving to pause at a favorite lake to dry Its wings as a snakebird, checks out the lake at the Loch-for flying.

The long-necked bird creates a striking moor Country Club in North Fort Myers. State drops case against unlucky treasure hunter By ROSLYN AVERILL News-Press Environmental Writer were the first Florida residents to be charged with the crime after allegedly digging up Calusa Indian graves. Charette, formerly of Arcadia, pleaded guilty in July to the charge of disrupting a memorial for the dead. He was fined $200 and placed on six months probation. According to sheriffs department reports, Sturges and Charette also carried a shovel, metal detector, two knives, two machetes, a pistol, and a copy of a book titled "Lost Treasure of the Gulf Coast" when they were found by deputy Boyette.

1 Written in a fairy-tale fashion by L. Frank Hudson and Gordon R. Prescott, "Lost Treasure of the Gulf Coast" tells how modern-day fortune-seekers could fulfill their dreams of reached for comment Friday on why the case was dropped. Sturges, of 1682 Yarmouth St. N.W.

in Port Charlotte, also couldn't be reached for comment Sheriff's department reports show Sturges and a friend, Wayne Charette, were digging for Spanish treasure on Cayo Pelau when they were stopped by Boyette, but that the two men had only found parts of human skulls that they lugged in a plastic garbage bag. State law prohibits disruption of a memorial for the dead, such as an Indian burial ground, and the second-degree misdemeanor carries a maximum penalty of 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. Sturges and Charette wealth by digging in the Charlotte Harbor area. The authors believe pirates buried millions of gold coins there in the early 1 500s. Archaeologists at the Florida State Museum call tales of how pirates buried treasure in Charlotte Harbor "a lot of rumormongering," that has no substantiation, according to Michael Hansinger, a Fort Myers field associate for the museum.

Punta Gorda attorney Robert Norton, who represents Sturges, said his client admits he was treasure hunting on Cayo Pelau but that he didn't know he was digging up Indian burial mounds. "You can't be guilty of a crime if you don't know what you're doing," Norton said. "They (Sturges and Charette) were going out there (to Cayo Pelau) to find gold, or at least to have a good weekend and fun with the idea. "If you see a mound of dirt with no sign, how do you know it's a special thing?" Norton asked. "They (Sturges and Charette) didn't know they were at an Indian mound." Norton said the state cannot expect to prosecute people for digging up Calusa Indian graves if they aren't posted.

He said digging up Indian bones at an unmarked site is not the same as digging up a marked cemetery. But archaeologist John Scarry with the Florida Division of Archives, History and See STATE, page 3B The state has dropped its case against a 44-year-old Port Charlotte man charged with digging up Calusa Indian graves, according to court records filed in Lee County this week. Ernest Sturges, a prison guard at DeSoto Correctional Institute, had been charged with disrupting a memorial for the dead. Lee County Sheriffs Deputy Glenn Boyette found him and a friend digging at Cayo Pelau Island in northern Lee County this past spring. Assistant State Attorney Doug de Almeida, who filed court papers this week to dismiss the case against Sturges, couldn't be Crop insurance program expands Group seeking Cape TV license given more time for settlement By BRIAN LEIGHTON News-Press Bureau Inside David Kennedy's drinking, drugs and depression 6 David Kennedy spent the last days of his life drinking and using cocaine, still deeply depressed over the assassination of his father, the late Sen.

Robert F. Kennedy, 16 years earlier, statements say. to other areas of the state for the 1985-86 crop year, federal agricultural officials said. Brown said he expects about 25-30 percent more farmers will take advanatge of it. Lee County extension agent Victor Yingst said he does not know if more farmers in Lee County plan to' purchase the insurance because he deals mainly with nurseries, not commercial vegetable growers.

Lee County plans to hire another extension agent next month to work with those growers, he said. Dallas Townsend, Hendry County 1 extension agent, said he expects more farmers to participate in the program next year in that county. Federal officials say they expect the percentage of Southwest Florida growers buying it to be around 82 percent "We expanded to cover any tomatoes and peppers planted after Aug. 1 next year. That'll cover all of the counties south of Tampa," said Mer-ritt Sprague, chief administrator of the program, contacted in Washington, D.C.

Last year and this year the program has been available only to tomato and pepper growers in Lee, Hendry, Collier and Glades counties, he said. No other area of the nation is eligible for protection of those particular crops because officials still are studying the financial viability of providing it However, the program has been available for other crops in other states for years, he said. "My gut feeling is there is a larger percentage of participation (in the program) this year than last year," Brown said. "It's a matter of perceived risk in determining if the policy is good for them. I could legiti-See INSURANCE, page 3B By MICHAEL DUNN News-Press Staff Writer A pilot federal crop insurance program made available to vegetable growers in Southwest Florida for the first time last year has been expanded, agricultural officials said.

In some areas farmers appear to be taking better advantage of the program because of last winter's devastating freeze, those officials said. In Collier County, potatoes have been added to the vegetable crops covered, said Reggie Brown, Collier County agricultural extension agent. The program still is in the pilot stage, he said. It was available last year to tomato and bell pepper growers, but only about 50 percent of the eligible farmers in that county chose to have it, he said. The program is being expanded out of contention for Andrews said.

While the settlement is still in the tentative stages, Andrews said he could not say which two companies still wish to operate the station. He also could not say what type of compensation the other two stations are seeking. Andrews said he is representing Coastal Telecasting a Tampa-based group that formed for the purpose of operating the new commercial station. The group has about 18 shareholders, a number of whom live in Cape Coral and Fort Myers, according to Ian Wheeler, vice-president of the corporation. Wheeler said Friday that his group had planned to make Channel 36 a standard independent station, with a mixture of syndicated programs, movies, sports and news.

The Charlotte County group, which was awarded the license Sept. 12 by Florida Administrative Judge Edward Luton, has said they plan "family-oriented programming." Tan said this would include entertainment news, educational programming and community-oriented programming. The station, which would have studios in Cape Coral, will broadcast with a range of 40 to 50 miles. If his company is allowed to proceed with its plans, Tan said Florida Family would construct a 970-foot See TELE, page 3B CAPE CORAL A federal agency has granted a 30-day extension for three companies to work out a settlement with Florida Family, a group of Charlotte County investors who were awarded a license last month for a new Cape Coral-based independent television station. The extension was granted Thursday, just one day before the end of the initial period of 30 days to appeal the license, according to Le-Land Blair, staff attorney with the Federal Communications Commission.

Dr. Peter Tan, one of two general partners in Florida Family, said Friday he had not heard that the agency had granted the extension. He and Ronald Kays, a retired funeral home owner who lives in Punta Gorda, are waiting for a settlement before proceeding with plans for UHF Station 36 in Cape Coral. A settlement between four would-be broadcasters who sought the station license probably will be reached in about two weeks, according to William Andrews, a Washington, D.C. attorney who filed the motion for an extension on behalf of the other three companies.

Two of the companies probably will join together to operate the new commercial station, while the other two companies are willing to back Driver accidentally shoots self while driving By KEVIN BLOOM Charlotte Bureau Chief Experts turn on teachers to street talk, fear games 6 Understanding woo-fin', ribbin', jivin' and other fear games youngsters use to test pr intimidate teachers helps avoid violence and disicipline problems and aids learning, two educators say. PORT CHARLOTTE A Port Charlotte man escaped serious injury Friday morning when he accidentally shot himself in the hand and leg while driving his car. Taylor's left hand and struck his left thigh. Taylor was driving east on Easy Street when the weapon discharged. The gunshot caused Taylor to lose control of his car, which ran up the curb and into a house at 150 Catherine St Gorman said damage to the house was minimal but Taylor's car sustained an estimated $1,200 dent which occurred about 12:45 a.m.

Friday. Byron Snowden, public Information officer for the sheriffs department, said Taylor, of 103 Northshore Terrace, was transferring a ber revolver from his tackle box to a zippered handgun carrying case when the weapon discharged. Snowden said Taylor. 25t was returning home from a fishing trip. According to reserve Deputy William Gorman, the bullet creased A sheriffs department spokesman said Jerry Wayne Taylor Jr.

was treated and released from Fawcett Memorial Hospital after the acci.