South Florida Sun Sentinel from Fort Lauderdale, Florida • Page 7

LOCAL MS Saturday, September 4, 1999 3B Sun-Sentinel, south Florida Sentencing delayed in hate attack Lawyer gets 2 weeks to study supremacist's 21 convictions in N.C. Digest Staff reports FORT LAUDERDALE Ten men charged in pager license scheme Ten men, including eight from Broward and Palm Beach counties were indicted in Broward County court on charges they operated a far-flung investment scheme that victims out of more than $6 The defendants claimed to be selling Shared Frequency pager licenses and induced investors to invest at least $10,000, the indictment said. The licenses were worthless and the victims lost all their money. Those charged include: Mark 'If he needs time for legal arguments, thaf fine. But if ifs the defense position that Fettu wasn't convicted thaf a bunch of hogwash." PETE MAGRINO Assistant state attorney vx AN William Salas, 42, after a 1 997 Megadeth concert in Sunrise.

He was acquitted of more serious charges of aggravated battery against Salas' son.Jesiah, 17. Fettu and members of his group were handing out racist literature outside the concert when they got into an argument with the Salases. Several other church members have been convicted of beating Je-siah and sentenced to prison. Fettu faces two to four years in prison under sentencing guidelines. But prosecutors are expected to ask Circuit Judge Barry E.

Goldstein to exceed the guidelines and impose a far stiffer sentence. Under the guidelines, Fettu's North Carolina convictions can't be used as a reason to give him a harsher penalty in Florida. But prosecutors could argue for a higher sentence because the crime was motivated by hate and Salas was beaten in front of his son. Assistant State Attorney Pete Magrino also argued at trial that Fettu is the head of a criminal organization, which is how he described the church. That would be another reason for imposing a stiffer sentence.

Defense attorney Larry Shendell said the number of issues at sentencing, combined with need to verify the 2 1 convictions, made it impossible to be ready Friday. Magrino said there is little doubt about the court records. "If he needs time for legal arguments, that's fine," Magrino said. "But if it's the defense position that Fettu wasn't convicted of those crimes, I know that's a bunch of hogwash." The World Church of the Creator gained national attention over the July 4 holiday when one of its members went on a racially motivated shooting spree in the Midwest that left two people dead and a By JOHN HOLLAND STAFF WRITER A white supremacist leader convicted of beating a Miami man has two more weeks to prepare for his sentencing. Jules Fettu, 26, of West Palm Beach, got the extension Friday after his lawyer said he needed time to digest court records showing Fettu had 2 1 previous convictions in North Carolina.

Most were misdemeanors, but they include desecrating graves, desecrating churches and credit card fraud, according to court records. Fettu is the former Florida director of the World Church of the Creator, a skinhead group that advocates a racial holy war and espouses violence against non-whites, prosecutors said. Jurors deliberated six hours before convicting him in July of battery as a hate crime for attacking rv vak is Fettu was convicted in July of battery as a hate crime for attacking a 42-year-old Miami man after a 1 997 Megadeth concert in Sunrise. Fii photo L-4-i. n- 1 .11 II the leak might be coming from 5-gallon pickled pork containers at the other end of the container, said Todd LeDuc, a Broward Fire-Rescue spokesman.

"The moment we found out what it was, the guys started saying that they should have brought their barbecues," Federkeil said. Such situations are not unusual, LeDuc said. "Port Everglades ships a lot of toxic products but a lot of common products, too," he said. "And every so often we deal with a situation that could be dangerous but turns out to be completely safe." Diego Bunuel can be reached at or 954-356-4523. I SUSPICIOUS SPILL: Broward County and Hollywood firefighters investigate a container thought to be leaking a flammable liquid cement compound on Friday at Port Everglades.

The liquid turned out to be pickled pork. 'The moment we found out what it was, the guys started saying that they should have brought their barbecues," said fire Lt. Ed Federkeil. Broward Fire-Rescue PhotoTodd LeDuc Pool of pickled pork puzzles port dozen wounded. The church, founded nearly three decades ago in Lighthouse Point and revived several years ago in Illinois by Matthew Hale, had a small but avid band of followers in Broward County.

But a series of federal and state arrests during the past year have decimated the group, according to U.S. officials. Kidney auction i may lead to prison By NANCY McVICAR Health writer Officials at eBay, the online auction house, said Friday they have contacted law enforcement agencies in an effort to track down and prosecute the person, identified as "HardcoreHero" from Sunrise, who attempted to auction off one of his kidneys earlier this week. "We have zero tolerance foY this sort of thing," said Russell Brady, an eBay spokesman in San Jose, Calif. Brady said he suspects the kidney offer, which drew bids topping out at $5.7 million, and a second offer to sell a kidney at $4 million on Thursday, were pranks and not serious offers.

Even so, they were illegal, he said. EBay shut down the auction Thursday and suspended the sellers from further participation on the site, he said. Brady said the identity of the sellers would not be difficult to establish because they must provide eBay with information about themselves before they can sell online. HardcoreHero, contacted online by the Sun-Sentinel, referred questions to his attorney, William Berger, of Boca Raton. "He's pretty overwhelmed by the response this has caused," Berger said.

"He's received a lot of e-mail that's very supportive. It seems like it's opened up a real public debate, because 99 percent of the e-mail messages from the public have been positive." Berger refused to say whether his client posted the offer to sell his kidney as a prank, or because he needed money. "People sell blood all the time. There's a female wrestler who sold a breast implant. Women get paid for carrying other women's fertilized eggs, so there are pros and cons en both sides," Berger said.

"Were the people who submitted bids pranksters, or were they desperate for a kidney, and what does that say about our system?" Federal health officials have alerted the Justice Department about the organ sale offers, said Jon Nelson, director of special programs at the federal Health Resources Services Administration, which oversees the organ transplant program. "I contacted our attorneys, who contacted the Justice Department," Nelson said. "If there's ever a question of an organ being offered for sale, it can become a criminal proceeding." Florida law also prohibits the selling of a human organ and makes it a second-degree felony to advertise one for sale, but Sunrise police said they have not received a complaint from eBay and have not started an uv vestigatiou. Goldstein of Boca Raton; Raymond Lipshutz of Fort Lauderdale; Paul Perman of Sunrise; Peter Phass of Fort Lauderdale; Anthony Vandeputte; Dilraj Mathauda of Deerfield Beach; Thomas Bauer of Boca Raton; Colonel Grant of Memphis, David Beale of Lighthouse Point; and Alvin J. Greene of Fort Lauderdale.

School district pares budget for hearing This year's record-setting budget for the Broward school district has been fine-tuned in preparation for a second public hearing and final approval Wednesday. A new version of the $2.3 billion budget for the 1999-2000 fiscal yearwas released Friday.lt includes 1 .36 billion for daily operations, mostly salaries; and $676 million for capital projects such as school construction, purchasing computer and eliminating mold in existing schools. The hearing is slated for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the K.C. Wright Administration Building, 600 SE Third Ave.

in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The board will discuss the budget and vote on the final figures. A1A hotel tower plans up for vote next week Plans for an "ultra-luxury" hotel tower on State Road Al A are up for a vote next week in Fort Lauderdale. The Marquis Hotel project, Submitted by MLK Development would be on a now-vacant lot at 607 N.Atlantic Blvd. Commissioners will vote Wednesday at the 6 p.m.

meeting on the project. The developer is requesting that the building be closer to the property lines than would customarily allowed. Injured teen hit-run victim unidentified Police are looking for help in identifying a teen-ager who was hit by a car around 10: 15 p.m. on Wednesday. The black male, who is described as somewhere between the age of 12 and 17, was riding his black Ross 10-speed bicycle in the 1400 block of Northwest Ninth Avenue when he was hit, said Fort Lauderdale police spokesman Detective Mike Reed.

He was rushed to Broward General Medical Center with severe head injuries, Reed said. The victim is 5 feet, 2 inches tall, about 135 pounds, and was wearing a powder-blue shirt, tan pants and black sneakers at the time of the accident, Reed said. Anyone with information should call traffic homicide investigator Shawn Perez at 954-761-5 125. New column begins Sunday For nine years, Sherri Winston has been an observer of life in South Florida and a writer for the Sun-Sentinel, most recently as a Lifestyle feature writer and columnist. Now she will become the Sun-Senti Winston nel's local section columnist.

Her columns will appear on this page on Sundays and Wednesdays at the outset, and will expand to include Fridays in a few weeks. Look for her first column on Sunday. After 4 cautious hours, firefighters learn they needed only a big mop' By DIEGO BUNUEL STAFF WRITER Firefighters feared the leaking container would erupt into a fireball. A small pool of what was believed to be a highly flammable liquid cement compound had formed on the concrete of Port Everglades. Port employees working nearby were evacuated as seven fire engines, four rescue trucks and two hazardous-material units surrounded the container for four hours until a shipping company employee said the spill could be pickled pork.

"In this case the only thing we really needed was a big mop," said Frank Ennist, assistant chief for Broward Fire-Rescue. Under the blazing noon heat, the teams, started to second-guess his equipment. "You kind of scratch your head and wonder what's going on," Federkeil said. "When we went back in we took more meters to make sure the equipment wasn't faulty." The firefighters' breathing gear prevented them from identifying just by smelling the pickling brine. "We used regular firefighters' self-contained breathing gear to protect us from the possible fumes," Federkeil said.

"We were ready for a very serious situation." Three hours into the operation a shipping company employee said lanla SSeachJUyt 562 Ave. Dania Beach Sheridan St, -1 1 geared up with breathing tanks and full firefighting gear, the hazardous-material teams used high-tech computers to test the air for traces of the compound. Just before 11 a.m., shipyard employees noticed one of the containers was leaking. After checking the cargo's manifest warning of flammable liquid, the Hollywood and Broward County firefighters were called in. "We checked for corrosivity, flammability and toxicity, and all our results were negative," Ennist said.

Lt. Ed Federkeil, who led one of HStlrflngfW. 2 i SI fAQ' Staff graphicCindy 41 imi i if rra.i If If 1 Jones Hotel project falls short on loans, time THE SITE: Plans included capitalizing on the 1 920s style of the aging Dania Beach Hotel, staff photowarrenzinn Hulfachor By TANYA WEINBERG Staff writer DANIA BEACH In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, few people showed up to the Great Gats-by's funeral. In Dania Beach, a lot more people will mourn the loss of the Gatsby Hotel and Conference Center if elaborate plans for the project fall through.

Developers wanted to buy the aging Dania Beach Hotel, capitalize on its 1920s architecture and transform it into a $6.5 million destination. Then earlier this week, Fort Lauderdale architect and developer Michael Shiff option to buy expired before he could secure $4.5 million in loans. Because the city viewed the hotel project as key to revitalizing the downtown, disappointment spread quickly throughout Dania Beach. "Isn't that a sin?" community activist June Sil-vernale said. "Everyone was counting on it to bolster the future of the city." Rose gardens and an English-style maze off Dania Beach's main drag will have to wait until developers and city officials figure out a way to get the project back on track.

Nobody is giving up yet. The missing ingredient is $1 million. Although SunTrust Bank agreed to loan Shiff $3.5 milliqn, he said he needs the $4.5 million he re- quested. With that and $2 million of his own, he could make his "outrageous" vision a reality at 180 E. Dania Beach Blvd.

For now, rooms will still go for $38.55 at the Dania Beach Hotel. Shiff had planned to charge for 50 suites in the renovated hotel and a new building. Each was to be a special cre-ation by a different designer from Dania Beach's Design Center of the Americas. The current owner still wants to sell, Shiff said, but until Shiff and his son, Justen, find other investors or more financing, they won't renegotiate. Without the Gatsby, civic leaders Jear the drive to revamp downtown will stall.

"This'd be the anchor, the starting point, the impetus," Mayor John Bertino said. On Friday afternoon, he was looking into the possibility of using the city's general employees' pension fund to make up the financial shortfall. "I'm thinking it makes sense for the people who work here to invest in our city," he said. One Dania Beach commissioner said restoring the 1925 hotel would be a gain for all of Broward County. "We're kind of the last reservoir of historic renovation in the county," City Commissioner Bob Mikes said.

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