Daily Record from Morristown, New Jersey • Page 1

TP.m."i. 1 7 DAILYRECORD.COM FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2012 A GANNETT COMPANY $1.00 Denville man gets 3 years in accident Admits striking pedestrian A Wif vrt JL Vll IN NEW JERSEY? Bigfoot has a long history in Morris, Sussex counties II'TII MOT El OTf '-V. jt y' tire' If- vi 5 Ti jf 1 V7 By Peggy Wright OpeggywrightDR A chef from Denville was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison for striking a pedestrian with his car, leaving the injured man, and returning hours later to remove the victim from a snowbank. "I'm very sorry for what I've done. It's in your hands, whatever is appropriate, and I'll do my best to deal with it," defendant Gerardo Durso told Superior Court Judge Thomas V.

Manahan as he gulped back tears. The sentence calls for Durso to serve 85 percent of the three-year stint before parole consideration and he must serve three years on parole upon release. Though the state suspected, but couldn't prove, that Durso was intoxicated in the Denville case, he already is under a 10-year driver's license suspension for his third driving while intoxicated conviction. A graduate of a culinary institute, Durso, 38, pleaded guilty in state Superior Court, Morristown, in August to aggravated assault, knowingly leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in serious bodily injury, hindering apprehension, and the motor vehicle offense of failure to report an accident. On Feb.

17, 2011, Durso left a bar in Denville and admittedly "grazed" pedestrian James "Jimmy" Victor III, then 41, with his car as the victim walked away from the bar. The incident occurred near Gearhart Chevrolet on Route 46 around 10:30 p.m. According to Durso, who has known the victim about 30 years, Victor told him he didn't need help. But the victim had suffered a fractured neck, other broken bones and multiple bruises and contusions. Durso had admitted in August that he drove home and hindered apprehension by hiding his car under his deck so the damage wasn't noticeable to passers-by.

He enlisted the help of a friend and they returned to the scene to find Victor lying in a snowbank. Victor was brought to Durso's house and police were called at 12:37 a.m. on Feb. 18, 2011, with a report that Victor had overdosed on cocaine. Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Brian DiGiacomo said that medical personnel immediately noticed tire marks and glass on Victor's body and realized he had been struck by a car.

"Mr. Durso's actions that evening, quite frankly, were despicable. He left J. V. (the victim) on the side of the road for dead," DiGiacomo said.

But DiGiacomo said the state extended a three-year plea offer, with the 85 percent provision, instead of a stiffer term because Victor either could not or was not willing to cooperate with the prosecution. Defense lawyer Robert Dunn called the incident "the biggest mistake" that Durso ever made and attributed it to alcohol. The judge agreed, saying that a See ACCIDENT, Page A2 i i ir-r i-g-nil---1 -f 1Li 1 1 in i iTiiiii i 1 i in imii iiiii mnV ti ittmn i j-1- Richard Biggins, of Clearfield, sighted a black Sasquatch in the woods of Sussex County while deer hunting in 1980 when he lived in New Jersey. Thouah he still hunts deer, he said the exDerience has haunted him. jeff corcinothe farfifi pa i progrfh By Lorraine Ash LorraineVAsh It was a crisp November morning in 1980 when Richard Biggins came face-to-face with what he believes was a Sasquatch.

He was deer hunting with his father by the Walpack Inn in Sussex County. "It had snowed pretty good the past few days, so there were six to The hill being steep, Biggins slid down it. Five minutes into his wait, he could hardly believe his eyes. "I saw him walking down the hill on an angle, upright like a person!" Biggins said. "He looked like a human being with an ape head and had jet-black hair all over him.

I had to take a double take on what I was seeing. His arms swung back and forth, and he had regular steps like a person on a spring SASQUATCH IN 10 inches on the ground, Biggins recalled. "My father dropped me off and told me to walk into the woods almost to the base of the hill, wait IS minutes, and then start walking to him to help push any deer toward him to shoot." walk." At the base of the hill was a tall pine tree with branches missing about six feet up, according to Biggins. When the Sasquatch See SASQUATCH, Page A4 i "ji; ill Gravestones unearthed in Randolph ''A i 1 'I 'f i' By Michael Izzo Staff Writer RANDOLPH A trio of gravestones were unearthed on Middlebury Boulevard in Randolph and police and the owner of the property are trying to figure out how they got there. They were discovered while soil was being dug up during construction on the site which is near the Aspen Ice Arena in the summer of 2011 on the side of the property near Pump It Up.

No bodies have been found on the property, just the three headstones. They now have scratches on them due to the construction equipment handling them, but are in good condition overall. The construction crew placed the gravestones on the side of the site, not wanting to touch them. Gene Kozak, owner of the property and neighboring building, Kozak Sports Center, just discovered the gravestones recently. He filed a police report on Monday.

"It's disrespectful," he said, "If my family was treated this way, I don't know what I would do." Randolph Police Lt. Chris Giuliani said the department is actively investigating the case, but the gravestones do not appear See GRAVES, Page A2 Three headstones were found on a property in Randolph during some construction work. V7H TODAY AT DEALCHICKEN.COM SAVE 50 $15 for $30 of Italian fare from Baci Trattoria in Parsippany ADVICE A14 BUSINESS A13 COMICS A15 OBITUARIES A4 OPINION A12 SPORTS B1 TV A17 40901 "1 1 DAILY RECORD DAILY.