The Tampa Tribune from Tampa, Florida • 135

mmm rrn yini Inylfo THE TAMPA TRIBUNE Thursday, April 21, 1994 6-Fl6ridaMetro mm. m'wt Judge denies harassment allegations FLORIDA judge said. McAllister remarked: 3. 1 iuu cau iaii.il iiiuic bees with honey than with vinegar, and I was hoping she could improve" her work abilities. The judge had several exchanges with special counsel Lauri Ross, who accused I 'II McAllister By ROB SHAW Tribune Staff Writer CLEARWATER Mary Jean McAllister's judicial assistant said she was treated like a date by the county judge and exhibited signs that she had been sexually harassed, a psychiatrist testified Wednesday.

Daniel Sprehe of Tampa told the Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) he believes Phyllis Worobey suffers from a posttraumatic stress disorder triggered by harassment from the second-year Pinellas County judge. Worobey quit her job in August after complaining of sexual harassment The JQC is conducting hearings into McAllister's behavior and job performance that could result in her removal from the bench. The former judicial assistant was troubled by McAllister's "visual undressing" of her, comments about her breasts and being required to go to lunch frequently with her boss, Sprehe said. McAllister later denied on the witness stand that she ever forced Worobey to go to lunch with her, and said she never sexually harassed her. At their lunches, it was the judicial assistant who did all the talking or gossiping, McAllister said.

The judge said she never bombarded Worobey with intimate details of her personal life, but would sometimes share stories about her children and grandchildren. "I ate lunch and listened," McAllister testified. "My ears were open. They were not plugged." The judge also said Worobey's skills as a judicial assistant declined rapidly during the summer months last year. She downplayed the significance of a flattering poem she wrote to honor her employee at an awards banquet July 15.

McAllister also said that just because she bought Worobey a corsage and a pin didn't mean she thought highly of the judicial assistant's job performance. "Did you ever give your mother-in-law a present when you didn't care for her?" the tions regarding marital status, whether she had a boyfriend and whether she was living with anyone. The questions were more personal than about her experiences as a judicial assistant, said Smith. She said she was glad she did not get the job. Three of McAllister's fellow judges also were called to testify Wednesday.

Circuit Court Judge Brandt Downey acknowledged he and McAllister had differences that dated back to 1984, when he defeated her in a judicial election. He said when McAllister was elected in 1992, he told her she was no more qualified to serve then than she had been eight years earlier. "Her response was, 'Now it doesn't matter because I'm on the bench and there's nothing anyone can do about Downey -said. "I told her in no uncertain terms this is not a lifetime job." McAllister is expected to be back on the -witness stand when testimony resumes at 8:30 this morning. Worobey also is scheduled to testify today.

Mom again gives son life ORLANDO An Orlando woman has given her 6-month-old son the chance to live a normal life with part of her liver. A "living donor" operation transplanting a lobe of Sarah Ruth Sams' organ into her young son, Dylan, was carried out Monday in San Francisco. Doctors removed a third of Sams' liver, trimmed it and exposed vital blood vessels. They then attached it Jo the child's blood vessels, the vena "cava artery of the heart and bile duct. It is expected to grow with the child, functioning as a normal liver.

-Dylan Sams suffered from biliary "atresia, a condition that obstructs the "flow of bile from the liver to the gall- -bladder. McAllister of offering testimony that differed from her earlier sworn statements. At one point, the judge broke down in tears when describing the effect the controversy has had on her. Earlier in the day, a woman who had applied to be McAllister's judicial assistant said she was asked strange questions during two job interviews. Tammy Smith, who now works as a judicial' assistant to Circuit Judge Craig Villanti, said McAllister repeatedly asked her ques 4 k'1 ZZ3 2 brothers open shop, leave Durex The men are charged with environmental crimes after the death of two boys in Tampa.

-II Mill lays off 150 PANAMA CITY Stone Contain-' er a paper mill, has laid off 150 production workers be-' cause of the explosion that killed three employees last week. More fur-; loughs are expected. An estimate of damage caused by the April 13 blast has not been completed but is expected to be in the millions of dollars, company officials 4 said. Laid-off workers will be able to 'collect accrued vacation pay and unemployment compensation. Workers who remain on the job will help clean up and repair the damage.

The mill employs 582 people. foF 1 I 'J S' try If vH) i zs Jr 1 IMk -rii- ir -n i -rifTiiniii nun i Pregnant wife found dead JACKSONVILLE Police arrest-' ed the brother-in-law of a pregnant woman whose throat was slashed and 'charged him with murder. Tina Heins, 20, of Wisconsin Rap- ids, was found dead at Heron 'Pointe apartments near Mayport Na- Station, where her husband, Jere- my Heins, 21, is stationed on the USS Leyte Gulf. Jeremy Heins was aboard the ship at the time. Police arrested Chad Heins, who reported the Sunday murder.

He was in the Duval County pretrial deten SUSAN FERNANDEZfor the Tribune tion facility Wednesday. Puckering for a porker Kelly Ring, WTVT, Channel 13 news anchor, kisses a pig Wednesday as her "reward" for being the top fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay. The New York Yankees' Joe Molloy tied Ring for the honors. Ex-wrestler pins WWF with blame i By JEFF STIDHAM Tribune Staff Writer TAMPA Bruno Sammartino, one of the greats draws in professional wrestling history, says the sport that made him famous has "gone bananas." "I look at it as rather bizarre," he said. "I don't think it resembles wrestling very much at all." Sammartino testified Wednesday in the Charles "Chuck" Austin negligence lawsuit against the World Wrestling Federation that is offering a ringside view of the wrestling world.

Austin says that he broke his neck during a 1990 match. That injury has left him unable to work and crippled. He is able to walk with crutches. In questioning Sammartino, Austin's attorney' Richard Benjamin Wilkes hoped to show the federation is more interested in hype and promoting names than in safety. When 56-year-old Sammartino was wrestling world champion in the 1960s and 1970s, athleticism was as important as entertainment, he said.

But today, the pervasive marketing of flamboyant names and products, plus the tricks used to attract fans, are destroying the sport, Sammartino mused. Promoters are reduced to playing tape recordings of cheers and boos of fans for TV listeners. gives the illusion of the popularity of wrestling," said. That illusion and the specter of big money enticed Austin, who had been wrestling six months before life-altering match. In December 1990 at the Sun Dome before 15,000 wrestling fans, he was paired with "The Genius" and picked to lose a tag-team match to "The Rockers." During a move choreographed by wrestler Marty; Jannetty, one-half of that tag team, Austin broke his neck.

The "Rocker Dropper" move calls for the wres-; tier to be lifted in the air and slammed to the ground with a belly bump. Instead, Austin took a swan dive, with his head hitting the mat. Austin, 37, of Port Saint Lucie, is also suing Jan-v netty and his partner, Shawn Michaels, and Titan; Sports owner of the World Wrestling Federation. He is seeking unspecified damages for his inju- ries. Although he escaped paralysis, Austin, an ath-.

lete who lettered in four sports in high school, suffers a variety of ailments because of his spinal injury. Sammartino had never testified against the World Wrestling Federation before Wednesday, he And unlike some expert witnesses, he wasn't taking a fee. He had seen a videotape of The Rockers' signature move, the "Rocker Dropper," and believed he had to testify for Austin, he said. But he saved some criticism for Austin, who he said was negligent because he agreed to participate in a match before he was ready. Jannetty was negligent as well because he didn't do everything he could to protect Austin from hitting his head, Sammartino said.

Austin testified Tuesday he didn't know the Rock-: er Dropper or participation in the sport could be dangerous. However, Sammartino said Wednesday that a wrestler assumes the risk every time he enters the-ring. Sammartino broke his neck during a 1976 bout at Madison Square Garden in New York City. He told by his physician he was a millimeter away from-being paralyzed from the neck down. Today he is' fully recovered.

Mall locks youths out 'til 6 MIAMI One of north Dade County's largest malls is off-limits to schoolchildren, banned from hanging out before 6 p.m. on school days. Management at The Mall at 163rd Street said the ban is an effort to stop rising juvenile crime. Metro-Dade de i Merkle says ne has no regrets he hit motorist fectives said a 21-year-old man was stabbed to death last year at the mall and an 18-year-old was shot in the neck the year before. The American Civil Liberties Union said the mall's decision can't be challenged in court because it only private property and isn't -'targeted at racial or ethnic minorities or other protected groups.

1 Man bites competitor FORT WALTON BEACH A wa- ter scooter rental operator has put By DAVID SOMMER Tribune Staff Writer TAMPA Two former factory workers charged with environmental crimes in the deaths of two 9-year-old Tampa boys have started their own company in Oldsmar. Roller in an industrial area just outside of Hillsborough County, is licensed by Olds-mar and Pinellas County to manufacture plastic rollers used in the printing industry. The company, formerly known as Albrecht Whitman Manufacturing, has approval to use and properly dispose of two hazardous chemicals. The company's name was changed in state and city records earlier this week. State records list the directors of Roller as Carol L.

Whitman of Land O' Lakes and Je-anette L. Whitman of Tampa. The Whitmans did not return a telephone call to their company Wednesday. Tuesday, William C. Whitman and brother Duane C.

Whitman where charged, aiong with Durex Industries with federal environmental crimes that could result in a $1 million fine against the company and 15-year prison sentences for the former employees. Their attorney, Joseph Ficar-rotta, said he did not know why they changed the company's name this week. He said the two men run the company. Wednesday, Oldsmar code enforcement officer Ann Reishus said Albrecht Whitman Manufacturing has held city and county occupational licenses to manufacture print rollers at 162 E. Douglas Road since August.

She said Duane Whitman had the company's license changed to the name of Roller Inc. on Tuesday. Elizabeth Knauss, regional supervisor for the state Department of Environmental Regulation, said the agency has no record of any improprieties at the Whitmans' new company. She said the hazardous waste disposal plan in the company's occupational license application is accepted practice for a company that generates the listed amounts of waste. The charges against Durex and the Whitmans allege the company and its employees knowingly endangered the public by illegally disposing of toxic waste generated in the print roller manufacturing process.

They stem from a June 13, 1992, incident in which two 9-year-old boys, Daniel Scott Perez and Anthony Neil Storman, died after inhaling toxic chemicals while playing in a trash bin used by Durex. An attorney for Durex acknowledged the company dumped chemical waste in the trash bin but said the material was harmless until mixed with other chemicals. He said Durex believes other companies located near its plant at 4815 N. West Shore Blvd. in Drew Park illegally dumped their own waste into the Durex trash bin, creating a "toxic soup." Ficarrotta said neither Whitman was aware of hazardous chemicals being dumped in the bin.

He acknowledged William Whitman managed the Durex plant but disputed the government's contention that Duane Whitman worked as a shop the bite on a competitor in a floating jurf war along an Air Force-owned seawall on Choctawhatchee Bay. Guy Santucci, 27, admitted biting Tolbert, 32, during an alterca Gusler has testified Merkle's van tailgat-ed him and flashed its high-beam headlights. He says Merkle hit him four times and pulled him from his car while he was trying to telephone police, which he says he told Merkle he was going to do. With confidence and composure, Merkle told the jury Wednesday that Gusler "attacked" his family with his car by swerving in front of them and hitting his brakes. Further, Gusler endangered their lives by abruptly stopping in front of the van, committing the crime of "false imprisonment" because the van could not move, Merkle said.

Gusler never said he was calling police, Merkle said. "If I was scared to death before, I was more scared," when Gusler reached beneath the seat, he said. "When he went into that car, I was convinced he was going for a weapon. "I popped him. Boom.

I had to neutralize him." At one point, Merkle told Circuit Judge David Demers he would have to be "alert" during cross-examination because special prosecutor Ellen Roberts might make false accusations. Demers said he was always alert and that whatever Roberts asks "she asks at her own risk." By WILLIAM YELVERTON Tribune Staff Writer CLEARWATER The way former U.S Attorney Bob Merkle saw it, he had three options when a motorist suddenly stopped in front of his van in the middle of a Pinellas County road last summer. His wife, Angela, who was driving, could get out and "chat" with the driver. Merkle could walk away from his wife and five of their children. Or he could do what a husband and father was supposed to do.

Merkle picked the latter, telling a Pinellas County jury Wednesday he slugged George Gusler because his family was in danger and he thought Gusler was reaching for a gun beneath his car seat. "I did it deliberately. I'm glad I did it. I don't regret I did it It was absolutely necessary under the circumstances," said Merkle, who is charged with misdemeanor battery. Wednesday was a first for Merkle, 49.

Before he resigned as U.S. attorney in 1988 to make an unsuccessful run at the U.S. Senate, he had been a state and federal prosecutor for 17 years. He probed terrorists, narco-terrorists and corruption, among other high-profile crime. But a confrontation with Gusler in the right lane of Starkey Road in Largo on Aug.

27 landed him on the other side of the courtroom, with his reputation at stake. tion Tuesday. Both men are from Destin and each accused the other of starting the fracas. 1 Tolbert and Santucci had coexisted peacefully this year after agreeing to charge the same prices. Santucci dropped his price for one type of scooter Monday, prompting a bidding war that erupted into arguing and the fight Tuesday.

bung pitches MacDill as possible home for fleet In Tallahassee, Florida Supreme Court Justice Stephen Grimes becomes the chief justice of the high court today, replacing Rosemary Bar-kett, who is leaving to take a federal judgeship. Grimes was appointed by then-Gov. Bob Martinez in 1987. Joseph Norton of Tallahassee will stand trial in Amarillo, Texas, on charges he killed state Trooper Steve Booth with the trooper's revolver June 16. Also in Tallahassee, Pietro Venezia, a restaurateur charged in the Christmas Eve slaying of a state tax collector in Dade County, has been apprehended at his father's home in Italy, state revenue officials said Wednesday.

Extradition proceedings are under way. In Miami, Jose Clemente Alvarez, who out-maneuvered U.S. drug agents during a helicopter chase only to be hand -7 House defense appropria- tions subcommittee. Fogle- man, viewed as a potential future candidate for Air Force chief of staff, once served as a wing commander at MacDill and is considered sympathetic to -the base. There is only one tanker wing based in the Southeast, at a base in Georgia.

And with the mil By MICHAEL SZNAJDERMAN Tribune Staff Writer WASHINGTON While federal bureaucrats bicker over the price of operating Mac-Dill Air Force Base a dispute that could make the facility a target during the next round of base closings area public officials are redoubling efforts to bring a new tenant to the Tampa airfield. At a hearing Wednesday in Washington, U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Indian Rocks Beach, formally pitched MacDill as an ideal site for a fleet of Air Force tanker planes.

But Young's plea, to the Pentagon's top transportation planner, brought only an acknowledgment, and nothing close to a commitment. "I appreciate your interest and concern," said Air Force Gen. Ronald R. Fogleman, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Transportation Command.

But Fogleman said any decision ul- timately would come from an independent base-closing panel, which is gearing up for another series of military reductions in 1995. The tanker idea is not a new one. In May, the Pentagon recommended turning the 482nd Fighter Wing into a tanker unit and keeping it at MacDill. The fighter wing had been posted temporarily to Tampa after its headquarters at Homestead Air Force Base was destroyed by Hurricane Andrew. But a month later, the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission voted to rebuild Homestead, sending the fighter wing back to South Florida.

Now, Young and other Tampa area officials are lobbying the Pentagon to recommend another tanker wing be moved to MacDill before next year's base realignments are announced. Young met Tuesday with Fogleman to discuss the tanker proposal, and other issues, in advance of Fogleman's appearance before the I ed back later to U.S. authorities Young was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison for possession of cocaine 1 1 1 itary's focus shifting from Cold War concerns to regional conflicts, Young said there is a greater need to shift more tanker wings south. Fogleman acknowledged there are too few tankers in the Southeast. But he remained mute about the chances of locating one at vith intent to distribute.

He also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess cocaine while aboard a vessel. A Staff, Wire Service Report i. if FL0I0A.