Daily News from New York, New York • 34

DAILY. TIESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, J974 C5 Helpern Says at Trim By NAT KANTER and PAUL MESKIL Dr. Milton Helpern, chief medical examiner of New York City for nearly 20 years, appeared as a surprise witness at Dr. Vincent Montemarano's murder trial yesterday and said Dr. Montemarano's patient, Eugene Bauer, died of a potassium chloride injec tion.

After the defense rested in Nassau County Court, Nassau District Attorney William Cahn called Helpern as a rebuttal wit-, ness to refute the finding of the key defense witness, Dr. Alfred Angrist, that Bauer died of eancer. fell f0 I 'J hi A VI JL fk N.J. Daily Lottery Winner MONDAY: 40685 The prizes: $2,500 if your ticket matches the winning number. $225 if the five digits are right, but in reverse order.

Also $225 if either the last four or the first four match, 525 if the first, middle or last three match. Also $25 if all five digits are correct, but appear in scrambled order. $2.50 if any two consecutive digits match the winner. Winning Lomerm appear today on pagm 19. and if such an injection was given.

The motion was denied. The defense wound up its case with a dramatic witness, an attractive and totally blind divorcee who said outside court that she owed her life to Montemarano. The witness, Ms. Stephanie Berkey, of Lido Beach, L.I., lost her vision in a car crash on April 30, 1972. She said she met Montemarano "when I was brought by ambulance to Nassau County Medical Center and he was the attending physician in the intensive care unit.

He Never Gave Up Asked to describe Monte f- ftrL. Ill 3 marano's reputation, she said, He was a very competent, steadfast, diligent young surgeon." Carrying a white cane and wearing a small gold heart on a chain around her neck, she spoke to reporters outside the courtroom. She said she suffered Cahn asked Helpern, "From all the studying you've done (on the Montemarano case) and all the slides you've locked at and all the reports you've read, have you reached an opinion as to the cause of death of Eugene Bauer?" Death an "Indication" "Yes." the 70-year-old autopsy expert replied. "In my opinion, the cause of death was injection, of potassium chloride into this patient." Helpern stuck to his guns under cross-examination by defense counsel J. Russell Clune.

After getting Helpern to concede that Bauer was suffering from terminal cancer and several related ailments, any one of which "was enough to cause death, Clune -asked, "Was there any indication -in the autopsy report that an injection of potassium chloride given?" A. "No." Q. "Was there any pathological indication of potassium chloride?" A. "Yes. The patient died." Helpern added that a medical examiner who bases his autopsy conclusions on the physical and pathological evidence alone, without considering whatever addi- tional information is available, might make a "serious error." Clune asked when he had first discussed the Montemarano case with the prosecution.

"A week or two ago," Helpern said. "The people's case was already under way" (at the trial). "Then you weren't called as a people's witness at that time?" "No." Angrist, who testified last week, said he had performed or supervised more than 30,000 autopsies. Under questioning by Cahn, however, he said he had performed only about 5,000 autopsies himself. Helpern said he had personally performed 25,000 autopsies." When Helpern finished his testimony, associate defense counsel James O'Brien requested dismissal of the murder charge.

He said the state had failed to prove how Bauer died, whether he was given a potassium chloride injection, or if Bauer was alive when hi) "Vv y- i a broken spine, immediate blindness and other severe injuries in the auto accident. She underwent eight operations in three months. The surgery was performed by Montemarano and Dr. Anthony DiBenedetto, the center's chief of News photo by Mel Finkelstein Dr. Vincent Montemarano greets Stephanie Berkey outside court.

surgery chief who was a prosecution witness at the trial. Ms. Berkey, who has two small children, said that when she entered the center, "I wasn't given much chance to survive." Other doctors "didn't think I was going to make it," but Montemarano "never gave up on me." "He gave me the desire and will to go on," she said. "I don't believe I could have made it without Dr. Montemarano." When she first learned of his indictment for murder last June, she said, she got in touch with his lawyers and offered to testify for him.

"I wanted to help him because he's always helping others," she said. She was the last of 17 character witnesses, most of them doctors and nurses, called by the defense yesterday. Montemarano walked out of the courtroom while Ms. Berkey was talking ta the press. He kissed her on the cheek and said, "Thanks, Stephanie." Real state in Five Boroughs Valued at Re By ROBERT CRANE City assessors have valued the 830,000 pieces of taxable real estate in the fivt boroughs at a record $40,136,971,682, it was disclosed yesterday.

This assessed valuation, which TAXASUt ASSESSES V6Ufl I JL 9 3 No Alternate Today Alternate side of the -street-parking regulations will be suspended today because of the weather, the Department of Traffic announced is tentative and subject to reductions, was revealed by outgoing Finance Administrator Richard Lewisohn. The figure represents a $1.6 billion increase above property values this year. Tax Rise Estimated Between now and March 15, property owners may ask the city's Tax Commission to reduce their land and building assessments. This process, which must be finished May 25, cut $726 million from the tentative valuation last year, leaving a final assessed valuation of Last year's tax rate was 6.886 per $100, a record. Based on the tentative figures, the Citizens Budget Commission estimated that real estate taxes could rise 91 cents per hundred to $7.80 this News photo by Frank Russo Finance Administrator Richard Lewisohn makes final report.

year. This figure, the commission said, assumes that at least $700 million will be pared from the tentative assessments. The $1.6 billion jump reflects net increases in each of the five boroughs. In Brooklyn and the Bronx, there are increases of $153 million and $91 million respectively. Manhattan went up by $893 million.

Queens by $326 million and Staten Island by $137 million. Utilities Hard Hit Hardest hit by the tentative assessments are the utilities, which face an increase of Con Ed's generating station in Astoria is listed at nearlv $100 million above its 1973-74 assessed value. The central office building for New York Teephone in Manhattan was increased by nearly $10 million. Among the increased assessments was a $13 million hike to $48 million for the Celanese Building in Manhattan, and an approximate $20 million boost to $26 million on the Glen Oaks Golf Club apartments in Queens. New to the rolls are the Solow Building ($39 million), Grace Building ($38 million) and 1 Liberty Plaza ($81 million) in Manhattan, and Korvettes ($6 million) in Flushing, Queens.

Property owners have until March 15 to visit the real property assessment department office in their boroughs to read tentative assessment rolls. deport Fire Victims Mad Locked Selves In FRATNTK T.OAIRARDI The four women victims of Sunday night's fire in the East Village had padlocked themselves inside their storefront home at 76 Avenue shortly before the blaze broke out, it was reported yesterday. a back door Had oeen Doaraea snui as protecnuii the rundown neignoornood in portedly has found nothing suspicious. A spokesman for the city Buildings Department said residential use of the storefront was "absolutely illegal." He did not know if the conversion had been done with the knowledge of the building's owner, a Cedarhurst, L. man who could not be reached for comment.

A growing number of vacant storefronts in the city are being used as living quarters, particularly by artists, the buildings official said. To make them legal requires costly alterations. Inspections are performed only when specific complaints are received, the official said. trying to determine their background and find the next of kin. Two Great Danes also were found dead in the fire.

Being Investigated Mrs. Brown was a practical nurse at the American Nursing Home nearby on E. Fifth St. She Witnesses told firemen they heard the victims' screams as the fire trapped them in the illegally converted store, on the first floor of a five-story tenement built in 1903. Cubicles on Balcony One of the victims was Mrs.

Isabelle Brown, 22, a nurse who was eight months pregnant. She was identified by hev husband, Vincent, 24, who had been visiting a friend in the Bronx when the fire occurred. He is an Adel-phi University student and part-time music teacher. The storefront had a balcony containing sleeping cubicles for the three other women and Brown and his wife lived in the rear apartment. The other three victims were identified yesterday as Rachel Valery, 20, Diane Bunch, 21, and Edie Henry, 19.

Police are still was described as a quiet, con scientious nurse who was well liked by the elderly patients. The chief fire marshal's office is investigating the blaze but re.