The Record from Hackensack, New Jersey • 10

J. fans finally getting their due mi mm 3 hey are two wins away from the Stanley Cup and they are coming home to New Jersey. TT New Jersey hoping home is sweet DevilsRed Wlrigs Fan Faceofff Even the staunchest fans of this team that came here in 1982, a ragtag bunch that scored goals rarely and gave them up in bunches, couldn't say they ever foresaw their Devils this close to hockey's ultimate goal Imagined it, yes. Dreamed of it, absolutely. Longed for it, without doubt.

But expected it? No way. See FANS Page A-9 But now come the Devils, up two games to none against the Detroit Red Wings with just two more wins standing between them and hockey immortality. The object of their efforts Lord Stanley's big silver punch bowl, sits at this moment in the Meadowlands Hilton in Secaucus on public display. It will remain there for two home games, and, if the Devils win both of them, it stay here all year. aBBaBBBaaaaa There is nothing to compare it to, because nothing like this has ever happened before.

Twice, the Giants won Super Bowls, and although they play in New Jersey, they claim New York. The Nets are a standing New Jersey joke. 7p John MacLean's Devils Diary Complete coverage in Sports 1T i l1Tfirifff' 1 1011111" CHASE, GUNFIGHT SPAN FOUR TOWNS i North jersey rail mmm State to probe A Westwood Regional mum mm mpi tmm. mm School District. NJ-1 4, tV, mK I Bomb material confiscated from two teens' homes.

nj-i Sf Hot-dog vendor says Moonachie is trying to run him off. NJ-1 0 Widow hits $19.8 million jackpot, will share it with sons. NJ-1 A 6-year-old collapses and dies in Lodi classroom. NJ-3 New Jersey Whitman's privatization plans suffer setback. A-3 Train union talking strike Could strand 81,000 riders By PAT RENE GILBERT Staff Writer NJ Transit's train engineers are threatening an illegal strike on the busy Fourth of July weekend a move that could strand tens of thousands of holiday rail passengers.

The general chairman of the union that represents nearly all of NJ Transit's 285 engineers said Wednesday that if contract issues are not resolved, the engineers will not report to work after 10 p.m. on June 30. 'D. Terry Abbott of the local Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers said members will stay off the job until the union is released from discussions "that have gone nowhere" with the National Mediation Board, which has been mediating the talks for a year. The union has been without a contract since 1992.

"It's going to be pretty devastating for commuters," said Abbott. "NJ Transit ridership is up there, and they've been basking in the glory. So, here we go." An NJ Transit official said the strike would be systemwide. "If they strike, it's going to mean that our passengers will be, for the most part, stranded," said Bert Hasbrouck, senior director of corporate affairs for the agency. About 24,000 people ride NJ Transit trains on a typical weekend day.

If the strike extended to the workweek, 81,000 riders a day would be affected. NJ Transit officials said the agency is "doing everything possible" to avert the strike. Contingency plans would include additional bus service, and possible help from the PATH subway, Amtrak, and private bus companies. Details on the plan and a possible hot line number for passengers, however, will not be made public until Monday or Tuesday. In the meantime, NJ Transit will be in U.S.

District Court on Monday to seek a restraining order, said NJ Transit spokesman Jeff Maclin. "If they strike, it's illegal," Ma-See STRIKE Page A-7 GEORGE A. FEN Police in Nutley treating Darnell Collins, a suspect in seven slayings who was fatally shot after a chase Wednesday morning. NEW JERSEY J'-- Devils must tell NHL soon whether they're staying or going. A-3 PASSAIC I BERGEN' 7 COUNTY COUNTY Clifton Iff 1 ESSEX State is in no hurry to raise speed limit to 65 mph.

A-3 Haddon NWION Monroe Man wanted in spree that left seven dead By JERRY DeMARCO Staff Writer A man wanted in a killing spree that claimed seven lives from Harlem to Atlantic City was slain in a hail of police bullets Wednesday in a Nutley park after a high-speed chase. A running gunbattle with police ended when Darnell Collins, 33, was cornered beneath a Kingsland Park footbridge after abandoning a stolen car he had crashed into a Clifton house, authorities said. Collins, who police said killed seven people in three days, had just reloaded his revolver and was pointing it at his pursuers when nine of the officers opened fire, authorities said. He died in surgery about two hours later. Once the gunfire had ceased, Michael Wilson of nearby Walnut Street said he asked one of the officers: "Did vou get him?" "Yeah, don't worry," Wilson said the officer responded.

"We got him. He's dead." It wasn't until later that authorities discovered Collins was the same man wanted for fatally shooting three men in the Chelsea section of Manhattan on Tuesday; the execution-style slaying of a Harlem livery cab driver several hours later; and the weekend killings in South Jersey of three people, including his estranged girlfriend and her mother. Collins also critically injured two other people, See CHASE Page A-8 Neighbors describe gunman as jealous madman. A-8 ff Atlantic Citv 1 Atlantic City: former girlfriend and her mother shot and killed 2. Monroe Township: alleged drug dealer shot and killed, companion shot or stabbed 3 Haddon Township: gas station attendant pistol-whipped in robbery 4.

Chelsea: Parking lot attendant shot and killed, one man shot and killed in elevator, another man shot is seriously injured and dies the next day 5 Harlem: Woman in crack house is shot in the head, critically injured, a man is pistol-whipped and robbed, cabdriver shot and killed 6a Newark: Police respond to report of man with gun, chase begins 7a Clifton: Pursued by police through Belleville and Nutley, Collins crashes car into a house in Clifton, flees on foot, is shot by police, and later dies at University Hospital, Newark Simpson tries on another pair of gloves and they fit. A-18 WORLD Japanese police storm jet, free hostages. A-13 Index Ann Landers, Abby Bridge Business Classified Comics -HF-12 HF-2 B-1 C-1 HF-6 Prosecutor reviewing alarm-service discount Foster loses key Senate vote Filibuster threat stymies Clinton nominee By MICHAEL MOORE Community Briefing NJ-4 Editorials NJ-8 Entertainment HF-8 Home Family HF-1 Horoscope HF-12 Obituaries B-7 Opinion NJ-7 Sports S-1 and JIM C0NS0LI Staff Writers The Bergen County Prosecu tor's Office is reviewing a report that its former chief investigator received a home alarm system at a S-12 Television Weather discount from a contractor whose work he supervised. From news service reports WASHINGTON Dr. Henry Foster 'lost a crucial Senate vote Wednesday in his bid to become surgeon general a defeat President Clinton attributed to an abortion "stranglehold" on the Republican Party.

Clinton pledged to keep fighting before a second vote today that could be the final blow. "This was not a vote about the right of the president to choose a surgeon general. This was really a vote about every American woman's right to choose," Clinton said, appearing with Foster in the Rose Garden just after the effort to break a Republican roadblock fell three votes short. Foster, a Tennessee gynecologist-obstetrician, has said he performed 39 abortions in four decades. "Because he cannot pass the political litmus test that has a stranglehold on the other party, they cannot even allow a simple vote," Clinton said.

At the Rose Garden appearance with Clinton, Foster sounded almost resigned to defeat. After praising Clinton, he thanked his family for sticking by him "through these rath-See FOSTER Page A-7 "The circumstances outlined deeply concern me, and it's something we have to look at very closely," said Buckley, a deputy attorney general who replaced former Prosecutor John J. Fahy in March. "We're considering the material reported, and will then see whether this needs further examination." Sources in the Prosecutor's Office confirmed that an official internal inquiry is under way. Baldassare, 40, had the alarm package installed at his Wanaque condominium in December 1991 See ALARM Page A-10 Acting Prosecutor Charles R.

Buckley said the report about Capt. Mark Baldassare, which ap For home delivery: 646-4444 1995 BERGEN RECORD CORP. TOMORROW '1 peared in The Record on Wednesday, was being scrutinized to determine whether a formal investigation is warranted either HENRY FOSTER Last chance is today "Pocahontas" IN PREVIEWS by his office or the state attorney general. HackensackFord Heritage Lincoln Mercury Slfford Pontlac Visit our new location at Hit The June Jackpotl The Home of the Real 520 River Hackensack 487-6700 Call Today 488-6660 No Money Down Leasel 342-2300.