Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 1

35 CENTS Final 25 CENTS Home Delivered Vol. 67, No. 144 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1993 ONE OF AMERICA'S GREAT NEWSPAPERS LATEST Sports "It. hurts, even though you're a public figure, which means apparently in America anybody can say anything about you. Even public figures have feelings and families and reputations.

Hillary for the defense I I urn 'hm i ill I i MMMMIMIiriritlliriWI1f--lfI'lllll-lllIMMMMII By Gwen Ifill The New York Times WASHINGTON The White House rolled out its second-biggest gun yesterday as Hillary Rodham Clinton rose to defend her husband against new accusations about the state of their marriage and the suicide of Vincent W. Foster a senior aide and longtime friend. Mrs. Clinton, in interviews with wire service reporters, suggested that a connection existed between the rise of rumors about her husband and his newfound popularity in public opinion polls. And she asserted that the White House was being subjected to "outrageous attack" that was fueled by payoffs made to the people making the accusations.

"I think my husband has proven that he's a man who really cares about this country deeply and respects trie presidency and believes strongly that he's doing the right thing," Mrs. Clinton said in an interview with the Reuters news agency. "And when it's all said and done, that's how most fair-minded Americans will judge my husband. And all the rest of this stuff will end up in the garbage can, where it deserves to be." SEE CLINTON, PAGE A-7 J. Scott ApplewhiteAssociated Press Casey's comeback Yeltsin orders new KGB Calls security agency hindrance to reform, but experts say he's purging political foes By James P.

Gallagher Chicago Tribune MOSCOW Russian President Boris Yeltsin, soundly rebuffed in last week's legislative elections, said yesterday he was launching a major purge of the powerful domestic security ministry, an offshoot of the once-dreaded KGB. Yeltsin claimed that the ministry has been undermining his reform efforts. But Russian and Western experts said his real aim was rooting out unreliable and extremist elements after strong showings in the Dec. 12 election by ultra-nationalists and die-hard communists. "The security ministry is riddled with supporters of Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Gennady Zyuganov," said Oleg Kalugin, a former KGB general who has exposed many of the agency's past crimes.

"It is these people that Yeltsin will now want to remove from the ministry." Zhirinovsky leads the far-right wing Liberal Democratic Parry, and HOCKEY Penguins 8, Lightning 3 Canucks 6, Oilers 3 BASKETBALL Rockets 90, Spurs 88 Nuggets 121, Suns 95 Blazers 100, Warriors 98 SuperSonics 91 Pacers 88 Sports, Page C-l TODAY Weather Variably cloudy with snow showers by night. High 34. Low 25. PageA-2 Peace on earth Bitter conflicts of lifetimes, even centuries, are creaking slowly toward resolution. World News, Pages A-4, 5, 6 Goodwill to all Our editorial department reads the local news and doesn't feel the spirit of the season.

Ellen Goodman suggests a remedy for some inner-city youth conflicts. Just say "Squash it." Perspectives, Pages B-2, 3 Urban targets Commissioner Pete Flaherty asks county municipalities to join the city in banning assault style guns. The Region, Page B-l Custody battle A judge orders little Byron returned to his mother, LaShawn Jeffrey, but his foster parents don't give up. Jeffrey responds to their attack on her at a news conference today. The Region, Page B-l Neverland Beleaguered Michael Jackson's lawyer and an investigator resign and the entertainer, who hasn't been seen in public since he returned to this country, says he'll make a live statement via satellite at 3 p.m.

today. National News, Page A-12 A space tale Bad electronics gear for a military satellite causes it to be canceled, so the Air Force plans to replace the weight in the space launch with a ton of sand. National News, Page A-7 Singin' the blues Willie Dixon, above, was a giant of blues music who left a legacy of recordings. But he lives on best in Chicago's Blues Heaven Foundation, helping aspiring blues players. Entertainment, Page D4 But a caution Watch your spreads carefully when making those holiday goodies.

Food writer Suzanne Martinson notes that "light" spreads don't work quite like margarine, and the packages aren't helpful. Some advice, PageD-3. Footnote ThePowerball jackpot for tonight's drawing is estimated at $90 million, the second-largest in the game's history. The fever gets so high that Indiana urges its citizens to help the needy instead of taking the minuscule chance to win. By Robert R.

McBride Gov. Casey at the state Capitol yesterday. Governor returns to office with moving speech, plans for '94 By Tim Reeves Post-Gazelte Harrisburg Correspondent HARRISBURG Robert P. Casey, the stubborn Scranton lawyer who bounced back from three defeats to become governor of Pennsylvania, completed his most dramatic comeback yesterday. After six months of fighting for his life, Casey returned to the Capitol with a new heart in his chest, a new liver and a renewed belief that government can help the needy.

"A lot of people are hurting today and we've got to help them," a quiet but radiant Casey told a crowded Singel delivered budget briefing in his own way By Dennis B. Roddy Post-Gazette Staff Writer HARRISBURG Lt. Gov. Mark Singel says he defied the wishes of an ailing Gov. Casey when asked to present "a visionless budget" and do "a song and dance" in a fiscal briefing to legislators.

In an interview on the eve of Casey's return, Singel said that earlier this month, the two men neared an impasse over Singel's plans to use a scheduled budget briefing to introduce his own agenda for the coming year. Without offering a detailed budget proposal, Singel has called for cuts in the state's business taxes. Darrell SappPost-Gazette Casey, Singel said, asked him to instead put forth a vague outline until Casey could put together a budget for February. "I made it clear I was not going to be a marionette," Singel said. Singel's account of his final days as acting governor portrayed the sidelined Casey and his protege on a collision course over Singel's growing desire to chart his own path after Casey failed to return to office in early December.

That collision was avoided when Casey left Presbyterian University Hospital on Dec. 11 and announced two days later that he would resume the powers of office, which he did yesterday. Both Singel and Casey's top aides have worked to reinforce an image of mutual cooperation as Singel picked up from the ailing Casey in mid-June. SEE SINGEL, PAGE A-15 Bone Peroneal tendons Retinacula Ligament room of supporters, many of them in tears. "That's what I came back to do." Casey, who had heart-liver transplant surgery on June 14, reclaimed the governor's powers at 12:01 a.m.

yesterday the first day of winter and the shortest day of the year, but one Casey had long awaited. Two seasons and 190 days before, Casey signed away his powers to Lt. Gov. Mark S. Singel, uncertain if he would ever reclaim them.

As he did so yesterday, with his wife, Ellen, and their eight children at his side, hardened Harrisburg politicians were moved to tears. Senate Democratic Leader J. William Lincoln of Fayette County sat in the front row and cried. Beside him, crying just as hard, was Senate Republican Leader Robert Jubelirer of Altoona, one of Casey's toughest critics. SEE CASEY, PAGE A-14 long enough to eliminate him from the Steelers' lineup for the rest of the season ultimately would have proven futile, Fu maintained.

Repairing the damaged tissue called a retinacula was not difficult and the surgery took only an hour and a half. Foster was placed in a short leg cast and was supposed to be up on crutches by the end of the day. "He's doing fine," said Dr. James Herndon, chief of orthopedics and rehabilitation. "He's recovering very nicely." "If everything goes well," Fu added, "I expect he will have no problem coming back." He will remain in the cast about four weeks, then wear a brace for two or three weeks and ultimately will require several months of rehabilitation, Fu said.

The retinacula apparently was damaged at the same time Foster's Zyuganov heads the resurgent Communist Party. The two virulently anti-Yeltsin parties, which alarmed much of Russia and the world with strong showings in the elections, will make up major blocs in the new Federal Assembly, scheduled to convene in Moscow early in the new year. "The security ministry has never been firmly under Yeltsin's control or really loyal to him," said a Western analyst who asked not to be named. "With a long history of political intrigue and their own elite military units, the security forces could pose a real danger to Yeltsin. The situation in the country is so unstable that he had to try to wrest more control over them." SEE RUSSIA, PAGE A-3 Rape victim gets justice after wait of 28 years By Jan Ackerman Post-Gazette Staff Writer While watching a judge impose a T'-to-lS-year sentence on a man who raped her 28 years ago, Victoria Impavido took a tissue out of her purse and quickly dabbed her watering eyes.

"I am the stony-faced type. I tried not to cry," the Swissvale woman said afterward. Twenty-eight years is a long time to wait for justice to be served. Impavido. 56, said she didn't even recognize Ronald Elbert LaRue, the man who was convicted of raping her in 1965, when he was brought into court in handcuffs yesterday.

After his conviction by a jury in 1965, LaRue skipped his sentencing and never served a day in jail. Yesterday, Common Pleas Judge Robert E. Dauer sentenced LaRue to 7li! to 15 years in jail for a rape. That was the maximum sentence allowed for a rape committed be- SEE RAPE, PAGE A-17 Doctors optimistic after Foster surgery Barry Foster's ankle injury A Nov. 15 injury severely sprained ligaments in Barry Foster's left ankle and damaged a flap of ligament-like tissue, called a retinacula.

The damaged retinacula allowed two tendons to slip out of a groove in Foster's ankle bone, causing excrutiating pain. Though the sprained ligaments healed, the retinacula remained separated from the ankle bone until surgeons reattached it yesterday. Once healed, the retinacula should keep the tendons in place. Fu says no amount of rest would have healed the tissue in Steeler's ankle By Byron Spice Science Editor. Post-Gazette When Dr.

Freddie Fu cut open Barry Foster's left ankle yesterday morning, medical debate over the need for surgery on the Steelers' halfback ceased. Fu found that a ligament-like flap of tissue that is supposed to hold two tendons in place had completely separated from the ankle bone, allowing the tendons to slide painfully along Foster's bone. No amount of rest would have enabled the injury to heal, said Fu, an orthopedic surgeon and chief of the sports medicine division at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Even immobilizing Foster's ankle in a cast for four to six weeks Top views of ankle Healthy retinacula Bone Peroneal tendons Damaged retinacula Bone V. INDEX Abby, Ann 0-5 Marriages Bridge C-12 Neighbors B-5 Business C-7 Obituaries B-6 Comics D-5 Perspectives B-3 Crosswords C-1 3 Recreation Divorces C-12 Region B-1 Editorials B-2 Scoreboard Entertainment D-4 Sports C-1 C-1 2 Television D-8 Lottery C-13 Want Ads Magazine D-1 Weather A-2 SEE FOSTER, PAGE A-16.