Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 1

Racing final stocks 7-6-896 VOL. 62 NO. 292 THURSDAY, JULY 6, 1989 25 CENTS jail term for North Iran-Contra aide gets 2-year probation, fine r) t'i I tf By Harry F. Rosenthal Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON Oliver North was sentenced to two years probation and fined $150,000 for Iran-Contra crimes yesterday by a judge who said he had "willingly and sometimes even excessively" done the bidding of cynical superiors. North said he recognizes he made mistakes and grieves about them, "And I truly do pray about it every day." "As you stand here now, you are not the fall guy for this tragic breach of the public trust," U.S.

District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell told North. "You're here now because of your own conduct when the truth was coming out." Gesell sentenced the 45-year-old former Marine and White House aide to suspended terms of three, two and one years for the three felony convictions by a jury two months ago. "Your punishment will not include jail," Gesell said. North's lawyers declined all comment on the sentence and gave no indication of whether they will file an appeal.

During his three-month trial, North contended that in the Iran-Contra affair in which U.S. arms were secretly sold to Iran and profits were diverted to the Nicaraguan rebels he only acted on behalf of Reagan administration superiors. The judge said, "I do not think in this area you were a leader at all, but really a low-ranking subordinate working to carry out initiatives of a few cynical superiors. You came to be the point man in a very complex power play developed by higher ups." Still, the judge said, North responded "willingly and to some extent even excessively" to their requests. North, speaking almost inaudibly, told the judge, "I have devoted nearly two decades to the service of our country and I would never knowingly do anything to hurt it or any of its institutions.

I grieve over what has happened and I truly pray about it every day." TODAY More of the same Today's weather is expected to bear a remarkable resemblance to yesterday's. The National Weather Service is calling for partly cloudy skies, with a 30 percent chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms. Details, Page 10. Hard line Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir succumbs to hawks in his Likud bloc and takes a hard-line approach that may spell doom to his Palestinian peace proposals. Shamir rejects any possibility of a Palestinian state and comes out in favor of more Jewish settlements in the occupied territories.

Page 2. Zhao's crimes Ousted Chinese Communist Party chief Zhao Ziyang is accused of trying to get legislators to support him in his fight against Deng Xiaoping and other leaders who wanted a swift end to pro-democracy protests. Page 3. Cheaper liquor The state Liquor Control Board is trying to muscle discounts from suppliers on items it buys in large quantities. Some of the suppliers, however, claim that that may be illegal based on a recent U.S.

Supreme Court decision. Page 6. Mall crawl Specialty malls are beginning to dot the landscape. Some feature extravagant fare and others a more routine menu. Today's Magazine offers a tour of six of these shopping centers.

Page 15. Plea in Woods case Michael Hartman, accused of paying off City Council President Ben Woods, pleaded not guilty on federal conspiracy, racketeering and income tax charges. Hartman, a South Hills builder, loses his bid for a nonjury trial. Page 6. City settles City Council has agreed to pay $75,000 to the family of a man who died in the Allegheny River in 1986.

Peerce L. Piatt of Highland Park, who had jumped off the 62nd Street Bridge, was alive when he was pulled from the water, but rescuers, thinking he was dead, towed him 1.5 miles in the water. Page 4. Panel: Crucifix didn't blink 'Miracle' called optical illusion By David Guo Post-Gazette Staff Writer The eyes of the plaster form of Jesus Christ on a crucifix in an Ambridge church did not miraculously close on Good Friday, a panel of Diocese of Pittsburgh clergy said yesterday. Instead, the panel said, the incident at Holy Trinity Church resulted from witnesses watching the statue, which is suspended from the ceiling, from different angles and under different lighting conditions.

In issuing the 10-page report, Auxiliary Bishop William J. Winter said the commission interviewed six of some 150 witnesses. Included were two adults and four youths the Rev. Vincent Cvitkovich, pastor; artist Dominic Leo, who had refurbished the crucifix; and four altar boys: Joseph Rozman and James, Thomas and Charles Cvitkovich, the priest's nephews. Other witnesses, including three who became spokesmen, were not interviewed state Trooper Chris Marion and Sewick-ley attorneys Edward and Janice Connell.

Diocesan spokesman the Rev. Ronald Lengwin explained that the six people interviewed were chosen by Cvitkovich, not the diocese. The panel said it based its findings largely on a review of several photographs provided by the pastor. In addition, the diocese hired an independent agency to take more pictures. "A careful examination of those photographs," the report reads, "shows no convincing evidence that a miracle has occurred." The commission released copies of two photographs, which were taken from a videotape supplied by the Holy Trinity pastor.

Winter said that when shown these photographs, the witnesses interviewed reaffirmed that they thought the photographs were evidence of a transformation that one picture showed Christ's eyes shut and the other open. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 Oliver North "You came to be the point man in a very complex power play developed by higher ups. Judge Gerhard A. Gesell He said, too, "I also recognize that I have made many mistakes and as a result of those mistakes, I have been convicted of serious crimes." As a result of the sentence, the Navy said it was suspending North's pension earned in 20 years of service, but is recommending that it be restored by Comptroller General Charles Bowsher, who has the final say. North spoke of the trauma "this 2Vi-year nightmare" caused his family and said to Gesell, "I ask only that you consider these things when you weigh the sentence: That you be lenient so that they may have a chance to rebuild their lives." After the sentencing.

North walked to his wife Betsy in the front spectator row, kissed her cheek, whispered in one ear and they both smiled broadly. CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 age customer beginning in September and running for 12 months. Duquesne Light spokesman Ken Service said the average customer, represented by a household that uses 480 kilowatts a month, is now paying $58.35 a month. In September, that would drop to $57.10. Prior to the April increase, that same customer was paying $53 a month, he said.

Left in place by the agreement was the utility's 28 percent, four-year increase approved last year by the Public Utility Commission. Customers are now in the second year of the phase-in, with the most recent increment of 9.3 percent enacted in April. The proposed settlement must be approved by the PUC, which will take up the matter at its July 20 meeting. Service said the utility and the region would benefit by the pact because it could show prospective industrial customers exactly how much electricity will cost over the next four years. He said that predictability also would lead Wall Street CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 Duquesne Light agrees to refund, no increases is-" 'f f'' I The Pittsburgh diocese said these two photos, taken from a videotape made by a member of Holy Trinity Church in Ambridge, were used by a diocesan commission to find no convincing evidence of any miracle.

chief defends spending By Albert J. Neri and Tom Barnes Post-Gazette Staff Writers Duquesne Light Co. has agreed to refund $25.4 million to customers, largely for failing to complete four nuclear power plants, and it has promised not ask for another rate increase until at least 1993. The agreement, announced yesterday in Pittsburgh by Mayor Mas-loff, was made with several of the utility's longtime legal adversaries for the purpose of ending numerous lawsuits. Among the parties to the agreement were the city, state Consumer Advocate David Barasch and several major Pittsburgh businesses, including Kaufmann's and Home's department stores.

"We have been able to move away from costly and time-consuming litigation and return to the cooperative approach that has proven so successful over the years in moving Pittsburgh ahead," the mayor said. For Duquesne Light's 570,000 customers in Allegheny and Beaver counties, the agreement will mean a 2 percent reduction in their bills about $1.25 per month for the aver CCAC sports By Mark Belko Post-Gazette Staff Writer Controversial expenditures made by the athletic department at the Community College of Allegheny County were justified and had the approval of high-ranking administrators, Athletic Director Neil Cohen said yesterday. Responding to a report released last week by county Controller Frank Lucchino, Cohen said he was singled out for punishment by administrators even though others had internal audit conducted by the college, questioned $228,739 in expenditures over a six-year period ending in June 1988. "Highly placed, highly paid college administrators are not stupid people," he said. "I did not weave a spell over them to approve expenditures.

Nothing happened here without total college approval." In most instances, the expenses were justified and never questioned by administrators or the board of CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 Thrice a Renaissance man Robin's latest round of city renovation no charm approved equipment purchases and meal and travel expenses. In August, Cohen, 45, was stripped of his responsibility of supervising athletics at three of the college's four campuses and nine off-campus centers, and his pay was cut 10 percent. He remains athletic director at the North Side campus. "I view an audit as a tool to make changes," he said. "I didn't look at it as a weapon to beat someone over the head with.

A lot of us have bumps on our heads." The report, based heavily on an and Point State Park. Later, as chairman of the Urban Redevelopment Authority. Robin assisted Mayor Richard S. Caliguiri during Renaissance II in pushing forward projects such as PPG Place and One Mellon Bank Center. Under Mayor Masloff, Robin would like to marshal his drive, urbanity and wit to make a third Renaissance, but the impediments are more formidable than before.

Public redevelopment dollars are scarce and several private initiatives have stalled. More importantly, Robin is approaching his 77th birthday. Time and age have become personal enemies. City Controller Tom Flaherty would welcome the United Steel-workers Union representing his employees, but first he wants a vote to determine if a majority of the workers want the union, his executive secretary says. Page 4.

New NFL boss Jim Finks, who started his NFL career as a defensive back with the Steelers, later beating out Johnny Unitas for the starting quarterback job, is expected to be nominated as National Football League commissioner. Sports, Page 23. By J. Kenneth Evans INDEX Ann Landers. 16 Astrology 21 Business 14 Comics 16,21 Crossword ....19 Divorces 19 Editorials 8 Lottery 10 Magazine 15 Marriages 19 10 Sports 23 Television 17 Theaters 18 Want ads 19 Weather 10 TOMORROW Weekend debuts a new, full page of record reviews pop, rock, classical, country and soundtracks Mike Kalina finds a pizza place that cooks pizza the old-fashioned European way, in a wood-fire oven.

CORRECTION The Missouri law upheld by the Supreme Court this week requires doctors to perform tests to determine the viability of the fetus if they believe the woman seeking the abortion is at least 20 weeks pregnant. A story in yesterday's editions gave the pregnancy time limit incorrectly. By Andrew Sheehan Post-Gazette Staff Writer To Jack Robin, impatience is a virtue. Impatience is the driving force that moves things from A to and then on to C. That progression is what gives him joy.

For nearly five decades of public service, Robin's purposeful steps forward have resulted in accomplishments, and those accomplishments have transformed Pittsburgh. Twice. As the point man for Mayor David L. Lawrence in Renaissance Robin's skillful prodding of public and private interests was central to building Gateway Center To take advantage of what may be his last opportunity, Robin knows that he must come up with the kind of innovations that have kept him in the forefront of urban redevelopment in America. Robin concedes that his impatience is now quicker to show.

On the 13th and top floor of the Downtown building on Ross Street named in his honor, John P. Robin presides over the monthly meeting of the URA board in a carved oak room. The board authorizes the expenditure of $40 million a year, but the agendas often are long and uninspired. Sparks rarely fly, and reporters are known to doze. CONTINUED ON PAGE 7 Bill LevisPost-Gazette Under Mayor Masloff, Jack Robin would like to marshal his drive, urbanity and wit to make a third Renaissance..