Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 3

May 14, 19833 -CityArea Woodland forced to let Fla. expert inspect schools Monsour sues agencies over Medicaid pay Monsour Medical Center is suing one federal and two state agencies, charging it is being shortchanged on Medicaid payments for indigent patients. The Jeannette, Westmoreland County, facility has asked U.S. District Court to declare its suit a class action so it would represent all hospitals in the state in challenging a 10 percent ceiling on increased daily rates. Monsour contends the state Department of Public Welfare, which administers Medicaid funds, used to adjust its reimbursements on daily costs based upon the formula set by Blue Cross.

The state agency would then reimburse the hospital retroactively, based upon the increase determined by Blue Cross and alter a state audit However, the state placed the 10 percent cap for the 1982-83 fiscal year. Monsour claims it is losing about $60 a day per patient because the cap on increased cost would bring the state allowance to $243 per day while the hospital says it cost $300 to care for indigent patients. The hospital charges that since it takes the auditor general's office up to three years to examine its books, Monsour is being denied its constitutional right to challenge the state cap. Monsour says it cares for 1,500 indigent patients a year, which translates to 9,600 patient days, or 19 percent of its patients. It has received $600,000 in reimbursement for this care.

Named in the suit are the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the state Department of Public Welfare and Auditor General Al Benedict. Monsour last February won a suit against Blue Cross after Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge I. Martin Wekselman ruled the Monsour family does not control the hospital. In 1980, the medical center filed for reorganization under federal bankruptcy laws.

Blue Cross contended it discovered the Monsour family controlled the Monsour Medical Foundation, which runs the 240-bed hospital, during bankruptcy proceedings. But Wekselman ruled the hospital is a nonprofit entity and ordered Blue Cross to pay Monsour $1.3 million. Blue Cross had been withholding payments from the hospital. By Jerry Roberts Post-Gazette Stall Writer Two davs after the Woodland Hills school boat thought it had left behind the carcass of a controversial 12-year-old desegregation battle, U.S. District Judge Gerald J.

Weber ordered the school district to allow a desegregation expert to inspect schools yesterday. School district Solicitor Thomas Rutter asked Weber to block the inspections, but the judge granted the request of Neighborhood Legal Services Association to allow Herman Brown of the University of Miami at Coral Gables, to tour district schools. Superintendent Wayne Doyle conducted Brown on the tour of Wilkins and Forest Hills middle schools and Churchill High School. The request was for inspection of nine schools, but the tour reached only three. The motion for inspection was filed Thursday by Thomas Henderson, a former NLS lawyer who still works for the service on Woodland Hills issues.

"This constitutes harassment," Rutter said. "We have nothing to hide, but this constant harassment has to end. The administration has a school district to run out there." The court order comes two days after the school board voted 7-0 not to appeal Weber's elementary-school desegregation order to the U.S. Supreme Court. The board had appealed the order last summer to the 3rd U.S.

Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld Weber's decision. The elementary desegregation plan has been in effect since last September. The school board's decision Wednesday not to appeal ended the last pending desegregation issue in a 12-year dispute that fostered the 1981 merger of four mostly white, east-suburban school districts with the predominantly black former General Braddock Area School District. "It is very insensitive for Henderson to come to the judge a day after we decide not to appeal," Rutter said. "This is disruption.

It's gross insensitivity toward the school district and the community. "The next step, I think, is to ask the judge to establish guidelines so there is not this constant disruption." Rutter claimed that Henderson never gave any specific reason for Brown to be inspecting schools. Doyle called Henderson's short notice about the inspections a "lack of courtesy" that is "inexcusable." School board President James Kelly said he wished "Judge Weber's vocabulary would include the word "Everything Legal Services wants, it gets from Judge Weber," Kelly said. "It doesn't matter what it is, even if it's an Uth-hour request like this or not." When the Third Circuit rejected the appeal in March, it strongly suggested that the school board quit initiating litigation so that racial and intercultural differences could begin to mend. Rutter said yesterday that it is now Henderson who is continuing the fight in direct opposition to the court opinion.

Weber's order allowed only Brown to inspect schools. The order denied Henderson's request to allow two other inspectors: a representative for the plaintiffs who originally filed the 1971 suit charging tion in General Braddock, and William Gordon of HGH Associates of Spring, Texas, a consulting firm on desegregation. The order, granted by Weber while he was in Erie, Erie County, specified that if Brown inspected the schools yesterday, when he happened to be in Pittsburgh, the cost of bringing him back at another time would be averted. Neither Henderson nor Brown could be reached for comment. Doyle said the school board instructed him not to comment to Brown.

He said Brown will have to direct any questions to Rutter or the board. ft James KlingensmithPost-Gazette Carnegie-Mellon student Steve Thomas finds a way to ease the pain of studying for exams. The Chattanooga, native hangs ont on Flagstaff Hill in Schenley Park. Police methods upset kidnap-slay suspect Convention center firm caters to frugal Foerster By Susan Mannella Post-Gazette Staff Writer A man accused of kidnapping and killing his girlfriend testified yesterday that his interrogation by police had been "intense and mind-boggling." He complained he got so hungry he stole some fish and fruit salad when he was admitted to the Allegheny County Jail. Bruce Thomas, 25, of 650 Ard-more Wilkinsburg, took the witness stand yesterday and maintained he knew nothing about the abduction and shotgun slaying of his roommate, Teresa Forlastro, 20.

Her body was found about 9 a.m. last May 23 in the backwaters of Cheat Lake, W.Va. Thomas and Guy Grazier, 29, of Anthony "Rocky" LaRocca confers ilL Bellevue, are on trial in Common Pleas Court for kidnapping. They face murder charges in West Virginia. Thomas said police questioned him for more than five hours on May 27 and denied him permission to call a lawyer.

He was extremely cold, he said, because he was wearing only shorts and beach thongs. But West Virginia State Police Sgt. Larry L. Henry previously told the jury that Thomas was given coffee to drink and was offered food during questioning. Henry also said Thomas broke down when he was told police had witnesses who saw him and Grazier place Forlastro's body in the trunk of a car.

According to Thomas' testimony, when police told him he was with his attorney in court yesterday. sible for the murder and added that he is certain that the criminal justice system will clear him. LaRocca, who described himself as a unemployed boilermaker, is the nephew of John S. LaRocca of the North Hills, long identified by the Pennsylvania Crime Commission and other law enforcement agencies as the head of the Cosa Nostra in Western Pennsylvania. But LaRocca said yesterday that he doesn't know anything about organized crime.

He acknowledged that John LaRocca is his uncle and added, "I cannot help that." "There's nothing I can tell you about it organized crime," he said. LaRocca said he was a member of the Pagan's motorcycle gang 12 years ago but, he added, "Anything I have done wrong, I have paid for." He spent eight years in prison and was paroled in April 1982 for drug and firearms convictions stemming from a 1976 narcotics deal and gunfight in Monroeville. LaRocca continued to dispute details of that conviction. He said he was charged with assaulting a federal agent but he said he didn't know that the man he beat up was a law enforcement officer. "Why would someone beat up a federal agent? He didn't flash a badge," he said.

"The agent tried to Truck crash kills 2 McALLEN, Texas (AP) A stolen pickup truck carrying illegal aliens overturned four times on a farm road, killing two and injuring 17, officials say. A Mexican natioq-Nj who was driving was taken into tustody after charged with kidnapping, he responded, "Whoa. It hit me like a ton of bricks." When police began reading murder charges, Thomas said he told them, "Whoa, I don't want to hear anything." Before Thomas described his interrogation, he gave a detailed account of how he spent both the day before and the day of the murder. He said he and Forlastro woke up at about 1:30 p.m. on May 22.

Thomas said he left her at home at about 3 p.m. and went to Monroe-ville Mall for a time. At about 6 p.m., he said, he began drinking with friends in Frick Park. He and his friends later went to a bar. At about 4 a.m., they returned to his apartment and continued drinking.

He said Forlastro was not at Joyce MendelsohnPost-Gazette shoot me in the back of the head at the Miracle Mile shopping center." On the advice of his lawyers, James M. Ecker and Paul Gettle-man, LaRocca would not answer questions about Heatherington's murder or the allegations of drug trafficking contained in a presentment from the Allegheny County investigating grand jury. "All I'm doing is looking for a job," he said, adding that he had been a construction worker, a maintenance man and a barber before his federal conviction. He is now in the Allegheny County Jail on $1 million bond. During the hearing yesterday, Gordon Bennett, a cousin of Heath-erington, said he delivered Quaa-ludes, marijuana and cocaine from Florida to Allegheny County for his cousin.

Bennett testified that in May 1982 he brought up more than two pounds of cocaine, which was cut and sold by Heatherington, LaRocca and two other men. Francis "Ric" Ferri, 50, of Glass-port, also charged in Heatherington's murder, is still at large. The other man Bennett described as part of the deal was Pasquale DeStefano, who was convicted for burglary, along with Joseph Bertone, owner of the controversial Joey's Restaurant in McKeesport. illegals, injures 17 the accident, a communications supervisor for the Department of Public Safety reported. James Selbe, McAllen Border Patrol deputy chief, the truck had crossed the border Laredo with 19 Salvadorans aboard.

home and he never saw her again. "I had big fun that night," Thomas said, noting that he got up on stage and played the tambourine with a band at Charlie's 10c Saloon in Regent Square. Before Thomas took the stand, a series of alibi witnesses testified they saw him and Grazier shortly before and after the time when they are accused of killing Forlastro in Cheat Lake, 80 miles away. She is believed to have been shot while in the water between 6 and 8 a.m. Defense attorney Thomas Shorall argued that it would have been impossible for the defendants to make the trip in the time not accounted for.

The trial is expected to conclude Monday. Jones Law site is likely to be choice for jail (Continued from Page 1) care of the need now and for the next several months," he said. "But come 1984, if we found we needed even more beds and were stuck with a facility we couldn't expand, we would have a catastrophe." James Baumbach, Wecht's administrative aide, said one reason the commissioners supported the Jones site was that it could be expanded into the $116 million criminal justice center that was suggested by a group of consultants hired last summer to study jail overcrowding. "That could come if and when funds become available," he said. Initially, the renovated Jones Law Building would not have a kitchen or laundry room.

Wecht said meals would- be transported from the county jail, which is about a half-block away. He said he expected that when overcrowding was relieved, the kitchen and laundry facilities at the existing jail could be expanded to accommodate the extra workload. Wecht said all health and safety codes could be met at the Downtown site and that the dangers of housing inmates in a high-rise facility have been overblown. "There is no basis for concern," he said. "The danger there is no more than it is for any other high-rise building." U.S.

District Judge Maurice Co-hill concluded hearings this week on the jail's conditions. In 1978 and 1980, Cohill ordered sweeping changes in the facility The prison population this week dropped to 631 from a record 725 last week. The jail's capacity is 510. On Tuesday, Wecht said Dick Corp. had intentionally stalled the presentation of its study until after Tuesday's election because his fellow commissioners and primary candidates didn't want to vote money for prisoners during the campaign.

Hunt said his stand "ought to put to rest the discussion of delays that I've been accused of." Foerster, who has denied Wecht's charges, said, "I am committed to doing whatever is necessary to relieve overcrowding at the county jail, and the Jones Law Building is my preference." Wecht said yesterday he stood by his charges. He added, however, that he would no longer seek to stop payment of Dick's $20,000 fee. "Now that we have accepted the report, I don't have a legal stan, I could make," he said. LaRocca denies organized crime ties (Continued from Page 1) ARA, a subsidiary of ARAserv Inc. of Philadelphia, was awarded a five-year contract in December 1980 from the Auditorium Authority, a five-member board that oversees the operation of the center for the city and county.

The contract gives ARA exclusive rights to provide food and beverages at the center. The authority board is appointed jointly by the Board of Commissioners, which Foerster chairs, and the mayor of Pittsburgh. Kevin O'Donnell, the general manager for ARA at the center, yesterday declined to discuss the arrangements he made with Foerster, calling it "a professional, confidential client relationship." But O'Donnell said ARA normally will not allow the user of the facility to buy food or beverages from an outside vendor. An exception is made for the annual Pittsburgh Folk Festival, he said. Foerster on Thursday gave ARA an $1,800 check to cover bartender costs, Kramer said.

But that is the only expenditure made thus far. Kramer said 670 pounds of hot dogs all eaten were purchased from Clover Hill Dairy Products, Brookline, at $1 a pound. In additon, Coca-Cola and Iron City beer were purchased directly from other distributors. Kramer said the total expense to Foerster for the event has yet to be established. He also said the ARA cost may go up, depending on whether additional charges are made for the use of such things as napkins and condiments.

Foerster's deal stands in stark contrast to the $18,000 the Allegheny County Democratic Committee had to pay at $6 per person when it held a similar affair for 3,000 people on Feb. 5, 1982. Candidates miss (Continued from Pace 1) incumbents who are up for re-election," Perry said. Gil Lancia, an endorsed candidate who is not an incumbent, said his campaign treasurer Gil Martinez "found out about the filing requirement and took care of it." Candidate Helen Hull the leading -black candidate in the race who is also unendorsed, yesterday asked the controller's office about the filing but had not submitted a report as of the 4:30 closing time, Johnson said. Michael J.

Boyle, the controller's solicitor, said that technically the For its money, the committee received a two-hour open bar with beer and soft drinks only, two hot dogs a person, condiments and pretzels and potato chips. Dorothy Brecher, office manager for the committee, said it was made clear by the convention center and ARA that no beverages or food could be brought in from outside. "We were told ARAserv is the food service provider, period," Brecher said yesterday. "You don't have any choice about it." Kramer said yesterday that the reason for the excessive bill was the request by the committee for an open bar with mixed drinks and snacks for special guests at a private party. "Somebody's lying," Kramer said.

"You never pay $18,000 for a hot dog party. Who are they kidding? If they paid that kind of money for hot dogs, they're out of their minds." But the $18,000 contract, signed by county Commissioner and Democratic Chairman Cyril H. Wecht, makes no mention of any beverages except for beer and soft drinks. A separate charge was added for the private party. Kramer said ARA benefited as much as Foerster.

The concessionaire had never hosted a crowd as large as the one Thursday, he said. He could not estimate how much ARA made from running the cash bar but said it had to be considerable. He also said taxpayers were winners. ARA contributes 16 percent of its proceeds to the Auditorium Authority, as required by its contract In addition, Foerster will pay the authority 16 percent of the costs he incurred for beverages and 5 percent for food. Those payments would have been made to the authority by ARA had it purchased the food and beverages.

city deadline failure to file the report could lead to a winning canaiaaies Deing barred from taking office in January. "The charter says that falsifying or failing to make a preliminary account of campaign contributions under Section 802 can lead to forfei-. ture of office," Boyle said. However, he said, the provision has never been challenged, and a court might consider the penalty too harsh. Candidates were required to file financial reports with the county by May 6.

Nearly all the major candidates did so. A parking attendant noticed the plateless auto in the basement of the garage in the 900 block of Brookline Boulevard and called police. Connolly, 51, a bachelor, was a manager in tb advertising department at Fishi 7 Scientific Co. By Susan Mannella Post-Gazette Staff Writer "I am not involved in organized crime," the nephew of reputed Western Pennsylvania crime boss John S. LaRocca told reporters yesterday.

But the Pennsylvania Crime Commission's 1980 report says Anthony "Rocky" LaRocca Jr. "has been classified as a vicious and dangerous individual by many law enforcement agencies. The report also identified him as a member of the Pagan motorcycle gang. LaRocca, 43, of Belle Vernon, Fayette County, spoke to reporters at a news conference he called during a break in his preliminary hearing. He has been charged with the murder of John "Jocko" Heather-ington and with conspiracy to commit murder and trafficking in cocaine.

District Justice Donald Presutti must determine whether LaRocca will be held for trial on the charges, but the hearing was not completed yesterday. It will continue Tuesday in the Allegheny County Courthouse. During the lunchbreak, LaRocca said he wanted to talk to reporters "to set the record straight." He said newspaper articles have unfairly linked him to organized crime and to the slaying of Heather-ington, a drug courier who was gunned down outside a North Versailles motel on Aug. 2, 1982. This was the same day federal drug authorities offered Heathering-ton a plea bargain in exchange for his testimony about a major local drug operation.

LaRocca said he was not respon Murder victim's car found in Brookline The Mercedes of murder victim Sheldon Connolly was found about 3 p.m. yesterday in a Brookline parking garage. The car appeared in good condition, although the license plate had been removed. Crime lab technj-, i cians searched the car for clues to'-the killer's identity..