Son charged in murder
A man who was believed to have jumped to his death from his apartment at 77 Columbia St. on the evening of Jan. 29 was declared a homicide victim on Jan. 31 by the medical examiner’s office and his son who lived with him was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
Edward Fondo, 21, was charged with strangling his father, Edwin Young-Fondo, 62, and throwing his body from the eighth-floor apartment. Neighbors told daily newspaper reporters that the younger Fondo appeared to be emotionally unstable and frequently shouted from the apartment window.
The father formerly served as chief surgeon for Housing Authority police but in 1989 he was charged with sexually abusing a woman patient in his private medical office and his medical license was revoked in 1992.
Stabbed on N.Y.U. plaza
A disturbed man stabbed a New York University music professor with a screwdriver as the victim was walking in a plaza near Bobst Library off Washington Square South on Wednesday afternoon Feb. 1.
Joseph Church, former music director for “The Lion King” on Broadway and music professor in the Steinhardt School of Education, victim of the apparently unprovoked attack, was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital in stable condition with stab wounds in the chest and shoulder.
His assailant, Mark Davila, 30, of Pelham Parkway in the Bronx, was arrested in Washington Square Park where witnesses held him until police arrived shortly after 4:30 p.m. Davila, charged with first-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon, had previous arrests for robbery, possession of a controlled substance and resisting arrest.
John Beckman, N.Y.U. spokesperson, told reporters, “It’s a matter of great concern to us that any member of our community is assaulted.” But he added, “This is a very safe neighborhood in the safest large city in the country and we’re unaccustomed to this kind of incident.”
Chinatown shooting
A shooting on East Broadway in Chinatown on Saturday night Feb. 4 injured a 25-year-old victim, not identified by police, who was taken to Bellevue hospital in stable condition.
There was no arrest but police were investigating whether the shooting was connected to a conflict between rival discount intercity bus operators.
Witnesses said people were chasing each other near a gas station on East Broadway at about 7:20 p.m. when one of them pulled a gun and began firing. The victim staggered after he was hit in the lower body and collapsed several feet west of the gas station.
Two years ago, police investigated the possible connection of two killings, an assault and two bus fires to a conflict between rival operators of the so-called dragon buses.
Arrest Village robbers
Sixth Precinct police arrested two men accused of holding up two couples at gunpoint in the Village in two separate incidents on Tuesday night Jan. 31.
In the first robbery at 11:30 p.m. a man and a woman walking on Downing St. saw two men, one of whom walked between them and stopped behind them and the other who stopped in front of them and pulled a silver handgun and demanded money, police said. They forced the couple to surrender $359 in cash and a $300 check and fled on foot.
An hour later the same two men approached a man and a woman walking on Bedford St. near Houston St. from behind. One of them walked past the couple and the other walked alongside, pulled a gun and demanded money, The woman handed over an unspecified amount of cash and the man said he had no money.
A few minutes later, Sixth Precinct police who had received a description of the robbers in the first incident pulled up and saw one of them drop the gun on the sidewalk. Officer Michael Triano arrested Courtney Blissett, 21 and Michael Crest, 18, who was identified as the gunman.
The stolen money, the check and the gun were recovered, police said.
Bank thief
A man who walked into the Chase bank branch at 475 W. 23rd St. at 8:40 a.m. Thurs. Feb. 9 demanded money from a teller and walked out with an unspecified amount of cash, police said. The robber was described as a white or Hispanic man, partly bald, between 5 feet 4 inches and 5 feet 7 inches, medium build, wearing jeans, a black jacket, white shirt and white sneakers.
Seek rape suspect
Police are seeking Allen Johnson, a man suspected of a rape on Jan. 31 on the Lower East Side in the Seventh Precinct. Police declined to specify where in the precinct the rape occurred and would not talk about the circumstances or the victim.
Indict Scores partners
Two partners of Scores Entertainment Inc., which runs adult-entertainment clubs on W. 27th St, in Chelsea and on E. 60th St. on the East Side, were indicted on Tues. Feb 7 along with the niece of one of them and five corporate defendants for falsifying tax returns and other business records in order to avoid taxes on income of $3.1 million.
One defendant is Richard K. Goldring, chief executive officer of Scores Holding Co., Inc., which licenses operations of a subsidiary, Scores Showrooms, in Chelsea and on the East Side. Another defendant, Harvey B. Osher, also known as Harvey Cohen, is manager of Scores Showrooms, and his niece, Cheryl Osher, who works as bookkeeper at Scores, is the third personal defendant.
All three pleaded not guilty at their Feb. 7 arraignment and are to appear in court again on Feb. 16. Harvey Osher was released on $10,000 bail, and Cheryl Osher and Goldring were released without bail. The 16-count indictment is the result of investigations by the office of District Attorney Robert Morgenthau and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.
The case began as a result of complaints from Scores patrons about overcharges on their credit cards while at the clubs. While no criminal charges have been filed in connection with the alleged credit card overcharges, the investigation uncovered a tax evasion scheme by the club principals.
The indictment charges that $3.1 million in compensation the defendants paid themselves from 2001 to 2003 was transferred to dummy corporations and used to pay personal expenses and to fund endeavors unrelated to Scores. The money was falsely entered as business expenses and taxes were avoided, the indictment charges.
East Village slashing
Four men attacked a man walking on E. Sixth St. between Avenues C and D at about 12:43 a.m. on Sunday Feb. 6, slashed his forearm and fled, police said. The victim, 20, told police that he did not know his assailants or why they attacked.
Dead on arrival
Police responded to a call at apartment 16 E at 282 Cherry St. in the LaGuardia Houses at 6:30 p.m. Sat. Feb. 4 and found Antonia Guzman, 78, unconscious. She was taken to New York Downtown Hospital where she was declared dead about an hour later. No criminality was suspected.
-Albert Amateau
