Judge Clips Angel's Wings Dem Rebel Faces Court
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INSIDE BROOKLYN’S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER Including The Downtown News, Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hill Paper and Fort Greene-Clinton Hill Paper Red Hook does a 360 Published by Brooklyn Paper Publications, 26 Court St., Brooklyn 11242 Phone 718-834-9350 AD fax 718-834-1713 • NEWS fax 718-834-9278 © 2003 Brooklyn Papers • 24 pages including GO BROOKLYN and GRADUATION pullout • Vol.26, No. 25 BWN • June 23, 2003 • FREE Judge clips Dem rebel Angel’s wings faces court By Patrick Gallahue agreeing to represent her free By Patrick Gallahue The Brooklyn Papers of charge in a dispute with a lending firm. Ward fired The Brooklyn Papers Democratic Party mav- Roper in 2001 and charged Disgraced former Council- erick Sandra Roper turned that she had stolen fees de- man Angel Rodriguez begged herself in to authorities and posited into an escrow ac- for leniency on Tuesday before pleaded not guilty to charg- count. a federal judge sentenced him es of grand larceny, in Roper’s attorney, Barry to nearly four and a half years Brooklyn Supreme Court Fallick, claims Roper agreed behind bars for shaking down a Wednesday morning. to represent Ward for a flat fee Roper, whose challenges of $9,000, and did so for six Red Hook developer. years. He added that Ward’s “I’m at your mercy,” Rodriguez, to both Brooklyn District At- torney Charles Hynes and complaint was first brought to 46, told U.S. District Judge Frederic the Appellate Division’s griev- Block, before asking him “for as Assemblyman Clarence Nor- man pitted her against two of ance committee and was dis- much leniency as possible.” missed on Sept. 12, 2002. “All I can say is I apologize to Kings County’s most power- ful political forces, thanked a Due to Hynes and Roper’s everyone who was hurt by this,” he half-dozen or so people who political rivalry, the district said. came to court to support her attorney’s office referred the Block stayed within the sentenc- at her arraignment. criminal complaint to the ing guidelines agreed to in a plea Office of Court Administra- / Tom Callan / Tom “Keep praying first and bargain 10 months ago, but would Callan / Tom foremost,” she told friends tion, which appointed a spe- not hand the former Sunset Park- and family. cial prosecutor, Maranda Red Hook councilman the mini- The charges stem from Fritz, formerly a prosecutor mum of 46 months in prison that Mary Lee Ward, 73, of Bed- in the frauds bureau at the had been urged by his defense attor- ford-Stuyvesant, who com- Manhattan DA’s office and The Brooklyn Papers The Brooklyn neys. Instead, Block sentenced Ro- Papers The Brooklyn plained to Hynes’ office that now a solo practitioner in Surrounded by news reporters, disgraced former Councilman Angel Rodriguez driguez to 52 months in prison. Sandra Roper leaves the state Supreme Court Roper doctored her retainer Manhattan. heads to Brooklyn federal court for his sentencing on Tuesday. See SLAMMER on page 8 on Adams Street on Wednesday. to elicit $9,000 from her after See ROPER on page 9 BRING IT ON Cops Street Cinema Clones COMPLETE CYCLONES COVERAGE: P 2 Heights UA agrees to hire off-duty police By Patrick Gallahue streets, raising a ruckus or simply State Street in particular, about volume periods,” said Dick West- The Brooklyn Papers blocking the sidewalk altogether. crowds outside the theater making erling, a Regal spokesman. So in response, Regal Entertain- noise, being loud and blocking the He declined to discuss the de- lose 1, You could blame it on ment Group, the parent company sidewalk,” said Brooklyn Heights- tails of the additional staff, but ac- “Finding Nemo,” “Matrix Re- of United Artists Theatres, will Downtown Brooklyn Councilman cording to Yassky, the security of- loaded” or “2 Fast 2 Furious.” employ an off-duty police officer David Yassky, who brought the ficer will be hired from the police win 1 Brooklyn Heights residents for crowd control outside the mul- complaints to the company. department’s Paid Detail Unit, a have begun to notice the swelling tiplex movie house on Friday and “They recognized the need for program that connects organiza- crowds in front of the United Saturday nights. more security outside the theater to tions with police officers to per- By Ed Shakespeare Artists Court Street Stadium 12 “I don’t know if it’s the summer deal with crowd control,” he form off-duty uniformed security for The Brooklyn Papers movie theater, on Court Street be- blockbusters, but we were getting added. work within New York City. Streaks were the order of the tween State and Schermerhorn an increasing number of com- “We do add additional security The officer will patrol around evening as the Brooklyn Cy- streets, spilling out onto side plaints from nearby residents, on as business increases during high- See CINEMA on page 8 clones began their third season on Tuesday, June 17, with a game at Aberdeen, Md. / Gary Thomas When the soggy evening had ended, Brooklyn and the Aberdeen Ironbirds were tied at 2 after six in- nings, and the game was suspended Carroll because of rain. The contest re- Papers The Brooklyn sumed on Wednesday before the Members of the Cyclones practice on Monday at Keyspan Park. regularly scheduled game at Ab- erdeen, when the Clones fell 3-2. batters. Seth Pietsch hit a solo home last season, a letdown after their co- (As The Papers went to press run in the third inning to lead the championship season (with Wil- bridge Wednesday night, the Cyclones won Brooklyns offensive attack.) liamsport) in 2001. their second game of the season, 6- The Ironbirds’ 2002 inaugural Up in the radio booth, announcer 0, in Aberdeen. Clones hurler Bob season streak of fully-played games Warner Fusselle was working on Keppel, on a rehab assignment, was broken in the season opener, as his own consecutive game streak; threw five perfect innings before giv- the suspension marked the first he’s seen, coming into the opening closes ing way to Brian Bannister, who time an Ironbirds’ contest was ei- game, 156 straight regular season gave up just one hit over four in- ther rained out or suspended. Cyclones’ games — every Cy- By Jotham Sederstrom Mango / Greg nings. Both pitchers struck out six Of course, thoughts of streaks clones game ever played. easily come to mind at Aberdeen’s The Cyclones first hitter of the for The Brooklyn Papers Ripken Stadium — because the evening, Rashad Parker, doubled. A lengthy restoration project on INSIDE THE PAPER club’s owner is Cal Ripken Jr., Parker moved to third on a ground- the Carroll Street Bridge is set to holder of the Major League Base- out by David Reaver and then begin this summer, with residents Classifieds . last 3 pages ball record of consecutive games Bladergroen doubled in Parker for and business owners on both sides Papers The Brooklyn Cyclones . pages 1 and 2 played at 2,632. the game’s first run. Time may be running out for the Between the Bridges Pub, at 63 York St. in DUMBO, which GO Brooklyn 4 pages . after page 6 of the span mixed on how the clos- may be replaced with a residential development. The record topped Lou Gehrig’s Aberdeen’s Jim Tiller didn’t give ing will affect their neighbor- Graduation 8 page pullout . after GO2 up another until the top of the Health, Mind & Body . page 8 streak of 2,130 consecutive games. hoods. Ripken was present at the game fourth when Brooklyn’s Ryan Har- Police Blotter . page 5 Beginning June 26, the 114-year-old Tuesday, and he spent about an vey singled, stole second, and then, Ed Weintrob’s column returns next week bridge, one of only two retractile hour signing autographs for kids. after a Watts’ strikeout, Yunir Gar- cia singled in Harvey for a 2-0 Cy- bridges left in the country, will be Another streak entering the game closed to traffic while Department of Last call sounds Ridgewood Savings Bank clone lead. was the Cyclones’ record of having Transportation workers renovate the en- Home Equity won each of their home and away Aberdeen’s Bryan Bass started AD ON PAGE 4 off the bottom of the fourth by tire structure. Detours to bridges on openers in their first two seasons. Third and Union streets will be in place The Cyclones finished at 38-38 See OPENER on page 2 until Carroll Street reopens in Septem- ber. The closing coincides with area Between Bridges schools being on summer break. According to Department of Trans- By Patrick Gallahue portation spokesman Keith Kalb, the The Brooklyn Papers timber-planked deck and walls will be replaced and the Belgian block pave- Condominium developer ment and the east approach will be re- Shaya Boymelgreen is close set. In addition, new concrete will be to a deal to buy back-to-back laid for sidewalks on both sides of the properties at 85 Adams St. 17-foot wide roadway, replacing tem- and 63 York St. that could porary asphalt. He said the project force out one of the last ves- would cost about $400,000. tiges of DUMBO’s water- Among Gowanus residents living on front past, The Brooklyn Carroll Street, most think the bridge Mango / Greg closing will have little effect on their Papers has learned. community, where a steady stream of The purchase would likely cars and trucks whizzed by on a recent result in the demolition of the Monday evening. They say heavy truck three-story properties followed traffic, which is barred from the bridge, by the construction of a larger, / Tom Callan / Tom / Greg Mango / Greg comes from Nevins Street.