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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 26, 2002)
Jun e 26, 2002 Œlje ^ o rtla n b ©hseruer Page A2 Settlement For Pension Fraud Stolen Car Reseller Sought The Portland Police B ureau's A uto T heft T ask Force, in coop eration w ith C rim e Stoppers, is asking for help in positively iden tifying and apprehending an in dividual that is selling "high- end" stolen cars, which he claims are “reconstructed,” but are not, to unsuspecting buyers. N um er ous F elony A rrest W arrants, relating to A uto Theft are cu r rently on file. The suspect, know to P ort la n d P o lic e as M ic h a e l Lew kow icz, w ith a date o f birth o f May 16, 1956, has also used the names Rom an Bam as, Adam Potocki, including various spell Victims in Capital Consultants theft will get 60 cents on the dollar ings o f Potocki, and a variety of dates o f births. The suspect re portedly has at least four different O regon D rivers Licenses, in the various nam es. In addition, the suspect has been active in a num ber o f other states. The suspect, know as “M ichael L ew kow icz,” is described as a w hite m ale in his forties to fifties, 6 ’ 1 ” tall, 185 pounds, w ith brown hair and green eyes. A photo of the suspect is attached. A uto T heft T ask Force D etec tiv e s M ike B arn es an d John W rigley are available to discuss the cases in great detail. D etective Barnes can be reached at (503) Michael Lewkowicz 823-5089, or paged at ( 503 ) 940- 8963. D etective W rigley can be reached at (503) 823-5072, or paged at (503) 940-0282. Crim e Stoppers is offering a cash rew ard o f up to $ 1,000 for inform ation that leads to an a r rest in this case and callers do not have to give their nam e. Call Crim e Stoppers at (503) 823- HELP. (AP) — A judge has ap proved a $ 142.5 million settle ment of the 22 lawsuits brought against Capital Consultants, the failed Portland investment firm that engaged in a massive Ponzi-like scheme that cost investors $355 million. With proceeds from earlier asset sales, the settlement will allow payment of about 60 cents on the dol lar to the former clients, primarily union pension and benefit funds representing more than 500,000 people. “1 am unaware of any cases of this magnitude returning this percentage recovery,” U.S. District Judge Garr King said last Wednesday. The settlem ent sum has grown by $ 13.4 million since it was originally announced in May. Segal Advisors, a na tional investment monitoring firm that had been accused of negligence by some of its cli ents for not warning them against Capital Consultants, has agreed to pay$l 1.4million to settle potential claims against it. Accounting firms Deloitte & T ouche and P ric e w a te rh o u s e C o o p e rs agreed to pay $ 1.8 million and $200,000, respectively. “We never thought we’d get this much money back,” said Dale Sabroski, business man ager of Portland Local 320 of the Laborers Union and a trustee of the Oregon Labor- ers-E m ployers H ealth and Welfare Plan. “I think the at torneys worked hard. If it hadn’ t been for them, we prob ably wouldn’t have gotten any thing.” Parole Granted in Hate Crime Victim’s widow fails to convince board to keep inmate in prison Spring Auto Lo (AP) — The state parole board has ordered the re lease of the driver in a 1985 murder where a man was stabbed to death in northeast Portland because he was black. The decision came over the objections of the victim’s widow. Randol L. Pachl, then 20, and his friend Brian Hobson, 21, drove past 34-year-old Stanley Reed as he was riding home from work on his bi cycle. Neither man knew Reed. Hobson leaned out of the Rates as low as ♦APR = Annual Percentage Rate. Interest rates vary based on repayment period, down payment and credit standing. All loans are subject to approval. car window and tried to stab Reed, reportedly saying he wanted to christen his knife with a black m an’s blood, but he missed. Pachl drove around the block for a second try, and Hobson got out of the car and killed Reed. Pachl, who has been in prison for 16 years, will be released on Oct. 21. “Our decision was not to minimize or justify this crime,” said Diane Rea, head of the Board of Parole and Post- Prison Supervision. “It’s difficult for the victim’s family and the community to understand that, but we had to parole him because we’re bound by the laws in effect when he com m itted this crime,” she said. Pachl was sentenced to a life term with a minimum of 10 years. The law at the time held that the board must release an inmate unless “there’s a finding he has a psychologi cal condition that makes him ’ a danger today,” said Rea. Pachl’s most recent psy-- chological evaluation con cluded that he did not, she said. Serving all who live, work, worship or attend school in the Portland communities of Arbor Lodge, Boise. Bridgeton, Buckman north of Hawthorne, Cathedral Park, China Town, Concordia west of 33“ Avenue, Concordia University, Downtown Portland, East Columbia, Goose Hollow, Humboldt, Irvington. Kerns, King, Northwest Portland, Northwest Industrial Portland, Old Town, Overlook, Pearl District. Piedmont, Portland Community College-Cascade Campus. Portland State University, Ports mouth, Sabin. St. Johns. Sullivan's Gulch, University o f Portland, University Park, Vernon, and Woodlawn. Federal Credit Union 2151 N.W. Front Avenue Portland, Oregon 97209 (503) 299-4539 • (888) 900-8559 Seeking African American Families • with ADHD Children for a Research Study ADHD, ETHNICITY, AND FAMILY ENVIRONMENT Who is the Principal Investigator? Judy Kendall. RN, Ph.D. School of Nursing, Oregon Health Sciences University 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road Portland, OR 97201 503-494-3890 What is the study about? This study is about gaining an understanding o f what it is like for a family to live with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD ). Virtually no research exists on how African American and Hispanic families experience and manage ADHD, what health needs they may have, and what opportunities they have for receiving these services. The study will involve tw o meetings, about 2 hours each, at your hom e or place convenient for you. Which families are eligible? Mentally Retarded Executions Wrong by A nne G earan , A ssociated P ress W riter W ASHINGTON — A di vided Suprem e C ourt re versed itself Thursday and ruled that executing the men tally retarded is unconstitu tionally cruel. The 6-3 ruling isconfmed to mentally retarded defendants convicted of murder and does not address the constitutional ity of capital punishment in general. The majority’s view reflects changes in public attitudes on the issue since the court de clared such executions consti tutional in 1989. Then, only two states that used capital punishment outlawed the prac tice for the retarded. Now, 18 states prohibit it. “It is not so much the num ber of these states that is sig nificant, but the consistency of the direction of the change,” Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for the majority. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas d issented. The th ree, the c o u rt's most conservative members, telegraphed their views earl ier this month, when they complained bitterly about reprieves the court majority had granted to two Texas in mates who claim they are re tarded. The court ruled in favor of a Virginia inmate, Daryl Renard Atkins, who was convicted of shooting an Air Force enlisted man for beer money in 1996. Atkins’ lawyers say he has an IQ of 59 and has never lived on his own or held a job. The most immediate effect of the ruling will be in the 20 states that allowed execution of the retarded up to now. Presumably, dozens or perhaps hundreds of inmates in those states will now argue that they are retarded, and that their sentences should be converted to life in prison. In the future, the ruling will mean that people arrested for akilling will not face a potential death sentence if they can show they are retarded, gen erally defined as having an IQ of 7Q. or lower. The dissenting justices said the majority went too far in looking at factors beyond the state laws. The majority puts too much stock in opinion polls and the views of national and interna tional observers, Rehnquist wrote. “Believing this view to be seriously mistaken, I dissent,” Rehnquist said. R ehnquist omitted the customary word “respectfully” before "dis sent.” The case turned on the 8th A m e n d m e n t’s p ro te c tio n against “cruel and unusual pun ishments,” and how to define' those terms today. Tim es change, and with them public sentim ent about what is appropriate punish ment for various crim es, the court has observed in the past. For example, at various times in the country’s history it was considered acceptable to flog people in public, or to ex ecute th o se c o n v ic ted o f rape. Using elected legislatures as a barometer, the court major ity concluded that the public no longer accepts the notion that execution is appropriate for a killer who may lack the intelli gence to fully understand his crime. • Fam ilies with at least one child (age 6-19) with a diagnosis o f ADHD. • Fam ilies with at least tw o people (the A D H D child and one parent). H ope fully both parents and siblings will participate as well. • Fam ilies that are willing to participate in one interview and com plete a series o f questionnaires. • Fam ilies that speak English or are willing to work through an interpreter. • Parents that are able to read and w rite at the 5th grade level or are w illing to have the questions read to them . All information will be held strictly confidential. There will be no cost to you for participating in the research. In appreciation of your time and contribution, Each family will receive $50 after each meeting for a possible total of $100. (AP) — A recent study shows that the state’s 2-year- old teen driving law has signifi cantly reduced the number of young drivers involved in acci dents that result in death or injury, state officials said Wednesday. The law requires teen-agers to receive formal driver train ing plus 50 hours of supervised driving time before getting their license. To get a license, they must have a learner’s permit for six months. For one year, newly li censed teen-age drivers can 't drive at night and the number of passengers allowed in cars driven by teen-agers is lim ited. In 1998, before the law. 1,19616-year-old drivers were driving when someone was killed or injured, said Troy Costales, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Trans portation. In 2000, that number was 898 — a nearly 25 percent drop — and the next year the number dropped another 10 percent to 810. Advertise with diversity in If interested please call 503-494-4122. 2 1,1'Portktttit (Ohsertn'r Funded by N ational I nstitute of H ealth /N ational I nstitute of N ursing R esearch OHSUIRB#5275 I Statistics Show Teen Driving Law Works 1 call 503.288.0033 or email: ads@portlandobserver.com i
