Philadelphia Mounted Patrols Are No More
City Money Problems Cited For Demise Of Unit




PHILADELPHIA(NBC 10) -- Philadelphia's mounted patrol is being reined in and will be not be seen on the streets after this week.

The city cites mounting money woes for the demise of the unit. Even the city council was debating Mayor John Street's recommended budget cuts, which includes the elimination of the mounted unit.

Officers with the mounted patrol are being reassigned to other police units and their horses are being sent elsewhere.

Authorities say 17 horses will be sent back to pasture because the city has determined they are unnecessary to city security and are too expensive.

"It is not a popular decision because horses are sort of -- the kids like them and so forth and so on but we don't have that luxury (to keep them around)," said Phil Goldsmith, Philadelphia's managing director.

Those assigned to the mounted unit told NBC 10 News off camera that mounted officers can't be beat in crowd control situations because of their high vantage point and the sheer intimidation of a large animal.

Merchants on South Street, which has been regularly patrolled by the horses, said the mounted units are crucial to public safety.

"Anybody (who) is around,(who) will try to do anything, would think twice. You can hear them and coming down the street opposed to someone just on the beat," said Rich Podulka, a restaurant owner.

The merchants argue that mounted patrols are old fashioned and bike patrols can perform the same task, but one businessman disagrees.

"The bike doesn't carry the same weight as a horse does and people respect that the horse is a big animal and you better get out of the way of that horse," said Gart Buck, a restaurant manager.

Concerned police officers point out that during the Republican National Convention it was the mounted units that came to the rescue after police commissioner John Timoney was knocked off his bike during a protest.

Some of the horses will be given back to their original owners and others will be transferred to nearby police departments once the unit is disbanded.

After this week, Philadelphia will be the only one of the top five U.S. cities without mounted patrols.


Mounted Police circa. 1910

Federal Agents Push Philadelphia Woman to Be a Witness

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Federal agents who wiretapped city officials and bugged Philadelphia's mayor as part of a corruption probe are trying to pressure a local businesswoman into becoming a government witness, according to her attorney.

Prosecutors met on Thursday with Janice Renee Knight, a one-time hot dog vendor who founded several small companies that do business with the city. Her mentor, Ronald A. White, is an attorney and a political fund raiser for Mayor John F. Street.

During the meeting, prosecutors let Knight listen to four audiotapes of her speaking with White and implied she was a "front" for the lawyer, according to her attorney, Nino Tinari.

The conversations were recorded by FBI bugs that secretly operated in White's law office for at least eight months. Tinari said the discussions appeared to him to be "totally benign."

"There was nothing there at all that could be construed as criminal. There isn't a smoking gun. There isn't a gun. There isn't even smoke," he said.

Federal agents have been scouring the city for information on White's business dealings since October, when police conducting a routine security sweep found an FBI bug in Street's office.

Within days, investigators had seized two handheld computers from Street, taken hundreds of boxes of documents from city agencies, and raided the offices of White and a politically active religious leader.

Street, who easily won re-election in November, has denied any wrongdoing. The listening devices in his office recorded nothing of substance, according to legal documents.

Authorities have declined to say what they are investigating.

Philadelphia Budget News

PHILADELPHIA (AP)- Mayor John F. Street, struggling to balance the budget, would close all the city's public ice-skating rinks and about one-quarter of its pools, recreation centers and summer camps this year to save $4 million a year.

At a City Council meeting Tuesday, administrators reluctantly turned over a draft list of potential closures after Council President Anna C. Verna demanded to see it.

During testimony on the budget, Recreation Commissioner Victor Richard said his department would sell, close or lease 20 pools, 40 recreation centers and 40 camps in addition to the five ice rinks.

The city operates 87 pools, 158 recreation centers and 146 camps.

According to Richard, the cuts are necessary to steer resources to facilities that attract the most people. He also cited statistics that show Philadelphia has more recreation facilities per person than comparable cities.

But residents complain that children would have to cross busy streets or bad neighborhoods to get to other pools or centers.

Street is trying to close a $227 million deficit.

John Kerry admits to War Crimes?

Washington—On Sunday, Meet The Press’s Tim Russert drilled presidential candidate John Kerry about his Vietnam history. Russert unearthed footage of Kerry stating he committed war crimes including killing people in no killing zones and burning villages to the ground. Kerry responded with light-heartedness.

***From “Meet The Press,” 4/18:
KERRY: There are all kinds of atrocities and I would have to say that yes, yes, I committed the same kind of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers have committed. I took part in search-and-destroy missions, in the burning of villages.

RUSSERT: You committed atrocities?

KERRY: Where did all that dark hair go, Tim? That's the big question for me. I think some of the language that I used was the language that reflected anger.

Beanie Sigel 's Philadelphia Trial Attracts Rap Stars

The world of rap turned out yesterday at the attempted-murder trial of hip-hop artist Beanie Sigel, accused of gunning down an acquaintance in West Philadelphia in July.

Mega-star Jay-Z, his Roc-A-Fella Records partner Damon Dash, and their entourage spent most of the day in the courtroom of Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Karen Shreeves-Johns, listening to testimony.

Sigel, 30, whose real name is Dwight Grant, faces a host of charges related to an early-morning shooting that left Terrance Speller, 27, wounded in the abdomen and foot near 52d Street and Larchwood Avenue.

Jay-Z, dressed in a pale gray suit, white shirt, gray checked tie and silver tie clasp, brushed off reporters seeking comment outside the Criminal Justice Center. He drove off in a black Ford truck.

Dash, however, said he was in Philadelphia to show support for Sigel, a Roc-A-Fella artist who is also awaiting sentencing on federal gun charges unrelated to the current trial.

"Beanie's a good guy," said Dash, dressed in a dark gray suit, white shirt and rose tie. "Truth will prevail."

Much of the day's testimony focused on medical and ballistics evidence.

Sigel, well turned out in a dark suit, pink tie, pink pocket handkerchief and black felt fedora with white band and feather, said the support was appreciated - and expected.

"I feel regular," he said. "It's normal."

Coke plant workers strike in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (AP)-- About 450 employees of the Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Co. hit the picket lines on Monday after rejecting the company's last contract offer by a 3-to-1 margin.

Teamsters Local 830 rejected the company's offer late Sunday, saying the company had offered inadequate increases in wages and medical and pension benefits. Union members also criticized the treatment of employees by management at the 102-year-old bottling company.

Company spokeswoman Tracee Hunt said that Coke was surprised by the walkout because the company offered what it believed was a generous package of salary, benefit and pension increases.

The Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Co. is the country's third-largest black-owned business and fourth-largest distributor of Coca-Cola products, with annual sales of $400 million, according to the company's Web site.