Philadelphia, PA

A West Philadelphia man is facing serious charges after allegedly posting a video online encouraging the murder of Philadelphia Police officers.

Andre Moore, 44, was taken into custody Thursday on charges of aggravated assault, making terroristic threats, corruption of a minor and related offenses for the video posted on YouTube. The video has since been removed from the site.

In the video, Moore is seen holding a weapon saying, “The Philadelphia Police are nothing but a bunch of liars, especially the 18th District. I can’t stand the 18th District. That’s why I rejoice whenever they shoot a cop in Philadelphia cause I hate them.”

Later in the video, Moore is talking about the recent officer deaths in Philadelphia saying, “Boom … when you shoot the cops, you shoot them dead OK? Anywhere in the head or heart. That’s why the last cops lost their lives. Because those guys knew what they were doin’ when they were killin them.”

Moore worked as a security guard at Albert Einstein Medical Center, the same hospital where Officer Charles Cassidy died after being shot in the line of duty last October.

His wife told CBS 3 he was upset over what he suspected was harassment from officers in the 18th District.

“Why my husband did what he did is beyond me. I’m in a state of shock,” she said.

Sources said Moore’s son was behind the camera as he made his disturbing rant..

“It’s a disgrace, instead of coming and saying thank you to a cop who are out there doing their job, protecting the citizens in the community, he’s making a rap song or video about killing a cop,” Fraternal Order of Police President John McNesby said.

A spokeswoman for Albert Einstein Medical Center issued a statement that read in part; “We are aware of the investigation. We are cooperating with the authorities and he — Andre Moore– has been suspended pending the outcome of the legal proceedings.”

An arrest warrant was issued for Moore after he was identified in the video, which was posted June 7, said Kevin Harley, spokesman for the state Attorney General’s Office. Moore was arrested at his apartment, police said.

“We believe these were terroristic threats that are not protected by the First Amendment, particularly when he encourages people to promote violence in Philadelphia and when he shows people how to use a gun to shoot a cop,” Harley said.

Moore remains in custody on $500,000 bail.

(more…)

Jurors have found a former Bucks County elementary school teacher guilty of making a series of terrorizing threats.

Susan Romanyszyn, 46, a former teacher at Longstreth Elementary School in Warminster, was found guilty of 11 of 18 counts, which included making terroristic threats.

Over a nine-day period last October, authorities said Romanyszyn left the school in a state of fear after leaving over a dozen threatening notes, planting a fake bomb consisting of water bottle screws and a white substance and leaving nails in the parking lot.

Along school walls, authorities found messages saying, “Die” and “I will kill.”

Investigators received a break in the case when a fingerprint on one of the threatening notes matched Romanyszyn’s.

Romanyszyn, who is also fighting breast cancer, said she must have accidentally touched the note as she took the stand in her defense on Wednesday.

The district attorney’s office said the evidence against the former fourth grade teacher was clear.

“We have videotape evidence showing her going into classrooms, library where she says she was never in. We have physical evidence in the way of notes with her fingerprints on them,” Assistant District Attorney Gary Gambardella said.

Police believe Romanyszyn, who taught the school for three years, made the threats after being passed over for a fifth grade teaching position.

“She was upset or disgruntled at not getting the classroom assignment that she wanted,” Bucks County District Attorney Michelle Henry said shortly after Romanyszyn’s arrest.

(more…)

As you may have noticed by now 451 Press is going through some technical difficulties. There may be times where you visit about-philadelphiapa.com and you’ll see a message that says we are currently experiencing high load or that the blog cannot find the server. This is going to be normal for the next two weeks. It’s going to take two weeks for the new hardware to arrive. I will be blogging as much as possible, so please bare with me.

It’s the case of the nonexistent ninja.

Public schools in Barnegat, NJ were locked down briefly after someone reported seeing a ninja running through the woods behind an elementary school.

Turns out the ninja was actually a camp counselor dressed in black karate garb and carrying a plastic sword.

Police tell the Asbury Park Press the man was late to a costume-themed day at a nearby middle school.

The lockdown began shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday and lasted until 9:30.

Oh, kids.

Edward Kanterman, 59 years old, was charged yesterday with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Nicholas McCorkie. He picked up Nicholas at his daughter’s house on June 10th and was supposed to drop him off at a Drexel Hill day-care center. Instead, he went straight to work at CHI Institute in Broomall, where he teaches classes from 8:05 a.m. to 1:25 p.m. while the toddler remained strapped in a car seat in Kanterman’s Ford Explorer during a heat wave.

The outdoor temperature had reached the mid-90’s by 11 a.m., but inside the vehicle, it was well over 100 degrees.

When Edward returned to the truck, he discovered Nicholas unconscious, soaked in sweat and barely breathing, and repeatedly told CHI staff that “he couldn’t believe he left his grandson in the car all day.”

The toddler was admitted to Bryn Mawr Hospital with a core body temperature of 107.2 degrees, and was later transferred to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where was declared brain dead on June 14th and taken off life support.

Edward Kanterman was arraigned yesterday in Marple Distric Court on one count of involuntary manslaughter - which is upgraded from a misdemeanor to a felony in Pennsylvania when it involves a young child. He was released on $10,000 unsecured bail and declined comment as he left the court room.

(more…)

A Phillyblog poster notes the Google Trends page for penis, which shows Philadelphia ranked #2 in number of searches for “penis.” We’ll catch up one day, New Dehli!

Unless the blue bars represent penis size, in which case: Ladies, move to Philadelphia!

Philadelphia is obsessed with Penis’s (Phillyblog)

CBS3 today announced that anchor Larry Mendte was released from his contract, nearly four weeks after the FBI seized his personal computer and showed up the station to inform management that Mendte was being investigated for allegedly reading former co-anchor Alycia Lane’s e-mail and feeding gossip to reporters.

In a statement read on the 6 p.m. news, anchor Susan Barnett said that Mendte, who last worked May 29, was released effective immediately and that Mendte was under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The station said the decision to let him go was based on an independent investigation conducted by CBS.

While you’re here, would you mind taking a short survey about About-PhiladelphiaPA.com? Click here to take the survey.

Authorities made an arrest in the alleged assault that happened last Thursday night during a soccer game in Newark. Del., when the ref carded a player for unsportsmanlike behavior.
It was a lack of sportsmanship two soccer players said they never imagined they would see.

“You just don’t bite somebody like that,” said Dave Dease, a witness to the incident.

“I’ve seen somebody, you know, push a ref before, but I’ve never seen somebody actually bite somebody,” said Rob Traynor, another witness.

The victim told police he was officiating a soccer game between two teams named Fulhundred and Pizza by Elizabeth when the incident occurred.

Dease and Traynor, who play in the New Castle County league every year, said they have faced off against Thursday night’s opponents before.

“They didn’t like the call, so they were arguing with the ref the whole time,” Dease said.

A player wearing jersey No. 5 disagreed with the official’s decision to eject him from the game, so he “immediately approached him with his fists clenched,” according to a police release.

New Castle County police said Rannord A. Jones, of Freedom Trail in New Castle, fiercely argued with the referee and then allegedly attacked him, biting through his chin.

“The player was so enraged that he just savagely attacked the official, biting him almost in an animal manner about the chin,” Cpl. Trinidad Navarro said.

Traynor described what he saw: “The ref went down. He grabbed his chin and went down on one knee like he was hurt, and I thought he was almost like faking it. And then I looked, and there was blood pouring out.”

“It’s very bizarre,” Dease said. “I’ve seen a lot of things in my day, but I’ve never seen someone get bit in the face.”

Jones said nothing as he turned himself in to police Friday morning. He is charged with felony assault and threatening to kill the referee.

Jones’ mother, Patsy Walter, said she would defend her son.

“If he’s wrong, I’m going to tell him straight up he’s wrong,” she said.

For Dease and Traynor, who play on their college team, they said they are disgusted when a game turns violent.

“It just shows really, you know, bad sportsmanship,” Traynor said.

(more…)

Yesterday, Twigga, who was 29 years old and one of the nation’s oldest giraffes was euthanized. She had lived at the Philadelphia Zoo since 1979.

When Twigga’s death was announced, the zoo said that she had been on medications for age-related arthritis for quite some time.

“Based on Twigga’s comfort and behavior, the zoo’s veterinary team decided this week that humane euthanasia was now the best course for her,” the zoo’s statement said.

Giraffes typically live into their late teens and early 20s.

She is the second giraffe to be euthanized at the zoo this year. Puzzles, 27, was euthanized in March due to age-related problems.

Earlier this month, Petal, then the oldest African zoo elephant in the nation at 52, died at the zoo.

“The zoo has a lot of very old animals, and we’re coming up to the end of the life cycle for many of them,” said Kirsten Wilf, a zoo spokeswoman.

Twigga was born at the Knoxville (Tenn.) Zoo, and was described as “an extraordinarily gentle giraffe” who was well liked by staff and visitors. She raised six calves during her years at the zoo.

The Philadelphia Zoo has two other giraffes: Stella, a 7-year-old female, and Gus, a male who will turn 2 next month. Gus recently arrived at the zoo from Texas.

The giraffe exhibit has been empty while the young male completes a precautionary quarantine period expected to end in mid-July.

Twigga’s remains were taken to the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine’s New Bolton Center in Kennett Square for a necropsy and burial.

Guess what? Alycia Lane finally went and sued CBS 3, and it actually contains the phrase “the Prince Albert of Monaco Exploitation.” Oh, this is amazing.

Lane’s lawsuit against her employer alleges the station didn’t respond to complaints her private email had been viewed and also said the station treated female employees worse than its male ones. The suit also says co-anchor/alleged email snooper Larry Mendte was jealous of Lane’s higher salary (reportedly $800k vs. $700k) and her popularity.

Michael Klein writes:

Lane’s suit claims that a statement from Colleran that Mendte read on-air on Jan. 7 killed her career. It read in part: “After assessing the overall impact of a series of incidents resulting from judgments she has made, we have concluded that it would be impossible for Alycia to continue to report the news as she, herself, has become the focus of so many news stories.” It added, “We understand that Alycia expects to be fully vindicated in that proceeding” in New York.
The suit says the “clear meaning” was that Lane was “now unable to report the news for any news station anywhere in the world.”

Video under the belt.

(more…)

The Inquirer’s Patrick Kerkstra reported that a group of local investors have rescued Wireless Philadelphia.

The group includes Derek Pew and Mark Rupp, who are apparently both local and businessmen. “Little if any” taxpayer money was used in the deal; the two plan to offer free, advertising-supported wireless Internet in the city. Hey, how long until we can start taking bets on the advertising market collapsing? Opps, I guess I just started.

Mayor Nutter talked about Wireless Philadelphia at noon.

Black bears tend to be solitary animals, with the exception of mothers and cubs. The bears usually forage alone, but will tolerate each other and forage in groups if there is an abundance of food in one area. - Defenders.org

Even though Black bears are reported to not be really threatening, Deborah Samsel had the surprise of her life. Doesn’t this bear in back yard nonsense happen all the time though?

I headed up to Philadelphia today for the Philadelphia Theatre Alliance auditions today and while I was there I saw this ad on the side of a SEPTA bus.

Not a bad slogan, ehh? I guess. But if Philly.com wants to take it to the next level (stage, point, etc.) may I suggest a change in the logo?

Also, I do apologize for the short break. I’ve been incredibly busy and just haven’t found the spare time to even get on the computer. The current theatre that I’m doing a show at seems to not want my Macbook to hook up their wireless internet signal. If you want to know more you can make your way over to omigod.net.

Hola, Jocelyn Kirsch is in the news again, and Philly.com has it on the front page. What fun! This time, it’s the Inquirer who has the goods: Apparently, prosecutors will seek a revocation of her bail, sending her to jail.

Kirsch, 22, the sometimes-violet-eyed beauty who captivated an international audience once tantalizing photos of her on vacation hit the Internet, had been scheduled to plead guilty this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia.
But last night, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said that the plea hearing would be rescheduled and that a detention hearing would be held instead.

“The government will move to detain her,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Louis D. Lappen, who declined to elaborate last night about the underlying reason for the detention request.

There’s also a poll asking how long Kirsch should go to jail for; “More than 15 years” is currently leading.

If you have any Philadelphia News, Events, etc. please email them to phillytips@kyledylanconner.com.

I would also like to personally apologize for about-philadelphiapa.com being down for the past 24-48 hours. 451 Press was experiencing some difficulties.