New York Desk

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun
NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

MANHATTAN


ATTORNEY ACCUSED OF AIDING TERRORIST GETS TEARY IN COURT


A civil rights lawyer accused of aiding terrorists became emotional in court yesterday, her eyes filling with tears when her lawyer asked her if she regretted the actions that led to her prosecution. Attorney Lynne Stewart, in her third day on the stand, was testifying about her decision in the summer of 2000 to publicly release statements by her notorious client, blind Egyptian Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, who is serving a life prison sentence.


Prosecutors contend the statements about the sheik’s opinion of a cease-fire by militant followers in Egypt violated prison rules designed to prevent him from communicating with anyone except his wife and lawyers. They said Ms. Stewart, in releasing the statements, provided material support to terrorists, defrauded the American government, and lied when she signed papers promising to abide by the prison rules for her client.


“Looking back at the events of May, June, July, August 2000, if you had to do it over again would you do it the same way?” her lawyer Michael Tigar asked.


“Sitting here today, it’s a very difficult question,” Ms. Stewart replied, her voice cracking. “I am diminished by the loss of my clientele. My family has suffered tremendously. I don’t know if I would.” She paused then added: “I’d like to think I would do it because it was a duty owed to the client. I do not believe I violated any command, any restriction of the United States of America.”


As Ms. Stewart took off her glasses to wipe her eyes, Mr. Tigar asked that the jury be sent home for the day and U.S. District Judge John Koeltl obliged. Earlier, Ms. Stewart said she dismissed a claim in August 2000 from then-Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald that the sheik’s statements could get people killed or buildings blown up.


– Associated Press


JOURNALIST URI DAN HONORED


A gathering last night celebrated the work of journalist Uri Dan, who for more than 50 years has reported from the Middle East, most recently as the New York Post’s correspondent there. The event marked the opening of an exhibit of Mr. Dan’s photographs of the Yom Kippur War, which Mr. Dan took while following Ariel Sharon’s division – the first to cross the Suez Canal.


“Uri Dan is a great photographer, a great reporter, and a terrific human being,” said Manhattan’s district attorney, Robert Morgenthau, who is the chairman of the Museum of Jewish Heritage, where the exhibit is on display.


Prime Minister Sharon, a friend and confidante of Mr. Dan, delivered his congratulations through a letter read by Mr. Morgenthau that described the Yom Kippur War as “a defining moment in Israel’s long struggle for survival.”


Mr. Dan said it was moving to see his photographs displayed “under the light or shadow of the Statue of Liberty.”


At the event, the Founders’ Association Inc., a charitable foundation established by the president and editor of The New York Sun, Seth Lipsky, presented Mr. Dan with the Founders’ Medal for Lifetime Achievement. The award, first presented in 2003 to the editor emeritus of The Wall Street Journal, Robert Bartley, includes a $10,000 prize.


Mr. Dan said he had started dreaming about being a journalist when he was 8 years old. He said he knew he would be a journalist by the time he was 15, when he read Ben Hecht’s “A Child of the Century.”


– Staff Reporter of the Sun


HEROIC BRITISH BOBBY RETURNS HOME


After a harrowing day in the Big Apple, Sergeant Colin Webber, the tourist who subdued a stabbing suspect in the Diamond District on Tuesday, has returned home to England.


The British bobby, who is 37, received a commendation from Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly last night, only hours before catching a flight back to Leicestershire, England. One of Sergeant Webber’s co-workers, Sergeant Andy Patrick, spoke highly of Sergeant Webber to the BBC, calling the sergeant “a very brave gentleman.” Sergeant Webber is also known for his heroism in Leicestershire. In June of 2000 the chief constable commended him after he helped arrest a mentally ill man who had just killed a civil servant.


Sergeant Webber, who was window-shopping with his wife, exhibited the same valor on Tuesday when he intervened in a crime in progress. Sergeant Webber tackled Abram Sariashvili, after seeing the 44-year-old man running out of Summit Jewelry on West 47th Street as a group of men, one bleeding profusely, chased him. Mr. Sariashvili, a counterfeit jewelry dealer, had allegedly stabbed Arsen Aranbayev, a 25-year-old jewelry clerk who was visiting from neighboring Avianne Jewelry. According to the police, Mr. Sariashvili was attempting to sell a counterfeit watch to Summit when he and Mr. Aranbayev began arguing.


A co-worker who said he recently spoke to Mr. Aranbayev said the stabbing victim is doing well and is in stable condition at St. Luke’s.


Mr. Sariashvili, who has two prior arrests for possession of stolen property, is awaiting arraignment and has been charged with attempted murder. A representative from the office of the district attorney says the Webbers will most likely be contacted once a trial gets under way.


– Staff Reporter of the Sun


CITYWIDE


LOCAL CABLE NETWORK SUES METS


The network that televises New York Mets baseball games locally on cable sued the team’s corporate parent yesterday, charging that Sterling Mets LP violated its license agreement with MSG Networks by making a deal with another TV network.


SportsChannel Associates said in court papers that its MSG Networks unit has exclusive rights under a 1996 contract to carry Mets games through the end of 2011 but the agreement can be canceled as soon as November 1, 2005, under certain conditions.


Meanwhile, say papers filed in Manhattan’s state Supreme Court, the agreement “prohibits the Mets from negotiating with any third parties concerning the pay television rights to any Mets games” until after the agreement is terminated. Court papers say the Mets announced on October 11 that the organization had agreed with Time Warner Cable and Comcast Corp. to start a regional sports network in 2006 to telecast up to 125 regular season Mets games.


MSG Networks spokesman Eric Gelfand issued a statement saying, “By agreeing to form another network more than a year before the termination of that agreement, the Mets have flagrantly violated our rights under the agreement.”


– Associated Press


STATEWIDE


NEWBORNS SUBJECT TO INCREASED TESTING REQUIREMENTS


Babies born in New York will be required to undergo testing for 44 genetic diseases, more than any other state that offers free newborn screening programs, New York officials announced yesterday. New York infants are currently screened for 11 inherited and sometimes life-threatening disorders including cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, and phenylketonuria. Under the expanded program, the number of diseases tested in newborns will quadruple in 2005. Twenty diseases will be added to the list of 11 by the end of this year and an extra 13 by spring 2005.


– Associated Press


POLICE BLOTTER


MAN CHARGED WITH KILLING 75-YEAR-OLD ROOMMATE


An ex-convict was wearing a woman’s dress when he was arrested at Prospect Park South yesterday for allegedly clubbing to death an elderly man who had taken him in as a boarder. Howard Goldstein, 47, is accused of beating 75-year-old Rahamin Sultan over the head with a blunt object yesterday afternoon, police said. Sultan owned the home at 1270 East 19th St. and was allowing Mr. Goldstein to live there as a roommate, according to police.


Mr. Goldstein, who has done prison time for unspecified offenses, was wearing a dress when he opened the door to police officers responding to the scene, according to a police source. Goldstein was charged with second-degree murder and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.


– Staff Reporter of the Sun


CRACK-SMOKING BABYSITTER WHO SET FIRE TO HOUSE IS SENTENCED


A babysitter who burned down a Queens apartment and killed a teenager while smoking crack cocaine was sentenced yesterday at Queens Supreme Court to up to 15 years in prison.


Ok Ki Gang, 26, of Palisades Park, N.J., faces five to 15 years in prison for setting the February 29 fire while five Korean children were in the Bayside home, according to the office of Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. Hana Yoo,14,was burned to death and her sister, 12-year-old Meena Yoo, was severely injured, suffering acute damage to her respiratory and nervous systems.


Gang “set a fire while in response to an hallucination induced by her use of crack cocaine,” said Mr. Brown, who referred to the case as “an example of both the dangers and the evils of the use of drugs.” Gang, who was temporarily living at the two-family house at 215th Street and caring for the children while their mothers worked, told investigators a hallucination convinced her an intruder had broken into the home. Gang believed setting a fire would set off smoke alarms and scare off the imagined prowler, so she lit a towel with a cigarette lighter and set it on a sofa. The fire spread quickly throughout the building.


– Staff Reporter of the Sun

NY Sun
NEW YORK SUN CONTRIBUTOR

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.


The New York Sun

© 2025 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

or
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use