Duffel Bags

FBI agents seized the Philadelphia Housing Authority's luxury Tumi luggage, the $796 leather-trimmed bags that former Executive Director Carl R. Greene handed out as gifts to his top staffers, the agency said Wednesday. Greene, who was fired in September for hiding three sexual-harassment settlements against him from his board, used PHA money to buy 20 of the bags at a total cost of $15,920 in September 2009 - just in time for a management retreat at a resort near the Poconos. Greene's interim successor, Michael P. Kelly, in January ordered most of the bags returned and had planned to get refunds from Nordstrom or sell them on eBay.

Federal officers seized 130 pounds of cocaine - worth $4 million on the street - from three unattended duffel bags at Philadelphia International Airport, officials said Wednesday. The bags arrived Sunday on a flight from the Dominican Republic, said Customs and Border Protection spokesman Steve Sapp. A drug-sniffing dog detected narcotics in the bags, and 52 bricks of cocaine were found inside. No one from the flight was arrested, and the investigation is continuing, Sapp said.

STEVENS, Pa. - A routine traffic stop in Lancaster County led to the seizure of 200 pounds of high-grade marijuana, state police said Thursday. State troopers recovered seven duffel bags of marijuana, valued at more than $600,000, after pulling over two vehicles Tuesday on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in East Cocalico Township, authorities said. An SUV was closely following a truck towing a boat, prompting troopers to stop both vehicles, investigators said. Both drivers, Deborah Finn of Austin, Texas, and Harland Hendricks Jr. of El Dorado, Calif., were arrested.

A man arrested last month for possession of more than 300 pounds of marijuana after he was stopped on the Blue Route for a minor traffic violation was bound over for trial yesterday during a preliminary hearing. Craig Britt Waldman, 45, of West Pittston, near Scranton, faces charges of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, possession of a small amount of marijuana for personal use, and possession of drug paraphernalia. No trial date has been set. Waldman was driving north on the Blue Route in West Conshohocken about 9 a.m. Feb. 24 when a state trooper noticed him making a quick lane change without signaling, court documents said.

Federal narcotics agents and police won a place in the record books yesterday by seizing $5.8 million in cash from an unguarded Long Island home that was allegedly being used as a heroin-cutting "factory. " Robert M. Stutman, special agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration, said it was "the largest seizure of cash ever made from an individual in the United States" in a drug bust. The arrests resulted from a joint investigation by the DEA and Nassau County police. Stutman said officials observed a drug deal Wednesday and arrested Edward Gerald Margiotta, 24, of Bronxville, at his Westchester County home where they found two pounds of cocaine, one pound of heroin and a .25-caliber semiautomatic weapon.

Three Camden boys were arrested Monday in connection with three morning robberies in Pennsauken earlier in the day. Police Sgt. Robert Hermanski said the teens, ages 13, 14 and 16, had skipped school and broken into three homes: on the 1500 block of 49th Street; the 1700 block of 46th Street, and the 1500 block of Merchantville Avenue. Police, acting on a tip, arrested the teens at one of their Camden homes at about 1 p.m. They were charged with burglary. "The stuff was just sitting on the floor," Hermanski said of the stolen property.

Eddy Serrano tossed his mitt into the air and watched it plop on the baseball diamond. Others kicked the dirt with their cleats, or silently sat on the bleachers. It was time for the nightly ballgames at the Lighthouse playing field at Front Street and Erie Avenue, but yesterday there was no call of "Play Ball. " Someone had broken into the recreation center Sunday night or early Monday morning and stolen all the equipment - baseballs, mitts, bats, helmets, masks and bases, including home plate.

A college student who allegedly assembled an arsenal of guns and explosives in his bedroom and plotted a mass killing at his school was fascinated with the 1999 rampage at Colorado's Columbine High School and "hated everyone," police said yesterday. Amid the 30 pipe bombs and 20 Molotov cocktails stashed under clothes and in duffel bags in Al DeGuzman's messy bedroom, investigators found articles about the Columbine killers, writings worshipping them, and pictures of them on the wall, Sgt. Steve Dixon said.

Score another hit to Philadelphia's reputation for hospitality. A team of AmeriCorps volunteers working on a neighborhood project in Kensington returned to their dormitory-style rooms in West Philadelphia earlier this week to find that someone had rifled their belongings and made off with $810 in meal money that was supposed to last them most of the month. Oh, yeah, the theft occurred in a church annex. "We should be OK," said Juan Perez-Febles, leader of the victimized volunteer team, because the thief didn't bother to take the traveler's checks.

A 14-year-old girl admitted to police that she strangled her 2-year-old "stepsister" she was baby-sitting in their house in the Cedarbrook section of northwest Philadelphia. She then put the dead child in a stroller and left the body in a driveway behind a house a few blocks away, police said. Horrified neighbors discovered the dead child and called police. Police were awaiting the results of an autopsy and said the 14-year-old, whose identity wasn't released, could be charged with murder.

STEVENS, Pa. - A routine traffic stop in Lancaster County led to the seizure of 200 pounds of high-grade marijuana, state police said Thursday. State troopers recovered seven duffel bags of marijuana, valued at more than $600,000, after pulling over two vehicles Tuesday on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in East Cocalico Township, authorities said. An SUV was closely following a truck towing a boat, prompting troopers to stop both vehicles, investigators said. Both drivers, Deborah Finn of Austin, Texas, and Harland Hendricks Jr. of El Dorado, Calif., were arrested.

Federal officers seized 130 pounds of cocaine - worth $4 million on the street - from three unattended duffel bags at Philadelphia International Airport, officials said Wednesday. The bags arrived Sunday on a flight from the Dominican Republic, said Customs and Border Protection spokesman Steve Sapp. A drug-sniffing dog detected narcotics in the bags, and 52 bricks of cocaine were found inside. No one from the flight was arrested, and the investigation is continuing, Sapp said.

FBI agents seized the Philadelphia Housing Authority's luxury Tumi luggage, the $796 leather-trimmed bags that former Executive Director Carl R. Greene handed out as gifts to his top staffers, the agency said Wednesday. Greene, who was fired in September for hiding three sexual-harassment settlements against him from his board, used PHA money to buy 20 of the bags at a total cost of $15,920 in September 2009 - just in time for a management retreat at a resort near the Poconos. Greene's interim successor, Michael P. Kelly, in January ordered most of the bags returned and had planned to get refunds from Nordstrom or sell them on eBay.

One of Philadelphia's saddest murder mysteries - the 1994 discovery of a 4-year-old boy, beaten to death and stuffed inside a duffel bag in Old City - has been solved, a Philadelphia homicide detective said early today. The boy's mother has been arrested and charged with abusing his corpse, but her name has not yet been released. Another arrest, for the boy's murder, is imminent, homicide Lt. Michael Chitwood said, and might be announced tomorrow. "As far as the mystery of who he is and who killed him, we know that," Chitwood said of the child who became known as the Boy in the Bag. "It is just a matter of the other dominoes falling into place.

On Phillies road trips, a FedEx package addressed to Tyler Houston often arrives at the team's hotel. Inside are underwear, T-shirts and jocks - all essentials that the third baseman has absentmindedly forgotten at home in his attempt to pack everything he needs for an extended trip. Remembering everything doesn't always happen. On more occasions than he cares to recall, Houston has opened his toiletries bag at night after a long day at the ballpark to find - oops! - no toothbrush.

A college student who allegedly assembled an arsenal of guns and explosives in his bedroom and plotted a mass killing at his school was fascinated with the 1999 rampage at Colorado's Columbine High School and "hated everyone," police said yesterday. Amid the 30 pipe bombs and 20 Molotov cocktails stashed under clothes and in duffel bags in Al DeGuzman's messy bedroom, investigators found articles about the Columbine killers, writings worshipping them, and pictures of them on the wall, Sgt. Steve Dixon said.

On a hot and humid South Florida afternoon, a million miles from the excitement of pennant races and home-run chases, the Phillies' 11th losing season in the last 12 years ground to a halt yesterday in an uninspiring doubleheader split against the woeful Florida Marlins at Pro Player Stadium. The Phils finished their 116th season with a 75-87 record, a seven-game improvement over last season. Pitching scripted the day. Tyler Green experienced yet another midgame implosion and suffered his eighth straight defeat as the Phils lost the opener, 6-5. In the second game, rookie Carlton Loewer pitched seven strong innings, helping the Phils win, 7-3. The victory prevented the final weekend of the season from being a disaster.

Police in Hilltown Township, Bucks County, said they had a "pretty good idea" who they were looking for within minutes after an armed suspect carted off about $6,000 in cash from a Clemens Market in a black duffel bag. And that hunch led to the arrest of Bryon Lightcap, 38, of Harleysville, police said, thanks also to a female acquaintance who led Bensalem Township police to his hiding place. Hilltop Lt. Kerry Trauger said that the minute he heard that the suspect in the 10:30 p.m. holdup at the County Line Plaza Shopping Center market was a man using a short-barreled shotgun, he thought of a report received last week from Lansdale police seeking Lightcap on suspicion of buying a short-barreled shotgun with a stolen credit card.

A man arrested last month for possession of more than 300 pounds of marijuana after he was stopped on the Blue Route for a minor traffic violation was bound over for trial yesterday during a preliminary hearing. Craig Britt Waldman, 45, of West Pittston, near Scranton, faces charges of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, possession of a small amount of marijuana for personal use, and possession of drug paraphernalia. No trial date has been set. Waldman was driving north on the Blue Route in West Conshohocken about 9 a.m. Feb. 24 when a state trooper noticed him making a quick lane change without signaling, court documents said.

Score another hit to Philadelphia's reputation for hospitality. A team of AmeriCorps volunteers working on a neighborhood project in Kensington returned to their dormitory-style rooms in West Philadelphia earlier this week to find that someone had rifled their belongings and made off with $810 in meal money that was supposed to last them most of the month. Oh, yeah, the theft occurred in a church annex. "We should be OK," said Juan Perez-Febles, leader of the victimized volunteer team, because the thief didn't bother to take the traveler's checks.