Inspectors

Charges filed against a Chester County woman for posing as a rescuer of horses while sending them to slaughter have prompted a new round of calls in Congress to end the killing of horses for meat in the United States. U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan (R., Pa.) on Thursday urged his colleagues in the House and Senate to pass legislation to halt horse slaughter after reading a report in The Inquirer that Kelsey Lefever of Honeybrook was allegedly selling animals for slaughter in Canada under false pretenses.

Two more former Philadelphia plumbing inspectors were sentenced to federal prison terms yesterday on their convictions for taking cash from plumbers whose work they approved. One of the two, Fred Tursi, 59, of South Philadelphia, got a slightly longer prison term than the 30 months imposed on his former colleagues, U.S. District Judge Petrese B. Tucker said, because he "actively solicited money" rather than passively accepting it from plumbers. Tursi was sentenced to a 34-month, no-parole prison term by the judge, who also imposed a $6,000 fine.

Philadelphia is unable to institute new federal restaurant inspection guidelines because its inspection unit remains chronically understaffed. The new Food & Drug Administration guidelines were adopted because of sharp increases in food-poisoning cases in Philadelphia and other Northeastern cities since 1985. The FDA now recommends that inspectors conduct "hazard analyses" of restaurants to determine how meals are prepared and cooked, in addition to checking an establishment's cleanliness.

Two inspectors from the city Department of Licenses and Inspections were turned away yesterday from a MOVE house at 1630 S. 56th St. when they tried to inspect the interior of the two-story Southwest Philadelphia property. Managing Director James S. White characterized the exchange between the female occupants of the house and L&I officials as a "cordial discussion" about L&I procedures for inspection of a property. "There was no confrontation or incident," said White. The women told L&I they would permit an inspection of the interior of the house by appointment at a later date, White said.

If you could see what they had - or rather, didn't have - to work with, you'd know one reason why city inspectors descended on the Hunting Park business district yesterday: the city needs the money. The district is the first of five to be subjected to a store-by-store joint visit by inspectors from the city departments of Licenses and Inspections, Revenue and Health. They are checking for up-to-date licenses and city tax accounts, proper zoning and code compliance. L&I officials believe hundreds of businesses have code violations or owe back taxes and license fees, and enforcement in recent years has been lax. On yesterday's raid, while one fire-code violation was noted and referred to a different L&I unit for later action, the inspectors' primary focus was collecting money for the city.

Philadelphia building inspectors have declared the fire-ravaged One Meridian Plaza tower "imminently dangerous" and have ordered that the 38-story building be torn down or fixed. But the building's owner says "there is no basis" for the city's complaints. "We are going to appeal them," said Joseph P. Dougher, an attorney representing E/R Associates, which owns the tower. One Meridian was severely damaged in a February 1991 fire that started in oily rags left by workers renovating an office.

On tours of the city's Youth Study Center in the last two years, state inspectors have found one youth sleeping on furniture pulled together and covered with a sheet, and others sleeping on mattresses on floors. One female certified as an adult offender was housed with juveniles. Some female juveniles were wearing men's clothing, and dead roaches were found in ice cream. The problems are among those reported by welfare inspectors in the last two years, according to a Daily News review of state records.

America's chicken inspectors may be sleeping a little more soundly tonight, and they can thank the Senate. The crime bill passed by the Senate on Thursday night would reinstate the federal death penalty for certain violent crimes: assassinating the president, hijacking an airliner - and murdering a government poultry inspector. The government's horse inspectors will be protected, too. Murdering one of them also would be a capital offense. (Finding one would be an achievement; there are fewer than two dozen nationwide.

As many as 200 additional inspectors may be needed to analyze Chilean grapes at the three Philadelphia-area terminals where grapes are unloaded and stored, a Delaware River Port Authority official said yesterday. Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware River Port Authority officials are to meet today to decide how many extra inspectors are needed, where they might come from, and who should pay them, said the official, Steve Joachim, port authority secretary. The FDA halted imports of Chilean fruit a week ago after inspectors discovered cyanide in two grapes in a crate unloaded from the Almeria Star at the Port of Philadelphia.

TEHRAN, Iran - A U.N. nuclear inspector from South Korea was killed and a colleague was injured in a car crash Tuesday near a reactor site in central Iran, state media and the nuclear watchdog agency said. Iran's state TV said the South Korean inspector was thrown from of the car. He was not wearing a seat belt, the report said, quoting police. The two inspectors were riding in the backseat of the car. The TV showed video of the other inspector in a hospital bed, not seriously injured.

HARRISBURG - The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is investigating Jerry Sandusky's children's charity, the Second Mile. Harrisburg lawyer Claudia Williams, a former member of a Second Mile advisory committee, said Friday that she was interviewed by an official from the agency. She said he told her the probe was focused on whether the charity solicited donations by mail. The Associated Press left messages with the Postal Inspection Service. The Harrisburg Patriot-News was the first to report the investigation.

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran on Tuesday rejected allegations that it attempted to clean up radioactive traces possibly left by secret nuclear work at a key military site before granting U.N. inspectors permission to visit the facility. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters in Tehran that the allegations were misleading and false, and insisted that such traces could not be cleaned up. Satellite images of Iran's Parchin military facility that circulated last week appeared to show trucks and earthmoving vehicles at the location.

William F. Binnig, 88, of Mayfair, a retired Philadelphia Police Department inspector and decorated World War II veteran, died Sunday, Feb. 5, of heart failure at Wesley Enhanced Living in Northeast Philadelphia. Mr. Binnig grew up in Northern Liberties. After graduating from Roman Catholic High School in 1941, he worked for his father's hauling business. During World War II, he served in Gen. George S. Patton's Third Army in Europe and fought in the Battle of the Bulge.

The Pennsylvania Inspector General's Office is assisting the state Department of Education with its probe of allegations of cheating on 2009 state exams. Agents arrived in Philadelphia this week to begin interviewing teachers at the 13 Philadelphia district schools and three charter schools that are part of the inquiry, according to educators and others with knowledge of the probe. The Inspector General's Office has set up a hotline that teachers may call if they have information about cheating at their schools: 855-448-2435.

Charges filed against a Chester County woman for posing as a rescuer of horses while sending them to slaughter have prompted a new round of calls in Congress to end the killing of horses for meat in the United States. U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan (R., Pa.) on Thursday urged his colleagues in the House and Senate to pass legislation to halt horse slaughter after reading a report in The Inquirer that Kelsey Lefever of Honeybrook was allegedly selling animals for slaughter in Canada under false pretenses.

Leadership changes at the Delaware River Port Authority continued Wednesday with the appointment of a new deputy chief executive and the hiring of a former FBI agent as the DRPA's first inspector general. Michael Conallen Jr., a former chief of staff to two local Republican congressmen, was named deputy chief executive officer, replacing Robert P. Gross. He will be paid $174,000 a year. The change reflects the ongoing makeover of the agency following the election of Gov. Corbett, chairman of the DRPA board, who has replaced Democrats appointed during the Rendell administration.

The Potter's Field By Andrea Camilleri Translated from the Italian by Stephen Sartarelli Penguin. 288 pp. $15 Reviewed by Peter Rozovsky   Andrea Camilleri and his Inspector Salvo Montalbano have come to feel like old friends whom I am always happy to see and to report on to our mutual acquaintances. In The Potter's Field , the 13th novel in the Sicily-based series, Salvo goes to bed with Ingrid. Out of bed, his choice of reading matter, always a delight to Camilleri's readers, is especially delicious this time.