Pizzeria

The doughnuts ceased dunking several years ago, leaving a hole near the corner of Route 130 and Charleston Road. But as Paul Colombo passed the empty Dunkin' Donuts store each day - its still-intact signs hawking pastries - his thoughts turned to dough. And late last month, he turned the store into Paul's Pizza Place. "This spot was in my heart," said the 22-year-old Cinnaminson resident, who also recently took over management of his family's pizza shop in Magnolia. "I don't mess around here," said Colombo, who prides himself on service and on the consistency of Paul's buffalo wings, cheesesteaks and hoagies.

Levittown neighbors Bob Dale and George Applegate decided to take on some extra work in January, knocking on doors and handing those who answered an advertisement for a local pizza parlor. But pepperoni pitchmen they were not. The two were serial burglars, using the pizzeria ploy to find unattended homes in Bristol Township and Middletown, they admitted yesterday in Bucks County Court. Authorities said the pair broke into 25 such houses from January to April, stealing nearly $100,000 in cash and valuables.

When General Motors lays off workers at its Wilmington assembly plant, so do local pizzerias. Steve Kalogiros laid off two part-time workers at Party Pizza early in July because the store was not getting its usual lunchtime crowd from the closed GM plant less than a mile down the road. Sales have fallen 25 to 30 percent at Party Pizza since strikes at two Flint, Mich., GM parts plants forced a shutdown at the plant just outside of Wilmington. Workers used to order large pizzas during breaks and before shift changes, said Kalogiros, the owner of the pizzeria.

More than $20,000 in cash and a 9mm assault pistol were confiscated from a pizzeria last Friday by a team of code inspectors that pulled up to the shop with Mayor Milton Milan in the "Mayor Mobile," officials said. According to mayoral spokesman Keith Walker, the mayor's Suburban wagon, with Milan and members of his code-inspection team, drove to the shop at 1524 Mount Ephraim Ave. about 10:30 p.m. When some team members entered the premises, owner Mohamed Yasir Loul stepped into the back of the building, leaving steaks sizzling on the grill and a pizza baking in the oven, Walker said.

A small knot of mourners stood outside a West Philadelphia pizza shop yesterday, expressing shock at the daylight murders on Saturday of two young friends. Keith Fields, 21, and James Elliott, 19, went into the corner shop on the 600 block of South 60th Street a little after 3 p.m. for a couple of slices. Within minutes, Fields was dead from a gunshot to the back of the head and Elliott, shot in the chest, had died on the way to a hospital. Police said yesterday they had no suspects or motive in the murders.

A 27-year-old New Jersey woman was abducted yesterday when the car in which she was sleeping was stolen while the driver was inside a city pizza shop ordering a cheesesteak. Five hours later, the woman and the 1994 Mercedes were found by police in Winslow Township, N.J. Police said the woman, whose identity they are withholding, may have been raped. They were awaiting the results of tests. Winslow Township Police Lt. Barry Wright said there was "criminal sexual contact" in a wooded area in the Blue Anchor section of Winslow Township sometime between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. Police said the woman told them that she was uncertain whether she was assaulted.

It's quiet now, but wait. Just wait. You have no idea what's coming. "This is the lull before the storm," says George Vellios, owner of Lorenzo's Pizza place at Ninth and Christian Streets in South Philadelphia. At 11:50 a.m., he looks up at the red Coca-Cola clock behind the counter. "They attack in 10 minutes," he says, distracted and edgy, sliding cheese-bubbling pies out of the worn gray oven. "They'll be screaming. Just 10 minutes. Sometimes they swarm. Sometimes they're just like bees.

Gravy ousted pepperoni as the topping of choice inside a pizza shop here yesterday. Offering a traditional Thanksgiving feast in an unusual setting, a Bristol Township pizza maker flung wide the doors of his business and handed free take-out meals to everyone who arrived. Helped by volunteers from throughout Lower Bucks County, Charles Haeberle expected to serve more than one thousand people before the day's end. "If we run out of food, we're going to make pizzas and shape 'em like turkeys," said Haeberle, 34, who has operated the Just Delicious pizza shop since March on Mill Creek Road.

The owner of a Mount Laurel pizza shop that federal authorities charge was a clearinghouse for a multi-million-dollar drug ring linked to the Sicilian Mafia will be sentenced on drug trafficking charges Wednesday, along with two of his top associates. Giacomo "Jack" Gallina could be sentenced to more than 17 years in prison if a U.S. District Court judge goes along with the sentencing recommendation of the federal prosecutor in the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Mintz has also recommended more than 15 years for Giovanni Saponara and nearly 13 years for Jose Rojas, the two other principal defendants.

A pizzeria for $100. That's what Frank Maimone is offering. But there are a couple of catches. The first: 250 words. Maimone is sponsoring an essay contest to pass along the keys - and all of the equipment - to his Vito's Pizza in South Philadelphia. The person who writes the most original, witty, inspirational, creative and interesting essay that conveys a genuine interest in owning a pizza shop - and includes a check for $100 - will win the "Great Pizzeria Giveaway. " "It has better odds than buying a lottery ticket," said Maimone, 30, who bought the pizzeria for $18,000 two years ago with his wife, Susan Dietrich.