Silent Partner

Christopher, the newest member of the Gloucester Township Police Department, looked dashing in his dark blue uniform, his silver police badge (No. 00) proudly fastened to his lapel. As he moved along the corridors of the Chews Elementary School, the children waved at Christopher, or reached out to touch his arm. But Christopher was less popular with his partner, Patrolman Bill Eustace. "Christopher is kind of lazy," Eustace groaned as he faced the second- grade class at Chews Landing School.

Get ready to go for that phone, Oprah. Dina Matos McGreevey, the estranged wife of "gay American" ex-New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey, is coming out with a book of her own. Silent Partner, a memoir of Matos McGreevey's life with her husband, is to be published this spring by Hyperion Books, a unit of Disney-owned ABC Inc. Last fall, McGreevey's memoir The Confession was published. In it, he discussed his homosexuality, including what he said was an affair with a former aide and a tryst while his wife was recuperating from a C-section.

" . . . H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P . . . Q-R-S . . . T. . . . Uh, I always get stuck there. " There it was on tape, an audio and black-and-white video recording of a man who thought he knew the alphabet. He was arrested one night recently on drunken-driving charges by Willingboro filmmakers - er, policemen - and the roadside film clip was a damning bit of evidence. The star of the short feature is one of the 20 allegedly drunken drivers whom police have put on the screen with the Eyewitness camera and television systems and one of its recent imitators.

Three men today are facing charges of stealing 81 pay telephones, worth $265,275, from various places throughout the city over a two-year period, authorities said. At a press conference this morning, District Attorney Ronald D. Castille and Police Commissioner Kevin M. Tucker identified the suspects as Robert Paige, 31, of Ruscomb Street near 3rd; David Olsen, 22, of Indiana Avenue near D Street; and Lou Vagnoni, 60, Eagle Drive, Plymouth Meeting, Montgomery County. They were charged with 60 counts each of theft, conspiracy and unlawful use of computers.

Joseph R. Gaudio, 70, founder and former president of G Boys Garden & Christmas Center in Marlton, died of a stroke Tuesday at St. Joseph's Hospital in Atlanta. Mr. Gaudio suffered a stroke about a month ago while driving through Durham, N.C., with his wife, Barbara Gaudio Krinsley. They had been heading to their retirement home in Atlanta. He was taken to Duke University Medical Center and remained there for two weeks until being released April 22 and sent to rehabilitation in Atlanta.

Richard Fischer, chief operating officer of Danny Noble Ltd., says the high-profile, five-year-old Philadelphia fashion company will file this week for protection from its creditors under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code. Fischer, reached at his Manhattan apartment, declined to comment on reports that the move had been precipitated by a feud with designer Noble and his wife, Annette. "I refuse to fight this battle in the press," he said. "I will deal with my differences with the Nobles in court.

Gail J. Koff, 65, who could be considered the silent partner in the national law firm Jacoby & Meyers, a sort of legal Wal-Mart for the middle class, died Tuesday in Manhattan of complications of leukemia. Ms. Koff was not there in September 1972 when Stephen Z. Meyers and Leonard G. Jacoby opened their first storefront office in Van Nuys, Calif. But her aspirations matched those of the founders, and six years later she became the third partner, though unidentified in the firm's name, assigned to open the first New York office.

Typical of his love for the unexpected and outrageous, Steve Krieckhaus made his first entrance of the evening from the ceiling. I will not tell you where he made his last entrance from, because that would spoil the wonderful punch line of a wonderful dance, Seven Ways of Looking at a Blackbird. Krieckhaus' concert last night, at Temple University's Center City facility on Walnut Street, confirms that he is a stellar artist. His artistry lies not only in the material he presents - be it dancing or speaking, or both - but in his relationship to it. He is at the same time a doer of fantastic, often funny deeds and a deadpan observer of them.

In recent seasons, 76ers owner Harold Katz has - willingly or unwillingly - been a staple of the nightly minicam blitz. Denying this, proposing that, defending the course, Katz stated his case with the regularity of a Charles Barkley slam dunk. But the regular season just completed was different. Perhaps the most accurate barometer of the 76ers' 46-win season has been the infrequency with which Katz injected himself into the forefront. Through injury and slump, wins and losses, Katz has been the silent partner as the Sixers recovered from their first losing season in 13 years.

Of all the bloody boxing matches at the Blue Horizon, this one may be the most spectacular. Don't look for the action to take place inside the sweat-splattered ring. This battle is being waged in the Blue Horizon's small, crowded front office. It promises to be a helluva bout. Unless, of course, it ends in a TKO. Meet the challengers: Vernoca Michael and Carol Ray, the two women who own the Blue Horizon, the city's venerable den of testosterone in the 1300 block of North Broad Street, the upper leg of the Avenue of the Arts.

Gail J. Koff, 65, who could be considered the silent partner in the national law firm Jacoby & Meyers, a sort of legal Wal-Mart for the middle class, died Tuesday in Manhattan of complications of leukemia. Ms. Koff was not there in September 1972 when Stephen Z. Meyers and Leonard G. Jacoby opened their first storefront office in Van Nuys, Calif. But her aspirations matched those of the founders, and six years later she became the third partner, though unidentified in the firm's name, assigned to open the first New York office.

Get ready to go for that phone, Oprah. Dina Matos McGreevey, the estranged wife of "gay American" ex-New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey, is coming out with a book of her own. Silent Partner, a memoir of Matos McGreevey's life with her husband, is to be published this spring by Hyperion Books, a unit of Disney-owned ABC Inc. Last fall, McGreevey's memoir The Confession was published. In it, he discussed his homosexuality, including what he said was an affair with a former aide and a tryst while his wife was recuperating from a C-section.

Spring is here, but the CEOs and board members of many corporations may find the temperature at their annual shareholder meetings decidedly chilly. This year's gatherings likely will be more contentious, as shareholders, stung by a wave of corporate scandals and poorer from a bear market now into its fourth year, are fighting back, shareholder activists say. Their weapons are resolutions that are included in the proxy statements sent to those who own stock in companies. Investors have filed a record number of proposals - nearly 1,000 - with the companies in which they own stock, urging management to address such issues as excessive executive salaries, the lack of diversity on boards, and funding to battle the AIDS crisis in developing countries.

Joseph R. Gaudio, 70, founder and former president of G Boys Garden & Christmas Center in Marlton, died of a stroke Tuesday at St. Joseph's Hospital in Atlanta. Mr. Gaudio suffered a stroke about a month ago while driving through Durham, N.C., with his wife, Barbara Gaudio Krinsley. They had been heading to their retirement home in Atlanta. He was taken to Duke University Medical Center and remained there for two weeks until being released April 22 and sent to rehabilitation in Atlanta.

Of all the bloody boxing matches at the Blue Horizon, this one may be the most spectacular. Don't look for the action to take place inside the sweat-splattered ring. This battle is being waged in the Blue Horizon's small, crowded front office. It promises to be a helluva bout. Unless, of course, it ends in a TKO. Meet the challengers: Vernoca Michael and Carol Ray, the two women who own the Blue Horizon, the city's venerable den of testosterone in the 1300 block of North Broad Street, the upper leg of the Avenue of the Arts.

Philadelphia police officer Tyric Armstead got a new partner yesterday, one that will watch his back without ever needing to rest, eat or go to the bathroom. His partner is a VHS video camera, mounted on the dashboard of his patrol car. "I think it's great," said Armstead, a six-year veteran who works in the Highway Patrol unit. "We couldn't have gotten a better gift. It protects us. It protects the public. . . . I'd like to see the cameras in every car. " The Police Department has taken a technological step forward with a program to put video cameras in its patrol cruisers, where they'll provide indisputable records of traffic stops, drunken driving arrests and other highway investigations.

" . . . H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P . . . Q-R-S . . . T. . . . Uh, I always get stuck there. " There it was on tape, an audio and black-and-white video recording of a man who thought he knew the alphabet. He was arrested one night recently on drunken-driving charges by Willingboro filmmakers - er, policemen - and the roadside film clip was a damning bit of evidence. The star of the short feature is one of the 20 allegedly drunken drivers whom police have put on the screen with the Eyewitness camera and television systems and one of its recent imitators.

Christopher, the newest member of the Gloucester Township Police Department, looked dashing in his dark blue uniform, his silver police badge (No. 00) proudly fastened to his lapel. As he moved along the corridors of the Chews Elementary School, the children waved at Christopher, or reached out to touch his arm. But Christopher was less popular with his partner, Patrolman Bill Eustace. "Christopher is kind of lazy," Eustace groaned as he faced the second- grade class at Chews Landing School.

In recent seasons, 76ers owner Harold Katz has - willingly or unwillingly - been a staple of the nightly minicam blitz. Denying this, proposing that, defending the course, Katz stated his case with the regularity of a Charles Barkley slam dunk. But the regular season just completed was different. Perhaps the most accurate barometer of the 76ers' 46-win season has been the infrequency with which Katz injected himself into the forefront. Through injury and slump, wins and losses, Katz has been the silent partner as the Sixers recovered from their first losing season in 13 years.

Richard Fischer, chief operating officer of Danny Noble Ltd., says the high-profile, five-year-old Philadelphia fashion company will file this week for protection from its creditors under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code. Fischer, reached at his Manhattan apartment, declined to comment on reports that the move had been precipitated by a feud with designer Noble and his wife, Annette. "I refuse to fight this battle in the press," he said. "I will deal with my differences with the Nobles in court.