European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 12, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday August 12,1989 the stars and stripes Page 4 arrested in Phoenix for airline ticket scam Phoenix a a monthlong investigation of multimillion Dollar airline ticket scam led to the arrests of tour people thursday police said. Members of the Phoenix based ring allegedly marketed stolen International airline tickets through National publications and in some cases accessed airline computers to validate the tickets police said. Every major airline in the world is a victim in some fashion said capt. Tim Black head of the police organized crime Bureau. These individuals put together a major conspiracy by knowing How to Access airline computers to put travel itineraries in the com Puter  investigators believe at least $7 million in airline tickets were stolen some during burglaries of travel agencies. Black said. Arrested thursday at their Phoenix area Home were Jurgin thymos Steinmetz 31 Rolf Crosse hit Mcyr 37 his wife Annedore Heitmeyer 35 and Karl Heinz Borsuch 37. Police said the Hail Myers and Borsuch arc citizens of West Germany. They were booked into Maricopa county jail for investigation of conducting an illegal Enterprise conspiracy to traffic in stolen property trafficking in Sto Len property felony theft Money laundering and fraudulent schemes. Steinmetz was being held on $1 million Bond. Ber such on $411.000, Rolf Heitmeyer on $343.000, and Annedore Heitmeyer on $274.000. Police also Sci cd about $80,000 in Cash five vehicles two Homes and their contents All of which were believed to have been purchased with the proceeds of the stolen lick it operation Black said. Police said More arrests arc possible. The operation also had offices in Honolulu and Frankfurt West Germany police said. They would not say whether any of those arrested had worked for an airline. Police became aware of the operation in june after a los Angeles woman called to complain about a Dis count airline ticket she had purchased from a Phoenix travel Agency that had advertised in a National Publica Tion. The undisclosed airline had rejected her ticket be cause it was listed As stolen. The ads olt Rcd guaranteed lowest fares on inter National destinations including Concord flights and listed a toll free number. Black said a number of travellers have been similarly affected although a majority of the tickets apparently were accepted by the airlines. An initial investigation in june resulted in the arrests of two Phoenix area men Prem Singh 42. And Vijayan shish Odia and the seizure of $50.000 in Cash. Singh remained in county jail thursday under $137.000 Bond officials said. He is charged with fraudulent schemes and is scheduled for a pretrial con Ference aug. 31 in Maricopa county Superior court. Shish Odia has been released from jail and his status was not known officials said. Black said the ticket operations continued As Strong As Ever after Sisodia and Singh were arrested. Steinmetz is believed to have operated 14 bogus travel offices in the Phoenix area nine of which were located at the same address Black said. He said Steinmetz currently operates Honolulu International from an office in Hawaii although he was arrested in Phoenix. Man with gun seized by police escorting Arizona gov. Mofford Phoenix a a Man was briefly taken into custody thursday when police escorting Arizona gov. Rose mofford saw him with a gun which turned out to be an unloaded collector s item. No one was injured in the incident in Florence a town Southwest of Phoenix and mofford went about her business officials said. Raymond p. He Rand 42, a former county prosecutor was questioned and released after offi cers determined he had not known mofford was in the area and had no in Tention of threaten ing anyone said sgt. Allan Schmidt chief spokesman atthe state department of Public safety. There arc no charges he said. None will be  mofford praised the officers for protect ing her and said she had t seen the Inci Dent. I really did t know what was Hap pening she said adding that she was t scared. Schmidt said Florence police chief Tom Rankin and three stale officer spotted Mcrand near his car with a gun mofford just As mofford and her top aides were preparing to leave a restaurant after a task Force meeting on state prisons. There were varying accounts on exactly what happened next but Genera agreement by Schmidt mofford press Secretary Vada manager and several wit Nesses that mofford stayed in the restau rant while officers took Mcrand in custody and grabbed the weapon. "1 stepped Back and pulled the Gover nor said state land commissioner  Hassell. She was very very Calm and very collected. There was no  one of the officers on the governor s Security detail also stayed with her Schmidt and manager said. She did not know of it Asil was occurring Schmidt said. Herand a former assistant Pinal county attorney who now lives in Glen Dale did not resist he later explained to officers he had the gun on his dashboard because of a Law requiring weapons in cars be in full View and had taken it from the vehicle to protect it from the heat of the Sun Schmidt said. He said officers found no evidence the gun had Ever been used. Mofford a Democrat was elected As Secretary of state in 1986 but became governor last year when the legislature impeached elected Republican  Mcchamp. Vital virus Experiment chemicals arc rom the main source of controlling crop pests but if this Experiment being conducted at Cornell University no by entomologist an Thony Shelton proves successful. Things could change. Walton sprayed a genetically altered virus on a cabbage Patch in the first release of such a virus in the United Stales. Kit works the virus could be used to fight insects. Strike talks hit a Snag by the associated press a dispute Over health insurance stalled contract talks aimed at end ing strikes at two regional Telephone companies thursday. The two sides in the Bell Atlantic talks met for about three hours Dur ing which the communication workers of America presented a counter proposal to the Bell Atlantic Telephone companies current offer. Bell Atlantic operates in the District of Columbia Maryland Virginia West Virginia new Jersey Dela Ware and Pennsylvania. Strikes also continued again Stynex corp. Top drug figure lured into . Trap new York not the chief chemist of a powerful colombian drug Cartel who is responsible for the Quality of thousands of tons of drugs sold in the United states every year was arrested thursday after flying to new York to Check on what he thought was a bad shipment of heroin a spokesman for the Federal drug enforcement administration said. The spokesman Robert Strang. Said the arrest of Humberto Sanchez but Iago shortly after he arrived at Laguardia Airport would put a Dent in efforts by the Medellin Cartel to expand into the heroin Trade until now Strang said that Cartel and its chief rival the Call group have con trolled the distribution of much of the cocaine sold in the new York Region. The Medellin group had tried to diversify into heroin he said. Two other colombians who had helped arrange the meeting with Sanchez also were arrested. Hours after Sanchez was arrested three other colombians who Strang said had worked for the chemist were taken into custody in a raid on a House in the Queens Section of new York. Strang said the heroin ring s financial records wer kept there. Strang said the Medellin group had been having Quality control problems and that undercover agents and inform ers had convinced Sanchez 28, to come to new York to figure out Why. Strang said the informers had complained about receiving a bad Batch in March from someone named Jojo who also was arrested thursday and identified As Guillermo Pena. Court papers filed by the Dea show that one of the informers met with san Chez in Colombia in february. Sanchez turned Over two samples of heroin Tell ing the informer he was an owner of Siz Able opium Fields in Colombia. Sanchez said he wanted to begin ship Ping heroin to the United states. The first Load arrived March 13, the court papers show. At a rendezvous in Manhattan Pena turned Over 345 Grams to the first informer and a second who had won Sanchez s Confidence. Between March 13 and 15, the drug Agency said the informers called san Chez in Colombia to complain the heroin was of poor Quality. On March 15, the two informers went to Queens. There the court papers said a courier turned Over 132.7 Grams of he Roin. The next Day the same courier gave them an additional 56.2 Grams. The informers met with a courier in new York City july 27 to talk about the terms of their next transaction the court papers said