European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 18, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday March 18, 1992 the stars and stripes a Page 7four arrested in probe of quack drugs san Diego up the first crackdown on so called a Fountain of youth drugs that Are passed off As cures for countless illnesses and disorders resulted in the arrest of four California residents authorities announced monday. Hundreds of Cartons of pills and potions sold under such Brand names As Zumba Forte and Ger vital h3 were seized in the Federal investigation that began june 1990 when customs agents intercepted a Misla bled shipment of the products headed for California. The investigation culminated in a 198-count indictment handed Down in san Diego last Friday against a group allegedly run by David m. Halpern 38. A this is health fraud pure and simple a said or. David a. Kessler commissioner of the food and drug administration. A these quack medicines should not be used and should not be  Kessler spoke at a san Diego news conference against a backdrop of boxes stacked nearly to the ceiling. But prosecutors said the display represented a very Small portion of the seizure and an even smaller share of the medicines sold in a Black Market that has estimated annual sales of $2 billion. The products allegedly sold by Hal Pernus group through the mail and by health food stores gymnasiums and chiropractors since 1983, were claimed to be useful in battling a number of problems most linked to the aging process. A these products Are marketed for just about every disease known to Man a Kessler said. A giving people medicines that done to work takes them away from therapies that potential do  Laboratory analysis showed that Zumba Forte contained the anabolic steroid Methyl testosterone. Kessler said As a whole such products were not approved by the Fra and could produce Side effects ranging from allergic reactions to convulsions and death. A we done to even know How these things Are produced a Kessler said. A there Are a lot of scary  the Halpern group allegedly claimed sales of $5 million a year for tax purposes said assistant . Attorney Philip Halpern the prosecutor in the Case and no relation to the defendants. Defendant Halpern was arraigned monday on charges relating to smuggling and Selling unapproved drugs. He was released on $250,000 bail. Others charged were Frances Halpern 65 Frances h. Wal Good 37 and Edward Sollisch 62, of California. Also implicated was Maximillian Schmidt 26, a Munich Germany resident and the head of the company that produces Zumba billed As a sexual tonic. David Halpern allegedly obtained his wares from Europe had them labelled falsely and then shipped them to fictitious names at mail drops in California. A when it is shipped in a Box marked a curtain Rod holders a you know something is wrong a Kessler  gov. Wallace hospitalized in Alabama from wire reports Birmingham Ala. A former Alabama gov. George c. Wallace was hospitalized monday night in severe pain sources said. Officials of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital declined to give details on the illness other than to say Wallace was in stable condition. Wallace 72, a staunch opponent of racial integration once blocked the entry of Black students at the University of Alabama by standing at the front door. He was elected governor of Alabama four times and unsuccessfully ran for the presidency four times. He has suffered from severe body pains from time to time since he was wounded m an assassination attempt in 1972 that left him paralysed from the Waist  doses adjusted new York mayor David n. Dinkins recuperating from an intestinal inflammation returned to the Hospital monday to have his medication adjusted an administrator said. Dinkins arrived at new York hospitals emergency room shortly after 11 . He was not expected to be admitted said administrator  Davis. The mayor was hospitalized most of last week with what doctors diagnosed As diverticulitis. He was released  escapees surrender new Lebanon . Two 18-year-old escapees from a Connecticut jail surrendered monday after holding a hostage at gunpoint for several hours. State troopers found the inmates about 1 . In a House in new Lebanon in Columbia county about 20 Miles Southeast of Albany. They had escaped Date Friday from a minimum Security jail in Litchfield Conn. The escapees John f. Moore of Torrington Conn., and Christopher m. Shapard of water Bury Conn., were treated for frostbite and other injuries at a medical Center in Hudson .murder suspect charged Hillsborough . An unemployed roofer accused of killing and dismembering his live in Girlfriend and a prison buddy was indicted monday on two counts of first degree murder. District attorney Carl Fox said the state would seek the death penalty against David Sokolowski. Sokolowski was arrested last week after authorities discovered body parts in a Bonfire outside a farmhouse he rented in a Rural area Northwest of Durham. They checked the farmhouse after a Friend of Sokolowskij a reported seeing a dog carrying a human hand there. Relatives of Pamela Ellwood and Rubel a Little Many Hill identified jewelry found among the body parts. Ellwood 42, was last seen three weeks ago. Hill 35, disappeared soon after. Transit strike strands thousands of commuters in Pittsburgh area Pittsburgh up an estimated 285,000 commuters in the Pittsburgh area were left scrambling for ways to get to work tuesday after bus and trolley Drivers for port authority transit of Allegheny county went on strike Over salaries. Some 2,700 members of local 85 of the amalgamated transit Union walked out at 12 01 . After voting to authorize the strike during two meetings sunday. The vote to authorize the walkout was 2,018-94. Many commuters who drove into town left earlier than usual and some used parking lots on the fringe areas of Pittsburgh. Ride sharing hot lines were established and boat shuttles were launched to ferry people across the Monongahela Allegheny and Ohio Rivers into downtown. Other commuters Rode bicycles or hitchhiked. The number of vehicles that arrived at a parking lot across the Monongahela was so High that one of two ticket dispensing machines burned out forcing an attendant to write tickets and give them to motorists. The employees of the nations nth largest transit system had worked since nov. 30, when their old contract expired. Last minute talks conducted by state mediators Between local 85 president Larry Klos and Pat officials failed to Avert the strike the first in Pittsburgh since 1976. Pat officials last week rejected a fact finders report on How to Settle the labor dispute after it was accepted by the Union. Pat also rejected the unions request to submit the dispute to binding arbitration. Pat executive director William Millar said the recommendations by the fact finder would Cost the transit author buses stand Idle As strikers picket a port authority transit maintenance terminal in the Pittsburgh suburb of West Mifflin. The words a thank Bill refer to Pat executive director William Millar. Ity More than $70 million Over three years Money it does no to have. Top scale Pat employees currently earn $15.77 an hour. The fact finder s report included wage increases of 1.5 percent in each of the next three years Cost of living allowances that could add another 2.5 percent and increased pension benefits. Pat buses and trolleys carry about 285,000 commuters each weekday. The $1.25 base fare is one of the highest in the nation. Arson kills 177 Amish cattle horses Belleville a. Apr an arsonist burned Down sue Amish barns within two hours killing 177 cattle and horses and crippling a farming Community on the eve of planting season. A something has to be wrong with him. These people done to bother anybody a said Milroy fire chief Ron Staib. No arrest had been made by monday evening but police said they had identified a suspect. The fires began saturday. Many of the Amish already had been blowing Fields to prepare for planting this month but the fires Cost them their horse teams plows and seed. The fires also killed Dairy cows whose milk is the Only source of income for Many Farmers during the Winter. A a you be got bad people and you be got Good people. That a for sure a Moses Hostetler said. His Uncle Isaac s. Yoder lost a barn 33 cows and seven horses near Milroy. The Belleville fire department had answered the first fire Call just before Midnight saturday when firefighters saw another barn ablaze at an adjacent farm. Five More barns were torched near the communities of Allensville Reedsville and Milroy. An Amish school House also suffered minor damage. Michael Hostetler of Milroy said his dogs harking woke his wife before fire engulfed his barn and he was Able to save 22 head of cattle. Twenty four fire companies from four counties fought the fires and a Concrete company was solicited to carry extra water in its Cement trucks. The blazes killed 139 cattle and 38 horses. Amish avoid most modern equipment. A a English or non Amish neighbors used bulldozers and dump trucks to Bury the livestock carcasses in mass Graves. State police Cpl. Norman Gantz in Yeagertown said authorities had a suspect but would not elaborate. After dousing the blazes firefighters travelled from House to House warning Farmers to watch their barns. A a it a hard to believe anyone would do something like that Quot Staib said. A a it a bad enough for one but to have  area resident John Yoder said the Community would have a Busy season of barn raisings in which Amish neighbors turn out to build a barn in a Day. People were to Start cutting lumber tuesday he said. The big Valley barn belief fund has been set up a the Kasha Boquillas Valley National Bank 310 e Mam Strout. Belleville. A 1 7004