Fanfics Fact Resources ::SPOILERS::

[The Reverend Bizarre]

Thanks! That's all I needed to know!

[boxman]

You know, Reverend, I don't know why I didn't think of this last night, but "Frank's Best" is a perfect example of a Philly-style deli that sells beer (but not late into the night).

[boxman]

'Anything goes' on Philly streets, teen says
* Story Highlights
* Philadelphia's murder rate is returning to highs of 1980s
* Police, prosecutors say one reason is the growing violence among youth
* One teen says even having a "good-looking girlfriend" can get you shot
By Ismael Estrada and David Mattingly
CNN

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- On the streets of Philadelphia's toughest neighborhoods, just trying to get ahead can get you killed.

"You got a good-looking girlfriend, you're going to get shot; someone wants her," said 17-year-old Andre, who asked his last name not be used for this article.

"If you're getting a little money, you're going to get shot -- someone wants that. Any way you look at it, it's just a bad situation."

Andre is caught up in the tough life on the streets of Philadelphia's Southside neighborhood. At 13, he watched his brother get shot and killed in front of his home by another teenager. By 15, he was wanted for two counts of armed robbery and theft.

"It makes you feel stronger, powerful, a bigger man," he said of having a gun. "You even walk differently when you have a gun on you."

He and others like him are the new face of violence in Philadelphia -- a younger, harder generation that lives and dies by the gun. Though it's spread throughout the city, the problem of youth violence is most acute in the southern, southwestern and northern parts.

Over the past couple of years, Philadelphia's murder rate reached highs not seen since the 1980s, according to the Philadelphia Police Department. So far this year, more than 315 people have been killed, a pace of well over a murder a day, police said. That's a higher rate, according to FBI statistics, than much larger cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York.

But Philadelphia's situation is different today from years past in that more and more of the killers are teenagers, according to the Philadelphia Police Department and the Philadelphia District Attorney's office.

"They just shoot at anything and everybody, without even looking," said Shawn Banks, a former drug dealer and gang member. Now in his 30s, he said the new generation that rules the streets is made up of kids who shoot first and never consider the consequences.

"They [are] not respecting themselves and they don't have any value for human life," he said.

Nineteen percent of those held at Philadelphia's overcrowded juvenile detention center, The Youth Study Center, are guilty of committing violent crimes. This is in addition to those juveniles serving time at a nearby adult facility for more serious violent crimes like murder. Nearly one in four juveniles at the center become repeat offenders.

Staff members at the youth facility said whenever a teenager makes headlines, chances are it's someone they know.

Helping kids at the center can be difficult, according to some.

"Maybe they're here for 9 -12 months, but if they spent 13 years in an environment that maybe isn't good and has a bad influence on them, you're going to lean on those 13 years," said counselor Nelson Walker.

But the office of Philadelphia Mayor John Street said the city works hard to reach high-risk kids.

"We are not going to deny that we have a problem here," said Joe Grace, spokesman for the mayor's office. "And we work aggressively to work with young kids who we consider high risk."

Grace touts the Philadelphia anti-violence, anti-drug program, which targets kids who have been through the justice system and are on probation. The city tries to help them avoid becoming repeat offenders.

As a caseworker meeting on a daily basis with juvenile offenders, Shondell Revell knows what the streets can do to a young person.

"These kids are hard, because their neighborhoods are hard," he said. "They don't see the other side of life."

Reaching out to younger siblings of juvenile criminals is particularly important to stopping the cycle of violence, said Revell.

But Andre says the pull of violent street life is strong and that offenders often end up going back to the life they knew in order to survive.

"Shooting, stabbing, killing, whatever it is -- whatever you gotta do to survive," he said.

"Anything goes -- anything."

---

Find this article at:
www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/11/youth.violence/index.html

[coldboneslove398]

wow. Thax for sharing this boxman . Interesting article.

[boxman]

Four Cops Shot in Six Weeks

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www.philly.com/philly/news/20071102_Police_Press_Manhunt.html

Slideshow
www.philly.com/inquirer/gallery/Philadlephia_Mourns_Slain_Police_Officer.html



Officer dies; police press manhunt
New details emerge about final moments before shooting. FBI joins hunt for killer. Reward raised to $115,000.
By Andrew Maykuth and Barbara Boyer
Inquirer Staff Writers

The first full day in the hunt for Police Officer Chuck Cassidy's killer ended with officials posting a larger reward for the tattooed assailant, federal agents joining the search, and new details emerging about the last moments before the officer was shot.

With no strong suspects in custody, officials boosted the reward from $50,000 to $115,000 and distributed photographs of a distinctive gray hooded sweatshirt with striped sleeves recovered from a September robbery they suspect was committed by the same man.

All day yesterday and into the night, members of the police SWAT unit and homicide detectives canvassed the West Oak Lane neighborhood for potential witnesses in the shooting of Cassidy, who was gunned down Wednesday morning as he walked in on a robbery inside the Dunkin' Donuts at 6620 N. Broad St.

As helicopters hovered overhead, investigators searched storm drains, rooftops and alleys for evidence the killer may have discarded. Police said they searched at least one house and recovered fingerprints.

Police questioned scores of people who matched the assailant's description - a heavy-set black man, with a distinctive gait and a spider tattooed on his left hand. The aggressive police activity stirred murmurings of discontent in a neighborhood where more common slayings receive scant attention by comparison.

Police sent a surveillance video of the killing to the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va., for enhancement. They hope an artist can develop a sketch of the suspect from the video.

Officer Cassidy, 54, a married father of three, died at 9:40 a.m. yesterday at Albert Einstein Medical Center. Hundreds of officers lined up at his bedside to pay respects.

Detectives said yesterday that Cassidy, a respected 25-year veteran, walked into the doughnut shop after a witness told him "something" was happening inside. The gunman, alerted to the officer by a bell on the shop's door, turned to see Cassidy with his gun drawn. The killer took two steps toward Cassidy before firing one shot into his head from about five feet away.

Investigators questioned dozens of men they found on the street or in police databases whose descriptions matched the killer's. Those who had a tattoo of a spider on their left hand similar to the suspect's were likely to receive a visit from a team of investigators.

Word quickly spread that police were patting down those men who matched the description of the shooter, who was said to have worn a black hooded sweatshirt, khaki pants, and tan boots.

"We're not allowed to wear hoodies around here any more," said John Sanders, 33, who was among a group of men at 20th Street and 68th Avenue who watched police descend on a residence and then go away, apparently empty-handed. "The cops tell you anybody wearing one is subject to be stopped."

"It's like Vietnam around here, with all these helicopters and guns," said a man standing near Sanders.

The increase in the reward was announced at an afternoon news conference.

"This is the kind of crime that makes you sick to your stomach," said John C. Apeldorn, president of the Citizens Crime Commission of Delaware Valley, which will administer the reward. "Somebody guns down one of our officers and has the audacity to go back and take equipment. There's nothing that is worse than that.

"Anybody out there that knows anything, there's money out there," Apeldorn added.

The Rev. Kevin J. Moley, pastor of St. Peter the Apostle Roman Catholic Church at Fifth Street and Girard Avenue, was at the officer's bedside yesterday.

"If you go into the room, you'll see officers, and they know this was a comrade, this was a friend," he said. "It's absolutely senseless and painful, and there's no way you don't cry about this."

Mayor Street ordered flags at city buildings to be lowered to half-staff.

Street scheduled an interdenominational prayer service for 10 a.m. today in the Mayor's Reception Room in City Hall. Last night, dozens - civilians and uniformed officers - gathered outside the Dunkin' Donuts in a vigil for the fallen officer.

"This tragedy calls into question the direction that we are headed in as a society," the mayor said at a brief news conference earlier yesterday at Police Headquarters. It "will take many, many years to overcome."

Said Police Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson: "It's a sad day for the Police Department, it's a sad day for the citizens of Philadelphia, and it's time to have remorse and sorrow for the family and give them the proper respect that they deserve.

"This is not a time for political statements. This is not a time for anything other than sorrow, condolences for the family of the deceased," Johnson said.

Cardinal Justin Rigali, who visited the wounded officer at the hospital on the day of the shooting, offered his condolences.

"I hope and pray for an end to the senseless violence plaguing the city of Philadelphia," the cardinal said. "The lack of regard for human life plays out tragically on city streets each day. I urge all people of good will to join me in working for an end to violence."

Cassidy was a devout Catholic who attended St. Jerome Church in the Northeast. Services were pending.

In a statement delivered by the hospital, the family said: "Obviously, we are in mourning. We are deeply appreciative of all the support and prayers from the police, the clergy, the community and many folks we don't even know."

The doughnut shop remained closed yesterday, the pavement stained where the officer fell.

Detectives said that the gunman entered the Dunkin' Donuts about 10:30 a.m., pulled out a gun, and forced his way to the counter.

Cassidy arrived moments later as part of his regular rounds - the shop had been held up before. After getting out of his vehicle, a woman told him, "Something is going on in there," according to investigators.

Detectives who viewed the surveillance video said Cassidy, his gun drawn, entered the shop while the robber's back was turned toward him. As the robber moved toward the officer, he appeared to lean to the side to avoid the gun's aim.

In the video, the assailant can be seen stooping to pick up Cassidy's sidearm before running away. He had an uneven gait.

Police believe the gunman may have been involved in at least four previous robberies, including a Sept. 18 strike at the same doughnut shop. Yesterday, police displayed a hooded gray sweatshirt that they said was discarded by the man who committed the Sept. 18 robbery. The sweatshirt has a depiction of a basketball cartoon and the words Paco Jeans. There are yellow and black stripes on the sleeves. Police hope the sweatshirt will help lead to the suspect.

Residents of the neighborhood were fearful yesterday.

Kenya Thompson, 30, a mother of five who lives around the corner from the shop, said she would not let her children play outside, even in her front yard. The night before, there was no trick-or-treating in the neighborhood.

"It was crazy yesterday. My older daughter, who is 8, understands," she said. "I walked her this morning to school, just to be safe."

Anwar Kane, an employee at a used-car lot next to the doughnut shop, said his business was closed for five hours Wednesday. He said he heard the gunshot.

"It's a shame, in this day and age, that people go to that extreme to survive," he said of the robbery and killing. "Here's a man desperate enough that he'll shoot a cop. He'll shoot anyone."

Some residents expressed resentment of the intense police presence in West Oak Lane.

"It's harassment," said Ken Smith, 42, who was cruising the neighborhood on a scooter. "No way they can stop everybody. [The killer] is not around here anymore. I think they're just wasting taxpayer's money flying around here and breaking into people's houses."

Audrey Brooks, 47, a resident of 16th Street, was among those who were struck by the resources devoted to searching for the killer of a police officer, compared with the hunt for a more common homicide.

"At least I feel safe for a change with so many police officers," she said, as two patrol cars flew by with their lights flashing. "They stopped some boy right out here and patted him down."

Cassidy, the third Philadelphia police officer to be shot this week, was universally lauded for his decency and gentleness.

"He was a gentle giant," said Assistant District Attorney Richard Sax. "He was so tall in stature and so low-key and mannerly. I know he always remembered my first name when we'd pass in the halls, even five to 10 years after we prosecuted together."

In October 1995, Sax and Cassidy worked together on the trial of a cocaine user. It was during a police-corruption scandal involving some 39th Police District officers. Cassidy, then assigned to the 39th, found himself and his partner the targets of a defense theory that they had planted drugs on the defendant.

Cassidy was not angry about the attack on his integrity, Sax recalled.

"Chuck always had a professional demeanor," Sax said. "I remember that he was not flustered or angry."

The defense tactic failed, and the defendant was convicted.

Cassidy Fund

Members of the Police Department's 35th District have established a trust fund for the family of Officer Chuck Cassidy, killed Wednesday in the line of duty.

Contributions can be made in several ways:

By mailing a check payable to the Charles Cassidy Family Memorial Trust Fund, 901 Arch St., Philadelphia 19107

Donations can be taken to the 35th Police District, 5960 N. Broad St., Philadelphia

Donations may be taken to any of the following Police and Fire Federal Credit Union branches: 901 Arch St., 7604 City Ave., 8500 Henry Ave., 3338 S. Broad St., Leo Mall at Byberry and Bustleton Avenues, 7500 Castor Ave., and 3330 Grant Ave.

Reward Posted

A $115,000 reward has been established for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the man who killed Officer Chuck Cassidy. Police ask that people with information on the gunman call the Homicide Division at 215-686-3335. They can also call the Citizens Crime Commission of Delaware Valley at 215-546-8477.

Contact staff writer Andrew Maykuth at 215-854-2947 or [e-mail].

Contributing to this article were Inquirer staff writers Gene D'Alessandro, Jennifer Lin, Dwight Ott, Lita Prout, Joseph A. Slobodzian and Susan Snyder.

Find this article at:
www.philly.com/philly/news/20071102_Police_Press_Manhunt.html

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www.philly.com/philly/news/20071102_Annette_John-Hall__.html
Annette John-Hall | Driven to profile young black males
By Annette John-Hall
Inquirer Columnist

I am a black woman who was raised by a black man, married a black man, and gave birth to a black son.

I love black men. I am sustained by them. I know first-hand how loving they can be.

Which is why it breaks my heart to even think this, let alone write it: I'm starting to profile black men.

I know it's harsh. Lord knows I don't mean to sound like some of the angry readers who are so quick to profile by race, who write describing black men as nothing more than "animals," "baboons" unfit to walk the streets. Our hearts will never be in the same place.

Still, these days in this city - 336 homicides, mostly black men killed and doing the killing, and now a 25-year veteran police officer assassinated by another black man in a hoodie - it saddens me to know that if I were to encounter a young black man on the street in a hoodie, I would fear him.

I know I'm not the only one. If I were, 54 schools wouldn't have been on lockdown during the manhunt in Philadelphia Wednesday. SWAT units wouldn't be swarming. Stop-and-frisk wouldn't be in full effect in West Oak Lane and all points north and south.

Urban terrorism runs rampant.

Many killers are just kids who should be slinging backpacks in school, not packing heat in doughnut shops.

They are kids who look like my 20-year-old son.

Yesterday, Officer Chuck Cassidy died, snuffed out at the hands of a gunman trying to get money - a 6-foot-tall stocky black man with a distinguishable tattoo on his left hand.

From all reports, Cassidy, only 54, was a good cop and loving family man who took pains to check on a West Oak Lane Dunkin' Donuts because it had been robbed before. People cried over him. That's how much they liked him.

Now he is dead, and his wife, son and two daughters are left to plan his funeral. Officer Cassidy's death makes three cops shot this week, five this year. If it's open season on the people who are supposed to protect us, how safe are we?

Not very. I don't want to hear this nonsense about the police being the enemy in the 'hood. Let's be real: It's not the police who are senselessly gunning down black victims. It's mostly black perpetrators.

"I'm not afraid of black men, I'm afraid for black men," Lisa Jones, 40, told me yesterday as we stood talking in front of a food store on Ogontz Avenue in West Oak Lane. "I have three sons, and I get very nervous for them. For the good youth. They could be victims of the perpetrators or the police."

Given the all-out, unrelenting manhunt for the gunman, Jones understandably is concerned - fearing a killer at large and worried for the many innocent black males who fit the profile.

"And I'm wearing a hoodie," sighed her 17-year-old son, Mark. "As a black man, I feel awkward. The police are going to look at you a certain way - then you got to worry about a 12-year-old with a gun."

There was quiet tension in West Oak Lane yesterday. People went about their business within the range of eagle-eyed officers in police cars that cruised throughout the stretch from 77th Street south all the way to Temple.

Norma Burger, a 61-year-old retiree from Mount Airy who was picking up her great-grandson from day-care, said that for the first time she locked her car door when a young black man walked past.

"But my main thing is, I'm embarrassed for the black race," said Burger, who is African American. "Every time you turn around, there's a black man with a gun." She looked at me incredulously: "Why do they have to rob? Why can't they get jobs? They have no ambition. I worked 35 years at my job, now my job is working for me. . . . I'm just ashamed about what's happening."

As is Keisha LeCoeur, a 28-year-old African American who is, as many are, praying for Officer Cassidy's family.

"It's really sad, the lack of concern for the value of life," she said, shaking her head. On Halloween night, LeCoeur said, she rushed into her house and stayed in, "something I never thought I'd do.

"I'm not scared of black men, but I'm embarrassed, absolutely," she said. "For all of this violence to be attributed to African American men . . . it just gives cause for other people to say, 'This is why we stereotype.' "

Face it: We're in a crisis of spirit. And we're going to have to battle it with some serious spiritual warfare. We all should be doing our own personal gut-check, reordering our values, understanding that no life is more precious than another. We shouldn't think twice about turning in a killer.

African Americans once prided themselves on their dignity even in the face of discrimination and hatred. Most of us still do.

It's the reason 10,000 African American men have committed to take a stand against violence. Vowed to protect their women and children. That notion doesn't frighten me. It reassures me.

Still, I wonder. On the way back from West Oak Lane, I stopped to watch the kids play at Joseph Pennell Academics Plus School. Seeing young black boys, innocent grade-schoolers, jockeying with each other, playing ball, talking and laughing with girls during recess, I couldn't help but be afraid - that one day these children might end up with a gun in their hands or be a victim themselves.

And that thought pierced me like a bullet through the heart.

---

Contact Annette John-Hall at 215-854-4986 or [e-mail].
To read her recent work: go.philly.com/annette.

Find this article at:
www.philly.com/philly/news/20071102_Annette_John-Hall__.html

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Reid brothers sentenced; judge criticizes family
By Mari A. Schaefer
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Garrett and Britt Reid were sentenced to jail today on charges stemming from January traffic incidents, and in a dramatic moment, the judge likened their home environment to a "drug emporium."

Their father is Eagles coach Andy Reid.

Judge Steven O'Neill questioned whether Reid's adult sons should live there, given their drug problems.

"There isn't any structure there that this court can depend upon. . . . This is a family in crisis," O'Neill said.

Garrett Reid was sentenced to two to 23 months, and authorities said that he had smuggled 89 pills into jail by secreting them in his rectum.

Britt Reid was sentenced to eight to 23 months, and four years stemming from a road-rage incident during which he flashed a gun.

Andy Reid did not comment after he left the courtroom.

Earlier in the day, Garrett Reid told court officials he had sold cocaine in the past, and had started abusing drugs when he was 18.

O'Neill said the pills, including Valium, were found in the jail this morning. Reid could face additional charges in connection with the pills.

After sentencing, Garrett Reid, 24, was returned to jail. His father and his mother, Tammy, were in the courtroom. Neither spoke.

At the sentencing hearing, Reid said he had struggled with drugs since high school. He also voiced despair.

"I'm at the point in my life where I have already made the decision that I don't want to die doing drugs."

"I don't want to be that kid who was the son of the head coach of the Eagles who was spoiled and on drugs and OD'ed and just faded into oblivion," he said in court.

Reid ran a red light on Jan. 30 in Plymouth Township and his vehicle plowed into a car, seriously injuring Louise Hartmann, 55, of Mount Carmel, Pa. He told police he had used heroin earlier in the day.

Reid pleaded guilty in July to drug and traffic charges from the accident and was initially released on bail pending sentencing.

O'Neill read in court a report that said Reid started using drugs and alcohol when he was 18, and started selling cocaine in 2000.

"I liked being the rich kid in that area," the report quoted Reid as saying, apparently in reference to North Philadelphia. "I could go anyplace in the 'hood. They all knew who I was. I liked being a drug dealer. . . . These kids were scared of me, I was even selling to their parents."

He later started selling OxyContin and "began using."

O'Neill had first revoked Garrett Reid's bail on Oct. 16, sending him to Montgomery County jail for seven days after he failed to appear for a court-ordered drug test.

Reid gave multiple reasons for missing the test, saying there was a "miscommunication." He said he couldn't get a ride, didn't feel the urge to urinate, and could not get a taxi in time. Reid did not fail the test given after he was sent to jail, and was then released.

Then, on Tuesday, O'Neill sent Reid back to Montgomery County jail for the second time when he failed a court-ordered urine test.

On the same day in January that Garrett Reid was involved in the accident, his brother Britt, 22, waived a hand-gun at another motorist in an apparent road-rage incident. A search warrant uncovered drugs and drug paraphernalia in his truck.

Britt Reid pleaded guilty and was free on bail when he violated conditions of his release and went to a Plymouth Township sporting goods store. In the store's parking lot, Britt Reid's truck was seen weaving before it struck a shopping cart. He failed a police sobriety test.

On Aug. 24, O'Neill revoked Britt Reid's bail and sent him to the Montgomery County jail.

---

Contact staff writer Mari A. Schaefer at 610-892-9149 or [e-mail].

Find this article at:
www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/10944771.html

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In N. Phila., profiling is a fact of life
Since the slaying of Officer Chuck Cassidy, many black men feel targeted by police searching for the killer.
By Melissa Dribben
Inquirer Staff Writer

There are about 104,000 African American men between the ages of 18 and 44 in the city of Philadelphia. The census doesn't measure how many of them take it for granted that if they wear dark hooded sweatshirts or drive a car with tinted windows, they run a good chance of getting stopped by police. But it's somewhere between many and most.

Black men grow up understanding that being viewed with suspicion is a fact of life, said Noah Cherry, a 19-year-old sophomore at Temple University. And it did not begin with the intensive search for Police Officer Chuck Cassidy's killer.

"We're always put in the position where we have to watch what we do," Cherry said. An exercise physiology major, he said: "I'm in college, but that doesn't mean anything. The stereotype is: You can take the man out of the 'hood, but you can't take the 'hood out of the man."

Wednesday evening, he was getting a ride back to his dorm with a friend when police stopped the car at Allegheny Avenue and Broad Street.

"They saw two black guys in a green Bonneville with dark tints," Cherry said. The officers asked to see identification. His friend pulled out his military ID. "He's in the Army. He's about to ship off to Egypt."

The officers let them go with a warning that the tints on the windows were too dark.

"You've got to do your best to just stay positive," he said.

Across the city, black men say they understand the need for police to search for the man who shot Cassidy. And they get it that with few clues available, a wide net must be cast, one that will catch a lot of innocent people who don't quite fit the description: a limping, 5-foot-11, heavyset black man with a spiderweb tattoo on the left hand.

"I feel bad because he was somebody's father. A provider. And he's gone," Anthony Williams said of the slain officer. "It ain't right."

A thin, 41-year-old carpenter, Williams was hanging out yesterday afternoon on his stoop, a few blocks south of Albert Einstein Medical Center, where Cassidy was taken after being mortally wounded. He was joined by two friends, Robert Jackson and Gregory Tucker. The three men said that none of them had been stopped in the current manhunt, but that they all have felt harassed by police in the past.

"They run up on you for any reason," Williams said.

"I'm targeted everyday, but I don't worry about it," Jackson said.

"Everybody's not a criminal," Tucker said before being interrupted by the beep and wail of sirens as Cassidy's body was transported from Einstein in a police cortege flashing down Broad Street.

"Police will stop pretty much anyone," said Demetrius Mitchell. Taking a break from his job as a car mechanic, Mitchell, 26, a former National Guardsman, sat outside a Shell station in North Philadelphia yesterday, noticing a sudden change in traditional street wear.

"Not too many people are wearing black hoodies today," Mitchell said. "Whenever a description of a suspect goes out like that, you try not to wear whatever looks like it or you'll get yourself harassed."

He corrected himself. "No. Actually, I wouldn't say harassed. The police are just doing their job. I don't know what you call it. Bothered, maybe."

What upsets him, Mitchell said, is not that the city is going all out, trying to locate Cassidy's killer, but that killers who claim the lives of average citizens aren't pursued with the same urgency.

"They need to catch who they're going to catch," Mitchell said. "But if they do it, it should be for everyone. Not just an officer."

The morning that Cassidy was shot, Mitchell put on a black hooded sweatshirt and went to his neighborhood Dunkin' Donuts a little farther south on Broad Street to pick up a sausage, egg and cheese croissant sandwich.

He did not hear about the attack until late that evening, when he was at a friend's house in Upper Darby.

Suddenly, he got a series of anxious calls from his uncle, his cousins and three or four friends. "They all told me: 'Don't wear that black hoodie home!' "

He hasn't worn it since, he said.

"If I did, I'm pretty sure they'd stop me."

That's despite the fact that he's 5-foot-7 and has no tattoos on his hand. Just on his forearms, including the initials of a friend who was murdered a few years ago, alongside a gravestone marked R.I.P.

---

Contact staff writer Melissa Dribben at 215-854-2590 or [e-mail].

Find this article HERE

[boxman]

Intense search on for suspect
John Lewis of N. Phila. is wanted in the death of Officer Chuck Cassidy. He's believed armed.
By Barbara Boyer, Jan Hefler and Andrew Maykuth
Inquirer Staff Writers

Investigators searched intently through the night for the "armed and dangerous" 21-year-old Olney High School dropout who they say may have used his mother's gun to kill Officer Chuck Cassidy.

Police issued an arrest warrant yesterday for John Lewis after a person close to his family told investigators on Saturday that he or she believed Lewis was the man who fatally shot Cassidy on Wednesday during an armed robbery in West Oak Lane. Cassidy, 54, died the next day.

After receiving the tip, investigators immediately went to the houses of Lewis' mother and grandmother on Roosevelt Boulevard. Sometime before dawn, police developed sufficient evidence to issue the warrant. Authorities believe Lewis had visited his mother's house on the 200 block of East Roosevelt Boulevard on Saturday afternoon, only hours before police arrived.

There is a $153,000 reward for the conviction of Cassidy's killer.

Police said Lewis' mother, Lynn Dyches, is a corrections officer in the Philadelphia prison system. They suspect Lewis used her 9mm semiautomatic to hold up the Dunkin' Donuts on North Broad Street and shoot Cassidy.

The officer was killed as he entered the shop while the robbery was taking place. Police said the assailant wheeled and shot Cassidy in the head from five feet away.

Police have not recovered the murder weapon. The suspect also is believed to have at least one other gun: Cassidy's 9mm Glock service pistol, taken from the officer's side after he fell.

"He is armed and extremely dangerous," Police Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson said of Lewis at a news conference yesterday morning. "John, if you're listening to us, please turn yourself in."

Lewis is described as 6 feet, 2 inches tall and 270 pounds, a black man with a medium complexion, short cropped hair, and scruffy facial hair. From a surveillance video of the killing, the culprit appears to have a distinctive gait.

Police said Lewis has two tattoos: the initials "HP," for Hunting Park, on his right hand; and "NP," for North Philly, on his left hand. The suspect does not have a spider-web tattoo, as authorities initially announced.

Police said the suspect's family was cooperating with investigators. Lewis' grandmother pleaded through the media for Lewis to surrender.

"John, this is Big Momma. I love you. We want you safe," Vernetha Glover Henry, the suspect's grandmother, said outside her West Roosevelt Boulevard home in Hunting Park.

The suspect, who is known to frequent North Philadelphia and the lower Northeast, also goes by the name Jordan Lewis and sometimes uses Jordan as his last name.

Police advised the public not to approach the suspect, but to call their hotline: [phone].

Police said they were concerned because they believed the suspect was not afraid to pull the trigger and so an arrest attempt might endanger other officers or the public.

"This male has no hesitation in shooting a person," Johnson said. "If he can shoot a person in uniform as he's coming into a restaurant, coming into a Dunkin' Donuts place, he's liable to shoot anybody."

Added Johnson: "We're begging him. We're pleading for him to turn himself in before anyone else is hurt in the city of Philadelphia."

Lewis, who attended Olney High School only a few blocks from his mother's house, has been arrested before, but not for violent crimes.

In 2005, he was charged with possession of drugs and possession with intent to distribute. He was placed in a treatment program, which he completed in February.

Four months later, Lewis was arrested again on drug charges. That case is pending.

The announcement of an arrest warrant energized investigators, who had worked nonstop since Wednesday to find the killer of one of their brethren. While the reward grew massively from donations, police were inundated with numerous tips, many of which were dead ends.

As the investigation extended into the weekend, homicide detectives seemed to grow weary. Typically impeccably groomed, the detectives appeared unshaven and scruffy, with their shirtsleeves rolled up.

But the news that investigators had identified a suspect seemed to lift the spirits of the task force that had taken up residence on the third floor of Police Headquarters.

Glover Henry, the suspect's grandmother, called Lewis "a teddy bear." She said she last spoke by telephone with her grandson on Friday. She said she did not know then that he had any possible connection to Cassidy's shooting

She and other relatives said Lewis is the only son of Dyches, 37. Dyches could not be reached for comment; nobody responded to a knock on her door.

The unmarried Lewis has two younger sisters and a new 3-month-old daughter, Natasha, according to his family.

His grandmother said Lewis was one of 32 grandchildren who frequently stop at her house for a meal, or for "safe haven," a place to spend the night or a few weeks. She last saw him a week ago, when she took him to Forman Mills, on Rising Sun and Adams Avenues, to apply for a job, she said.

Glover Henry, 57, a retired city highway department road crew chief, said she did not believe her grandson was a killer.

"I don't know what would make him do something like that, what would set him off. I don't think my baby did this," she said.

She pleaded for him to phone home.

"John . . . find a way to contact me so I can get you some help. I don't want you to get hurt. I love you, we all love you."

---

Services

Family and friends of Officer Chuck Cassidy may call from 6 to 9 p.m. tomorrow at the John F. Givnish Funeral Home, 10975 Academy Rd. in the Northeast.

Overflow parking will be available at Archbishop Ryan High School, 11201 Academy Rd., and shuttle transportation will be provided by the Police Department.

A viewing will start at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul in Center City, where a Funeral Mass will be said at noon.

Burial will follow at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Cheltenham.

---

Find video of Sylvester M. Johnson's announcement and more coverage at go.philly.com/shooting
Contact staff writer Andrew Maykuth at 215-854-2947 or [e-mail].

Find this article HERE

[boxman]

They caught the guy! An irony is that the suspect fled to Miami. The Police Chief of Miami, John Timoney, was Philly's Police Commissioner from 1998 to 2001. Timoney's tenure here in Philly is remembered for his toughness against crime and a decrease in the city's homicide rate.



Phila. police carry Cassidy’s cuffs to Miami to secure officer’s alleged killer
By Barbara Boyer, Michael Matza, Joseph A. Slobodzian and Andrew Maykuth
INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS

MIAMI – Philadelphia police detectives arrived on a flight this afternoon to collect John Lewis, the apprehended suspect in last week's killing of Police Officer Chuck Cassidy.

Observing a police tradition, the detectives tucked an extra item into their luggage: Cassidy's chrome handcuffs, which they plan to use to bring the suspect north to face prosecution here.

Miami police arrested Lewis at dawn today at a homeless shelter in downtown Miami, ending a dramatic multistate dragnet for the man wanted in Cassidy's killing.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson said authorities were tipped off that Lewis was staying at the Miami Rescue Mission after local television broadcast photos of the 21-year-old suspect.

Lewis is accused of shooting Cassidy in the head when the officer walked in on an armed robbery Wednesday at a West Oak Lane Dunkin' Donuts. Cassidy died the next day.

"Now that the killer is in custody, the wheels of justice will begin to turn, and we will use all of our resources to bring this defendant to justice," District Attorney Lynne Abraham said in a statement.

Authorities this afternoon charged a cousin of Lewis' with obstruction of justice and hindering arrest. Police said Hakim Glover, 29, put Lewis on a bus for Florida on Saturday, allowing the suspect to escape only minutes before police closed in on his mother's house on Roosevelt Boulevard.

Miami Police Chief John Timoney, the former police commissioner in Philadelphia, said Philadelphia police alerted him yesterday afternoon after they learned that Lewis had fled to Florida. Timoney said he set up a task force to hunt down the fugitive and enlisted Miami television stations to broadcast a mugshot.

Terri Ramos, a spokeswoman for the homeless shelter, said a man now identified as Lewis arrived yesterday afternoon, saying he had just arrived in town on a Greyhound Bus. Ramos said the man called himself Akim Melvin Atwell, but he volunteered little else about his background or where he had come from.

Ramos said Atwell spent a quiet night at the 220-bed shelter and interacted with some of the 150 men now staying there.

Shortly after 6 a.m. today, Ramos said, a male staffer at the center saw Lewis' image on the morning news.

"He said, 'I think that's the guy I saw yesterday,'" Ramos said.

Ramos said the staffer - whom she would not identify - was struck by the hair plaits on the televised image of the suspect and the fact that Atwell's hair had a "wild look," as if he had recently loosened plaits in his hair.

While police were alerted, Ramos said the staff lured the suspect into the chapel on the pretense of attending morning prayers. When Miami-Dade police arrived, the man was told he was needed in the lobby.

"He went very submissively," Ramos said.

"I'm sorry," arresting officers quoted Lewis as saying.

Ramos said the shelter this morning was overwhelmed with television camera crews. "Now we're in the middle of a media frenzy," she said.

The arrest ends an extraordinary manhunt for the man who allegedly gunned down the officer during a botched armed robbery.

"In the city of Philadelphia, we do not stand for this kind of violence, nor do we stand for this kind of violence against our police department," Mayor John F. Street said at a news conference this morning."

"Law enforcement has no boundaries," Johnson said at the news briefing. He thanked federal authorities as well as Miami police for making an all-out effort to apprehend Lewis. He also thanked the media for publicizing the suspect's image.

"When a law enforcement officer is killed, it's the entire law enforcement community that suffers because of that," he said.

Lewis will face an extradition hearing in Miami before authorities can return him to Philadelphia.

Homicide Sgt. William Britt, who is among five detectives en route to Miami this afternoon, said Lewis likely would be returned to Philadelphia tomorrow at the earliest if he does not try to fight his extradition.

Cassidy's family, preparing for his funeral at noon tomorrow, expressed gratitude through a spokesman.

"We are extremely appreciative of the hard work of the Philadelphia Police Department during the past week and are grateful as well for the efforts of the police officers in Miami," the family said in a statement.

For elated Philadelphia police officers, who had worked around the clock searching for the suspect since Cassidy's shooting Wednesday morning, the news of the arrest came on the day that Cassidy's funeral visitation services are scheduled.

"This is the happiest sad day that I've had in a long time," said Sgt. Tim Cooney, a member of the task force created to catch whoever killed the 25-year police veteran.

"We worked long and hard on this," Cooney said, saying that the homicide task force had worked closely with officers in the 35th District, where Cassidy worked, and with North Division Detectives.

Homicide Detective Greg Singleton, another member of the task force, said exhausted investigators could finally take a break.

"I felt relieved that this guy was caught and we can finally put this thing to rest," said the detective.

The arrest caps an intensive manhunt that involved hundreds of Philadelphia police officers and federal law enforcement agencies.

Investigators were disappointed yesterday to learn that Lewis, an Olney High School dropout who had worked at other Dunkin' Donuts outlets, had managed to escape the city while police were hot on his trail. Today they charged his cousin, Glover, with helping the suspect to escape.

Police said they learned of Lewis' bus trip yesterday when they raid Glover's house on the 3800 block of North Franklin Street, where they recovered two guns - one of them the slain officer's 9 mm Glock semiautomatic.

Glover was initially uncooperative, authorities said. During questioning, he ultimately disclosed that he had taken Lewis to the bus station in Wilmington and that he had a ticket to Miami. But by that time, the bus had already arrived in Miami, at 10:45 p.m. Sunday.

Police did not know whether Lewis was in Miami or had disembarked at any of the numerous stops between Wilmington and Florida.

"We had FBI agents and law enforcement all over the place," said Philadelphia Homicide Capt. Michael Costello. "And we had them everywhere in between here and Miami."

Costello said others may be charged in connection with Lewis' run for freedom.

Before police were tipped off to Lewis' identity on Saturday, the suspect appeared to be conducting himself normally and in the open.

Rather than conceal himself in the days following Cassidy's killing, Lewis actually strolled into the Criminal Justice Center on Friday to attend a pre-arranged court hearing related to his arrest on June 14 on charges of drug possession, a court official said today.

While the city was on the lookout for a suspect with a spider web tattoo on his hand - police later abandoned that description after they identified Lewis – the suspect walked past dozens of law enforcement officers who were attending various hearings at the Center City complex.

After he was ordered to reappear in court in January and left the courthouse, Lewis literally slipped unscathed through the hall of justice.

Authorities confirmed yesterday through a bus driver that Lewis had taken a bus to Miami. Police said they had learned that a relative had purchased a bus ticket for the 30-hour ride to Miami over the weekend for Lewis.

Two handguns that police said were linked to the slaying were recovered yesterday afternoon from the house of Lewis' cousin, Glover. Although one was the officer's 9mm Glock semiautomatic, stolen when he was gunned down, the second was not the firearm reported missing by Lewis' mother, Lynn Dyches, a corrections officer in the Philadelphia Prison System. Police initially suspected that the mother's gun may have been used in the slaying.

"Lewis expressed a desire not to be captured," according to a federal affidavit filed in support of the arrest warrant, which was issued early Sunday.

Police as well as Lewis' relatives had put out a public appeal for him to surrender, and police said they had pressured Lewis' known associates to turn him in.

The warrant, which suggested that Lewis might intend to flee to Maryland, said that two witnesses identified the suspect. It also said that Lewis' family indicated he was "responsible" for Cassidy's killing.

Authorities had offered a reward, which grew in the last few days to $153,000, for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Cassidy's killer.

On Sunday, dozens of law enforcement officers raided a neighborhood close to the Dunkin' Donuts where Cassidy was shot. They searched an apartment complex at 70th Avenue and North Broad Street.

An informal memorial of flowers, stuffed animals and tributes continued to pile up outside the doughnut shop at 6620 N. Broad St.

The Dunkin' Donuts owner mounted a plaque at the memorial, noting that the shop would remain closed until after Cassidy's funeral tomorrow out of respect to the officer who regularly stopped in at the shop as part of his security rounds.

---

Contact staff writer Andrew Maykuth at 215-854-2947 or [e-mail].

Inquirer writers Robert Moran, Dwight Ott and John Shiffman contributed to this article.

Find this article HERE

[boxman]

A profile of the assumed current Philly mob leader:

LINK
Posted on Sun, Dec. 2, 2007


Former Philadelphia mob boss Joseph Merlino (left) with Joseph Ligambi at a softball game in 1998. Merlino, serving 14 years for racketeering, kept a high profile in the news and gossip columns.

A 'family man' who's content in shadows
The reputed mob boss keeps a low profile.
By George Anastasia
Inquirer Staff Writer

Joseph Ligambi, the reputed mob boss of Philadelphia, is an early riser, often out of the house by 6 a.m.

But unlike his predecessors - who, not coincidentally, are in jail - Ligambi spends most of his nights at home.

"He's a quiet family man," said an associate without a trace of irony in his voice.

"He's more interested in making money than in making headlines," adds Capt. Charles Bloom of the Philadelphia Police Department's Criminal Intelligence Unit.

Low-key, circumspect, and happy to stay in the shadows.

That's the picture of the onetime bartender and bookmaker as he marks an unofficial anniversary as the alleged head of what used to be the most dysfunctional crime family in America.

It's a picture painted both by law enforcement officials and by several associates who, because of Ligambi's desire for privacy, would speak only anonymously.

Ligambi, 68, has quietly brought stability back to the troubled Philadelphia-South Jersey branch of La Cosa Nostra with a business approach that is a reflection of his personality, they say.

Gone are the nights of wiseguys carousing at bars and clubs along Delaware Avenue, an entourage of hip gangsters out to see and be seen.

Gone, too, are the high profile parties, media-oriented charity affairs, and celebrity-like appearances at sporting events and social gatherings.

And gone, at least over the last four years, are the wanton acts of violence that attracted investigators, spawned informants, and tore the organization apart.

"He's interested in two things," said a former wiseguy. "Peace . . . and money."

He appears to have both.

Ligambi lives comfortably in a $275,000 brick corner rowhouse in an upscale South Philadelphia neighborhood. The neatly appointed home includes a carport and deck out back and a small patio in front.

The house is in the name of his wife, Olivia, according to tax records. He has three sons, two of whom are reportedly attending college. The third works in the building trades, according to sources.

Ligambi spends most summers at a rental home in a posh section of Margate at the Jersey Shore. He drives nice cars, most recently a black Cadillac STS.

And since November 2003, there hasn't been a serious act of violence attributed to the organization.

Even his nickname, "Uncle Joe," is benign.

Ligambi, through his attorney, M.W. "Mike" Pinsky, declined to comment last week. The usually loquacious Pinsky said he could not respond to questions about his client, including several inquiries about Ligambi's employment and sources of income.

Police say Ligambi claims to be "retired."

"He's very low-key," said Bloom. "That's the way he runs the organization. . . . They're not as big and strong as they once were, but . . . they're doing business."

Bloom's unit, along with the FBI, has been tracking Ligambi since his return to South Philadelphia in 1997, after serving 10 years for a gangland murder conviction that was later overturned.

Police say Ligambi eschews the celebrity-gangster style of his predecessor, Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino, and the volatile, take-no-prisoners approach of his onetime underworld mentor, Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo.

Merlino, serving a 14-year sentence on federal racketeering charges, was the John Gotti of Passyunk Avenue, whose comings and goings were chronicled in front-page stories and gossip columns.

Young, brash and media-savvy, Merlino garnered headlines by hosting an annual Christmas party for homeless children; sponsoring Thanksgiving turkey giveaways in low-income housing projects; and pitching for a South Philadelphia softball team whose games attracted fans and police surveillance cameras.

Ligambi is Scrooge-like in comparison.

And very circumspect.

Conscious of informants and wiretaps, he seldom discusses business on the phone or with groups of individuals, investigators say.

His closest confidant is Anthony Staino, his former driver and the man authorities believe is now running the organization's South Jersey operation.

Staino lives in a stylish house in an upscale development outside Swedesboro, Gloucester County, but is sometimes a 6 a.m. visitor to Ligambi's home.

The two have been spotted walking around the block together deep in conversation.

"When you see Ligambi, you see Staino," said one investigator.

Ligambi, sources say, became acting boss when Merlino was jailed in 1999. After Merlino was sentenced on Dec. 3, 2001 - six years ago this week - Ligambi's position became permanent.

His management style is compared most often to that of Angelo Bruno, whose relatively peaceful 21-year reign ended abruptly when he was killed in March 1980.

Under Bruno, murder was a negotiating tool of last resort. When Scarfo took over, it became a calling card.

Ligambi was convicted along with Scarfo and several others of the 1985 murder of Frank "Frankie Flowers" D'Alfonso - a conviction that was later overturned.

The murder was one of more than two dozen that occurred during the Scarfo era. Scarfo is serving a 55-year sentence on federal racketeering charges.

Ligambi, said one associate, learned from the past.

"People respect him, they don't fear him," the associate said.

Nonetheless, Philadelphia homicide detectives continue to work three unsolved mob killings that have occurred during Ligambi's watch. And the FBI is actively gathering evidence in an ongoing mob racketeering investigation.

Testimony at Merlino's trial in 2001 linked Ligambi to a lucrative illegal video-poker machine network that authorities say remains one source of income.

Bookmaking, loansharking and extortion also are money-makers for the crime family, according to Bloom.

Two associates were recently charged in a $22 million sports-betting operation being run out of the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City.

But to date no one has put all the pieces together in the type of multi-pronged prosecution that led to jail time for Philadelphia's last four mob leaders - Merlino, Ralph Natale (now an informant), John Stanfa and Scarfo.

Bits and pieces of different investigations have become public, however.

Informants Peter "Pete the Crumb" Caprio and Roger Vella have provided information about the October 1999 slaying of mobster Ron Turchi, according to court records. But their credibility - particularly that of Vella - is suspect.

Another informant has tied members of the Ligambi organization to the killing of Raymond "Long John" Martorano in 2002.

And three associates of the crime family are suspects in the slaying of John "Johnny Gongs" Casasanto, shot to death in his South Philadelphia rowhouse in 2003.

But after seeing a federal jury reject a half-dozen murder counts that were part of the Merlino racketeering case, prosecutors apparently have decided that hard evidence, not just informant testimony, is needed to make those types of charges stick.

Thus far, investigators haven't found that evidence.

In the interim, law enforcement sources say, the FBI continues to build a gambling, loansharking and extortion case.

And Ligambi continues to live a quiet, unassuming life.

"He's a problem-solver," said a friend who called Ligambi the antithesis of the hot-tempered, paranoid and irrational Scarfo. "He's not going to have somebody whacked because they didn't come to a Christmas party and kiss his ring."

Contact staff writer George Anastasia at 856-779-3846 or [e-mail].

[cellogal]

I'm working on a fic (a couple of them, actually), and, without giving away too much of the plot, does anyone know what might happen in Real Life if a couple of police detectives got involved? (I've said too much already...) We'll see how realistic I want to make it once I get an answer, but if it's possible to work in some reality, I might try. Thanks in advance!

[boxman]

cellogal said:

I'm working on a fic (a couple of them, actually), and, without giving away too much of the plot, does anyone know what might happen in Real Life if a couple of police detectives got involved?

Got involved.... with the murder?? That would be complicated. I don't know of such a real life case, though... At least not in Philly. Maybe in NYC?? For some reason, I think it has happened there... And then, there is the case of Drew Peterson right now in the news, though that's more of a domestics case, rather than an in-the-line-of-duty case....

[boxman]

Philly could someday be home to one of the tallest buildings in the world.




cbs3.com/local/American.Commerce.Center.2.677251.html
New Skyscraper Could Join Philly Skyline

PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―The Philadelphia skyline could soon be a little more crowded as a new skyscraper is planned to take over, according to PhillySkyline.com.

The Web site states the American Commerce Center is a 63-story, 1,500-foot tall giant planned by Walnut Street Capital and designed by the architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox.

WSC recently purchased a parking lot at 1800 Arch Street, just one block from the recently-built Comcast Center.

If built, the American Commerce Center would tower approximately 525-feet over Philly's latest skyscraper.

The building is planned to contain a 26-story hotel, several floors of retail, a public garden and plenty of office space.

Peter Kelsen, zoning attorney for the developer said, "The development team is excited and looking forward to moving ahead with this world class project. We've already begun discussions with the community and city officials and we are committed to continuing those dialogues and look forward to successfully bringing this project to the city of Philadelphia."

Groundbreaking on the project is not expected until sometime in 2009.

Until city council lifted the lid on high rise buildings back in the 80s, city hall, at 548 feet, was the tallest structure in Philadelphia. It is now dwarfed by Two Liberty Place at 848 feet, One Liberty Place at 945 feet and most recently the Comcast Center at 975 feet. Combined with the Commerce Center at 1,500 feet, the city will be taking another step toward a world class skyline.

For more information visit PhillySkyline.com or ACCTower.com.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

---

LINK
Friday, March 14, 2008
Giant skyscraper proposed
Tower would be taller than the Empire State Building
Philadelphia Business Journal - by Natalie Kostelni Staff Writer

A local developer is proposing to construct an $800 million, 2.2 million-square-foot skyscraper on what is now a surface parking lot at 18th and Arch streets in Center City.

The 63-story building would stand 1,500 feet high, surpassing the new Comcast Center, which at 1,000 feet tall is the city's tallest structure. The proposed tower would even be taller than the Empire State Building.

"It would be an iconic structure," said Garrett Miller, president of Walnut Street Capital. "This is something Philadelphia has not seen before."

Walnut Street Capital, a Philadelphia development company, and a pension fund from Washington state are allying to develop the project. The pension fund, which has $6.18 billion in assets, is financing the project, Miller said. This enables the project to skirt around the current credit crunch that is starting to put a damper on commercial projects.

Walnut Street bought the 1.5-acre site in September from Verizon Communications Inc. of New York. The property is one of the few remaining prime development parcels in the heart of the city.

The structure is being called the American Commerce Center. It would have 1.3 million square feet of office space, a 300-room, high-end hotel and 315,000 square feet of retail space above and below street level. An underground garage would have 383 parking spaces.

While the plans are in place and financing secured, Walnut Street does have hurdles to cross including getting zoning approval and luring tenants to the structure.

So far, Walnut Street has lined up tenants for the retail portion, Miller said. While he declined to give specifics, Miller said a high-end home store, restaurants ranging from moderate to high end, a gourmet food store, a health club as well as a movie theater have committed. The theater, based on a new concept emerging from Australia, would have eight screens that can seat 18 to 40 people each and offer light fare, spirits and first-run movies. The hotel flag is in negotiations and would be a full-service, five-star facility.

Walnut Street is banking on lining up an anchor or multiple tenants to kick off the office portion of the project. Miller believes there's a void of newer office stock in Center City that this building would fill and help attract corporate headquarters to Philadelphia. He figures such companies desire newer space that is currently unavailable.

"I think Philadelphia has a need for a new office building," Miller said.

Office developers in Philadelphia have always felt market rents couldn't support new construction, and Miller concedes existing city and state incentives should be tapped to lure companies from outside the state to his building. He is not seeking to make his site a Keystone Opportunity Zone, which Liberty Property Trust had unsuccessfully sought with Comcast Center. Brandywine Realty Trust constructed Cira Centre on an opportunity zone and has plans to construct another office building on a KOZ in University City.

"The intention is to not cannibalize existing tenants but attract headquarter-type users to the city," said Peter Kelsen, a lawyer with Blank Rome representing Walnut Street.

The site is zoned for commercial use and can have nearly 1 million square feet built on it. To go higher, Walnut Street will need to seek approval from the city and the planning commission. "This was always regarded as a high-density, high-rise site," Kelsen said.

However, a height restriction was put in place for an area that includes this site last year after a developer presented a controversial plan for what was initially called the Barnes Tower, a 47-story, 500-foot high condominium development off the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The height and scale of the project ignited opposition and prompted City Council to limit the height for anything within the district to 125 feet.

Walnut Street Capital will seek denser zoning and to have the height restriction lifted, Kelsen said.

While such variances can sometimes be difficult to get, Kelsen believes the project adds to the vitality of that part of the city.

"We think this development fills a hole in a critical block of Center City," he said. "It's bleak now."

The site sits in an area gaining more attention from developers as well as retail and office tenants since the Comcast Center has been erected. The skyscraper's presence has expanded the Central Business District and helped fill what some have referred to as a "dead zone" between Logan Square and Market Street.

To that end, the design of the building, with a mix of uses and design elements that try to create vibrant public spaces to be used at all hours of the day, aims to add to the vitality of this area, according to Miller.

The American Commerce Center was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Architects of New York. The firm has left its mark in Philadelphia, having designed One and Two Logan Square, Huntsman Hall at the Wharton School of Business at University of Pennsylvania and the expansion of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

The proposed building would be constructed to meet LEED gold certification and the developer anticipates, if approvals are in place, breaking ground next summer and finishing it by 2012.

[e-mail] | 215-238-5139

[Khaya]

I can't really follow the article, because the English is way past my level.
But I like the picture Is it really going to be the highest building in the world?

[boxman]

It won't be the tallest, but could easily be somewhere in the Top-10. This depends on many things, including if other buildings that are planned are built or not. There are two ways they measure the height of a building: To the top of any physical structure (such as radio antennas), or to the top of the roof. This building (as shown in the concept) would be "up there" in height.

[longislanditalian2]

Do you know if Philly is surrounded by woods

[boxman]

Hi, LII.

The Delaware River runs along the eastern and southern edge of the city, so no woods there. However, to the north and west, and throughout the city are many wooded areas. The largest wooded area within the city limits is Fairmount Park, the largest park in Philly's Fairmount Park System:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairmount_Park
www.fairmountpark.org/
www.fairmountparkconservancy.org/faqs/park_facts.php

IIRC, Fairmount Park (the park itself, and not the entire system), is the largest city park in the world. You may want to read one of the sites above to confirm this. (I'm on my lunchbreak now and can't do an extensive search.)

Most of the wooded area that make up the Fairmount Park system is located along the Schuylkill and Wissahickon rivers that runs from the northwest corner of Philly towards Center City.

Pennypack Park is another part of the system and runs through northeast Philly:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennypack_Park

Cobb's Creek, a river and wooded park, runs along Philly's western city limits:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobbs_Creek

Cobb's Creek flows into the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge (a wetlands reserve) near the Philly Intl Airport in the south, before joining the Delaware river:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Heinz_National_Wildlife_Refuge_at_Tinicum

It's actually more of a swamp than a wooded area, but still nevertheless a good area to hide a body. The refuge is named after the late Senator John Heinz III, the husband of Theresa Heinz Kerry. Senator Heinz was a Republican, btw.

Just last week, they found human remains in Cobb's Creek Park. Looks like we have a real-life cold case:
cbs3.com/local/cobbs.creek.search.2.682265.html

The northern edge of Philly also has a lot of wooded areas, but they are mostly private land that remains undeveloped and rural. Joseph, Lilly's old boyfriend, was hiding out in this area of the city. They actually named the street he was on in the episode too, so if you can watch "Joseph" again, you might be able to catch it. (Off the top of my head, I think it was Limekiln Pike.)

[longislanditalian2]

Thanks Boxman, it helps with writing my fanfics.