Work Set For Area Roads 
The Pennsylvania Department Of Transportation Plans The Following Road Work 
This Week.

Airport Gets $200,000 Grant For Road Work

By DAWN SHURMAITIS; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Saturday, December 17, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





WILKES-BARRE -- Several community leaders say it's unlikely a white
supremacist looking to build membership in the Aryan Racial Loyalist Party
will have much success here. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 They expressed confidence in the area's reputation as the "Valley with a
heart." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "We're very, very concerned about it," says Rabbi James Michaels of Temple
Israel in Wilkes-Barre. "But I think most people view him as ludicrous. I
don't think he's going to persuade many people." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Michaels was referring to the work of Jack Grimes, a New York City man who
papered the city with fliers this week depicting gross caricatures of
African-Americans and homosexuals. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Grimes has claimed credit for some of the fliers, stating to The Times
Leader in an earlier interview that his group's purpose is to educate people
about white supremacy. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He has disavowed any connection with one of the fliers that uses the word
"kill." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Grimes calls himself the dictator of the Aryan Racial Loyalist Party, now
based in New York City. He has made frequent trips to Wilkes-Barre in the last
three months to found a new chapter. He said 27 locals have joined the group,
which meets monthly at an apartment on North River Street. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 None of the group members would speak to the press. A woman who identified
herself as the head of the local chapter did not show up for an arranged
interview. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Grimes is a "lone wolf" who blankets small cities with inflammatory fliers
in an often vain attempt to gain media attention and converts to his cause,
according to a Philadelphia race-relations group. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "He stirred a lot of controversy in Ohio, but we could identify only two
members. There are lots of hate groups with one or two members who pass
themselves off as a movement," said Barry Morrison, regional director of the
Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware Anti-Defamation League in Philadelphia. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The league looked into Grimes when his group was based in Euclid, Ohio. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We don't consider him a major force or threat," Morrison said Friday.
"He's ineffectual" at converting people to his ideas, Morrison said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Grimes said he fears Jews more than African-Americans but is not a disciple
of Adolph Hitler, who exterminated about 6,000,000 million Jews during World
War II. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I hate Hitler," Grimes said last month, adding he is more aligned
politically to Italian fascist Benito Mussolini. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Not taken lightly &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Wilkes-Barre Chief Joseph Coyne sent copies of the fliers to the FBI and
the state police Heritage Affairs officer in Harrisburg. Maj. Ronald A. Garcia
said he is not familiar with Grimes or his organization but said laws exist to
address hate crimes. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 If someone commits a violent crime whose underlying offense is intimidation
against someone because of their race, color, religion or national origin,
that person may be guilty of ethnic intimidation. A state law covers ethnic
intimidation. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Distributing literature is protected by the First Amendment, Garcia said.
But the manner in which such literature is distributed might be investigated.
Using metal tacks to adhere something to telephone poles is also a violation
of state law, Garcia said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We've experienced problems like this all over Pennsylvania," Garcia said.
"Lots of groups are out there with similar philosophies that conduct
themselves in similar ways. We've had other incidents like this in the
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Testing the waters &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Grimes, who walks with a severe limp, said he was injured while serving in
Vietnam and now collects disability. He lives in New York City and rides the
bus here. He wears a homemade uniform, slicks back his black hair and sports a
Hitler-like mustache. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Morrison said the Aryans are not national and do not have the numbers or
the organizational skills of other hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Grimes is probably testing the community to see if it will embrace his
philosophy, Morrison said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Clearly, he's not getting much support. Wilkes-Barre is not a hotbed of
racism. Sure, there are bigots in every community but it's not like he's
coming into fertile ground." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Pennsylvania ranks seventh in the nation in the number of hate crimes
reported to the FBI, Morrison said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The fliers began showing up in October. Some depicted Hitler. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "He's not dangerous," Michaels said. "His ideas are dangerous." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A year ago, a Wilkes-Barre synagogue was defaced with spray-painted
swastikas. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Murray Ufberg, chairman of the Community Relations Council of the Jewish
community, which fosters better relations between various groups in the area,
called the fliers "offensive." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It concerns me that he thinks this view exists in our community," Ufberg
said. "But I have enough faith in the good will of our community to believe
this is an isolated incident." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Luzerne County District Attorney Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. said police are
investigating Grimes' actions. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Certainly we as a community don't want to tolerate those actions,"
Olszewski said. "If it's not criminal, it's certainly offensive. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I hope the community comes together and sends a message that it won't be
tolerated." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER FILE PHOTO/CLARK VAN ORDEN &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Jack Grimes, the self-described dictator of the New York City-based Aryan
Racial Loyalist Party, admitted to distributing racist fliers in Wilkes-Barre
recently. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Hate Has Trouble Penetrating Valley 
Jack Grimes And His Racist Fliers May Feed On 
Intimidation. But Not In Our Backyards, Leaders 
Say. Here, They Have Faith In Their Neighbors

Hate Has Trouble Penetrating Valley Jack Grimes And His Racist Fliers May Feed On Intimidation. But Not In Our Backyards, Leaders Say. Here, They Have Faith In Their Neighbors