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2-signature Plan Won't Make May Ballot 
Reese Veto Impedes Referendum In Kingston

By JEFF WALSH; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Wednesday, January 25, 1995 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3A 





WILKES-BARRE -- When John Edison Simon wouldn't stop talking about having
sex with a 14-year-old girl, it was hitting close to home for his roommate,
Gerald Sgroi, a police officer testified. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Sgroi has a teenage daughter and became angry at the sex talk -- so angry
he beat and choked Simon until he died Jan. 14, police say. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Wilkes-Barre police officer James Touey testified at a preliminary hearing
Tuesday for Sgroi on a charge of criminal homicide. Touey said Sgroi's own
teenage daughter was on the defendant's mind shortly after the slaying. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "He told me he had a daughter about that age," Touey testified, adding it
appeared that was part of Sgroi's motive in committing the slaying. He said
Sgroi made the statement when first confronted about the death, when Touey
found Sgroi on the steps of St. John the Evangelist Church, North Main Street,
near the crime scene. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Illegal conduct between Simon and minors has not been confirmed. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Even before his arrest, Sgroi told Touey he killed Simon, telling the
officer "You're probably looking for me because I killed John," Touey
testified. Sgroi did not resist arrest, police say. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The preliminary hearing ended with the charge against Sgroi, who allegedly
beat his 50-year-old roommate in the head with a banister spindle and then
allegedly choked him to death, bound over to Luzerne County Court of Common
Pleas. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Sgroi, 36, has pleaded not guilty to the charge. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Mark Singer, a county assistant district attorney, said proving Sgroi
intended to kill Simon will not be a difficult task. Sgroi first hit Simon in
the head three times with the spindle, then choked him with his hands for
about two minutes, and -- upon thinking Simon was still breathing -- choked
Simon again with the spindle, Singer said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "If that's not specific intent, I don't know what is," Singer said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The majority of the hearing in front of District Justice Martin Kane of
Wilkes-Barre rehashed a police affidavit used to initially charge Sgroi Jan.
15. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 After killing his roommate, Sgroi threw Simon's body in a closet because he
"didn't want to look at him," the affidavit said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Simon died from the blows to his head, said Luzerne County Deputy Coroner
Joe Shaver. An autopsy was performed Jan. 14 by Dr. Gary Ross at Community
Medical Center in Scranton. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Sgroi is being held without bail at the Luzerne County ~Correctional
Facility. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER/RICHARD SABATURA &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Gerald Sgroi is escorted by city police to his preliminary hearing in
Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Accused Killer Had Child On Mind, Says Cop 
Roommate's Comments On Sex With 14-year-old 
Struck Nerve With Gerald Sgroi, Who Has A Daughter 
Near That Age, An Officer Testifies At Hearing

Accused Killer Had Child On Mind, Says Cop Roommate's Comments On Sex With 14-year-old Struck Nerve With Gerald Sgroi, Who Has A Daughter Near That Age, An Officer Testifies At Hearing