$468,616 Federal Grant Slated For Flood

Affidavit Lists Guns-for-drugs Scheme 
Authorities Claim William 
Jenkins Bartered Guns For Drugs 
As Part Of A Simple, Yet Very 
Effective Criminal Operation

By ANTHONY COLAROSSI; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Friday, January 31, 1997 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





WILKES-BARRE -- Today the world starts to learn more about why state police
and the Luzerne County district attorney believe Joann Curley poisoned,
tortured and eventually killed her husband. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Joann Curley's preliminary hearing is to begin today. It will be covered,
watched and scrutinized as if it was a local version of an O.J. Simpson trial. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But today's proceeding is not a trial. It is only the first step in a legal
process that could lead to a jury verdict. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Still, the hearing is sure to bring obscure, technical testimony and
evidence that will demand the attention of the prosecution and defense. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 That's an opinion, and it comes from someone who knows about thallium
poisoning. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Lt. Susan Goreck, with the Polk County Sheriffs Office in Bartow, Fla.,
went undercover to help solve the Peggy Carr thallium poisoning murder in
1990. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We had chemists from just about everywhere," Goreck said, recalling
evidence brought to a grand jury before authorities formally charged Peggy
Carr's neighbor, George Trepal, with her murder in Alturas, Fla. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's probably going to get very technical. You really have to get into
explanations on what type of machinery was used to do (toxicological) testing. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's so detailed. I don't want to say it's above people's heads, but it
might be that or it might just be boring. I find it interesting." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Trepal was convicted of first-degree murder, the same charge Curley faces.
And he is on death row, a place Curley might end up if prosecutors have their
way. Trepal recently lost his death sentence appeal. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's probably one of the worst things you can be poisoned with," Goreck
said. "It was unimaginable why someone would do that to another person ...
(Trepal) really disliked the next door neighbors." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 District Attorney Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. and his team of prosecutors are
beginning a long journey to what they hope will be a conviction in this case. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Today they must prove what is called a "prima facie" case against Curley,
who is charged with first-degree murder in the thallium poisoning death of
Robert Curley in 1991. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Patrick Toole helped define what
a preliminary hearing is in a 1992 ruling on another murder case. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The purpose of such a hearing is not to determine guilt or innocence,"
Toole wrote. "The principal function of the hearing is to protect an
individual's rights against an unlawful arrest or detention. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "The commonwealth must show the presence of each element necessary to
constitute each offense charged and the defendant's complicity in each
offense," Toole's ruling states. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Olszewski could not be reached for comment Thursday. But his opponent was
available. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "What we really want to do ... is listen to the commonwealth's evidence and
go from there," said Curley's lead attorney, Frank Nocito. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Nocito said he might call witnesses, but he will definitely have some of
his own scientific experts on the scene if needed. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Olszewski's case against Joann Curley is based on an elaborate exclusion
theory that says Robert Curley was poisoned with thallium several times. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The affidavit of probable cause says Robert Curley might have been poisoned
11 months before his death in September 1991. It states he received a final
"heavy exposure" at the Hershey Medical Center days before his death. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Olszewski is using several toxicological experts to interpret samples of
Curley's hair, fingernails, toenails, tissues and organs. Their analyses and
scientific understanding of thallium poisoning is the basis of the
prosecution's case. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The experts claim Joann Curley is the only person who had access to her
husband during all the instances he was poisoned, the affidavit says. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But Goreck said the prosecution might be sitting on a lot of information
vital to its case. "For us there was a lot more," she said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 According to the affidavit, Olszewski's experts are at the top of their
field. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dr. Fredric Reiders is the laboratory director of National Medical Services
in Willow Grove, outside Philadelphia. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dr. James Garriott is the chief toxicologist for the Bexar County Forensic
Science Center in San Antonio, Texas. Garriott believes Robert Curley was last
poisoned sometime between Sept. 18 and Sept. 22, 1991. He died Sept. 27. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Siding with Reiders and Garriott are prominent forensic pathologists
Michael Baden and Cyril H. Wecht. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 William Ruzzo, who is assisting Nocito with the defense, said he suspects
Wecht will testify today because the district attorney's office initially
rescheduled the preliminary hearing to fit Wecht's schedule. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I think you can count on Cyril Wecht being there," Ruzzo said. "I don't
know who else they're putting on. I probably will not be (cross-examining)
their experts, so I'm liable to take anybody else." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The defense team goes into the hearing not knowing much more about
Olszewski's case than what is in the affidavit filed on the day of Joann
Curley's arrest. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We have some idea," Ruzzo said. "We're not completely in the dark." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Curley's preliminary hearing starts at 9:30 a.m. before District Justice
Martin Kane of Wilkes-Barre. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

High-tech Data Likely At Hearing 
Early Part Of The Process Could Be 
Highly Technical And Fairly Obscure 
To Those Not Directly Involved In The 
Thallium Poisoning Case

High-tech Data Likely At Hearing Early Part Of The Process Could Be Highly Technical And Fairly Obscure To Those Not Directly Involved In The Thallium Poisoning Case