$4.5 Million Budget Plan Keeps Taxes At Current Level

3 To Be Petitioned In Bus Vandalism

By JOHN DECKER; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Thursday, November 27, 1997 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3A 





WILKES-BARRE- Three exotic-marine life hobbyists testified Wednesday
against a city man who allegedly ripped them off through the Internet. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Police claim Mike Murgallis, 33, of Moyallen Street, used electronic mail
to negotiate purchases and sales of aquarium products posted on the World Wide
Web site known as the "Reef Traders Outpost Exchange." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Alleged victims contacted Murgallis after seeing items posted for sale on
the site, or he contacted them after seeing their postings. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Transactions ended with suppliers receiving bad checks or buyers not
getting the merchandise they paid for, police say. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "He never made a human gesture to reconcile things," testified Scott
Kauffman, of Laurel, Md., one of the nine alleged victims. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Kauffman testified that after weeks of frustration he ended up contacting
Wilkes-Barre police and received Detective Robert Zavada's permission to put a
"Buyers Beware" posting on the site along with Zavada's number for anyone else
who thought he or she was hustled. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But the customers will have to wait until after Thanksgiving to see if Mike
Murgallis will face trial for the alleged scam. He remains free on a $10,000
bond. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 After a nearly three-hour preliminary hearing Wednesday, District Justice
Michael Collins said he will review the case to see if there is sufficient
evidence to forward the charges to the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Luzerne County Assistant District Attorney Michelle Olshefski made slight
amendments to the list of charges. Murgallis is charged with nine counts of
unlawful use of a computer, each count graded as a third degree felony; nine
counts of theft by deception; and four counts of bad checks. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Murgallis' attorney, John Sobota, told Collins the unlawful use of a
computer charges should be dropped because the Internet is not necessarily
part of the computer system, but merely a program. Sobota said the Internet
could be used without a computer, using Web-TV as an example. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Sobota also said the theft by deception charges should be dismissed because
the alleged actions were not criminal and should be handled as a civil matter. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Collectively, the nine people reportedly lost more than $4,000, but the
three men who testified said it was more a matter of principle. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In addition, Sobota argued the charges stemming from the six alleged
victims who were not present Wednesday should be dropped because the
commonwealth's evidence was based on hearsay. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Olshefski and the three alleged victims who were present at the hearing
disagree. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "This is a prime example of unlawful use of a computer," said Olshefski,
citing the similarity in each of the cases. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Olshefski said that all nine of the alleged victims were not present
because they live in faraway states, and traveling would cost them further
losses. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I think (Murgallis) was banking on no one showing during the Thanksgiving
holiday," said Ken Greene, who left New York City at 6 a.m. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Alleged Scammer Awaits Ruling 
Witnesses Tell A District Justice That 
A Wilkes-barre Man Reeled Them In 
Through An Aquarium Products Site 
On The World Wide Web

Alleged Scammer Awaits Ruling Witnesses Tell A District Justice That A Wilkes-barre Man Reeled Them In Through An Aquarium Products Site On The World Wide Web