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Paul Vassil, as the executive called himself, told Mr. Cordes that he was not, precisely, the vice president in charge of running 55 Water Street, one of the largest privately owned buildings in America. He was an undercover police detective working with the Manhattan District Attorney's office to investigate mob contr...
Mr. Cordes, a director of the Jones Lang Wootton real estate firm, was flabbergasted. ''Can I see your gun?'' he asked.
Mr. Vassil pulled up the pants leg of his business suit to reveal a revolver strapped to his ankle. He then said he had to go, and might never be back. Mr. Cordes was left to break the news to the stunned staff, including the secretaries, who wept. Paul, as everyone called him, had touched people with his sweet manner....
The real name of Paul Vassil is Harry Bridgwood, but the last unexpected twist of his story is that his colleagues did see him again. Three months later, Mr. Bridgwood's boss at 55 Water Street thought he had done such a good job that he wanted him back as the real vice president in charge of the building. The former h...
Mr. Bridgwood was successful in his investigation, too. The former head of New York's largest garbage-hauling company, Angelo Ponte, 72, is in prison after admitting that he joined a Mafia-controlled garbage cartel. His son, Vincent J. Ponte, pleaded guilty to giving Mr. Bridgwood $10,000 in bribes. Much of the evidenc...
The case was a part of one of the largest undercover investigations in recent New York history. But for Mr. Bridgwood, the destruction of a Mafia cartel also came with a lesson on the nature of friendship and betrayal, and how the law can run counter to human emotion.
The younger Mr. Ponte declined to comment.
''Paul Vassil'' came to life in the fall of 1993, when David G. Bronner, the unorthodox and voluble chief executive of Alabama's state pension fund, bought 55 Water Street in lower Manhattan from the failing developer Olympia & York.
Mr. Bronner and his friend, Robert M. Morgenthau, the Manhattan District Attorney, came up with a scheme for 55 Water Street that was audacious and mutually advantageous: Why not put in an undercover detective as Mr. Bronner's representative in New York as part of the investigation into mob control of the city's garbag...
The tricky part would be filling the job. Daniel Mullin, then the commander of the District Attorney's detective squad, thought immediately of Mr. Bridgwood, a detective in the midtown north squad, one of the city's busiest. Mr. Mullin knew that Mr. Bridgwood was diligent and patient, with a remarkable ability to put w...
Paul Vassil arrived for his first day of work at 55 Water on Oct. 3, 1993, dressed in one of the three new suits that the District Attorney's office had bought for him at Moe Ginsburg. His secretary was also an undercover detective, but Mr. Bridgwood told everyone else that he was a Queens native who had helped Mr. Bro...
His job was to help oversee a $150 million renovation that would bring a 60 percent occupied ''B-building'' to A-grade status. Although Mr. Bridgwood had plenty of help -- he spoke daily by phone to Mr. Bronner, and was led by the Jones Lang Wootton professionals Mr. Bronner had hired as consultants -- he still had a s...
Mr. Bridgwood, as planned, soon announced that he would be rebidding the building's huge service contracts, hauling first among them. The idea was to lure people to the table first to avoid charges of entrapment. V. Ponte & Sons, the firm that had held the garbage contract for the building for more than two decades, qu...
The two met the next month for lunch in a Wall Street cafe, where Mr. Ponte told Mr. Bridgwood more pointedly that he wanted to keep the contract, and that he did not want it to go out for competitive bid. Mr. Ponte took out a piece of paper, Mr. Bridgwood said, and told Mr. Bridgwood that he was prepared ''to do this,...
Over the next two months, Mr. Bridgwood told Mr. Ponte that his boss in Alabama was insisting that the contract go out for bid. Mr. Ponte reacted to the news by taking a different tack. On April 5 at the TriBeCa Grill, he gave Mr. Bridgwood a second $5,000 bribe -- this one, prosecutors say, to control the bidding proc...
In other words, Mr. Ponte expected a last look at the lowest bid, a violation of state antitrust law, so he could bid just under it. In June, prosecutors say, Mr. Ponte did just that. Ultimately, Mr. Ponte was charged with both bribery and bid-rigging, although he pleaded guilty only to the bribery charge.
Throughout the case, Mr. Bridgwood continued to work on legitimate business. In November 1995, he was part of intense negotiations to keep the Depository Trust Company as a 55 Water Street tenant, and in March 1996 traveled to Boston to make a pitch to Fidelity Investments to lease space in the building. ''He was very,...
Today the Pontes are banned for life from holding any job in the hauling industry. On April 15, Angelo Ponte starting serving two to six years at the Woodbourne Correctional Facility in Sullivan County. His son, in a plea bargain, got five years probation and is now with Ponte Equities, the family firm that owns a swat...
The cartel itself, which prosecutors say was led by the Gambino and Genovese organized crime families, is dead. At its height, prosecutors say, it was overcharging clients $500 million a year. The five-year investigation of which Mr. Bridgwood was a part led to the indictment of 34 people, 34 companies and 4 trade wast...
The hauling contract for 55 Water Street is now held by Browning-Ferris Industries, a national company. After the company first tried moving into the local market in 1992, one of its managers was greeted with a dog's head on the lawn of his Rockland County home. ''Welcome to New York,'' said a note stuffed into the dog...
Mr. Bridgwood's colleagues, to this day, still talk about the shock they felt when Paul Vassil slipped from their lives. ''I said to him, 'Do you mean that for the last three years, everything you told me was a lie?' '' Mr. Nealon said. But like the others, Mr. Nealon made his adjustments. Even though he has since move...
As a Lancaster County native, I am excited to be back doing what I love in the community I’ve always called home. Before returning to Central Pennsylvania, I spent several months reporting in Bozeman, Montana and most recently came from Columbia, South Carolina. During my time in “Famously Hot” Columbia, I covered many...
I’ve had a passion for story-telling since I can remember. When I was a little girl, I spent most of my mornings before school watching the Today Show with my mom and quickly realized that is what I wanted to do when I grew up.
A proud alumni of Clemson University, I am an avid Clemson football fan (Go Tigers!) and you will often see me wearing orange and purple the day before a game. After graduating from Clemson, I decided to trade in the warmth of the south for cold New York winters and continued my education at Syracuse University where I...
In my spare time, I love running, cooking and spending quality time with friends and family.
If you have a story idea, or just want to say hello, please e-mail me at jready@fox43.com. You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook for news updates: @JenniferReadyTV and Jennifer Ready on Facebook.
HANOVER, YORK COUNTY, Pa. — Snow is expected to hit many parts of Central PA Tuesday morning through Wednesday. PennDOT recommends drivers slow down on the roads and increase the following distance between cars. They advise motorists to clean the snow and ice off their cars before driving and be extra cautious on the r...
WEST HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP, LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — The snow tapered off early Thursday morning across Central Pennsylvania leaving behind messy road conditions for the early morning commute. Many of the back roads in the region were snow covered and turned icy during the early morning hours. PennDOT reminds drivers to dr...
EllisKnight is currently looking for an experienced Accounts Assistant / Purchase Ledger Clerk to join a relaxed and established team based in Central Reading.
Your main responsibilities include looking after the Purchase Ledger, and assisting with the sales Ledger. Other responsibilities include ad-hoc admin and performing reconciliations for cash and bank accounts.
This is a temporary role that should last approx. 2 months.
Would Balloon Hoax Be Pathological, or Just Greedy?
Long before law enforcement labeled the so-called Balloon Boy episode a publicity stunt, many suspected the Richard and Mayumi Heene's role in the weather balloon chase across northern Colorado had something to do with attention.
To some, it seemed coincidental that a family who promoted their storm chasing hobby and appeared twice ABC's reality TV show "Wife Swap" suddenly had hours of national media attention focused on their 6-year-old son Falcon and their homemade balloon.
But experts disagree about whether such an alleged stunt that triggered a 50-mile long helicopter balloon chase, would be a pathological cry for attentionor just a greedy self aggrandizing play for a paycheck.
"It's fair to say that there are personality disorders that are attention-seeking and media is the hyperbole of attention -- and you can't get more attention in a shorter period of time than you can on national media," said psychologist Pamela Rutledge, director of the Media Psychology Research Center.
"Whether it's pathology or a normal amount, it [attention] is a validation," she added. "At what point does something cross the line on healthy and unhealthy? It depends on the situation."
As more details will likely come to light in the coming weeks, there is already disagreements about whether the situation in the Heene home in Fort Collins, Colo., is healthy.
Larimer County officials have asked Child Protection Services to investigate the Heene family, including Falcon's brothers Ryan, 8 and Bradford, 10.
Over the weekend, Sheriff Jim Alderden said he was preparing to file charges against Richard and Mayumi Heene, but arrests, if any, are not expected until next week, according to The Associated Press.
The lawyer for the Heene family did not return messages seeking an interview with ABCNews.com.
"I worry that we don't put this family into a cookie cutter box," said Frank Farley, former president of the American Psychological Association, and a specialist in risk-taking and thrill-seeking behavior.
Farley said he's heard plenty of talk of narcissism surrounding the Heene family, but "if we're going to use the term narcissism for attention-getting, it means we have a lot of it in our country," he said.
Are Attention-Seeking Stunts the American Way?
Farley was quick to point out examples of this -- such as when Orson Welles triggered mass panic in 1938 when he read an adaptation of H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds" on national radio. The fake newscast convinced millions that Earth was being invaded, and it became a breakthrough event for the Welles' career.
"This is an extroverted, thrill-seeking nation. I would expect this more likely to happen in America than, say, in Iran," he added.
But while Farley sees this extreme bid for attention in reality TV as a marker of the nation's inventive, exploratory nature, others see it as a problem.
"It's different than a clinical way that someone speaks about attention-seeking," said psychologist Jenn Berman, author of "The A to Z Guide to Raising Happy, Confident Kids."
"I think it is symbolic of a bigger societal problem of attention-seeking behavior," she said. To Berman, reality TV is an example of a new form of attention-seeking: fame for being famous.
"More and more people need to get attention not for accomplishments, but just to get attention," said Berman. "It's hard to know what came first, the chicken or the egg, but I do think reality TV fuels it."
Yet, Rutledge, who studies the interaction between psychology and modern media, says it's not the attention-seeking behavior that sent the nation's blood boiling, but the possibility that a hoax violated the public's good will.
More to the Story Than Attention?
"It seems to me that they crossed a line by making people think that the child is in danger," said Rutledge, who added that it's a very primal urge to worry about the safety of any child.
"You know, they say any publicity is good publicity, but I'll be really interested to see whether transgressing that social norm is enough of a violation to people that this backfires," she said.
ABC News' Sarah Netter and Russell Goldman contributed to this report.
Hoaxsters: Pathological, or Just Greedy?
Mirroring a national decline in readership, students in the Class of 2015 are less likely to read than their older peers, according to a new survey. The “2011 Cornell New Student Survey,” conducted by the University’s Office of Institutional Research and Planning, revealed that 27.4 percent of Cornell freshmen reported...
The survey asks incoming freshmen how long they spent reading for pleasure on average in the second semester of their senior year of high school.
Though recreational reading has been in decline for years, the survey found that there was a significant decrease in the number of students who read for pleasure from just a year ago. Among students in the Class of 2014, 18.8 percent of students “never read for pleasure” — nine percent less than the current freshman cl...
Not all members of the Class of 2015, however, are equally uninterested in reading. Engineering students were the least likely to read, with 31.9 percent reporting that they never read for pleasure, while the College of Architecture, Art and Planning had the most avid readers, at 18.2 percent.
Male students are also less likely to read, with 30.6 percent reporting that they never read for pleasure.
Students said their interest in reading for pleasure declined as they grew older and their homework loads increased.
Niki Chimberg ’15 agreed, saying that with her increasingly demanding academics, she no longer has time to read.
“I used to read a lot more for pleasure, now I focus on reading about what I study,” Chimberg said.
Alyssa Browne ’12 said that reading rates among students may also be related to students participating in more rigorous extracurriculars.
The shrinking number of bookworms has not escaped the attention of professors.
“I do think students now spend less time on their academic work and that probably spills over into their decline in reading,” Daniel Schwarz, the Frederic J. Whiton professor of English, said.
In addition to noting that the syllabi in humanities courses are shorter than they were 35 years ago, Schwarz noted that with resources on the Internet, students research for classes differently.
“Suppose you were writing on Hopkins or Lord Jim — you used to go to the library and spend a lot of time reading around and browsing. But with Wikipedia and the Internet, you target that research much more efficiently,” he said.
Professors also speculated that a cultural shift has contributed to younger generations’ apathy toward books.
Prof. Isaac Kramnick, government, echoed Schwarz’ thoughts.
“Students are like everyone else in today’s digital culture. Reading for pleasure is left to a brave few who resist the weapons of mass distraction which dominate our lives,” Kramnick said.
Jack Wilshere was yesterday dropped to the England Under 21s a fortnight after he made his senior debut for Fabio Capello at Wembley.
The Arsenal midfielder came on as a late substitute for Steven Gerrard in England’s 2-1 win over Hungary.
But his hopes of remaining in Capello’s plans received a setback when he was named in the Under 21 squad for next month’s European Championship qualifiers against Portugal and Lithuania.
Newcastle hat-trick hero Andy Carroll has also been included in the Under 21 squad - although there is a chance he could yet be promoted.
‘Jack’s had the experience of an international cap with the seniors and his development will come,’ said Under 21 boss Stuart Pearce.
‘Like Theo Walcott, having the experience of playing with the Under 21s and seniors will be a help to him and is something he will have to come to terms with.
Manchester City defender Micah Richards and Everton midfielder Jack Rodwell, who were also hoping to feature in England's opening Euro 2012 qualifying matches against Bulgaria and Switzerland next month, have also been named in Pearce's 24-man Under-21 squad.
However, Arsenal defender Kieran Gibbs - who figured in England's defeat of Hungary, also as a second-half substitute - appears to be in line for another senior call having been left out.
Pearce added: 'It's the strongest squad we could have got at this stage of the season. Kieran Gibbs aside, we're looking pretty strong.
Liverpool defender Martin Kelly, Blackburn defender Phil Jones, Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson, Wigan striker Victor Moses and Aston Villa winger Marc Albrighton retain their places following their debuts against Uzbekistan earlier this month.
Albrighton's Villa team-mate Nathan Delfouneso is also back in the squad after making a goalscoring debut for Pearce's team against Greece in March.
There is also a first call for highly-rated Huddersfield goalkeeper Alex Smithies, who has previously been capped at Under-17 and Under-19 level.
Pearce explained: 'He's had a lot of experience at Huddersfield over the last couple of years and is a goalkeeper who can play again in the next campaign for us.
England play Portugal in Barcelos on September 3 before facing Lithuania four days later at Colchester's Weston Homes Community Stadium.
David Beckham turned 42 on Tuesday and the football legend shared a photo of his bizarre birthday "dinner of choice."
When you think of Beckham, you think of Manchester United, Real Madrid, and the LA Galaxy. We think of a British cultural icon, "Golden Balls," brass bands, and patriotism.
But after seeing this photo (published on David Beckham's social media account as an Instagram story), all that comes to mind are kids being let loose in a kitchen.
One can only assume that Becks wanted a birthday dinner that would invoke pre-teen memories of muddy knees at his old Leytonstone family home.
A 5.1-magnitude quake was reported in Central California this morning, shaking communities as far south as Trona.
The U.S. Geological Survey and Caltech in Pasadena received a report of the quake at 3:01 a.m. in Olancha, a community near Highway 395 in Inyo County.
Six additional earthquakes of 3.0-magnitude or higher have been reported in Olancha since then.
Sheep Creek Point east of Payson overlooks Valentine Canyon.
Historical OW Ranch (mid-center) seen from Sheep Creek Point.
It has been argued that hiking isn’t always about the destination — it’s the journey that matters most. Still, objective-oriented hikes like those that culminate on mountain summits or in secluded special places have their merits.
But their wham-pow payoffs can eclipse what’s stuffed between the trailhead and the goalpost. Depending on your point of view, the stuffing can be viewed as either a means to an end or the savory sweet filling between cookie wafers.
When compared to interest-packed nearby Mogollon Rim trails, the “stuffing” on Merzville Road that runs between State Route 260 and Sheep Creek Point near Forest Lakes smacks of mediocrity. Its narrow, nondescript course is a mix of graded dirt and rutted, rocky passages.
As a hiking route, the road has some drawbacks. First, it’s open to motorized use and is used frequently by ATV and dirt-bike riders. Second, with no spectacular natural features like those peppered throughout traditional hiking trails, everything great about this journey happens where it dead-ends at Sheep Creek Point...
It’s not as if the road hike is terrible. There are oak-shaded wet meadows teeming with wild turkeys and a beautiful section where mature ponderosa pines and a fringe of saplings create a sort of “green tunnel” that smells of butterscotch and fresh sap.

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