Nevada State Journal (Newspaper) - August 12, 1977, Reno, Nevada Cool At Tahoe See Inside I Clubs Okay As He leads PGA Play See Page 5 5 Death Penalty California Reinstates Capital Punishment SACRAMENTO UPI The state Assembly reinstated capital punishment in California Thursday with a override of Gov Edmund G Brown matter of conscience veto of death penalty legislation The by Sen George Deukmejian will im- mediately permit courts to impose death in the San Quentin gas chamber as punishment for treason and 15 types of murder Brown's veto was the exact number needed The vote followed more than one hour of debate and was agonizing for many assemblymen Brown followed former Gov Ronald Reagan as the second governor in 28 years to suffer a veto override by both houses of the legislature The civilization that lacks the will to protect itself from the barbarians within its walls is a decadent Assemblyman McAlister floor sponsor of the measure said Assemblyman Larry Kapiloff argued against the override We are sanctioning tlie cheapening of life We have moved a great deal away from the cave toward light in our society I think this would be a serious step backward See DEATH Page 2 Col 1 tate f Final Friday Morning Aug Pair Arrested for Murder Prostitute Boy Held in Reno Stabbing Death Organized Crime Moving to Atlantic City TRENTON Ralph Salerno who says his underworld expertise is rivaled only by its members told a hearing Thursday that organized crime is on the move in Atlantic City where casino gambling win open The former New York City supervisor of detectives said New Jersey should attempt to copy as closely as possible the British of bling Failing that he said the public may reconsider casinos Speaking at the last of four state Commission of Investigation hearings Salerno said the reputed Mafia families of Angelo Bruno of Philadelphia and the late Carlo Gambino of New York are in the process of infiltrating the resort city ft He said they are attempting to infiltrate legitimate businesses so will have the y Salerno specifically mentioned vending machines garbage and linen service The commission contends the Gambino family is foi a casino HH e Asked at the outset if he knew of person with more experience in organized crime than himself Salerno replied The only person with more uninterrupted experience would be Angelo Bruno and Paul bino Paul Gambino who is dead was Carlo brother and a crime captain Salerno said New Jersey should employe England's licensing procedures which grant casino permits only to persons with im- peccable character and allow no recourse in the courts for refusal He said it would take a change in the U S Constitution to refuse a court hearing Arrested Tony James Lima 27 sits in a Reno police car after he was arrested in the stabbing death of a Reno woman With him is Reno Police Officer Dick Posadas Journal Photo by Marilyn Newton Editor Named Robert W Ritter was named executive editor of the Reno Evening Gazette and the Nevada State Journal Thursday Appointment of Ritter presently news editor of the Visalia Calif to the Reno editing position was announced by publisher Warren L Lerude Frank H Delaplane senior news editor was promoted to managing editor of both the Reno newspapers and will assist Ritter in command of all editorial operations Lerude said The Gazette the Journal and the id members of Gannett Newspapers Ritter 30 is a graduate of the American Press Institute training for editors and has worked as news editor of the California newspaper since 1975 Previously he worked as a reporter there for three years Ritter is a 1970 graduate of Fresno State College Ritter was president of the San Joaquin Valley Chapter of Sigma Delta Chi the professional nalists society and was president of the valley con- ference sponsored by State Under his leadership the Visalia newspaper has won writing photography and special edition publishing awards Ritter was bom in San Luis Obispo He and his wife Susie have a daughter They will live in Reno Delaplane 48 has served the Reno newspapers as a news editor and reporter for the last 10 years He became an executive in the company three years ago Delaplane has covered ment courts and police and has worked at many editing ments on both the Gazette and the Journal Delaplane is a journalism graduate of the University of and is a member of the Nevada State Press Association and Sigma Delta Chi's Nevada chapter He was elected last June to the board of directors of the Nevada News Executives Council of The Associated Press Delaplane has been honored by the Nevada State Press Association several times with special awards for writing Delaplane and his wife Gaye and their son Lane make their home in Reno Index Newspaper Editors Robert W Ritter left new executive editor of the Nevada State Journal and Reno Evening Gazette meets with Frank H Delaplane new managing editor of the papers 4 Sections 52 Pages Entertainment Guide Amusements Classified Comics Crossword Deaths Editorials Focus Horoscope Health Column Markets Sports State News TV Log TV Scout Vitals 22 33 22 21 4 33 10 20 Weather Ent Guide 22 21 2 i Quake Rattles LA LOS ANGELES AP A moderate earthquake rattled dishes and interrupted dinners from Santa Monica to Santa Barbara late Thursday causing a flurry of phone calls to news services and police agencies There were no reports of injuries and damage was said to be minimal A spokesman for the seismological lab at the California In- of Technology in Pasadena tentatively placed the tremor's epicenter near Sylmar 25 miles northeast of town Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley That was nearly the same site as the earthquake of 1971 which killed 64 persons It registered 6.6 on the Richter scale a measure of ground motion as recorded on Thursday night's quake registered 4.4 on the Richter scale In populated areas an earthquake of 4.0 magnitude can cause moderate damage A resident of suburban Granada Hills said the tremor lasted for about a minute and a half and sloshed water out of his swimming pool Whole of o Problem CHURCHILL Canada AP A problem has turned up with the Beluga whales captured here by a team from the Minnesota Zoological Garden They're all males The whale hunters announced jubilantly Monday that had snared a pair of Belugas male and female for the new state zoo But Tuesday veterinarians examined the whales and pronounced them both males A third whale was caught near this Manitoba city earlier bv the U.S Navy It was male as well y And when the zoo team resumed their hunt Tuesday quickly nabbed three new whales from the Churchill River All males He Always Wanted One ANN ARBOR Mich AP Robert Schultz always wanted a pet snake but couldn't have one because his mother objected Recently Schultz 21 moved into his own home and his brother Stan a former pet shop owner lent him a boa con- stricter so he could learn how to take care of one But last week the four snake crawled into the heater duct of his car could gct out had rebuilt the heater system on the Schulti said snake was apparently having escaped through a new hole in the duct is named after the escape JEWS PA PER I Reno police arrested a man and woman Thursday in connection with the February 1976 stabbing death of Peggy Davis of Reno Charged with murder and held without bail was Raye Louise Wood a prostitute and former topless dancer Charged with accessory to murder and held in lieu of bail was Tony James Lima 27 a former Reno bar boy who was living in San Francisco and unemployed at the lime of Ins arrest Both worked at various times for Kaplan at his lub a topless bar at 120 E Second St Police said Ms Wood used to dance topless with snakes Both were arrested on Reno Justice Court Police arrested the woman at her homo in Mustang At the jail she listed her occupation as prostitute Luna was arrested on First Street between Sierra and West streets after no had appeared at a preliminary hearing in Reno on a narcotics case At the Reno Justice Court hearing Lima had been bound over to trial In U S District Court by Judge William Beemer The stabbine of Miss Davis a former bartender and topless dancer at the Lucky Lady was one of two sensational murders that occurred within four days of each other in late February The second stabbing ol Michelle Mitchell 1 University of coed is still unsolved Police said they no new leads m the Mitchell case Col 2 Key Piece Of Evidence In Trash By EARL BIEDERMAN A son of the men who own the old Mustang Ranch brothel site testified Thursday in Reno that in late 1975 he took what has become a key piece of evidence against and Sally Conforte from the trash barrel behind the brothel Joe Pen Jr testified in federal court that Reno attorney Daniel asked him one day to obtain the crumpled yellow trick sheet that has become the most used piece of evidence in the Con- fortes withholding tax avoidance trial Much later former security guard Charles Vernon last witness Tn the trial's second day testified that he was told while working at the brothel not to pay taxes on his wages Federal prosecutors are trying to prove that the Confortes attempted to avoid withholding taxes on the brothel's staff salaries by burning disbursement records and by telling employes to say the worked for the girls The Storey County brothel owners were indicted in April on 10 counts of allegedly filing false incomplete tax returns for their Cabin in the Sky restaurant m Virginia City The government charges that the restaurant returns were fraudulent because they did not reflect wages paid to the staff at the brothel also owned by the Confortes Peri a brothel handyman said the government already had the trick sheet when it called him last year for grand jury testimony He testified that he asked Olguin later and the attorney admitted giving the example of brothel record keeping to the government Olguin a Reno attorney hat represented brothers Jim and Joe Peri who own the land on which the Confortes prostitution operation functioned until May 1976 Joe Pert Jr testified Thursday right after UM testimony of his brother Jim Jr who also has been a handyman at the brothel Government attorneys Questioned both young men at length about the burning at the ranch of the yellow trick sheets like the one in evidence See CN 1 IN FW SPA PERI
