COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC HEARING AND PUBLIC MEETING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON LAW AND GOVERNMENT - - - Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wednesday, May 10, 2000 10:10 a.m. - - - BILL 000021 - An ordinance amending Chapter 10-600 of the Philadelphia Code, entitled "Public Places - Prohibited Conduct," by adding new sections prohibiting gambling and conducting gambling operations on a public right-of-way, or on property owned by the City or other public agency; prohibiting individual or group observation of such activity operation and providing penalties for violations, all under certain terms and conditions. PRESENT: COUNCILMAN ANGEL L. ORTIZ, Vice Chair COUNCILWOMAN JANNIE L. BLACKWELL COUNCILMAN W. WILSON GOODE COUNCILWOMAN DONNA REED MILLER COUNCILMAN MICHAEL A. NUTTER COUNCILMAN FRANK RIZZO - - - VINCENT VARALLO ASSOCIATES, INC. Registered Professional Reporters Eleven Penn Center, Suite 600 Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215) 561-2220 2 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 I N D E X Larry Simmons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Office of State Representative John Myers 6 Captain Thomas Nestel. . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 39th Police District Detective Division 7 Sergeant Joseph Lanciano . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Citywide Vice Enforcement Unit Philadelphia Police Department C.B. Kimmins, Mantua Against Drugs . . . . . . 32 The Honorable Seamus Patrick McCaffery . . . . 39 Judge, Philadelphia Municipal Court Supervising Judge, Philadelphia Nuisance Night Court Program Leroy Simmons, Executive Director. . . . . . . 53 Central Germantown Council James Igess, Director Neighborhood Services. . 58 Wister Council Corliss Grey, President. . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Queen Lane Tenant Council Brian Wise, 8th-Grader, Houston School . . . . 60 3 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 P R O C E E D I N G S
Good morning. We have been joined by Councilman Frank Rizzo Councilwoman Miller, Councilman Goode, and Councilman Nutter. Having a quorum of the Committee on Law and Government, I am Councilman Ortiz, chairing for Councilman Cohen, who could not be present. We're here today on Bill 000021. Will you read the title of the bill 12 please, the clerk.
An ordinance amending Chapter 10-600 of the Philadelphia Code, entitled "Public Places - Prohibited Conduct," by adding new sections prohibiting gambling and conducting gambling operations on a public right-of-way, or on property owned by the City or other public agency; prohibiting individual or group observation of such activity operation and providing penalties for violations, all under certain terms and conditions.
Very good. The Chair the Chair recognizes Donna Miller for opening statement. 4 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021
Thank you, Councilman Ortiz, Vice Chair of this committee. I'd first like to take this opportunity to thank Councilman Cohen, Councilman Ortiz, Chair and Vice Chairpersons respectively of the Committee on Law and Government, for convening this public hearing on Bill No. 000021. I would also like to thank the private citizens, businesses and representatives of community organizations, state and local government agencies, and elected officials for taking time out to testify at today's proceedings. I currently see the importance of enacting the laws that take into consideration the recurring themes that increasingly plague our communities and must be effectively dealt with. It is with this type of perusal of the totality of the present circumstances that I introduced the legislation that is the subject of this morning's public hearing. More than a year ago, I was approached by Captain Nestel, who was the then-captain of the 14th Police District that is located within the 8th Councilmatic District, and certainly in 5 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 arriving in the District, I personally observed numerous incidents ranging from nuisance to the loss of property and life that resulted from gambling on the public right-of-way and public property. The type of devastation to the quality of life cannot be ignored. To cite a couple of incidents, last summer, there was a young man in Germantown who was killed after one of the gamblers left and came back angry, and he shot this young man and wounded another. Most recently, a woman has had to move from a house that she was raised in because of the crap games that were reoccurring on the side of her house. And other activities such as loud noise, loitering, and urination in front of her residence. One could easily try to minimize the impact of this problem by saying that it only affects a small portion of the citizens of Philadelphia, or it only affects those who choose to remain. I continually ask, why should law-abiding citizens have to be impositioned and live in fear? why should children be deprived of 6 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 playing near their homes? why do seniors have to fear going outside and walking down what should be a shopping district in the middle of the afternoon? The answer should be, they shouldn't have to. Yet, we know that these conditions do exist. You know, I was riding down Germantown Avenue in the 7100 block one afternoon and I couldn't believe that I saw a group of men gambling right there, in broad daylight, on Germantown Avenue. You know, in traveling through our district all hours of the day and night, particularly at night, you see these young men -- and women, on occasion -- that are gambling, and this gambling just breeds violence. And we're not talking about pitching pennies; we're talking about stakes that have thousands of dollars on the ground, and that's why people can become so angry and agitated when they lose their money. So this is something that I've wanted to do for a while. The summer's here, the spring -- well, we really didn't have a spring, but the young men are back out there, and I've seen them in neighborhoods, and don't think that people 7 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 should live in constant fear. So I just again want to personally thank people for taking the time and coming out to address this issue. Thank you, Councilman Ortiz.
Thank you, Councilwoman. The Chair calls Larry Simmons, State Representative John Myers. (Witness comes forward.)
Good morning. My name is Larry Simmons, and I'm from the office of State Representative John Myers.
Mr. Chairman and members of City Council, I'm glad to have this opportunity to come to support Councilwoman Miller and to address the problem of public gambling. I'll just touch on a few items. At our office, in the 5800 block of Germantown Avenue, we're down the street from Germantown High School, and any number of times of 8 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 day, every day of the week, we have young men coming out of the school, gambling sometimes against the wall of our own office and sometimes against the walls of the stores down the street. This problem increases as the number of young men come out because the more the money grows, the bigger the chance of violence and the bigger the chance of someone trying to rob them while they're playing that game. Another problem I see with that is as this is allowed to continue and increasingly grow, these young men are gambling during the hours they're supposed to be in school, they're not getting their education. This also leads to the dropout rate. If this thing is allowed to continue, not only problem will we have a problem with violence problems, we're going to have problems with educating our people and --
But isn't there already a law on the books for that? I mean, children should not be out of school gambling.
They shouldn't be out of school for anything. 9 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021
I mean -- but that's what I'm saying. You know, there's already laws to take care of that. The police should be doing something about those things, the school system should be doing something about those things. There are laws about that.
Well, evidently, though, Mr. Chairman, the laws aren't strong enough because as much as they do try to stop it, it is increasingly growing. And a lot of the opportunities -- they take their gambling right around the 14th District in the Germantown area, so evidently, the laws there to stop that are not a large enough deterrent to keep them from trying.
Okay. Other than that, the other problem would be the obstruction of highways because they do do a lot of this gambling along the business corridor. We have a lot of seniors who are out there, a lot of them are riding around on the little mobile carts that they use to get themselves around, and these young men 10 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 aren't moving out of their way and they're harassing them. That's about all that I really wanted to say. Now, a lot of that will be touched on by the Police Department. Hopefully, they can answer the part that you asked, Mr. Chairman, about the laws already on the books. Thank you.
And we've been joined by Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell.
I would be remiss in my commitment to the community if I didn't say a special thank you to you for your years-long commitment. I guess we've known each other for more than 20 years, 25 years. 11 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021
But thank you for always being concerned about the community and for all the work that you have done over the years.
Could you please identify yourself for the record.. CAPTAIN NESTEL: My name is Thomas Nestel, and I'm a police captain with the Philadelphia Police Department.
Please continue. Is the gentleman beside you going to speak? CAPTAIN NESTEL: I'm sorry. This is Sergeant Otto. He's my administrative aide in my present assignment at the Northwest Detective Division.
Very good. You may 12 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 proceed. CAPTAIN NESTEL: Councilmembers Ortiz Miller, Blackwell, Nutter, and Rizzo, good morning, and thank you for the opportunity to represent the Philadelphia Police Department regarding the proposed legislation to prohibit gambling on the streets of Philadelphia. As I said, my name is Thomas Nestel, and I'm a captain of the Philadelphia Police Department. I have served the majority of my 14-year career in a uniformed capacity, patroling the streets of this city. The police officers of this city want to address the problems that negatively affect our constituents' ability to live without fear. Unfortunately, the arsenal of laws enabling officers to do this is dwindling. In years past, Council has enacted laws to prohibit the possession of open containers of beer and alcohol in public areas and to prohibit individuals from loitering in and around subway and elevated train entrances. These are just a sample of how Council has assisted the Philadelphia Police Department in preventing serious crimes through the enforcement of nuisance 13 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 offenses. We need your help again in enacting City Ordinance 10-612 to prevent serious crime from occurring. I've seen today's drug locations become street-corner gambling dens. Between sales, the dealers, runners, and enforcers engage in card and dice games and pitbull fighting for financial gain. These socially unacceptable sporting events have resulted in death and serious injury. In the past two years, several persons have been shot at the intersection of Armat and Heiskell Streets during the dice games. Also during the same timeframe, a young man was fatally shot over a gambling debt in the 5800 block of Baynton Street.
Captain, it's always been my impression -- excuse me for interrupting -- that that type of gambling -- you know, shooting craps on the street corner and so on -- has always been prohibited. What's the -- what are the problems with the law on the books that the police cannot enforce those laws? 14 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 CAPTAIN NESTEL: Councilman Ortiz, presently, there is no law preventing gambling on the highway. The laws that we have used to address that type of situation have been obstructing the highway or disorderly conduct, both summary offenses. Obstructing the highway has been interpreted by our Municipal Court judges as not being appropriate for that type of offense because in order to establish obstructing the highway, the entire walkway has to be blocked, and that's interpretation by our judges. We're losing cases by charging people with obstructing the highway. Disorderly conduct, the Police Department has faced several liability -- litigation cases due to arrest of disorderly conduct for offenses of this nature because we don't have a complainant, per se.
So the laws on the books are not specific. CAPTAIN NESTEL: That's correct.
So what we're seeking is more specific detailing and a better definition of what we mean by "gambling" or 15 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 "obstructing the highway." CAPTAIN NESTEL: To address a problem that we think has gotten much larger in scale than it was in the past.
Okay. CAPTAIN NESTEL: By enacting the earlier law prohibiting the possession of open containers of alcohol and beer on public property, you reduce the number of inebriated individuals who are more likely to engage in assaults and become victims of robbery. By enacting the earlier law prohibiting loitering in or around subway and elevated train stations, you reduce the number of potential robberies or thefts committed against our transit system riders. By enacting the new legislation, you will reduce the number of potential robbery and aggravated assault victims, you will provide another method to attack the street-corner narcotics problem, and, most importantly, you will reduce the level of fear that exists in our neighborhoods that are plagued with gambling locations. Sir, the problem that we're seeing now 16 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 is that our drug corners, in the downtime between sales, gambling has become the practice. And we think that by having a gambling City ordinance 5 statute, it will assist us in attacking the street-corner narcotics problems also.
And as it relates to the young people, Mr. Simmons alluded to young individuals coming out of school. That's a problem that can remedied, and that's a problem that should not be happening now without any law on the book. What is the attitude towards that, and is the Police Department organizing to address the concerns that Mr. Simmons expressed? CAPTAIN NESTEL: Councilman, Commissioner Timoney has coordinated an effort with the School District to attack the truancy problem. Our truancy enforcement numbers have increased dramatically, and in many communities, we have seen a tremendous difference in daytime crime because, obviously, our truants -- the young men and women that aren't going to school -- aren't staying home to read books; they're going out in the streets to engage in illegal activity. 17 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021
Do you have numbers for your district, for example, in terms of truancy that you can make available to this committee? CAPTAIN NESTEL: Yes, sir. I can get numbers for the entire Northwest Division from each of the four districts regarding truancy.
Okay. Go ahead. CAPTAIN NESTEL: When a police officer comes in contact with a truant now, the police officer takes the truant, physically takes the truant to either the school where the truant attends, if it's in that district, or to the closest age-appropriate school. In the past, we would merely write up the information that a student was truant and instruct the student to either attend school or go home, a useless effort, frankly. Today's effort is very effective because we are taking the students back to the school, and the school is holding those students. They stay for the entire day. Whether it's their 18 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 school or not, they stay in that school for the entire day. So we do have a method to attack the truancy problem. This could be related, but it is more a nighttime problem than anything. And it's a drug-related problem more than a truancy-related problem. It's occurring on our corners where we have established narcotics sales arrests and activity.
But, obviously, Mr. Simmons was expressing a very much concern as to what transpires during the day with these truants, and that they might be partaking of this type of activity, and if so, in maybe greater numbers than your police department may know at this time. CAPTAIN NESTEL: Sir, even if -- I think that our truancy effort can address the truancy. But if we have young men and women staying out of school and engaging in gambling, we would then have -- under this legislation, we would have a summary offense to charge them with. Under truancy, we don't charge them with a crime; we merely take them into custodial detention. 19 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021
So with this ordinance, you will not be able to address those individuals and take them directly to the precinct? CAPTAIN NESTEL: That's correct, yes, sir.
And hold them for -- CAPTAIN NESTEL: Until a parent becomes involved, yes, sir.
Good morning, Captain Nestel. And thank you for coming. CAPTAIN NESTEL: Good morning. Thank you for inviting me.
Okay. I know when I ride around and then when I talk to neighbors or people out in the neighborhoods, I had no idea, until I was told by some of the residents, that these crap games were going on all night and how large the numbers increase in terms of the participants. And there have been incidents of violence and whatnot. Do you have any idea how many police 20 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 districts are impacted by this highway gambling? Certainly I know it's not a citywide issue, but I can probably call maybe about five districts that have this as one of the nuisance crimes. And I know that Judge Seamus McCaffery, in doing Night Court, you know, these are some of the types of people they target to kind of break it up and bring them into the court -- to the police district for Night Court, for appearance in front of them. The problem -- I think some people don't realize the fact that this problem is really escalating in certain communities throughout Philadelphia, and it's really a problem. I see it as a public-safety problem and also a quality-of- life issue affecting neighborhoods. And would you not agree? CAPTAIN NESTEL: Councilwoman Miller, you've hit it right on target. The problem exists in our areas where we have the narcotics problem. In my informal survey with other captains, it's -- the districts that have the biggest narcotics problem have the biggest gambling-on-the-highway problem. And when you have those two elements 21 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 gathering together, more often than not, there is a tremendous opportunity for injury or death because of the contact of these people. What we're seeing is, neighbors are just flat-out afraid. This is occurring on sidewalks outside stores, it's occurring on street corners, and folks are afraid to walk anywhere near there because they know the element that's involved in that type of activity and they're frightened by it. And we don't have a law to specifically address that.
Thank you. Good seeing you, Captain Nestel. CAPTAIN NESTEL: Likewise, sir.
Councilwoman Miller discussed truancy, and I've discussed this issue here in this Council chamber before and asked what support the School District police give the Philadelphia police. I have seen -- and I will repeat what I said a year ago -- Vernon Park in Councilwoman Miller's district, where there's a few blocks away from Germantown High School, and the school kids are just hanging around that 22 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 should be in school, and the School District police marked patrol just goes right on by and doesn't do anything about it. You would think that they would be somehow or in some way drawn in to the process to relieve the limited number of police officers that we have on the street. What role are -- can you identify any better involvement from the School District police? CAPTAIN NESTEL: Councilman Rizzo, as I'm sure you're aware, the authority of the school police doesn't extend beyond the school property. Now, they can certainly bring to attention of school administrators particular students that they know or have identified that are not attending school. But what we had done in the 14th District during my tenure was to take the police officers out of the school and have them address the surrounding area, such as Vernon Park, which was very effective, and have school police address the school property, where they did have authority. So it's my personal opinion that what 23 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 we want to do is exactly that: get school police involved in specifically addressing their property and Philadelphia police attacking the surrounding area.
Great. And, again, I thought that that move that you made, that decision that you made, was a very good one at the time. CAPTAIN NESTEL: Thank you very much.
Thank you, Councilman Rizzo. Any further questions? (No further questions.)
Thank you, Captain. Thank you, Sergeant. CAPTAIN NESTEL: Thank you.
Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony. SERGEANT LANCIANO: Good morning. My name is Sergeant Joseph Lanciano, of the 24 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 Philadelphia Police Department. And I am assigned to the Citywide Vice Enforcement Unit. The Citywide Vice Enforcement Unit is responsible for enforcing gambling and prostitution laws in Philadelphia. Specifically, we investigate illegal lottery, illegal sports betting, illegal liquor sales, street prostitution, and indoor prostitution operations. Illegal gambling is often seen as victimless crime. It is far from victimless. Marriages have been broken, jobs have been lost, lives have been destroyed because of a "sure bet" that went wrong. Money lost to illegal gambling operations not only is lost tax revenue for the City but also is taking money out of the neighborhoods. Gambling is, and always has been, a huge money-maker for organized crime. Traditionally, the proceeds from illegal gambling operations are used to support other more violent organized-crime operations. The Police Department supports Councilwoman Miller's Bill No. 21 for various reasons, such as: Presently, there are no City ordinances which regulate the activity mentioned 25 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 in Bill No. 21. Most people are surprised to learn that there's no City or State law prohibiting public gambling. If a uniformed officer sees a group of kids throwing dice on the pavement and there's a pile of money in the center of those kids, the officer can do nothing. Dice games, craps, card games, dog fighting are quality-of-life issues that negatively affect neighbors who must put up with crowds, noise, and other misconduct like public drinking and fighting that accompanies gambling. Furthermore, public gambling can also lead to serious crimes such as aggravated assault, robberies, and even homicides. A City ordinance prohibiting this type of conduct will enable uniformed officers to address these problems. Therefore, the Police Department urges you to vote for Council Bill No. 20 21. And that concludes my testimony and I'll be happy to entertain any questions.
Thank you, Sergeant. Any questions from the Committee? Councilwoman Blackwell? 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021
We have Night Court our in West Philadelphia. You know, we do the 18th, the 12th, the 16th, and it really, really works well. We get kids there too, and of course, their parents come, and we have some who don't want to go to school and then we make them do community service and clean up the police station or whatever else we can. You know, we also now have them go to volunteer with community groups and help in various ways, whether it's cleaning the street that Saturday or it's working in buildings. It depends on what they bring to the table as well. And I just offer that as a suggestion. I don't know if you do Night Court, and we've kind of -- you know, other than South Philly, we've really, really been active. And, I tell you, it is -- I find it the best immediate turnover for misdemeanor crimes that I've ever seen. And it really, really gives neighbors and interested people an immediate turnover of crime. And I just submit this as a way to deal 27 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 with it in the short term because it certainly allows you to go by and then pick up the kids who are playing the boom boxes and who are and who are, you know, overall worrying everybody to death and not being positive citizens. It's absolutely great. And, certainly, we're always available to discuss it, and Judge Rayford Means is available because he's been contacted a lot. We have C.B. Kimmins who's there. He comes all the time to all our Town Watch groups, block captains, committee people, and neighbors, but it's a great way even to deal with youth crime. SERGEANT LANCIANO: Councilmember, the vice squad has participated in a number of Night Court operations, specifically in the East Division and Northeast Division, with a various degree of success from our standpoint. But we're open to any time that those operations are going to be run, but we have participated in the past.
Thank you very much. One more? 28 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021
Before you leave, I just want to say -- and I'd like you to verify -- that this is not just a crime. The gambling is just not a bunch of teenagers. It's -- I have seen young men, I guess, as old as 30 or above participating in these corners and shooting crap. Am I not correct? SERGEANT LANCIANO: That's correct.
How do you tell that -- Sarge, how do you tell that same teenager that you're telling him he can't play craps on the corner, but that he can play craps at the carnival that the church has set up at the corner? Do we enforce those realistically, the carnivals and things like that, when we gamble at those events? SERGEANT LANCIANO: Not from a vice standpoint, no -- although the State police has, in the past, done carnival operations. 29 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021
Because if I were a kid and you wanted to bust me for gambling on the corner, I'd say, Hey, Sarge, what about down the corner? There's a carnival going on, and we could -- SERGEANT LANCIANO: Well, that's just like with the lottery, Councilman. You could play the State lottery, that's legal, but you can't play the street lottery. And I would that same analogy.
That's kind of in a way unfair. The State can gouge you, but the corner guy can't. That sounds like it's not fair.
But we all understand that churches and all those organizations need the extra bucks -- bingo and all of that. But it's hard to convince certain people that you can separate the two, and I know it must be difficult for law enforcement. SERGEANT LANCIANO: Well, the gambling statutes that are in the Pennsylvania Crimes Code are sections like 55-12, 55-13, and 55-14. That's what the vice squad uses to enforce, and they regulate illegal lottery, illegal gambling, the 30 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 poker machines, sports betting. When you have a group of kids that are throwing dice on the highway, from the vice squad standpoint, in order for us to make any type of arrests, we would actually have to infiltrate that group, you know, participate in the throwing of the dice, determine who's in control of that game, and then arrest that person for those violations 55-12, 55-13, 55-14, the Pennsylvania Crimes Code. But now with this bill that Councilwoman Miller is going to initiate, 21, it's a violation of a City ordinance, and you don't have to worry about who's running the operation.
Sergeant, what would happen if those individuals around the corner rented an apartment in the building and just went inside and did their gambling in there, their craps and so on? SERGEANT LANCIANO: If they're inside a private residence, then that's the same type of problem we face like for card games and any other type of operation that's indoors. We would have to develop -- from the vice squad standpoint, I'm talking about -- we have to develop sufficient 31 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 probable cause that we would be able to get a search warrant to enter that place.
Sarge, is there any loopholes that you see? It brings me to your jurisdiction. If these kids wanted to go to the parking lot at McDonald's, a quasi-private property, could you go into the mall at Andorra Shopping Center if they're playing up against the First Union Bank wall and lock 'em up? SERGEANT LANCIANO: My interpretation is, as long as it's a place open to the public, then we'll be able to enforce this City ordinance 17 as a summary offense.
Right. And I think that -- I don't want this bill to get taken out of context, but if someone is gambling on the side of my home, then that's an infringement on my rights as a resident. And this is clearly different than if a carnival is operating a over-and-under gambling, whatever they do, or if a Catholic church is having bingo or a bingo hall. 32 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 We're talking about public places, and I think it's clearly two different things right now -- at least in my mind, when we thought about drafting this bill for introduction. We're talking about a public safety issue. I don't know that people leave carnivals and wait to shoot the person that was operating the game. You know, there's just all kind of things. It's just clearly to me a real good difference. And people need to ride through neighborhoods and ride through these streets and understand and observe the intent of this bill. And it's not just young people. I want to keep saying that it's not just young peep. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Sergeant. SERGEANT LANCIANO: Thank you.
C.B. Kimmins, Mantua Against Drugs. (Witness comes forward. )
Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your 33 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 testimony.
My name is C.B. Kimmins, K-I-M-M-I-N-S, Mantua Against Drugs.
Okay. I'm very, very concerned about this bill, and it brought me here today because I see these things hours a day. 10 The gambling on the highway is prevalent in almost 11 20 police districts. 12 When Captain Nestel was asked, we 13 didn't get a chance to hear what figures the 14 Police Department's coming up with as far as the 15 numbers. But it even extends to the 6th and 9th 16 Districts because there are certain areas in those 17 districts where folks are gambling on the highway. 18 And if you check the logs of the 19 districts, even in the Northeast, the 15th and the 20 2nd, there are calls for gambling on the highway. 21 In South Philadelphia, it's the 1st, the 4th, the 22 3rd, and the 17th. In West Philly, it's 12th, the 23 16th, the 18th, and the 19th. In North 24 Philadelphia, it's in the 22dn and the 23rd. East Division, it's the 24th, 25th, and 26th. It's the 34 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 35th District in Northwest, the 39th and the 14th. So it's a prevalent problem, it's very pervasive. It's not in the minority of the districts; it's in the majority of the districts. Why I would like to see the gambling on the highway stop is the carnage that it takes upon the neighborhoods -- the carnage being that it's a blight. The young folks who are gambling as well as the those adults that the Councilwoman referred to, they prefer areas that are dirty and unkempt so that they can gamble anonymously. And the amount of money that is gambled is very large. You would be surprised to know that sometimes, it approaches almost $70,000. And that sounds outrageous because you would think it's probably 4 or $5 being placed on the ground and the dice being rolled. But as Captain Nestel referred to, it goes hand-in-hand with narcotics sales. So the narcotics fellows, whether it's downtime or selling time, have plenty of money to place down on those dice games. And there's always a gun at a dice game. There may be more than one, but there's 35 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 always one weapon at the game. And that's to enforce anyone trying to alter the dice, trying to snatch up the money, somebody who can test the roll of the dice, arguments ensue. And many of our mothers who are marching on the march to Washington on Mother's Day have lost their sons who have been murder through homicide at a dice game. So it looks like an innocent form of recreation, but it becomes vicious at times. Going to a church fund-raiser or going to a neighborhood-organized fund-raising where there is gambling going on and the folks placing money down on the spin of a wheel, or sometimes at the churches, they'll have the dice inside this big cages and they turn them over. There is no 17 comparison. The folks there, as the Councilwoman alluded to, are not carrying guns and are not having violent arguments, and there's not going to be the drug dealers hanging around the dice games, there's not going to be the drive-by shootings that could happen because there's a large amount of money, and there's not going to be the stickups. 36 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 There's a lot of guys in the City who do not sell drugs on the corner, but they have a life of sticking up people. They drive around just to perform robberies by pointing guns. And when they come to corners, they either rob the drug dealers from the proceeds of the drug sales, the drug themselves, or they'll try to take money that's placed on the ground. And this has happened and they're not going to call the police and they're not going to report it as a crime because, obviously, the fact that it's stolen money, it's money that they can't account for, and it's also the fact that they don't want their names hitting the books for being a person who can't account for this amount of money and may be possibly a drug dealer standing on these corners throwing dice.
There are dangers to the neighborhood children because the dice games inevitably lead to arguments, they inevitably lead to folks fighting amongst each other over whose money was placed down and what kind of bet did they place, are the dice correct, are they crooked --
You're for the bill. 37 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021
Oh, there's no question about it. And the same kind of gambling goes on in the schools. It has to be looked at in the schools very closely because a lot of fights in schools are masked behind "he-said-she-said" when it's really about gambling. There's a lot of gambling that goes on in the schools -- dice games in the hallways, out of the purview of teachers. But they go out in the street because they feel that there's more of an opportunity to escape, less chance of getting caught. If the neighbors see them, they call the police, they can have somebody monitoring who's coming down the street in a police car. So it's a problem that is pervasive, and young folks need to know that -- it wouldn't even be a bad idea to have signs up "Gambling Prohibited on the Highway" close to schools 'cause a lot of the gambling operates around the schools, and it then it brings a sense of danger to the school buildings. And it also has that gun, like 38 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 I said, at these dice games that's very close to a school building. So we need to look at that. And one more thing I would suggest is that the penalty, where $300 will be forfeited and not exceeding that. In my view, from witnessing the manner of behavior around the dice game, the cursing, the 40s, the drugs, the absolute disrespect for senior citizens, the fact that the neighborhood is brought down because of the dirt and debris, and folks avoid going around there with their kids, they won't go to the store, they won't even go out to their car, that we need to let them know that all the money will be forfeited. We're not going to have you come back and try to say, Well, that's my amount of money. Or this money belongs to me, I was going to the store and I dropped it on the sidewalk. No, all the money, if you're the gambling game, will be forfeited and it could be put to good use for educational purposes in the City.
Councilwoman 39 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 Blackwell?
Thank you. I just wanted to say thank you for your good work as well, C.B., and you're always on the case. And we'll see you at the next Night Court.
Yes. Thank you very much, Councilwoman. (Judge S. McCaffery comes forward.)
Judge, you have the stand. Sidle up to the bar and identify yourself for the record for the bench here, sir. JUDGE MCCAFFERY: Judge Seamus Patrick McCaffery, Judge, Philadelphia Municipal Court. Also Supervising Judge, Philadelphia Nuisance Night Court Program.
You may proceed. JUDGE MCCAFFERY: Councilman Ortiz, Councilman Rizzo, Councilwoman Miller, Councilwoman Blackwell, thank you very much for inviting me here today. I'm here to testify on behalf of the City ordinance dealing with gambling on the highway. " One of our goals through this program is to provide a presence, a judicial presence, in our neighborhoods at night, on the weekends, during the week, especially during the high so-called quality-of-life crime times, which is primarily during the good-weather months. One of the things that we have brought to the neighborhoods is a perception that the courts, that the City, that our law enforcement community do care about our quality of life. It goes without saying, and I'm sure you're all aware, those people that can leave Philadelphia are packing up and leaving, and most of them will tell you that they are concerned about the decay of the quality of life in their neighborhoods. Our Nuisance Night Court is not the solution, it's not the cure, but it's something that the people can point to as saying, Hey, Philadelphia, we do have someone out there that cares about our neighborhoods. We have this year received 61 requests for Night Court throughout the City and County of Philadelphia through the volunteer efforts of our judges -- and I want to 41 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 add that not one judge has ever, since the inception of the program, not one judge has ever been paid for his or her involvement in Night Court. We do it on our own, on our own time free. The program is considered one of the top programs in the nation. We receive calls all over to basically find out exactly what our program is about. The lieutenant governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has contacted us through his Weed and Seed Program concerning the possibility of implementing a similar nuisance night court program throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, primarily in the larger metropolitan areas. And I say this by way of saying that we, the judges, know what's going on in our neighborhoods at night. We keep high statistical information data concerning the problems in our communities. And just like any other neighborhood in Philadelphia, our neighborhood problems are unique to those neighbors. In Southwest Philadelphia and in West Philadelphia, we notice a large number of on-the-street gambling, as well as in Center City. 42 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 The gambling that we are seeing today is not just petty ante -- this isn't about pennies, nickels, and dimes. This is about hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of dollars. Some of these gamble groups have become organized. They're actually out there drumming up a lot of business. And with the neighborhood street-corner gambling, what we have found is that it brings with it drugs drug sales along with prostitution, along with open-air drinking, open containers of alcohol, and the types of large groups that have become an intimidating factor in our neighborhoods. I don't have to tell you Councilmen and Councilwomen because you hear it from your constituents. This is the kind of problem that is just growing out of control. It's the kind of problem that we have to deal with on the street corners. Up until recently, we had a gambling ordinance that the Philadelphia police were able to enforce. Through the efforts of Councilwoman Miller and yourself, Councilman Ortiz, and Councilman Rizzo, as well as Councilwoman 43 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 Blackwell, this ordinance, which had basically fallen between the cracks, not allowing the police to make arrests for gambling, is now coming back to the forefront because it is a very important ordinance. For a long period of time, the Philadelphia -- members of the Philadelphia Police Department were not permitted to make arrests for gambling on the highway because, for whatever reason, the ordinance was not brought back into play, I believe, several years ago.
It's an ordinance that's important to our community, it's something that we're seeing a growing trend in. Until recently, the police officers had to make arrests for obstruction to highway or to other public passageways, but that was a catchall. This is a very unique and very important ordinance for the specific offense of gambling on the highway. I support the $300 fine. I also support the fact that if, in fact, these individuals are recidivists, they can be sentenced up to 90 days in jail for this type of offense. So, again, not to belabor the point, but it is very important to our neighborhoods to 44 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 allow law enforcement this added tool so that they could go out and put an end to some of the problems -- at least one very important problem -- that's coming up in our neighborhoods. That is pretty much all I'm here to say. It will help our judges at Night Court, it will also help the Philadelphia Police Department to enforce, again, a growing problem in the actual neighborhoods.
Judge, good seeing you. Judge, maybe you can explain the process, and it should only take a minute. Because just recently, I've been involved in a situation where a number of people were arrested by Philadelphia police, taken to the Police Administration Building, and held there for three days, maybe almost four days, prior to even being able to go through the process to be released from custody or whatever. Could you explain the difference between Night Court, and the people that go there versus the people that go to the Detention Unit 45 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 and go through that process? JUDGE MCCAFFERY: Councilman, the individuals that are arrested and taken to the Philadelphia roundhouse, they are arrested for what is known as for indictables, misdemeanors, and felonies. Understand, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, we have felonies, misdemeanors, and summary citations. The individuals that are taken to the roundhouse are photographed, fingerprinted, and they go through the entire identification process, which, of course, sometimes, as you know, can take several days, depending on the volume of cases. The Philadelphia Nuisance Night Court Program is a program that's unique in the sense that we only handle summary citations. Understand that no one can be incarcerated in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania without legal representation. As such, Night Court -- the beauty of Night Court is, a judge sits in the neighborhood, the individual's arrested, brought directly in front of the judge, and he or she is provided an actual trial. And because it's a summary, we're not required to have a prosecutor, 46 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 a district attorney, an assistant district attorney, or a public defender, a criminal defense attorney. We try the cases right there. The beauty of the program is that if the individual pays the fine or if the individual completes the community service -- and by the way, we've given out tens of thousands of hours of community service -- that matter is discharged, so that young man and that woman is not given a criminal record. That's one of the beauties of our whole program. You know, but for the grace of God, growing up in Germantown, you know, I would have had a criminal record too for some of the some stuff we do as kids. So we're not, in this program, looking to give somebody a criminal record. The beauty, again, is it's strictly a summary, it's primarily a fine or community service, period.
And this would be a summary? JUDGE MCCAFFERY: That's all it is, is a summary citation -- nothing more.
So it is a summary offense. 47 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 JUDGE MCCAFFERY: Nothing more.
Now what happens if this young person, older person is arrested during the daytime? JUDGE MCCAFFERY: Same thing.
What happens to them? JUDGE MCCAFFERY: They're taken aside and a summary citation is prepared, and the officer and the defendant are given an actual trial date downtown at the Criminal Justice Center. One of the nice things about the Night Court Program is that it saves the City time because the officers, their testimony is done, and the individual is adjudicated either guilty or not guilty. Also the beauty of it is that under Court Rule 84, if an individual does not respond or doesn't show up for summary, we can find them guilty in absentia and provide the exact sanctions needed, and we don't have to worry about the case going to bench-warrant status. And also, it's a matter that's being heard directly in the neighborhood. 48 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021
I just wanted to say thank you and ask one question. When it becomes matter of them getting records these folks don't get charged for that? JUDGE MCCAFFERY: Councilwoman, because of the summary, the way our summary citation program is made, they're not given a criminal record as we know it -- i.e., they're not photographed and fingerprinted. If an individual pays the fine or does the community service, the matter is discharged, and it doesn't come up as a criminal record. Usually, your criminal records are the indictables -- again, the misdemeanors or the felonies.
So only if they are convicted or the judge decides that they have to serve that time does it then become a matter of record? JUDGE MCCAFFERY: It depends, it really does. Usually, it will not. And I say that because under our sanctions, we can put somebody in jail up to 90 days. And, quite honestly, the 49 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 first offense should never see a jail sentence in Philadelphia County -- it's a fine or a community service. If it's a recidivist, we're talking about a multiple-repeat offender, then the individual will have to be taken down to the Criminal Justice Center because he has to be -- before he can be sent to jail, he has to be provided with legal counsel. We in the Night Court do not put people in jail without legal representation.
Right. It's a wonderful, wonderful program. Thank you for your efforts. JUDGE MCCAFFERY: Thank you.
Okay, I just want to thank you, Judge McCaffery, for coming in. And one of the things that the Law Department talked to us about yesterday, just in terms of a 90-day imprisonment would be for a repeat, a repeat offender. JUDGE MCCAFFERY: Exactly.
Somebody that 50 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 just keeps, you know, doing it and constantly gets fined. 'Cause we're not in the business of wanting to create records for people; we just really want to make the quality of life in the neighborhoods better, and I want to personally thank you again. JUDGE MCCAFFERY: Thank you, Councilwoman. And just an addition, just so you know, the individual, the type of individual that could end up going to jail is the person that's running the gambling operations as a business, the repeat offender. You know, the participants that go, they're usually fined or get community service, that's it.
Judge, I just would appreciate it one more time so I understand. A person's arrested for gambling on the highway. JUDGE MCCAFFERY: Right.
The police officer gives them a piece of paper. JUDGE MCCAFFERY: Okay, that's a summons to appear in court.
If this happened at 51 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 o'clock at night, they wouldn't be taken to Night Court. JUDGE MCCAFFERY: If we have a Night Court judge working, they're taken directly in front of us, or what the districts are doing -- for example, this Friday night, I'll be sitting in South Philadelphia. Already tonight, those individuals --
He has to be discharged immediately, Councilman. JUDGE MCCAFFERY: Right. Understand, there's a distinction between Night Court and regular court. Regular court can take you months before you get into a courtroom. Night Court, the beauty is, they appear directly in front of us.
I got arrested the other day for obstructing the highway. I was taken down to the precinct and given a summons to 52 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 appear at a certain date in court. It is a summary offense. And if this happened during the night, I probably would have been taken to Night Court. JUDGE MCCAFFERY: Directly in front of a judge.
My question is, if there's a Night Court, does that suggest that there would be a effort, a sweep, an accelerated effort to go into a police district because there's a Night Court and start scooping people up? JUDGE MCCAFFERY: No. What happens and what the other district commanders are doing is, if they know Night Court is going to be, for example, this Friday night, they will, during that whole week, go out and make sure that they enforce, you know, all of the summary problems -- underage drinking, boom boxes, you know, public urination, gambling on the highway. The individuals will be cited and brought back in front of that judge on Friday night with the 53 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 officers present. So it cuts down dramatically on the volume for the CJC, it cuts down dramatically on the overtime and loss of manpower to have the judge there to handle the matters right in the neighborhood.
So if on Monday, a person is arrested for -- JUDGE MCCAFFERY: He can be subpoenaed back for that --
He'll be back in front of possibly you on Friday evening? JUDGE MCCAFFERY: That's correct, that's correct.
Thank you, Judge. JUDGE MCCAFFERY: My pleasure. Thank you.
Please sit down and identify yourself for the record, please.
Yes, Mr. Chair, my name 54 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 is Leroi Simmons, and I'm the Executive Director of the Central Germantown Council.
Mr. Chairman and other Councilmembers, especially my councilwoman, Donna Reed Miller, I am thankful to be able to come and add my voice to the litany of folks who have come before me who support this bill. I was shocked find that there was no 11 specific law against gambling on the City streets. And it fits with what I've been seeing, because I work with Central Germantown Council, a coalition of folk from the business corridor, from the public and private corridor, and we've been working to better conditions in Central Germantown. We've had a series of meetings, and I've been seeing a lot of things that were alarming around this gambling thing. We -- first, I would like to say that I totally support bill and the $300 fine. We've been seeing the -- in the park, they set up right at the corner of the park, and they run gambling, and it intimidates the seniors who want to come into the park. We've had 55 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 millions of dollars invested in businesses in the area, trying to redevelop the area. We've had hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in the park over the last ten years to better the park, Vernon Park. It is becoming again a hub for community activity. And the gambling sets up in the corner and it intimidates those who would back and forth and use the park. I see the bill actually helping because there are, it seems, a nucleus of folk who set up strategically in the line where kids come back and forth from school, and it stops folks from going to school. And as they come and are attracted to look and gather and they gather around to gamble. It also seems to be a group of neighborhood entrepreneurs who target those groups to come sell drugs and alcohol. And as that escalates, it goes into the violence that we see. Many of the children should be in school, there should be some truancy things, but all of the -- we have a bike patrol they we pay for. And all they can do -- I talked to them yesterday -- is chase the folks away, and they move to another area. And then they will chase 56 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 them again, and they go to another area. It doesn't -- they have -- they have been crippled because they can't lock 'em up. I'm just thankful that many of the little children don't really know there's no law against it, or there would be more and more. They also use these groups so that they can begin to attract other children to them, and I'm shocked to see on the avenue -- I don't know if you know what these games are, but I've been seeing a new generation of young men who are good at three-card Molly and the shell game. And they are set up on the avenue like vendors almost, and the little kids look up to 'em, you know. And the older folks come, and they get beat. They have no 17 idea that this is a game and they all getting beat. And they're sucking folks in and it's not like it's legal. And all the police can do, the bike patrol, is go. All they could do is shoo 'em away. Around that little nucleus, the dealers hang. And the dealers try and get some of the folks who are dealing with the game. And we're overcoming the good things 57 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 that are happening in the neighborhood. The quality-of-life crimes that have been stopped, some of the disorder, the disruption, which leads to the major crimes. If we don't continue to move on these quality-of-life crimes, we're going to end up back where we started, and we don't want to go there. I totally support this bill, and I'm glad that Councilwoman Miller saw fit to bring it forth and I wish the fine was more.
Thank you. James Igess. James? (Witness comes forward.)
Corliss Grey, come on up at the same time. (Witness comes forward.) 58 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021
Is there anyone else here to testify on this bill? (No response.)
Brian, come on up to the panel. (Witness comes forward.
My name is James Igess, and I'm Director of Neighborhood Services for Wister Neighborhood Council. We have a brief statement that we would like to read. The Wister Neighborhood Council, a community-based organization, supports the gambling bill that is before you today. This will untie the hands of the Police Department and allow them to make arrests. For years, we have met with the 14th Police District captain, and they continually told us that gambling on the highway is not a crime. This allows people to openly play craps, blackjack, etc. on the highways. These type of activities promote loitering, drug transactions, littering, vulgar language, fights, and loud music. The Wister Neighborhood the Council has 59 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 a police mini-substation that two officers is stationed there. This gambling bill will give the Town Watch groups, the civic organizations, and residents the power to stop these negative activities in our community.
Miss Grey? Pull up the microphone and identify yourself for the record.
My name is Corliss Grey, and I'm the President of the Queen Lane Tenant Council and I'm also the Treasurer of the Resident Advisory Board that represents resident groups from all over the City. I come to talk about this because this is not only a problem of ours; it seems to be a problem of all the tenant councils. The gambling on the highway creates hanging. It sort of like mingles in with the drug sales. They all get out there to gather, people are hanging around, and when they hang around, they cause trash. It's not 60 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 only a drug problem, it's not only a hanging problem, but it also creates a trash problem 'cause people are sitting 'round, they're eating, they're doing -- whether people are standing, whatever they do, they just throw it. And then there's nobody there to pick it up, particularly at night and on the weekends. I will attest to that it's really a problem for all of us because I can attest to the fact that we have lost three young men because somebody's cheating, somebody's hotheaded, they come out of the games, and they start shooting. Three young people have been lost to literally gambling, and two children was struck with stray bullets. They weren't fatally injured, but they were injured. We certainly there at Queen Lane would love to see this law not only passed but enforced, 'cause we certainly don't need it around there. We have enough problems. Thank you.
Mr. Brian, please state your name and proceed with your testimony.
My name is Brian Anthony 61 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 Wise. It hadn't occurred to me until yesterday that I didn't -- I didn't even know that gambling wasn't illegal until yesterday. And I see these guys across the street from -- they used to live across the street from me, but I see these guys and I say, Don't they know that gambling is illegal? And I just found out yesterday that it wasn't. So it was -- I do support this bill.
Very good. Do you see this when you're coming out of school?
Yes. I used to see it every day, and I was scared -- I was scared to walk home the way that I usually walk home because I would 62 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 see somebody with a weapon on them or a knife or a gun, and I was scared for my life when I walked home. So I usually walked down Nippon Street but I used to take Allens Lane, but the police cleared that whole -- because they used to do it in like a secluded area where nobody could see 'em, but people could see 'em when they walk home from school, so I just walked up Allens Lane and came down Germantown Avenue because they would do it right on Nippon Street. And I used to be scared and I have some friends that live on Nippon Street and I was scared for them, too.
No. They never really paid attention to people that just keep walking, but if you were to, like, look at them and stare at them while they're doing it, they would look at you with a look like that, like "I want to get you."
There used to be drugs sold right across the street from my house, and they 63 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 used to gamble at nighttime, and they used to sell drugs right across the street from my house, but someone called the cops on 'em and they caught 'em red-handed.
There are certain amendments to the bill that I would like to read and then ask for a motion for these amendments to be included in the bill. In Section 10-611, entitled "Sidewalk Behavior," adding a Section (h): "For a violation of subsection (2)(b), relating to gambling on the sidewalk, the penalty shall be that contained in Section 10-612." The second amendment will be under Section 10-612, labeled "Gambling," and that is: "(2) No person shall attempt to gamble, incite others to gamble, or attempt to set up, establish, 64 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 or conduct a gambling operation on any street, sidewalk, alleyway, passageway, or other public right-of-way, or on any property owned by the City or other public agency." And the same section, under number (3), Penalties: "(b) Repeat Offenders. Any person who commits on more than one occasion a violation of this section shall be guilty of a separate offense of repeat violation, and for each such repeat violation, shall be subject to a fine of not more than $300 or imprisonment for no more 90 days or both. A person shall be guilty of a repeat violation regardless of whether the second or subsequent violation occurs before or after a judicial finding of a first each violation or a previous violation. Each violation after the first shall constitute a separate repeat violation." These are the amendments. Do I hear a motion?
I motion that this committee include these amendment to this bill.
Do I hear a second? 65 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 (Duly seconded.) Do I hear any opposition?
Hearing none, the amendments are included in the bill. This committee will now go into a session for a meeting on Bill 000021. Do I hear a motion on the bill as amended?
I move that Bill 10 No. 000021 be voted out with a favorable vote, as amended. (Duly seconded.)
With a favorable recommendation and a motion to suspend the rules so as to permit --
Any opposition? Hearing none, Bill 00021 is approved. Mr. Michael Nutter is saying "aye." It's approved with a favorable recommendation and a recommendation that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading in the 66 5/10/00 LAW & GOV'T - BILL 000021 next session of City Council. Gambling is now prescribed in Philadelphia. Bye. (Adjourned at 11:20 a.m.) - - - 67 C E R T I F I C A T E I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing proceedings of the Council of the City of Philadelphia of Wednesday, May 10, 2000, were reported fully and accurately by me, and that this is a correct transcript of same. RE: COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON LAW AND GOVERNMENT BILL NO. 000021 __________________________________, JOSEPHINE CARDILLO, Registered Professional Reporter