Posted on 02/19/2005 6:19:17 PM PST by Coleus
TV crime show shot scene similar to chemist's death
| Saturday, February 19, 2005 |
TOTOWA - A popular television crime show filmed a scene inside the Passaic Valley Water Commission plant last year that included a body floating in a tank of water, commission officials said Friday.
The officials lamented the nature of the scene from "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" in light of last week's drowning of a senior chemist in one of the plant's underground water storage tanks.
"This is certainly an unfortunate coincidence," commission spokesman Ernie Landante said.
Investigators have labeled chemist Geetha Angara's death a homicide and have interviewed about half the plant's 85 workers in their search for a suspect. Authorities have declined to describe the autopsy results that led to the homicide determination.
The television show segment was filmed about six months ago for the current season of the "Law & Order" spinoff, said James Gallagher, personnel director for the water commission. For the scene, a disinfected dummy was placed in a settling tank, which is used to separate out minerals and other substances at the start of the water purification process.
Passaic County Prosecutor James F. Avigliano recalled Gallagher recently pointing out the filming location on the first floor of a plant building.
"My guys [detectives] looked at the video and said it [the plot] had nothing to do with this case," Avigliano said. It was unclear what significance the dummy had in the episode of the crime drama series.
Landante said the commission received a payment between $5,000 and $10,000 for the site's use.
"The scope of the filming was very specific and narrow, and they were allowed to film based on those criteria," he said.
The media have been barred from the plant's grounds since the investigation began last week - because of the investigation and also homeland security-related concerns, Landante said.
Representatives from the NBC television program did not respond to requests for comment. It was unclear if the episode had already run or, if it is still scheduled, and whether it will include the scene in question.
Divers found Angara's body in the bottom of a 35-foot-deep, clear-water tank on the evening of Feb. 9, nearly 24 hours after she was reported missing to police. Authorities believe a co-worker somehow forced her into the tank through an opening that was normally covered with a 4-foot aluminum plate.
Avigliano would neither confirm nor deny a published report that investigators had identified three plant employees who "could have had the opportunity to commit the crime."
"The people in my office deny telling anyone that there were three suspects, and I certainly didn't say it," Avigliano said. "If somebody gave out that information, they would certainly be subject to disciplinary proceedings."
Totowa Police Chief Robert Coyle said he knew nothing about such a suspect list. Avigliano said he saw no need for further questioning of his own detectives.
"I feel secure that my guys are telling me the truth," he said.
Confusion follows in death of chemist
WOMAN'S CORPSE IN WATER TANK (boil your water, New Jersey freepers)
Boil Water Order for Several Towns after Plant Worker Found Dead in Tank (New Jersey)
An eerie coincidence.
It had to do with fraternity hazing, and was a revenge killing, but it winds up going back to an initial hazing attack on the pledge who killed the guy earlier.
However, my line was too clever to pass up and who knows L&O has been known to recycle plots.
FMCDH(BITS)
Would like to see more happening here.
But then. . .perhaps they have the killer in sight and are just waiting.
What has been happening re the murder/slaughter of five family members in New Jersey; not too long ago. . .another 'too quiet' investigation.
Probably inadvertent errors since they had no idea she was in the tank at first but it would have been better if the entire area where the woman was normally in during the day was considered a crime scene and nothing touched or moved.
Bernhard Goetz, in his videotaped confession, admitted doing exactly that in his attack -- or, more accurately, counterattack -- on the one of the four teen thugs that demanded his money (None of the thugs were killed, but that one was confined to a wheelchair for life. This did not end the life of crime for the other three). When many complaints were lodged at NBC for the inclusion of that line in the show's script, Mann claimed ignorance of that detail.
LOL
As a running joke with my friends, whenever I do something I don't want them to know about, I tell them I was watching a L&O episode, you know, the one where the spouse gets killed, and you think its related to an affair somone was having, but it turns out to have been the other spouse.
The usual response it, "isn't that all of them?"
The police made a BIG mistake and should have classified this as suspicious from the get go.
Not sure why divers couldn't have been employed, rather than empty-ing millions of gallons of water.
Maybe Dick Wolf, the creator of all the Law & Order series, is psychic.
Before 9/11, he was planning to do a special miniseries. The plot: Osama Bin Laden attacks New York City!
From interview with Vincent D'Onofrio (L&O:CI) on "The View":
http://www.geocities.com/loci_online/vd-viewtranscript.html
Vincent: "Yeah, you’re exactly right. It’s just a little hard to talk about because of September 11th. But Dick Wolf and I had been talking, and obviously Dick and his writers and producers had been talking, about bringing my character into this 5 hour miniseries - which was Dick Wolf’s idea - about bin Laden attacking New York. And it was going to be called “Terror,” and we were going to start shooting it on October 1st before any of us knew anything about what was about to happen... Actually I start to shake just thinking about it."
An eerie coincidence. >>>>
it sure is.
Not sure why divers couldn't have been employed, rather than empty-ing millions of gallons of water. >>
It was probably quicker using the divers.
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