Posted on 09/29/2003 10:02:58 AM PDT by ellery
Edited on 04/13/2004 3:11:25 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
William Rothstein wrote a suicide note in which he proclaimed his innocence in the death of pizza deliveryman Brian Wells.
But Rothstein, the very-much alive handyman accused of helping Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong cover up a murder, is still not out of the FBI's scope of investigation in Wells' Aug. 28 bombing death.
(Excerpt) Read more at goerie.com ...
No stranger to murder
By Kevin Flowers
Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong is no stranger to a homicide probe.
Neither, it turns out, is William Rothstein.
More than two decades ago, Rothstein helped a friend dispose of a .25-caliber handgun used in the February 1977 slaying of Erie resident William Berry, according to Erie County Court records and newspaper articles.
Rothstein kept that news from authorities for more than two years and through an entire trial. But he gave crucial testimony about his role during a second murder trial for his friend after he was given immunity from prosecution.
Rothstein will not be able to work a similar deal in the current homicide investigation, according to Erie Police Chief Charles Bowers and Erie County District Attorney Brad Foulk.
Rothstein is the Summit Township handyman who now admits helping Diehl-Armstrong, a former girlfriend, hide the body of 45-year-old James Roden in a chest freezer in Rothstein's home. He also told police he disposed of the 12-gauge shotgun that Diehl-Armstrong supposedly used to shoot Roden in the bedroom of their East Seventh Street home sometime in mid-August.
Rothstein's cooperation in the second murder trial of Louis Allessie of Erie in 1979 was described as a "real big'' factor in Allessie's conviction, said District Justice Dominick DiPaolo, a former Erie police detective sergeant who was the lead investigator in Berry's homicide probe.
DiPaolo said he was shocked to find out Rothstein now finds himself in a similar predicament.
"You would think that someone who was involved in a homicide years ago would have learned his lesson," DiPaolo said. "But for whatever reason, it looks like this guy didn't. You really wouldn't think someone involved in that once would be dumb enough to do it again.''
On Dec. 3, 1979, Rothstein, then 35, took the witness stand in a Beaver County courtroom in Allessie's homicide re-trial.
Allessie won the re-trial, and a change of venue, when the state Superior Court threw out a third-degree murder verdict from his first trial on the grounds that Erie police waited too long to file charges against him while he was in police custody.
That ruling also made Allessie's earlier confession and other key pieces of evidence inadmissible in the 1979 re-trial. They needed Rothstein's testimony, sources said.
Rothstein testified that Allessie came to Rothstein's eastside apartment the night of Berry's homicide —Feb. 2, 1977 — and told Rothstein, "Hey, I just killed that guy.''
Berry's body was found in his compact, late-model car in an alley near East Second and Wallace streets, a block from Rothstein's house. Berry had been shot in the head a number of times.
According to Rothstein, Allessie told him he needed a ride back to his car, which was parked near West Eighth and Japan streets. During the ride, Rothstein said Allessie told him he took money out of Berry's wallet to make the crime look like a robbery.
Prosecutors theorized that Allessie was waiting in Berry's car near West Eighth and Japan after Berry left the home of Allessie's former girlfriend, Nora Jean Hornaman. Police said Allessie killed Berry, a Times Publishing Company printer, because he was jealous about Berry's budding romance with Allessie's former girlfriend.
Rothstein told the jury he'd given the gun to Allessie months before the murder. After the murder, Rothstein suggested his friend break the gun into pieces and throw the pieces away. The gun, however, was left on the front seat of Rothstein's truck, according to testimony.
Rothstein said he tried to burn the gun with a torch, but was unsuccessful. He said he finally placed it in a plastic bag and threw it in the trash.
Rothstein also told the jury he drove Allessie past Berry's home several weeks before the murder. Berry and Hornamen, whom Alessie lived with for about six years, had been dating less than two months before the slaying.
During earlier testimony, Hornaman said she ended her relationship with Allessie in October 1976, four months before Berry's death. Hornaman and Berry met at a church singles group meeting and had been on four or five dates, according to testimony from the trials.
The jury, after hearing Rothstein's testimony, found Allessie guilty. He was sentenced to 5 to 10 years in prison.
Allessie, paroled in 1982, died in June 1992 of natural causes at age 46.
Rothstein could not be reached for comment on this story.
DiPaolo said he disagreed at the time with then-District Attorney Robert Chase's decision to grant Rothstein immunity for testifying against Allessie. But police believed they needed what Rothstein had to say, especially because the Superior Court ruling barred Allessie's confession and other evidence from being used in the second trial.
"When I heard (Rothstein's) name (after Diehl-Armstrong's arrest), I knew immediately who it was,'' DiPaolo said.
Acting on a tip from Allessie's former girlfriend, DiPaolo found Rothstein in late 1979, more than two years after Berry's killing. A short time later, Rothstein gave an official statement to police about what he knew.
Former Erie Detective Sgt. David Bagnoni, now the public safety director at Erie International Airport, agreed with DiPaolo. Bagnoni also investigated Berry's killing along with former Detective Donald Gunter, the current police and safety director at Gannon University.
"After we started questioning him, (Rothstein) knew that if he hadn't cooperated, we'd charge him with conspiracy,'' Bagnoni said. "Having someone at trial say, 'Yeah, he had the gun and we talked about cutting it up' — that all went to substantiating what we already knew.
"Gunter and I were at a funeral together a couple of days ago and were just talking about (the Diehl-Armstrong case and Rothstein's involvement),'' Bagnoni said. "It's just unbelievable.''
Both Chief Bowers and District Attorney Foulk said Wednesday night they were aware of Rothstein's earlier involvement with the Berry homicide. Bowers said investigators talked to him about it Thursday and said they had been aware of the previous case for "some time."
"Beyond that, I don't think we should comment," Bowers said. Foulk also declined further comment, but he and Bowers confirmed plans to charge Rothstein.
Neither would say when Rothstein will be charged or with what.
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Rothstein owes city $27,000 for demolition of soda-bottling company
By Kevin Flowers
William Rothstein's troubles with the city of Erie are not confined to the James Roden homicide investigation.
Rothstein, who told police he and former girlfriend Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong hid Roden's body in a chest freezer at Rothstein's Summit Township home, owes the city more than $27,000 in unpaid demolition liens.
Erie police will file charges against Rothstein for helping Diehl-Armstrong, authorities said this week. Diehl-Armstrong is currently in Erie County Prison on charges that include homicide.
City records show the city in March 2000 demolished a former soda-bottling company building Rothstein then owned, and that Rothstein has not repaid the city the $27,501.50 he owes for the work.
The building had been at 341 E. Third St. since 1945. The site is now a vacant lot.
Because of the liens, Rothstein must first pay the city for the demolition before he can sell the property, said Rich Bertges, supervisor of the city's Bureau of Property Maintenance.
Rothstein's father, Matthias Rothstein, founded the business and ran it until he retired in 1978. He and his wife, B. Virginia Rothstein, deeded the property to Rothstein on Aug. 20, 1976, city records show.
Rothstein could not be reached for comment.
The city sought to have the building torn down after years of complaints from neighbors about its deteriorating condition, Bertges said. The city's Redevelopment Authority eventually paid for the demolition.
"This was a health and safety issue,'' Bertges said. "The back of the building was collapsing. He said he was going to address and fix the front of the building, but he did not do that.
"He claims he has no money,'' Bertges said. "The bottom line is he never followed through with his promises to the city.''
"Erie PA", besides making a good name for a new Twin Peaks-style mini-series, sure does sound like a haven for murderers and low-lifes of all sorts.
THE ROTHSTEIN MURDERS
Bet this Rothstein dude has his own little junkyard and Voila!! there are gun parts in it.
Continuing with our shallow "analysis" of possible roles in the pizza deliveryman murder...
Did Rothstein attempt to "burn" the gun, or melt it? Did the crude bomb-collar show signs of a welding torch? Just how handy is this handyman?
Erie is also known by the Pa folks as.. 'The mistake by the lake.'
I was thinking more of the Mona Lisa type...ya know, "many men have been brought to your doorstep; they just lie there; and they die there".
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