Letters to the Editor

by the Readers

Ernest Mistake

(Re: Pretzel Logic, "Vindication," Howard Altman, Aug. 22, 2002)

Gee, what happened to Howard Altman's memory after spending three grueling days in the City Hall courtroom made famous by the film Philadelphia? Was it the effects of the heat or an insidious fungus caused by those ornate columns?

I was the only other subpoenaed journalist besides Howard who testified at the trial. Like Howard, I was questioned by Jay Lambert and cross-examined by Sam Malat. Admittedly, Malat was much tougher on Howard than he was on me but I still spent a considerable amount of time on the stand answering questions related to two audio tape interviews (a deposition numbering some 170 pages) I did with Skip Thomas and Fred Ambrose in 1996. These interviews were done in preparation for my story in (the now defunct) AuCourant NewsMagazine, which was the first newspaper in the city to break Fred Ambrose's crackpot story about a new killer in the Kimberly Ernest case.

Thank God we at AuCourant had the presence of mind to merely posit Ambrose's theory by not naming "the suspect" but by calling him "John Doe." Other media outlets, especially television news, were not so thoughtful.

While I did not return to the courtroom for the remaining two days of the trial, I was there the first full day taking notes as well as having random, brief chats with Howard. It was during one of these chats that we mentioned the lack of press coverage: where was the broadcast media, the Inquirer and The Daily News? We both expressed shock at the lack of press interest and the sea of empty chairs around us.

While it's true that my presence at the trial was motivated by a subpoena, I was also there as a journalist, as someone with a great amount of respect for Jay Lambert, as someone who knew his son, John, and as a writer who was accused by Fred Ambrose of "hiding something" because I knew more about the murder of Kimberly Ernest than I was letting on.

Thom Nickels
Philadelphia

Dirty Pigs

I was disgusted to see a uniformed patrolman of the 26th district discard his lunch trash and a newspaper onto the street at 10th and Susquehanna. At approximately 2 p.m. on Aug. 22, 2002, patrol car 26A was occupied by two officers and parked under an overpass in North Philly when one of the officers flagrantly tossed the trash out the window of his marked patrol car. Throwing litter from a vehicle is a sanitation violation listed under Philadelphia code 10-706 and is punishable by fine. The members of the community appreciate the additional police presence but could do without the dumping. I hope this message gets back to his supervisor and the dirty pig gets the fine he deserves!

Jenny Brendan
Student

Temple University

Correction

Re: "Made From Scratch," Aug. 22, 2002 on DJ Jazzy Jeff. Due to editorial error, a reference was omitted to the sponsorship of the "Illadelph Xperiment" party. Square Biz Productions co-produced the party with Jazzy Jeff, Ahmir Thompson and 1616.