Davisville Road Resident Sentenced for Manslaughter

By Keith Phucas
The Public Spirit

Thomas Craig Bellezza

An Upper Moreland man jealous of his ex-girlfriend’s new friend was sentenced to prison Friday for fatally beating the boyfriend with a baseball bat outside the woman’s home last year.

Thomas Craig Bellezza, 51, of Davisville Road, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court in December to involuntary manslaughter, terroristic threats and possessing an instrument of crime in connection with the death of 53-year-old Robert “Rusty” Masten on Feb. 9, 2010.

Before sentencing, Bellezza’s defense lawyer, A. Charles Peruto Jr., asked Judge William J. Furber Jr. to consider the fact that Masten first wielded the wooden bat that snowy night before his client wrestled it away from him and delivered the deadly blow.

“We have to ask, if not for the bat, we might not be here,” Perutto said. “The bat changed everything.”

But after after considering the case and a report on Bellezza’s background, Furber reasoned that the defendant’s decision to use the victim’s bat as a weapon was a grave mistake.

“This is a tragedy,” the judge said. “But when one analyzes it, it is one that could have been avoided.”

Furber sentenced Bellezza to a total of 51 months to 12 years behind bars for the three counts. The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Rebecca Strubel and John Walko.

Masten’s sisters, Deborah McDonald and Lenore Sellman, and a niece, Tara Nash, read victim impact statements at the sentencing hearing Friday afternoon.

Nash, a nurse who works in Abington Memorial Hospital’s emergency department, said her uncle sustained multiple skull fractures during the violent assault.

“This was a horrible way to die,” she said.

According to prosecutors, Bellezza drove to his former girlfriend Denise DeMino’s Horsham home that night and after confronting Masten outside, beat him with the bat.

According to one witness, the defendant struck the victim while he was on the ground with a “wood chopping” overhead blow.

When police arrived at the scene, Bellezza told them, “I took the bat from him and hit him” and told police the problem between him and Masten “was over a girl,” according to the criminal complaint. Bellezza had blood on his jacket, pants, shoes and hands and a bat lay on the ground near the bleeding man.

DeMino told authorities that she had been trying to distance herself from Bellezza for about a month and that Bellezza was jealous about her relationship with Masten, who DeMino described as a friend.

At around 5:30 p.m., Masten and DeMino had dinner at her home. During the evening, the woman ignored incoming calls from Bellezza, who left a voice message just before 9 p.m. saying, “Hello, I’m sorry. But I’m finished being disrespected by you. You’re a disrespectful person the way you treated me. And now it’s my turn to disrespect you. And that’s what I’m going to do.”

Later, after Masten spoke on the phone with Bellezza, DeMino asked Masten to leave the house to avoid any trouble. Before leaving, Masten told DeMino he kept a bat in his pickup truck and would defend himself against the former boyfriend, according to court papers.

At 10:16 p.m., Bellezza left a more ominous phone message for DeMino: “Hey Denise. It’s Tom. It’s quarter after 10. It’s snowing. Don’t get too comfortable.”

Bellezza then drove to the MacIntosh Court residence, parked his truck and sat in the vehicle waiting about 10 minutes for Masten to come outside, authorities said. DeMino first became aware of the assault when she heard Bellezza yelling outside her home and called 911.

The defendant told detectives that he believed he was hit by the bat during the struggle with Masten, when they both fell to the ground. Bellezza said he wrestled the bat away from Masten, and the men got back on their feet before he swung the bat at the other man.

However, witnesses claimed Masten was struck while lying on the ground, according to court papers.

Prior to sentencing, Walko argued that the defendant made many bad choices that night. And clubbing the man on the back of head had fatal consequences.

“Of all the choices he made that night, this was the worse,” Walko said.

Republished with the permission of The Public Spirit/Globe Times Chronicle

Upper Moreland Sonic Receives Occupancy Permit Extension

By Jesse Reilly
The Public Spirit

After nearly a year of discussions and numerous extensions for its temporary occupancy permit, it seems Sonic may be close to a more permanent status.

In a 5-2 vote, with Commissioners Lisa Romaniello and James McKenna dissenting, the Upper Moreland Board of Commissioners approved a 30-day extension of temporary occupancy for the Sonic that opened at the corner of Mill and Easton roads just about a year ago.

Sonic was unable to get a permanent occupancy permit due to a failure to complete a lease agreement with the state’s turnpike commission, but on Monday Josh Gantz, the township’s assistant solicitor, said the two parties had reached an agreement that will likely be finalized in the next few days.

The lease is necessary because Sonic’s close proximity to the turnpike.

Once the lease is finalized, Gantz said the township and Sonic could complete a storm-water agreement that was only waiting on the lease.

Although one Quigley Avenue resident was upset about the number of extensions the fast-food restaurant received, the majority of the commissioners stood behind the decision.

“I went along with this because there was no liability to the township,” Commissioner Donna Parsell said. “The turnpike commission is notoriously difficult to work with and I don’t see where it was a bad decision.”

To make sure the township was not liable if an agreement could not have been reached, it held a significant amount of money in escrow.

Commission Kip McFatridge agreed.

“We’ve been collecting taxes from them for a year now,” he said, adding that the process was so long because the turnpike commission would not discuss a lease agreement until Sonic completed about $50,000 worth of improvements to the turnpike’s property. “That was a big part of the hold-up right there.”

But, Commissioner Lisa Romaniello said the improvement project is no excuse.

“I have consistently voted against this project because of the way it came through committee,” she said. “[The developers] should have done their homework and anticipated that something like this could have happened, I don’t think we should be setting precedents like this.”

But Commissioner Joe Lavalle maintained that had anything gone awry the township was able to pull the plug on the operation.

“We wanted to have them come back for extensions every 30 days so we could monitor the progress,” he said. “We were always able to make them vacate the property.”

The commissioners are hopeful this will be the last extension for Sonic. If the lease is not finalized the fast-food restaurant will have to come before the board again in April.

Republished with the permission of The Public Spirit/Globe Times Chronicle

Giant in Upper Moreland One Step Closer to Building Gas Station

By Jesse Reilly
The Public Spirit

It seems another gas station will be coming to Upper Moreland.

The board of commissioners approved the development of a Giant fueling station at the old Pizza Hut in the 400 block of York Road at its meeting Monday.

The 12-pump fueling station and 1,000-square-foot convenience store have been a topic of discussion for the commissioners since last May.

Although the board green-lighted the project, Kerry Eck, Giant’s manager of real estate, said there were still a few hurdles to clear.

Giant still needs a highway occupancy permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation before it can apply for building permits from the township. Although Eck said that could take several months he said the company is hopeful the site will be operational by the fall.

Construction of a fueling station of this nature typically takes 10 to 12 weeks for construction, but, because of complications with a retaining wall on site, Eck said it could take 20 weeks for this location.

Prior to approving the development the board also OK’d 14 waivers.

Because the property is adjacent to residential homes, Commissioner Donna Parsell said she spoke with a number of the residents who would be affected before moving forward.

Although one resident praised the company for its good practices and upkeep, another was concerned that a new gas station could put the current ones in the township out of business.

“Was there an economic impact study done,” a resident asked the board. “Shouldn’t it have been discussed? I don’t want to see two gas stations vacant in the township because of Giant.”

An economic impact study is not required, Josh Gantz, the township’s assistant solicitor said.

“We cannot preclude any businesses from the township because of competition,” he said. “We can look into how the properties around the business will affect storm-water management issues, traffic and sight lines. Beyond that the commissioners don’t have the power to determine how it will affect other businesses in the area.”

Republished with the permission of The Public Spirit/Globe Times Chronicle

Related Story: 3/1/11: Warminster Approves Gas Pumps for Giant Food Store

Upper Moreland Investigating Vehicle Theft

By Tom Sofield
Editor – (tsofield@buxmontnews.com)

Sunday evening, someone stole a pick-up truck from the Shell Starwash gas station, located in the 2500 block of Marlyand Road in Upper Moreland.

The victim left the truck unattended, with the keys in the ignition, while he went to pay for gas, when he came back his 2008 silver Chevrolet Silverado was gone, police said.

The pick-up truck which had an extended cab was valued at $35,000, police reported.

The vehicle theft occurred minutes before 6 p.m., according to police reports.

Upper Moreland police entered the truck into the National Crime Information Center database (NCIC).

I-Phone Stolen from Library; Suspect in Custody

By Tom Sofield
Editor – (tsofield@buxmontnews.com)

File - (Tom Sofield)

Police say, a young man was caught minutes after he allegedly stole a librarian’s I-Phone, Tuesday evening, in Upper Moreland.

It was around 6:10 p.m. when two teenage white males swiped a librarian’s I-Phone from the Upper Moreland Library located on Park Avenue in the Willow Grove section of the township, according to details Upper Moreland police released.

The librarian noticed their phone was stolen and pursued the suspects, telling police the two teens fled toward York and Easton roads.

Minutes later, Upper Moreland police Officer Scott Metheny watched a teenager matching the description given by the librarian, at nearby War Memorial Park, said police.

Upper Moreland police Chief Thomas Nestel said, Officer Metheny approached the male, who then fled towards the Giant Food Store where Officer Thomas Sokolis captured him.

The suspect was identified as the thief who stole the I-Phone. The phone was recovered, Nestel said.

The library is located just feet away from the police station.

No word on what happened to the second suspect who fled the library.

No Injuries in Roll-Over Crash

Around 5:30 pm. a red pick-up truck was making a left turn from Easton Road (Route 611) onto Linden Avenue when a red car broad sided the pick-up, according to Upper Moreland police Chief Thomas Nestel. The pick-up truck overturned and the driver was rescued by members of the Willow Grove Fire Company. Chief Nestel said, there were no injuries reported. (Tom Sofield)

The pick-up was cleared from Easton Road by 6:30 p.m. (Tom Sofield)

Flooding Closes Byberry Road in Upper Moreland

Heavy rains yesterday evening closed a section of Byberry Road last night in Upper Moreland.

Byberry Road was closed at the intersection of Masons Mill Road, due to water that was covering the road, Upper Moreland police said.

A little more than an hour later Upper Moreland police removed the barricades and opened the road to traffic.

Soggy Sunday

 

A view of the rain-soaked soccer field at Pileggi Park in Upper Moreland, Sunday afternoon. Forecasters from the National Weather Service are calling for rain throughout the evening, heavy at times. The rain moves out overnight and a mostly sunny day is predicted for Monday. (Tom Sofield)

 

 

Cops Investigate 2 Burglaries in 2 Weeks on Same Street in Upper Moreland

By Tom Sofield
Editor – (tsofield@buxmontnews.com)

File - (Tom Sofield)

In the past two weeks, two homes have been burglarized during daylight along Preston Lane in Upper Moreland.

In both cases it is believed that the suspect/s entered through the rear of the home, police said.

According to a police department release, the first burglary occurred between the hours of 8:15 a.m. and 2:45 p.m., last Wednesday in the 600 block of Preston Lane.

The second break-in happened at a home located in the 400 block of the street, sometime between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, police said.

“It is entirely possible that the responsible person/s are knocking on doors of homes in the neighborhood attempting to identify houses that have no one home,” said Upper Moreland police Chief Thomas Nestel, “If you see someone that you do not recognize in your backyard or on your neighbor’s property, immediately call 9-1-1-.”

Elderly Woman Found Wandering; Reunited with Son

By Tom Sofield
Editor – (tsofield@buxmontnews.com)

Photo of the woman. (Upper Moreland Police)

A elderly woman who spoke Yiddish, Romanian, Hebrew and German who was found walking along Easton Road by Upper Moreland police, early Tuesday morning, has been reunited with her family.

The woman, who police believe is in her 70’s or 80’s was discovered, around midnight, walking along the busy Route 611 wearing only a housecoat, Upper Moreland police said.

Around 3:00 a.m., Upper Moreland police put out an alert stating, the woman had been reunited with her son.