Briefing Room	Press Releases	News Clips	Chief's Office
E-Mail the Information Officer

TRAFFIC CHECKPOINT

December 10, 2004

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department has scheduled a traffic checkpoint for Wednesday, December 15, 2004. The checkpoint will be located at East Evanston Circle & Indiana Avenue in the Melrose Park Community of Fort Lauderdale. The checkpoint will run from 9:00 A.M. until 12 Noon.

Officers will be focusing their efforts on safety checks, along with checking driver licenses, vehicle registrations and proof of insurance. Citations will also be issued for safety belt violations. The Department does not expect traffic delays due to this operation.

TOP

THEFT--INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING HALL OF FAME

December 15, 2004

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department has made an arrest of a subject believed to have stolen nearly a half-million dollars worth of Olympic memorabilia. A majority of this stolen merchandise had once belonged to Johnny Weissmuller, an Olympic gold medal winner in 1924 & 1928, who eventually went on to play “Tarzan” in the movies. Among the other stolen Olympic medals, one had been won by Clarence “Buster” Crabbe. Crabbe also went on to Hollywood and is known for his roles as, Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, as well as Tarzan.

The suspect has been identified as Paul Nicholas Cristow, W/M, 3-17-56, (alias- Joseph Mancino) of Ft. Lauderdale. Cristow was arrested on Thursday, December 9, 2004 and is currently being held on $40,000 bond at the Broward County Main Jail, charged with 2 counts of Grand Theft over $100,000 and 2 counts of dealing in Stolen Property.

On December 4, 2004, Robert Duenkel, curator for the International Swimming Hall of Fame, first noticed Olympic medals missing from a museum case. He contacted the Fort Lauderdale Police Department to report the missing items and an investigation was initiated. At the time, it was believed that only approximately a dozen items had been stolen.

During this same time period, Cristow had taken his stolen memorabilia to “Double Eagle Rare Coins” in an attempt to sell them. Cristow represented himself as an attorney, Sylvio Decalvacante, and was liquidating an estate of a family who wished to remain anonymous. The store took the items in on consignment, and attempted to sell them utilizing the eBay auction site. An educated Olympic memorabilia dealer in North Carolina, Jeffery Ensminger purchased some of the medals from the eBay auction. Based on Ensminger’s knowledge of this type of memorabilia, he was aware that the collection of Weissmuller medals had been at The International Swimming Hall of Fame. Ensminger contacted the Hall of Fame to inquire why they would sell such a collection, and at that time was advised that the medals in fact, had been stolen.

At this point, Fort Lauderdale Detective Gerry Machurick recognized the grander scale of this theft. There was more than just the obvious monetary value of the items stolen, there was also an historical value related to these items, and therefore the need to solve this case as expeditiously as possible in the hopes of recovering the one-of-a-kind medals. It was with the exemplary assistance of Ensminger and Marty Bookston, from Double Eagle Rare Coins that brought Cristow to justice. Bookston agreed to meet Cristow to discuss purchasing the remaining items he was ‘liquidating’ all while being monitored by Fort Lauderdale Police Detectives. During this meeting, probable cause was developed to arrest Cristow, who was taken into custody without incident. There were also some additional medals recovered at this time which Cristow had brought to the meeting.

During the investigation it was determined that Cristow had been temporarily employed at the Hall of Fame doing janitorial duties. Cristow had been working there for a few months, as he was filling in for his brother, a full-time employee at the Museum, but was out of work due to an injury. It is believed that Cristow had been stealing various items over this time frame.

According to Museum Curator Duenkel, approximately half of the stolen items have been recovered by the Police. Detectives are attempting to locate and recover the remaining items and are additionally requesting the public’s assistance. If anyone has heard of or seen such items, which include all types of Olympic water-related event medals, trophies, ribbons, and the like, to please contact the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, Detective Machurick @ 954-828-5898. The loss of these items is valued between $400,000 and $500,000, and possibly more if sold individually to collectors.

The items purchased by Ensminger are in the process of being returned from N. Carolina to the Police, and along with all of the other recovered items, will ultimately be returned to the Hall of Fame Museum.

There is a press conference scheduled for today, December 15th, at 2 PM at the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, 1300 West Broward Blvd. Additionally, there will be a display of the recovered Olympic Gold Medals and other memorabilia for photo opportunity.

TOP

BROTHER OF MURDER VICTIM BEING SOUGHT FOR QUESTIONING

December 20, 2004

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department is looking for the younger brother of a murder victim, for questioning in his homicide.

On December 2, 2004, Jimmy Flood of Ft. Lauderdale was shot to death during an altercation in the 900 block of NW 14 Street. At approximately 2:30 PM, Police units responded to this location to the report of gunshots in the area. Approximately 20 minutes later, a gunshot victim was brought into Broward General Medical Center, where it was confirmed that he had been shot at this location. A crime scene was located in the roadway where several shell-casings were recovered, of which matched the size bullet removed from the victim.

At the time of the incident, the victim’s girlfriend and younger brother Bob Flood, were with him in a vehicle in the 900 block of NW 14 Street. It was initially advised that Jimmy had been involved in a verbal dispute with an unnamed male who had Jimmy stop his vehicle on NW 14 Street. During this dispute, which was advised was possibly over a girlfriend, the unnamed male pulled out a firearm and shot Jimmy before fleeing the area on foot.

It is believed by investigators and supported by physical evidence, that there is much more to this incident than initially advised. Ever since the incident, Bob Flood has refused to speak with Homicide Detectives or Patrol Officers. Bob Flood was a witness to his brother’s murder and may have valuable information as to his brother’s killer, however still refuses to communicate with law enforcement. The parents of Jimmy and Bob are equally as uncooperative and will not return calls. There have also been no inquiries by the family, requesting an update on the case and to see if their son’s killer will be caught. At the time of the incident, police could not get close to Bob, as he was shielded from Police by family and friends, who were notified of the shooting before the Police were even called.

Currently, a VOP arrest warrant exists for Bob Flood, who is also being sought for questioning in this murder. Bob Flood is a black male, born September 27, 1983, approximately 5’-08”, 165 pounds. Last known addresses where Bob is believed to reside include, 5731 NW 14 Street and 5940 NW 16 Place, in Broward County. Bob Flood has prior arrests ranging from Burglary to narcotic violations.

Anyone with information as to the whereabouts of Bob Flood or with information about this murder are encouraged to call the Fort Lauderdale Police Department at 954-828-5511, Detective Mark Breen at 954-828-5708, Detective John Curcio 954-828-5529, or Broward County Crimestoppers at 954-493-TIPS.

TOP

STRONG ARM ROBBERY - 3 CULPRITS ARRESTED

Dec. 30, 2004

Late Tuesday night, December 28th, three subjects were arrested for a Strong Arm Robbery which occurred in the 800 block of SW 2 Street. Two 17 year-old males and an 18 year-old female physically beat and dragged a female victim down the road before they were able to take her purse, then led police officers on a foot pursuit, before being taken into custody.

Detectives from the Fort Lauderdale Police Department’s Special Investigations Division were conducting surveillance in this area on an unrelated case when they eye-witnessed the robbery take place. Initially, Detectives observed the three subjects casually walk past the victim, Angela Tavares as they were all heading west on SW 2 Street. Within a short period of time, Detectives then observed the three subjects quickly walking back in the direction of Tavares, apparently with a plan. Detectives, who were now a couple of blocks away, observed all three subjects attack Tavares and knock her to the ground. Tavares was being drug by her purse strings while being struck with fists and kicked.

Four Detectives immediately responded to Tavares as the subjects were able to finally take her purse and flee on foot upon sight of the Detectives. Tavares was attended to, and advised that she had just been robbed, as the other Detectives pursued the subjects. One subject was immediately caught. The second and third subjects were taken into custody by responding Patrol and K9 Units, as they fled from the original Detectives.

All three individuals were positively identified by the victim, and the Detectives who witnessed the robbery. Once in custody, they cooperated with Investigators, showing where they hid the purse in an alley during the foot chase, and providing statements about their actions during this incident. They were all charged with 1 count of Robbery, a second degree felony.

The 18 year-old female is identified as Debbie Johnson, 1/8/86, of Ft. Lauderdale, who was eventually charged and booked into the Broward County Main Jail. The two 17 year-old male subjects are considered juveniles, and their identities can not be released at this time. They too were charged with the robbery and ultimately released to the custody of a family member.

Angela Tavares suffered abrasions and bruises during the attack; however none of her injuries are life-threatening. Her purse, which contained money, credit cards and personal items, was returned to her this night.

TOP

Briefing Room

E-Mail the Information Officer

Chief's Office