Simon grabbed Yo by the collar. Very noble and upright of them. The Waltons was largely based on the childhood memories and experiences of the shows creator, novelist Earl Hamner, who grew up in a place very much like Waltons Mountain. Simon promptly departed from the vehicle's passenger side and attempted to flee the area on foot whilst aiming his gun at one of the responding police officers who was ordering him to halt. As an example of Simons extreme behavior, Davis cited the gang members reaction when he learned Dusenbergs body had been mummified in the mine where she was buried: He talked about having sex with the corpse and wanted to decorate his cell with blowups of the evidence pictures. Brown was among five Pennsylvania inmates expected to testify at the hearing in Harrisburg. One of the more infamous was the late Robert "Mudman" Simon who killed a Franklin Township police sergeant in Franklinville, NJ, in 1995. Yo-Yo was lucky, all things considered. We use people. The Warlocks terrorized people in the 70s with hundreds of members, according to former Pennsylvania trooper William Davis. Such is the life of the 1%. I socialized and did business with quite a few individuals that most people wouldnt want to know. Who was I going to call? Florida woman runs ultra-marathon distances for 23 consecutive days. [25][26], On September 7, 1999, a reported fistfight broke out between Harris and Simon while the pair were in one of the prison recreational areas. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Mr. Carr said, You boys arent fighting, are you?, No, Mr. Carr, I assured him as I stood, dusting myself off. Ill catch up with you later! he hissed behind Mr. Carrs back. Ambrose Harris, 47, sentenced to death for raping and killing a 22-year-old artist, attacked Simon, who shot dead a police officer four years ago, said investigators. You could hear something break. Shit., Yo, pointing at me, said, Im gonna kick his ass. Please, On May 6th, less than three months after being released from prison, Simon, along with another Warlock, Charles "Shovel" Staples, was pulled over in Gloucester County, NJ, by Police Sgt. March 3 (UPI) -- Firefighters in Britain responded to a home to rescue a horse that had fallen into its owner's swimming pool and was unable to get itself out. The county political boss lived nearby, as did the avuncular anchorman of Philadelphias top-rated TV newscast and a once-famous 50s rock and roller. You could have a couple of beers and a few laughs with him and escape unscathed. These Valuable Pennies Are Worth Thousands. Simon was a motorcycle gang member who was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of Franklin Township Police Sgt. The governors of Pennsylvania and New Jersey were dragged into the finger-pointing, buck passing and heated debate that fueled outraged newspaper editorials and filled airtime on TV and radio. One of the three got popped for a coffee and donuts bit and gave them that story to get him off the hook. If you Google the words 'Robert Mudman Simon' or type them into the archives of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, links to hundreds of articles magically appear. Get lost.. I felt like a paratrooper that had left his chute behind in the plane and was now doggie paddling three thousand feet above sea level. New Jersey parole officials allowed Simon to move to Williamstown because they thought Warlocks were virtually nonexistent. Simon was . [13] Furthermore, Simon's trailer home residence was only a few feet from a bar known to be frequented by Warlocks bikers. Simon, originally from Darby and believed to be one of the founders of the Warlocks, had been released from prison after serving more than 12 years for the shooting murder of his young girlfriend after . While in prison, authorities said Harris viciously beat inmate Robert "Mudman" Simon, 48, to death in a recreation area in 1999. [7], Sgt. Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@njadvancemedia.com. Sometimes not. He then stabbed a fellow inmate in 1984 with a makeshift knife that was more than a foot long. [8][9] According to his fellow Warlock bikers, Simon talked about having sexual intercourse with Dusenberg's mummified corpse after he buried it in a water-filled strip mine near Hazleton and even hoped to decorate his jail cell with physical photographs of such evidence. Dalton said a Gloucester County law enforcement museum, to open at the Rowan College at Gloucester County library later this month, will feature a wall of honor and a plaque for Gonzalez. He had a sick sense of humor, Davis said. [4][5] Being a member of the gang was such a substantial part of Simon's life to the point where he would even tout his religion as "Warlock". Simon shot Gonzales twice, in the head and neck, killing him instantly. A diner that later served as the setting for a pivotal scene in a popular Oscar-winning film. We are men 1st and formost. The Mudman became a national cause clbre, a 250-pound symbol of everything that was wrong with Americas criminal justice system. Theres a FB group called, Pagan MC is a bunch of losers. Its a page dedicated to spreading awareness about the crime ridden motorcycle club called the Pagans. The page has 124 followers. While in prison, authorities said Harris viciously beat inmate Robert "Mudman" Simon, 48, to death in a recreation area in 1999. Robert "Mudman" Simon was sentenced to death forthe fatal shooting of Franklin Township police Sgt. Neither the judge in Simons murder case, John Lavelle, nor a trooper who knew him years ago expressed surprise. HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 28 -- A Pennsylvania prison inmate said Thursday that outlaw biker Robert 'Mudman' Simon bribed his way out of Graterford state prison 11 weeks before he was charged with murdering a New Jersey police officer. I guess they want to make sure they get the details right, wouldnt want any misinformation, or fake news, out there about your motorcycle gang. [7] Simon was also suspected of murdering an inmate at State Correctional Institution Pittsburgh during his incarceration period. On May 6, 1995, defendant Robert "Mudman" Simon shot and killed Franklin Township Police Officer Ippolito "Lee" Gonzalez during an otherwise routine traffic stop of a car in which Simon was a passenger. Ippolito . Publication date. Squirt Boy took the opening and ran with it, stomping the Mudman until his brains oozed onto the ground, then popped his eyes out for good measure. It just happened that I grew up three blocks from him; we moved in the same circles, such as they were. No executions have been carried out because of legal appeals and a tradition of liberalism in the state's supreme court. [19] Simon continued to use drugs and associate with the Warlocks MC, in violation of his parole conditions. . ``Castor is not to be blamed. Simon and Staples, both members of the Warlocks motorcycle club albeit from different generations, didn't know each other for very long -- about 11 weeks. The jury of five men and seven women had deliberated 11 hours over two days before returning the verdict. More Local News to Love Start today for 50% off Expires 3/6/23, Lancaster resident found guilty of giving man serious brain injuries during bar fight. Yo-Yo strolled in, buying cigarettes: for my Mom. : Mudman Classification: Murderer Characteristics: The Warlocks motorcycle gang member Number of victims: 3 + Date of murders: 1974 / 1984 / 1995 Date of birth: 1950 Victims profile: His 19-year-old girlfriend / A fellow inmate / Sgt. Simons parole was approved by a board member and a hearing examiner, Parole Board spokeswoman Darlene Zelazny said. Operating at the time out of what's now a bank in Newfield, Hogan said his force wire-tapped the Warlocks' phones and raided their headquarters a few times. But he moved to Williamstown with the approval of New Jersey parole officials. I eyed the pay phone on the wall, but that didnt offer much of a lifeline in this situation. 'If even only half of it is true, Graterford is in sad shape in terms of its management and lack of professional responsibility.' ``He was a sociopath. The Warlocks MC, another 1% club, was founded in 1967 right here in Philadelphia. "The problem Franklin Township always had was officers didn't have much backup on the streets," Hogan said of the 56 square miles of coverage area. Officials did not release a cause of death. The killing occurred 11 weeks after Simon's release from Graterford. I was in an all-purpose neighborhood deli-grocery store-butcher shop operation of the sort rarely seen anymore. The Mudman lived there too. "Simon"), isa health care ( provider and is the Plaintiff in the trial court and the Appellant in the District Court of Appeal. Simon shot Gonzales twice, in the head and neck, killing him instantly. And Camisa worked the halls when Robert "Mudman" Simon - yet another name on his long list of undesirable connections - was housed at his facility. The three guys were there with her. Harris was sentenced to death and sent to prison in 1994 for kidnapping, raping and killing 22-year-old Kristin Huggins. It was the first official 1% outlaw motorcycle club founded in Pennsylvania.The club is most prominent in the Philadelphia and Delaware County area, but they have . The second and final gunshot entered Gonzalez's skull behind his right ear, lodging itself within his brain. In crime fiction, many of those peopleboth fictional characters and their real life counterpartsarent very nice. Ambrose Harris, 47, sentenced to death for . Ippolito Gonzalez of the Franklin . His criminal wrongdoings reportedly began as early as age 8. [21] Evidence collected from the car confirmed that the two gang members were, in fact, the ones who had robbed Environmental Heating building. Im gonna kick your pansy ass!, While I was hardly a shrinking violet physically, Yo was some three inches taller and twenty-five pounds heavier than I was. His lawyers argued self defense, and a jury acquitted him. He had served 12 years of a maximum 20-year sentence for the 1974 murder of Beth Duzenberg, 19. I knew Bobby Simon much better than did any of the reporters whose bylines appear on those stories, which is nothing to be proud of. There was a steel mill, a stone quarry, a beer distributorship that looked like an aircraft hangar, a sandwich shop built to resemble a space ship, a truck depot and a Knights of Columbus hall. That girl was a good friend of his whom he brought up the mountains to see her boyfriend. Harris and Simon had been lived in side-by-side cells in the facility's capital sentence unit. Was he? British bus driver stops to give loose sheep a lift. Ippolito "Lee" Gonzalez, left, and Charles "Shovel" Staples, right, as seen in a recent prison photo. TRENTON, N.J. A man who raped and killed a Pennsylvania artist and who fatally beat a fellow inmate on New Jerseys death row has died in prison. Ippolito "Lee" Gonzalez of Franklin Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey pulled over Warlocks members Robert "Mudman" Simon and Charles "Shovel" Staples on a traffic stop moments after the two had committed a commercial burglary. A. Charles Peruto Jr., the lawyer who represented Simon before the board, said New Jersey, not Pennsylvania, should bear the responsibility for allowing him to settle so close to his buddy Staples. When I was a kid one of my favorite TV shows was, peculiarly, The Waltons, the syrupy saga of a large, loving family struggling through the Depression years in rural Virginia. Weeks after being freed on parole, he killed the policeman. to go to prison and therefore avoid illegal activities like burglary and murder. Gloucester County Superior Court Judge Joseph Lisa accepted Robert 'Mudman' Simon's guilty plea to the murder of Franklin Township Police Sgt. Robert "Mudman" Simon, 48, was the first to meet such an end since the moratorium on capital punishment in the United States was lifted 23 years ago. But it did provide rich training ground and source material for storytellinga certain kind of storytellingnonetheless. Hannon said it was his understanding it cost between $100 and $300 to have files removed. 464 Conchester Highway, Aston, PA 19014-3106. He stared at it, puzzled. Questions were asked. Hes a boxerand a black belt., Not really. 6 years later, one of the 3 guys got picked up on a coffe and donuts but and offered up the location of her body in return for being let go. "I know I'll die in prison, so I've essentially been sentenced to death for planning a burglary and being there when an officer was killed," Staples wrote in a typed letter to the South Jersey Times. National Park Service: 'Never push a slower friend down' in a bear encounter, March 2 (UPI) -- The National Park Service offered some sage advice for park visitors who encounter bears: "Never push a slower friend down. The information that we share is true to the best of our knowledge, but often misinformation has a way of appearing on the internet, so please contact us and let us know if our facts aren't right. Its a shame that there arent more like him. Retired Trenton Deputy Police Chief Joe Constance, who led the team of detectives on the Huggins case, told NJ Advance Media Wednesday that Harris was the most evil person Ive encountered in the 32 years I was on the job.. The pest control contractor had come that morning to eradicate the roaches in their cages. He was described as a sociopathic monster, as profoundly evil, as the antichrist. Harris life was spared when New Jersey abolished the death penalty in 2007. He spent 14 years in prison and was released in 1995. On May 6, 1995 Police Sgt. In Mudmans case, appropriately, that injury was a bit more substantial than a blown ACL. Former Franklin Township police Sgt. In the immortal words of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons: Girl, we cant change the places where we were born. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. ', Suspected burglar inside New Brunswick home was a panicked deer. We have chapters worldwide. Simon took a different route in his attempt to stay out of prison - murdering a policeman. Sure he was, in many ways and on many occasions. "He was a tremendous officer, an example of how dangerous police work can be. The Mudman virtually shoved me out the door. PHILADELPHIA (AP) _ Robert ``Mudman Simon showed no remorse the day a judge sentenced him for the murder of a girlfriend who had refused to have group sex with his motorcycle gang. About 15 Warlocks live in Williamstown, and about the same number live in Pennsylvanias Delaware County, where the club was founded in the late 60s. Gonzalez was 40 years old at the time of his death. March 3 (UPI) -- A Kentucky man who stopped to buy some breakfast said he lost his appetite when he won $50,000 from a scratch-off lottery ticket. There were rumors of money changing hands, of intimidation. The only thing Bobby was guilty of was helping them to dispose of the body. In order to write about those things, a certain journalistic detachment is required. I knew Bobby Simon much better than did any of the reporters whose bylines appear on those stories, which is nothing to be proud of. [22][23], Franklin Township police sergeant Ippolito Gonzalez died the following day via the gunshot wounds sustained from the incident. Get up and fight, flower girl!, I was rescued by the timely arrival of a neighbor, Mr. Carr, walking his poodle Trixie. But John Cunningham, vice-president of the corrections officers' union, said guards could not react immediately because the rules prevented them from entering the caged recreation area without riot gear. Harris was sentenced to death and sent to prison in 1994 for kidnapping, raping and killing 22-year-old Kristin Huggins. Therefore, the final execution to take place at the prison was a January 22, 1963 electrocution. Maybe he can borrow my old mans dentures., He leaned down, exhaling Marlboro smoke into Yos battered face. And the local child molester had recently been dragged out of the creek, beaten half to death by unknown assailants. My mom? Bobby helped them discard her body because thats what bros do. People rarely got very far once Mudman Simon stepped into their path. Simon pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to death row following the 1996 trial in Hunterdon County. They clashed in the New Jersey state prison's recreation area where inmates can play chess and select books from a library. ``I expressed in as forceful language as I could my strong opinion that Robert Simon should never see the light of day in Pennsylvania or any other place in the free world, said Lavelle, who wrote to the state parole board in 1992 to object to Simons release. You didnt know what hed do from one day to the next.. Just curious. Fellow officers rushed to the scene a few hundred feet shy of police headquarters. He told of guards skimming money from inmate payrolls and operating a black market for drugs, food and cigarettes that reached outside prison walls. Officials did not release a cause of death. Harris, already serving time for murder and rape, was found not . Yo-Yo rolled around on the sidewalk, moaning and crying, his face bloody and already beginning to swell. We use events and experiences in our own lives, pull them from a Santa sack of memories, and rework those memories for our own purposes. Simon stated that he shot Gonzalez because he didnt want to go back the prison. The Warlocks Motorcycle Club is a one-percenter outlaw motorcycle club that was formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1965. He fell and hit his head on a metal table. "Harris apparently beat Simon down with his fists then kicked him until he was unconscious," said an investigator. A jury acquitted Harris of Simons death, saying he acted in self-defense. "The department did everything it could to prevent this from happening.". On May 6, 1995, defendant Robert "Mudman" Simon shot and killed Franklin Township Police Officer Ippolito "Lee" Gonzalez during an otherwise routine traffic stop of a car in which Simon was a passenger. Simon and the driver of the car, defendant Charles "Shovel" Staples, are members of the "Warlocks" motorcycle gang . We were just practicing our blocking techniques for football season.. [7][3], On May 6, 1995, Robert Simon along with the vice president of the Warlocks' South Jersey chapter, Charles "Shovel" Staples, were both sitting in a car in Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey when they were pulled over by 15-year Franklin Township police veteran Ippolito "Lee" Gonzalez as part of a routine traffic stop. Robert "Mudman" Simon was sentenced to death for the fatal shooting of Franklin Township police Sgt. But even superstars have the odd off day, suffer the career-ending injury. He was cracking his knuckles. Overdue book returned to Massachusetts library after 56 years. Dimensions. Ippolito Gonzalez. Police say Simon shot Duzenberg in the head when she refused to have group sex with gang members. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. A brief, ill-advised interest in botany led, thorough a curious combination of circumstances, to my initial encounter with The Mudman. Ominously. The lethal injection chamber at the prison was never used, and the New Jersey Governor repealed the death penalty in December 2007. Harris' life was spared when New Jersey abolished the death penalty in 2007. The appeal of Robert R. "Mudman" Simon, who was sentenced to 10-20 years for the slaying of Beth Jean Dusenberg of Drexel Hill, was denied in a short opinion handed down Monday. Simon stood accused of murdering his girlfriend, Beth Smith Dusenberg of Drexel Hill, and dumping her body in a water-filled coal mine pit near Hazleton, where it was . [21], In a haste, Staples immediately drove himself and Simon away from the area but were soon pursued by nearby police officers who had heard the two gunshots on Sgt. Your story is one of the few that actually reflects part of Bobbys real personality. Robert Ronald "Mudman" Simon (September 4, 1954 September 7, 1999), also known as Bobby Simon, was an American outlaw biker, convicted murderer and member of the Pennsylvania-based Warlocks Motorcycle Club. Or you got a piece? Youre a fuckin pansy! Yo-Yo charged. Language. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. On a Saturday when the Delaware County Daily Times' regular courthouse reporter was off, I had to cover Nauss' trial. You plunder and kill, and everythings OK, and the strong survive. One Warlock, Robert "Mudman" Simon, was convicted in 1981 of killing a Carbon County woman. It was a community of quirky demographics and zoning apparently born of midnight handshakes and envelopes plump with cash.