Wednesday, March 6, 1991 |

here fs one thing you should know
about Dee Casteel. She was an alco-
holic. I mean, a gal who drank every
day. Scotch was Dee's drink and she
consumed between one and three bot-
tles every 24, hours. :
Dee was one of those functioning alco-
holics who was able to perform in the work place for
some time while steadily sipping scotch. In fact, Dee
held several good positions. For a while she was pri-
vate secretary to the mayor of Hialeah, Florida. But
booze alware caught up with her. When she could no;
longer handle office positions, she moved down the lad-
der to less rewarding work.

In 1983, Dee was employed as a waitress at the
International House of Pancakes in Naranja, Fla. At
home she had an alcoholic husband and two schoot
age children,

owner of the House of F

{franchise was Art Venecia. Art had invested wisely
in real estate before purchasing the profitable pan-
cake operation. He owned his own home on a sprawl-
ing five acres in The Redlands in South Dade County.
Art was a homosexual who maintained a live-in

as
manager,,,Allen,was_a,.pleasant young man who was
well ikea byt customers, and staff. Dee was one of
his best waitresses. "'"" tr 1” pawn

‘*AIP would have gone’ along ‘fine had Art and Allen
not had periodic fights. Often one or the other would
end up hospital, but the lovers always made up
until the next
ing the relationship was obvious — he really loved

attle royal. Art’s motive for continu-|

Allen. Allen, on the other hand, had an enviable
lifestyle. He had beautiful digs, that Lincoln, and al
well paying job. One other thing: Allen had found al
new and younger lover. With Art out of the way,
perhaps he could have both his new lover and Art's
world iy gs 5

In the spring of 1983, Allen approached Dee and
rather nonchalantly inquired if she knew anyone who
would be interested in disposing of Art. Initially, Dee
thought Allen was joking or that he was so distraught
he was saying things he didn’t mean. °

Dee, responding more to humor her boss than any-
thing else, said that she did know a guy who had
often kidded her about being a hit man. She would
speak to him and see what he could do. Dee had
taken the first step in sowing the seeds of her own
destruction. Maybe she figured it was a good idea to
keep on the good side of the restaurant manager,
After all, jobs where you could sip out of a bottle of
scotch all day were hard to find.

A few weeks later, Dee pulled into Yappell's Amoco
service station in Homestead. She was greeted by a
regular restaurant customer, big Mike Irvine. She:
approached Mike about the hit. He didn’t bat an eye-
Jash, but informed Dee that he didn’t do the actual
killing ‘himself. He would have’ to ‘consult’ with his ‘part-
ner. u vet
At a second meeting, the price of $2,500 was agreed
upon, with $1,250 to be paid in advance. Allen would
have to accompany the killers on their mission. The

trigger man was introduced to Dee. He was Bill

# hired a ‘hoavy’ equipment company ‘to
iq near, Art's: ho
‘back hoe ,and took near;

‘flrat. Art's body had beon in the garage for six

weeks, Despite alr conditioning, the stench was
unbearable, i
}Deo and Allen came up with a disposal plan. Thoy
ig a hole
The: operator showed up with o
throtgh

‘8 to..dl
fivo hours: to. aeyonee

the hard ‘coral:’The job cost. $280. The

‘operator.:detected a’ peculiar odor about the prop-

erty, but didn't give it a second thought. it

capita : the urpency to have the holo dug, Art's
body remained In the garage. Allen. continucd to
pester Dee to hire their regular killing team to knock
off Bessic. Finally, she consented, ' ‘

Mike and Bill agreed to the Bargain price of $2,500,
which Included dumping: Bessio's body in the gaping
hole on the property, Thelr regular terms would apply
= half now and half when the job was completed.

Bessie was strangled with a pair of her own panty

i, when Dee checked out the job,
found Besste very dead but not burled, She was

‘sitting upright at-her kitchen table. Dee was furlous.

Rhodes, who worked part-time with Mike at the gas
statlon and lived across from the station in a trailer
park, Ironically, Bill lived rent free in exchange for
guarding the park against criminals,

The die was cast. Art Venecia was to be elimi

ed. On the night of June 18, Dee introduced Aller
to Mike and Bill. The three men drove to Art's
house. Allen entered the house, but didn't go into
the bedroom, At the last moment, Art woke up. His
assailants slit his throat with a razor. The job done,
they returned to the pancake house, where Dee paid
them the balance owing.

Next day, Allen moved out of Art's house, He beg-
ged Dee to help him get rid of the incriminating evi-
lence. There was a body that had io be moved. D
agreed to help. She walked into Art's bedroom an
viewed the gruesome sight of Art's body clad only

in pyjama bottoms. Blood was everywhere,

Restaurant owner,
mom targets

for a ‘hit?

The odd couple, now partners in crime, cleaned
lup the scene, Allen fetched a large wooden ward-
robe. Art’s body was placed in the wardrobe and.
lugged out to the garage which, fortunately, was alr
conditioned. That would do for now, but the con-
lspirators knew the body could not be left lying around

e garage for long.

rt's death posed another major prob-
fem for the killers. Living in a trailer
on the same property as her son was
Art's aged mother, Bessie. Surely, rea-
soned Allen, the old lady would miss
her son. Dee and Allen put their heads
together and came up with a scheme
whereby Dee would tell the senile old woman that Art
Was ‘away in North Carolina on a prolonged business
trip.
:,Because Bessie was senile, it.was easy for Dee to
manipulate the elderly lady. As weeks passed and
Bessie grew apprehensive, Dee ‘told’ her that she
was mixed up. Her son had only been away for a
few days,
Bessie wasn't the only one plagued with anxiety.
Allen kept telling Dee that in order for them to be

totally safe they had to kill Bessie, But first things

She refused to pay the balanco of the hit money
until the work. was to her .
Next time she ‘checked, Bessie was in the hole,
The busy Dee called up another machinery rental
sompan and rented a Bobcat bulldozer and forklift.
th

ut
bodies, but it was hard work,
Dee call the man who had du
him a cock and bull story and had him fill the
ho'd so recently gue.

Things sort of fell into place after that. Employees at
the Internatlonal House of Pancakes swallowed the IIne
about Art being away on a prolonged business trip in
North Carolina. Anyone who inquired about Bessle’s
absence was told that she had Joined her son,

Money was plentiful. The pancake house's Inviting
cash register was there to be looted by the man-
ager. Allen fraudulently signed Art's name to several
securities and cashed them in,

It was‘a shame that Art’s beautiful home remained -
unoccupied. That was quickly remedied in September
1983, when Dee and her sons moved in. Gradually,
Allen sold off most of Art’s worldly goods, but he
couldn't suppress one undeniable fact. No one had seen
or heard from Art Venecia.

he first one to do something about

her suspicions was a former waltress

at the pancake house. She had never

met Dee, but had worked for Art and

Allen, Allen had fired her and she dis-

liked him with a passion. This woman

5 drove out to Art's Fronerty, where she

found ‘an old unpaid bill near the front door. Art,

even if he was out of town, had always-been meticu-
fous about paying his bills. Then there was Bessle’s *

trailer. It was nowhere to be found. Certainly Art

would never sell his mother’s home, She notified

ave |
ole

me gentleman was engaged to dig out the
hole. This time, he came up with two bodies.

Dee, Allen, Mike and Bill were taken into custody.
All confessed, giving slightly different versions of
the events leading up to the two murders. All four
were found guilty on two counts of first degree mur-
der and sentenced to Ilfe on one murder count and
to death on the other.

On March 29, 1990, the Florida Supreme Court °
reversed the convictions and ordered: that the four
fonspirators be tried again. The Supreme Court's
teason for the reversal was that the defendants had
been tried together in one trial, which they felt had
worked against them.

. Det. John Parmenter, who did much of the inves. ‘
tigative work this case, advises me that the four
accused of the Venecia murders will be tried sepa- {

r=

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N9133830-16

kately in the near future.

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N9133850-16

‘A ESN

Ba top Burger

N9133860-16

N9133870-16

CARL'S PLAZA DRUGS

Name...

Da

cOloting

1. Contest is open to boys and glris

between four and twelve years of age...

2. All entries must be received by.noon
199%.. : i

on March 2

“may be used.

-Coniest Rules.

.3. Pencil, paints, crayons or felt tip pens

4. Prizes will be awarded on the basls of
_Nneainess, use of colour and.appearance.

6. In case ‘of a tie,

5. Winning entries will be listed In this.
paper on. March:27, 1991. Fis

prizes to be awarded

s

Se | Take your hand coloured pictures to the participating merchants listed und fest Nt
‘2. Vst prize. + $25 Easter Basket 2nd prize - $15 Easter Basket 3rd prize - $10 Easter Basket 4th - éth prizes - $6 Easter Basket

nhs

7

ler the picture! e”.” ’

at the discretion of the Judges.

fA DRTC SNE

The Castlegar Sun

tc by \
‘ Nancy Lingle:

Dear Ann. Landers: Three
years ago, I gave birth to a healthy
boy. My husband and I were
thrilled. Before the child was bom,
he explained that ‘it was a family
tradition to name the first boy after
his grandfather. I had no objection
‘and we did just that,

‘ Two months ago I gave birth to

- Growing Pains.

;' It all started out innocently enough. :

. Someone, I forget who or I’d get them for it, handed over a sad-look-
ing little African violet one day and said, “It needs a home, but it will
probably never bloom for you. It wouldn’t for me.”

, “It needs a home" are the four most dangerous words in the English
language so far as my household and the relationships therein are con-
cemed. However, I didn't feel quite so guilty about packing home a
furry little plant as I would have a furry little critter. Of course, I would
hever, ever, ever have considered tuming down either one of them.
[tucked the poor little thing on the windowsill, watered it occasional-
ly, and forgot about it.

It bloomed,

‘Pretty soon, flushed with success, my houseplant collection had
grown to an amazing number of pots ranging from two to six inches in
diameter and filled with tropical flora that had settled in comfortably and
applied for immigrant status.
: It was.only a matter of time, then, before ten-inch pots and large
Poses containers filled with exotic shrubby things taller than I am
‘not hard) began jockeying for floor'space all over my increasingly
crowded house.

Next the hanging baskets started dangling here, there, and-every-
where, proving that you can work from both ends and meet in the middle.
9. Then the cockatiels, Sydney and Adelaide, apparently thought they
Should give me a hand and every potted plant within a dozen feet or so
of their large flight cage, now hemmed in in an increasingly jungle-like
jtmosphere they apparently found to their liking, sprouted cockatiel-
‘sown bi . ‘

} once read somewhere that marijuana seed, prized for the sheen it
adds to plumage, is no longer included in bird munchies and that is
probably a very good thing. I can just see myself explaining to the cold-
eyed, steely-jawed gentleman with the search warrant:
' “No, Sir, Officer Sir, I did not know there was a controlled substance
growing in that flower pot...er, planter. It was Sydney and Adelaide,
yight over there. Just handcuff their tiny, little clawed feet together and
‘take them away. I'll come on visiting day and bring cuttlebones.””
t And maybe a piece of this pie, although I still have to buy my
bananas. But I’m working on it. :
* ‘ bd

Butterscotch Banana Cream Pie

This is quite probably the best banana cream pie you'll ever taste.

Baked 9-inch pie shell

3/4 c. brown sugar, packed

1/4c. flour
.  21tbsp. comstarch
b W2tsp. salt
2c. milk
3 tbsp. butter or margarine
2 pup, vanilla
‘gp ? 2.bananas ee ys
‘fy'! lie? whipping cream we at

2 tbsp. icing sugar He
Combine brown sugar, flour, comstarch, and salt in a saucepan. Beat
milk and eggs together. Add slowly to flour mixture, stirring constantly.
Cook over medium beat, stirring (whisking is better) frequently, more
zOften as it thickens, until mixture boils. Cook, stirring constantly, one
minute more. Remove from heat. Add butter and vanilla. Stir until butter

!

Fudgy cake, with a sweet banana topping.
1/4 c. butter or margarine

1/2 c. brown sugar, packed

2 bananas, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices

1-1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

lc. milk

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted. -

Melt butter over low beat in an eight- or nine-inch square cake pan.
Sprinkle brown sugar over butter. Arrange banana slices over brown
sugar and sprinkle nuts between banana slices. Combine flour, sugar,
baking powder, salt, soda, milk, shortening, eggs, vanilla, and melted
chocolate in a large mixing bowl. Beat at low speed for one-half minute,
then at high speed for three minutes more. Spread batter over bananas in

wepared pan. Bake at 350 F. for 50-55 minutes, until cake tests done.

n cake from sides of pan and tum out onto plate. Leave pan over

cake-a few minutes for topping to run out. Remove pan, cool complete-
ly. Makes nine servings.

at iful baby girl. It wasn’t an
easy pregnancy, and I was relieved

good terms with fis family, I am

«, hurt that my husband failed to

that our child was perfect. Now |

here's the problem: My husband
promised that I could name this

baby because I let him name our -.

son. I chose a pretty name and was

stand behind me and chose instead
to side with her. What can I do
about my self-involved, overpow-
ering mother-in-law? — Backseat
Wife in New Jersey,

so happy when we ht our
daughter home from the hospital.
That very day, my mother-i

Dear Wife: The problem isn’t
your self-invol Zs

telephoned and inforged us that she
was very hurt because we didn’t
name the baby after her. She said it
‘was a family tradition and that had I
been a loving daughter-in-law, I
would have thought of this myself.
Sbe made me out the villain:

My husband was depressed for
two days and hardly spoke to me. I
finally gave in and told him that I
would do whatever he wanted. He
changed our daughter’s name to
suit his mother. She was all smiles
when we had dinner together the
following week but I felt more hos-
tile to her than ever.

This is not the first time I’ve
had to knuckle under to stay on

mother-in-law — it's your spine-
less husband. He needs to

y| Mother-in-law hurt o

even in the elevators. We have no
choice and are forced to listen to
what somebody else enjoys. I hope
the store’ managers will take note
because I have walked out of sev-
eal shops when I could no longer
stand the racket..Where are my
rights to a little’ peace and quiet?
Companies pay good money for
this so-called entertainment. What

a waste. Py peiearce tte gy tne

. What is wrong with our culture
that we cannot go‘auywhere, and I
mean anywhere, without being
entertained? What does this say
about us? Please respond in print.
It’s time someone spoke-up. —

the apron strings and find the man-
hood to put you first.

A few joint sessions with a
counselor might belp his see this,
perhaps when he hears the truth
from a professional he'll shape up
and give you the place in his life
that is rightfully yours, :

Dear Ann Landers: I have
never written a letter to. a newspa-
per before but I have something I
must get off my chest. Thanks for
the soapbox. ,

I love and appreciate good
music but spare me the stuff that is.
Piped into every bank; doctor's and *

body, Any ,

Dear Anybody, Anywhere: it
says we d 0 not'enjoy being alone
without thoughts and that we wel-
come distractions. This is a sad
commentary because very little is
accomplished by people who can’t
concentrate long enough to hatch
anidea.

Dear Ann Landers: Your
answer.to “King” in Coral Springs,
Fia., drove me to do something I

: thought I would never do — write
to Ana Landers.

The whole thing started with
the man whose daughter and son-

in-law named.their dog after him,

By)

You said be should be flattered’
and then went on to say. theré’s'a
heifer in Wisconsin named ‘after
you, as well as a horse in Florida
and a dog in Minneapolis. ‘You
said you didn’t mind a bit: Well, of
course you don’t mind. Why
should you? You live in Chicago.
You are-not even remotely
involved with any of these animals
who have your name. How ‘would
you like it if you lived on the
premises with the very,
time someone yelled, “Ann,” you
answered and they said, “Not you
— we are calling the dog.” >)

It’s ‘bad enough when there are
three generations in the family
with the same name. This we can’t
do anything about, but for beav-
ens’ sake, leave family members
out of the lineup when you go to
select a mame for your pet. —
DHR., Troy, N.Y. *

Dear Troy: I was amazed at the
number of readers who nailed me
on this one. Some of them wrote
letters that were pretty dammed
funny, but yours was definitely the

sar
current compilation
themost peculiarthings
people do, edited by Chuck
Shepherd.
Proof that true are

has accumulated. Said Street,
“Why should I pay? They (the
Traffic Court) violate people’s
tights every day.” =

+ Officials for a staté food
inspection service in West Ger-
many ruled last July that “edible
ladies’ underwear” sold in pornog-
raphy stores was “unfit for human
consumption.” For example, the
“Cherry-Flavored Love Bikini”

d illegal i di
despite the seller's claim of “high-
grade savory components.”

* Texas bureaucrat George
Asroyos was up for a state govern-
ment productivity award recently.
Arroyos, earning $10,428 per year
as a photocopy counter, suggested
that his agency buy a $6 device
(which attaches to most machines)
to count the copies instead, which
it did, thus eliminating his job.

+ Columbus, Ohio, Mayor Dan

; Reinhart, ;who launched a:local

honesty campaign in 1989 after
citizens refused to retum money
that spilled from an armored car,
admitted in November that he had
lied recently about having had an

weirder than made-up
stories.

Mimi Sunn, 67, manager until

last February of the Fanny Farmer

affair. Said
to a reporter, “You find somebody
whose life is perfect, and let him
Jead the campaign.”
*« Among the permissible
of food ion in the

candy store in the New
N.Y., Mall, filed a $10 million
lawsuit against the company this
February for illnesses and psychi-
atric problems she is now endur-
ing. Last February, Fanny Farmer
investigators, concemed about ice
cream pilferage in Sun’s store,
came from the firm's Cleveland
headquarters to question her. She
admitted giving away ice cream to
guards who escorted her to the
night depository — a total of “30
or 40" cones in 16 years. The
investigators made her sign a
“stolen property” report and called
police, who took ber (handcuffed)
to the station. Charges were
dropped, but Ms. Sunn was fired.
Government In Action

¢ T. Milton Street,

Food and Drug Administration’s
updated list of “natural or unavoid-
able” substances: 20 maggots per
100 grams of canned mushrooms
and 1 percent mammal excrement
per pound of whole pepper, a
¢ In November, Gilliam, La., -
had its_first local election in more -
than 20 years. Said Mayor James
hall, “Up to this year, everybody
has been content.” (Some speculat-
ed that the reason for the discon-
tent is that the police had recently
begun giving speeding tickets.)

+ In November, Emanuel H.
Norris, purchasing director for the
Kansas City School District, sent a
memo to the district's 6,000-plus
employees, for the sole purpose of

budget director of the Philadelphia
Traffic Court, refused in Novem-
ber to pay up the $1,967 in fines
for moving vehicle violations be

that ry spell his
name correctly.
In December, at the instigation
of local businesses, the Harvest
i shelter for the b

‘thad a torrid. affair with a married co-

: Inearly broke my heart. He begged me to

!ychance, so I did’ — on the condition, of
‘I course, that he stop secing her.

} peenly I discovered he has begun

()/A.Tean't answer either of those ques-
‘Thelp is needed here. Tell.your husband

‘you before you make any. more

nant with our first.child, my husband help. Good luck!

worker, I found out about it when our

Q. Is it possible for two people who

baby was only a few weeks old, and it

Ask
Dr. Ruth

forgive him and give him another

It was hard at first, but gradually I was
“able to put the hurt behind me. I thought
things were wonderful between us, then

‘ing the same woman again! She got
divorced last year and called him. He
ae that before he knew it, he. was

ight up in the relationship. Again, he
is begging meto forgive him, but I don’t | °
know what to do. Why is he seeing her
again? Does she do something sexually |: é

jat Idon"t do?) ; . :

tions. But I can tell you that professional
you want him to see a counselor with |B CAUTION: ie
TH
decisions about the marriage. If he
won't go, then go alone. It sounds, how-
1, like he will accompany you. For
the’sake of your child, as well as cach
other, you both need to! get some

MATERIAL WHICH: MAY: NOT.
BE SUITABLE..FOR ALL. READ.

HE: FOLLOWING COLUMN §
CONTAINS: EXPLICIT !SEXUAL

; By Dr. Ruth Westheimer |)

been seeing a woman for the past
several months and, for various reasons,

we've decided to end the sexual part of -

the relationship. She still wants to be
friends, This is new to me, and Iam 39
years old. Usually women never want to
‘See me again after we break up.

. I wonder if she has lingering hopes of
getting the sex going again. We are real-
ly good in bed together. If she doesn't
have that in mind, what is she thinking?
T'm confused about her motives.

A. Why don’t you ask her? I'm con-
fused about both your motives! If the

‘ sex is “really good” and you like each
other enough to remain friends, why
have you decided to stop having sex? It
sounds like you have what most people
are looking for. Maybe you're both
afraid of commitment. Have the two of
you considered couples counseling?

You don’t need to be married to do this
together.

In answer to your first question, yes,

people who have been lovers can be

friends, .It depends on the people. Not
Fon hike th handle thi:

* Couples who manage a continuing
\: friendship ‘often say they liked each

: --other, but not the sex. Certainly your

b

Why did he revive old affair?

Q. Eight years ago, when I was preg- answers, and youcan'tgetthem without were once lovers to be friends? I've

situation is different than most. Do you
want to remain friends?

It gets dark early
these days!

Please leave your.
porch light on

ok. for your

«Castlegar Sun:

Sc earler.

in down town Dalton, G., was
by police to close because
it lacks a parking lot. The shelter's
director, Sheila Reed, pointed out
that her clients don’t have cars,

¢ The U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration was cited last year
by the Colorado Department of
health for violating state air pollu-
tion standards in buming a half-
ton of confiscated cocaine. Said a
DEA official, “What do they think
we're going to do with it — ship
it back to Colombia?”

* Ohio state Rep. Charles
“Red” Ash and his wife were
indicted in July for allegedly sub-
mitting various false claims to
insurance companies about prop-
exty stolen from their homes. Ash
had recently voted to toughen
state law on insurance fraud, but
will be tried under the old law
because his claims were filed
before the new law took effect.

« Maryland Gov. .,Donald
Schaefer proposed last year to
alleviate the state's prison crowd-

ing system by making inmates

| For Less Than

18°

- Your Classified Word Ad
_ Can Reach 35,400 Homes
Use the’

Kootenay

Word Ad...

sleep in shifts.

«.¢ Mayor Geraldine Dixon of

Blacksburg, S.C., was charged last

February with shoplifting tow

Valéntine’s: Day. cards and a can-

dle from a Wal-Mart.
¢During’October’s federal bud-

get showdown between

and President Bush, the House of

R
$500,00 for the purpose of reno-
vating the birthplace of band Iead-
er Lawrence Welk. The money
will fix up the home, build a motel
for.tourists, and further revitalize
the community of 700.

* In August, retired Philippines
Gen, Alfredo Lim was appointed
by President Aquino to restore
public confidence in the national
lottery. During an undercover
investigation of one lottery offi-
cial, Lim purchased 80 tickets.
One of them was the winning tick-
et, worth $200,000.) eos

Copyright 1991 ‘Universal
Press Syndicate 4900 Main St.,
Kansas City, Mo. 64112; (816)
932-6600.

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