Watercooler Stories

Rabbi prays for New York Giants

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania rabbi rooting for the New York Giants in the Super Bowl said he prayed for the team at Jerusalem's Western Wall.

Rabbi Ira Budow, director of a Hebrew academy in the Philadelphia suburbs, said he visited the holy location last month in full Giants gear just before the team's victory over the Green Bay Packers, the New York Post reported Wednesday.

"When they completed that Hail Mary pass, I said, 'Hey, it worked,'" Budow said.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan of the New York Archdiocese said he and his colleagues are also supporting the Giants.

"We love them because they're a very good team," Dolan said. "And also because they are very good to the archdiocese."

Recycling workers recover lost wallet

NEW LONDON, Conn., Feb. 2 (UPI) -- A Connecticut woman says workers at a recycling station sorted through the contents of a container to find her wallet, even after she was ready to give up.

Mary Theresa Pallos said she noticed about an hour after a recent visit to the New London Turnpike transfer station that she had inadvertently tossed her wallet into a recycling container along with her intended items, The Hartford (Conn.) Courant reported Wednesday.

Pallos said she approached staff at the station and they immediately began to sort through the recyclables.

"Several times I mentioned that they should abort their efforts, but they were persistent and would not give up," she said.

Pallos said the workers found the wallet after about an hour of searching, earning her "surprise and appreciation."

Pallos said she sent a thank you note to superintendent of sanitation Michael Bisi, who said not everyone who loses items in the containers ends up with "happy endings."

"Sometimes it is like looking for a needle in a haystack when you are looking through tons of material," Bisi said. "We are not always successful, but it is nice to hear from people when we are. Years ago when we had the landfill we were known for going in looking for things. We do the best we can, but there is probably a lot of treasures lost in the trash."

Police: Woman robbed bank for dentures

WAYNESBURG, Pa., Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Police in Pennsylvania said a woman accused of robbing a bank allegedly told officers she committed the crime to pay for a set of dentures.

Investigators said Evelyn Marie Fuller, 49, was asked to come in for questioning Tuesday after a man told officers he recognized a coat he had loaned the woman in surveillance footage and she told officers she was telling them the truth on the advice of her pastor, The Observer-Reporter, Washington, Pa., reported Wednesday.

Fuller, who police said has no teeth, told officers she robbed the First National Bank in Waynesburg Jan. 20 to obtain money for a set of dentures.

Fuller, who did not display a weapon during the crime, was charged with two counts of robbery and one count each of theft and terroristic threats. She was jailed in lieu of $75,000 bond.

NYPD bans its own apparel

NEW YORK, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Some New York Police Department officers say a ban on wearing merchandise bearing the department's logo violates their constitutional rights.

The order, issued Jan. 19 by Commissioner Raymond Kelly, bans all 35,000 police officers in the city from "wearing any item of apparel which contains a department logo or shield or in any way identifies its wearer with the New York City Police Department unless approved by the Uniform and Equipment Review Committee prior to being worn by a member of the service, uniformed or civilian, on or off duty," the New York Daily News reported Wednesday.

Pat Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, said that the order is a violation of officers' constitutional rights.

"Telling police officers what images or objects he or she can own or wear in their private lives is a clear violation of the officers' free speech rights," Lynch said. "Many private citizens proudly wear NYPD apparel -- and police officers can't? It makes no sense. The PBA believes the order is patently unlawful and we will defend our members' rights."

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the decision was up to Kelly.

"He should set the standards. You can't have it both ways. PD, we say that they're on 24/7. When they're not officially at work ... they're still police officers and that's one of the things that enhances the safety in our city," he said. "And so they're not totally independent even when they're not on duty ... I'll leave it to Ray."