Since making my maiden voyage into city politics in 1995, I've learned that there is no such thing as a coincidence.  What is interesting to note however, is the two people who began that voyage for me - Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and his Parks Commissioner Henry Stern.  They have come full circle with me in the issue of the West Nile Virus propaganda.  It first begins with Henry complaining about dead birds in the park and Giuliani follows with a mass-spraying initiative to save them.  It's just like Stern's parks privatization plans for DeWitt Clinton Park with the German-based dinner theater show called Pomp Duck and Circumstance.  Stern said he had no money to fix the park and Rudy backs him up with the support of nothing but propaganda - the more things change, the more they remain the same.  Read the Daily News articles below just before the West Nile Virus propaganda began.  You be the judge of it. We never heard Henry complain about dead birds in the park again!  All we heard about were mosquitoes and how important it was to kill them.

ity officials want to clip the wings of a fowl-hating fiend who is poisoning the birds of Central Park.

Since Tuesday, more than 50 birds have been found dead in clusters around the Harlem Meer, Parks Commissioner Henry Stern announced yesterday.

So far, at least 40 pigeons, 10 sparrows, two ducks and one grackle have died — apparently after eating poisoned breadcrumbs or birdseed.

"It's depraved to kill innocent birds for your own amusement, Stern said. "(Birds are) part of the ecosystem. They make the park cheerful with their music and cries."

"Whether pigeons are good or not, they don't deserve to die a writhing, painful death."

Tests conducted at the state Environmental Conservation Department Lab will reveal how the birds died.

The Parks Department, meanwhile, has cordoned off the area where the birds were found so that pets and people will not be exposed any potential danger.

But some parkgoers already have been badly shaken by the bird deaths.

"It's the most horrendous thing I've ever seen — they go into convulsions," said Mary Kelly, a freelance accountant who lives on the upper East Side.

"There are children and adults in my neighborhood who stand and cry when they die."

Officials are investigating whether the poisonings may be related to similar incidents in the sprawling park.

In August 1997, parks workers found a sick red-tailed hawk that had been poisoned by carbofuron, an illegal and highly toxic chemical. Poisoned birds also were found in October 1997, the fall of 1998 and July 1998.

The City Parks Foundation is offering a $1,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the poisoner. Anyone with information should call (800) 201-PARK.

Link to Daily News Article

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From: News and Views | Crime File |
Friday, August 13, 1999

Central Park Bird Kill
Count Climbs to 72

he Central Park bird death toll rose to 72 yesterday as officials intensified the hunt for a poisoner believed to be killing the city's feathered friends.

So far, 57 pigeons, 12 sparrows, two ducks and one grackle have died, presumably from eating poisoned birdseed or breadcrumbs, a Parks Department spokesman said.

The dead birds were first discovered in clusters around the Harlem Meer on Tuesday morning by parks officials.

The state Environmental Conservation Department lab is conducting necropsies on the birds.

Parks Commissioner Henry Stern said he thinks the recent deaths are linked to bird poisonings dating back to 1997, when workers in Central Park found a sick red-tailed hawk that had been poisoned by carbofuron, a highly toxic chemical.

The City Parks Foundation is offering a $1,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the poisoner. Anyone with information should call (800) 201-PARK.Emily Gest

Link to Daily News Article

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From: News and Views | Crime File |
Saturday, August 28, 1999

Serial Bird Killings
Spur Pleas for Help

By BILL EGBERT
and HELEN PETERSON
Daily News Staff Writers

cores of pigeons and sparrows have been turning up dead, and Parks Commissioner Henry Stern is urging New Yorkers to help catch what he fears is a serial bird killer.

Autopsies show that the birds — along with two ducks and a grackle — were poisoned by a restricted, highly toxic insecticide.

A state chemist said the poison, carbofuran, also could be lethal to humans.

"I think we're dealing with a person who is very conflicted and disturbed," Stern warned.

In issuing an appeal for assistance, Stern said, "If anyone knows any pigeon haters who they think might act out their feelings, I hope they'll call us. Sometimes these people boast about their crimes."

The most recent rash of killings, which have been spread across Manhattan, occurred in Stuyvesant Park, where authorities found 15 dead pigeons on Aug. 13.

A few days earlier, 57 pigeons, 12 sparrows, two ducks and a grackle were found dead near Central Park's Harlem Meer.

Pathologists at the state Department of Environmental Conservation who examined the carcasses determined they had been poisoned by carbofuran. The experts said the poison had been mixed in seeds, rice and breadcrumbs eaten by the dead birds.

Carbofuran can only be bought and used by people who are specially trained and licensed.

"I see no legitimate use for this in New York City," said DEC chemist Frank Hegener, "unless you have a legitimate nursery growing stock."

Hegener said carbofuran is used to protect agricultural crops like potatoes, field and sweet corn, and small grains against soil-borne insects.

"It's really bad stuff," Hegener said, "It could kill humans quite easily."

A forensic psychologist said the killer probably is a man who has access to the toxin through his job — or someone with a bizarre fascination with deadly poisons.

"You have someone who has this very unusual fixation and hatred for these pigeons," said Brooklyn-based forensic psychologist N.G. Berrill. "The question would not be what did these pigeons do to this individual, or why does he hate pigeons, per se, but what do these pigeons represent?"

He said that while many people think pigeons are pests, anyone who would go so far as to deposit carbofuran in public parks is "near psychotic."

Berrill thinks it's unlikely the killer has boasted about his crimes and instead is acting out a private fascination.

He added that he thinks the killer has been shifting crime-scene locations to prevent getting caught and in search of "a big killing.".

Parks officials think the killer started his deadly pastime back in August 1997, when an ill red-tailed hawk, named Invictus, was found at 74th St. and Fifth Ave.

He was treated and survived, but his mother was not as lucky. She was found dead on Oct. 14, 1997, at 84th St. and Fifth Ave. Officials said both birds showed signs of carbofuran poisoning.

More dead birds turned up in July 1998, scattered on the East Side of Manhattan and as far south and west as Times Square. In a separate incident that month, 40 sparrows were found in a parking lot at 97th St. and Columbus Ave.

Twenty more dead pigeons were found on the upper East Side last fall.

Here's a profile of Manhattan's bird serial killer, as compiled
by forensic psychologist N.G. Berrill:

• Most likely a man, because of aggressive nature of the crimes and the toxin used.
• Killer has access to the toxin, either because of his background or occupation.
• Could be a student of poisons with a bizarre fascination with how to get rid of things, e.g., birds.
• Acts spontaneously or impulsively.
• Not a prankster.
• May have obsessive/compulsive personality, with a need for cleanliness and order.
• Deeply disturbed, almost a psychotic focus on birds.
• Doesn't focus on one location because he doesn't want to be caught.
• Not looking for notoriety, but acting out private fascination

Helen Peterson

Link to Daily News Article 

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