Riverdale

An article Sunday about the condemned Riverdale Apartments in Essex-Middle River incorrectly described the status of the property. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has foreclosed on half of the complex; Chemical Bank, now part of Chase Manhattan Bank, holds a mortgage on the other half and has not foreclosed.The Sun regrets the errors.PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Richard M. Schlesinger lives a life of controversy -- and contrast.Here on Florida's Gold Coast, he lives among the moneyed elite -- Donald Trump, Rod Stewart and the Ford family -- behind the walls of a $13 million oceanfront mansion.

Aberdeen's girls basketball team got off to a quick start Thursday night, scoring the first eight points against nationally ranked Riverdale Baptist, but with the Eagles' lack of a true point guard and the Crusaders' impressive perimeter shooting, it couldn't last. Riverdale Baptist, ranked No. 17 in USA Today's Girls Basketball Super 25 and No. 4 in The Washington Post, hit 14 3-pointers en route to an 85-66 victory at No. 1 Aberdeen, their third win over the Eagles in less than a year.

Despite two court hearings and a hurried telephone negotiation with Riverdale Apartments owner Richard Schlesinger yesterday, the drama of the slowly dying housing complex continued to build toward a climax next week.That's when Baltimore Gas and Electric has said it will turn off the power at the dilapidated Essex development because of an unpaid $600,000 bill.In Essex, Baltimore County District Judge G. Darrell Russell declined to allow 42 evictions scheduled for the complex, at least until a hearing Monday.

Dr. Moreland Perkins, a philosophy professor who taught at the University of Maryland, College Park and was also former mayor of Riverdale Park, died Nov. 7 of pneumonia at St. Joseph Medical Center. The Roland Park resident was 85. "Moreland was highly analytical, sympathetic to mysticism and religion and the spirit of caring for other people. He was a highly principled person," said Dr. John H. Brown, a retired philosophy professor who taught at the University of Maryland, College Park for 39 years.

A 43-year-old man has been indicted in a break-in and attempted rape case from 1997 after a fingerprint on a window screen led police to the man earlier this year. Marco Moncello Kornegay of Riverdale now faces charges including first-degree attempted rape, first-degree sexual assault, first-degree burglary and indecent exposure. He is free on $150,0000 bond, according to electronic court records. According to charging documents, Kornegay was naked except for a bandana over part of his face when he broke into an apartment in the 11000 block of Little Patuxent Parkway in July 1997 and attacked a woman.

Former workers at the Riverdale Village apartments in Baltimore County have described to federal investigators a pattern of bid-rigging and kickbacks totaling at least $500,000 at the now-condemned complex, according to search warrant affidavits.Repair prices were routinely inflated, according to one handyman, who said he kicked back nearly $50,000 annually in deals with companies linked to Riverdale's landlord. Another worker said she was instructed to have windows and other equipment sent from the complex to other properties controlled by the landlord.

A federal judge has ordered former Baltimore County real estate baron Richard M. Schlesinger to pay $185,000 to the federal government for misusing housing funds that he was supposed to have spent on badly needed repairs and upkeep on his property. The ruling also paves the way for a trial in U.S. District Court in Baltimore in which prosecutors will try to collect up to $600,000 more in damages they say Schlesinger owes because of gross mismanagement at Riverdale Apartments in Essex. The development was left in such disrepair that county officials tore it down in 1998.

The long-awaited demolition of the derelict Riverdale Village Apartments in Essex is to begin April 14 -- more than a year later than originally planned -- now that the federal Small Business Administration has awarded a $1.2 million contract for the work.P&J Contracting Co. of Baltimore won the contract to knock down the 24 buildings on the federally owned half of the arson-marred brick complex in the 1900 block of Eastern Blvd., ++ the agency said yesterday.Though the rest of the abandoned, 35-acre complex will remain for the time being, Baltimore County officials hailed the federal demolition contract as the beginning of the end of the housing eyesore.

Demolition begins today on the remaining units at the empty Riverdale apartment complex in Essex, once a high-crime area and a nagging eyesore.County Executive C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger will be joined by U.S. Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes and other officials as workers begin clearing the site in the 1800 block of Eastern Blvd."

A Prince George's County congregation has removed the "mega" from its proposed church complex in Davidsonville to meet new county rules targeting large projects planned on rural land.Davidsonville residents immediately denounced the revised plan as a ruse by Riverdale Baptist Church leaders, who for five months have waged an unsuccessful and expensive campaign to build a $10 million complex.Riverdale pastors outlined yesterday a new project 34 percent smaller than the one originally envisioned.

Two Prince George's County firefighters, who were seriously injured while fighting a house fire in Riverdale, remained in critical but stable condition Sunday, according to their families. Bladensburg volunteer firefighter Ethan Sorrell, 21, remained intubated but was conscious at the Washington Hospital Center's burn unit. He suffered burns to his airway. Kevin O'Toole, 22, also a Bladensburg volunteer firefighter, had burns over 40 percent of his body and was expected to remain in the hospital's burn unit for at least six weeks, according to fire officials, citing O'Toole's father, Jeff.

Aberdeen's No. 1 girls basketball team found itself in double jeopardy Tuesday night at nationally ranked Riverdale Baptist. The Eagles managed to climb out of a 10-point first-half hole, but when Riverdale made its run in the third quarter, they weren't able to answer, falling, 72-51, for their first loss of the season to the Crusaders, ranked No. 6 in USA Today's Girls Basketball Super 25 and No. 1 in The Washington Post. "It's a great learning experience," Aberdeen forward TK Fowlkes said.

Digital Harbor coach Patrick McDonald told his players prior to Saturday night's game against Riverdale Baptist that they would likely not run into a more difficult opponent the rest of the season. The Lady Crusaders are ranked in the top five in several national polls and have five players who have been offered Division I scholarships. And their size and quickness were simply too much for the No. 3 Rams to overcome in a 74-33 Riverdale Baptist victory at the Beast of the East showcase Saturday night at St. Frances.

A 43-year-old man has been indicted in a break-in and attempted rape case from 1997 after a fingerprint on a window screen led police to the man earlier this year. Marco Moncello Kornegay of Riverdale now faces charges including first-degree attempted rape, first-degree sexual assault, first-degree burglary and indecent exposure. He is free on $150,0000 bond, according to electronic court records. According to charging documents, Kornegay was naked except for a bandana over part of his face when he broke into an apartment in the 11000 block of Little Patuxent Parkway in July 1997 and attacked a woman.

A new developer is proposing a smaller, more environmentally attuned housing project on a heavily wooded hill in southwestern Columbia, replacing an earlier plan that created a furor among area residents over traffic and the impact on the Middle Patuxent River. Simpson Mill is the new name for what was once called the Riverdale townhouse project at the northeast corner of Route 32 and Cedar Lane, just south of the river. It is much smaller, but traffic congestion and environmental issues remain concerns, community members said.

A Prince George's County funeral home has lost its license after a state inspector discovered what appeared to be 40 bodies intended for cremation haphazardly piled in body bags stacked in its garage. The Maryland State Board of Morticians and Funeral Directors summarily suspended the license of the Chambers Funeral Home & Crematorium in Riverdale on Monday. The emergency suspension affects two morticians as well as their business license. "I saw the photos," said Hari P. Close, the state funeral board's president.

Florida-based real estate baron Richard M. Schlesinger has agreed to pay $500,000 to the federal government after he admitted skimming profits from the now demolished Riverdale Village Apartments complex in Essex. By agreeing to the settlement, Schlesinger avoids standing trial in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on charges that he skimmed profits from Riverdale and failed to properly maintain the property, which fell into disrepair and became a slum. As part of the agreement reached this week, Schlesinger is barred nationwide from participation in federal housing programs.

Federal authorities are combing through thousands of records seized as part of an investigation of the condemned Riverdale Village Apartments in eastern Baltimore County and the property's landlord, Florida real estate mogul Richard M. Schlesinger.Stephen M. Schenning, first assistant U.S. attorney for Maryland, said agents from the FBI and U.S. Postal Service seized the paperwork Wednesday from two locations on Orville Road in Essex and the boarded-up rental office at Riverdale in the 1800 and 1900 blocks of Eastern Blvd.

Tyonna Williams scored a game-high 22 points Thursday to power Riverdale Baptist's girls basketball team past host No. 5 Arundel, 55-44. The Wildcats (18-4) trailed 44-20 at the half, outscored the Crusaders by one in the fourth quarter, but fell short. Talen Watson and Seronne Vails each had 12 points for Arundel.

The Digital Harbor girls found two major problems in Saturday's game against Riverdale Baptist: They couldn't get to the basket, and the Crusaders were much bigger. Those were the reasons No. 4 Digital Harbor spent too much time shooting from long distance. The Rams had trouble generating offense, but Riverdale Baptist didn't, and the Crusaders pulled away in the second half for a 66-47 victory in the 14th annual Basketball Academy at Morgan State. Riverdale Baptist (15-5)