BELLPORT UFOLOGISTS ARRESTED IN BIZARRE PLOT TO MURDER POLITICAL LEADERS
18 June 1996 / July 6, 1996
Source: South Shore Press
By Allen Campbell
"He was considered an eccentric, even a nut, by some; by others, he was
considered a serious investigator out to provie that unidentified flying
objects were space crafts piloted by extraterrestrial beings. Police had a new
opinion of this man last week when they arrested the 47-year-old, nationally
known UFO researcher, and charged him with poltting to kill three Suffolk
County politicians.
In great media fanfare by the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, John
J. Ford was arrested at his Bellport home and charged with second degree
conspiracy in an alleged plot to assassinate political and public officials by
slowly poisoning them with doses of radioactive material. The three officials
that Suffolk County District James Catterson said were targeted were Suffolk
County Republican Leader John Powell, Suffolk County Legislator Fred Towle Jr.,
and Anthony Gazzola, de facto chariman of the Brookhaven Town Conservative
Party and a safely investigator for the Town of Brookhaven.
According to the district attorney, Ford and two accomplices were about to
plant radium particles in the cars, food, and toothpaste of the three victims
in an attempt to kill them through radioactive poisoning. Although specifics as
to how the murder plots were to be implemented remain sketchy, Catterson said
that Ford was prepared to shoot the three if the poison plan failed.
Although no motive has yet been noted by Catterson, such theories as militia
actions (similar to the Freeman group in Montana) or political discontentment
have been suggested.
Ford is a former Suffolk County Court officer who retired last year. Living
with his mother (who died last summer) in a well-kept, middle-class home in
Bellport for the last ten years, Ford was an enthusiastic believer in the
existence of UFOs and alien visitations. He came to national notice in 1994
when his theories about a space craft crashing into Southaven Park in Shirley
on November 24, 1992, was made a major segment of a Fox 5 television premier
broadcast about unexplained events.
Afterwards, Ford often complained about being harassed by both federal agents
and local Suffolk County police. Last year, he filed official complaints
against the Suffolk County Police Department for harassment. And just last
month, Ford told South Shore Press reporters that an acquaintance of his, using
Ford's vehicle, had been stopped by an unmarked police vehicle, dragged from
the car, hit and kicked, and warned to dismiss any suits against the police
department. Ford at that time said that the violence had been directed to him
as a warning. Although the assaulted victim spoke about the incident to a South
Shore Press reporter, he refused to give his name and the story was dropped by
the newspaper.
The main target of the threats, say police, appears to be Gazzola, who attempts
to remain as non-revealing as possible. In a Channel 12 News interview on
Friday, Gazzola refused to show his face to the camteras, and he has not
returned South Shore Press phone calls to his office. Gazzola and Ford, who has
been active in the political stream have had a poor relationship over the past
years involving differences in the framework of the local Conservative Party,
noted one political observer. One serious point of contention had been the
issue of Gazzola running a political party that, according to the Suffolk
County Board of Elections, is not registered and, in all legal actuality, is
non-existent.
But none of the charges against Ford have indicated a motive, and the district
attorney's office remains reticent, and even stonewalled against inquiries. One
theory rising from independent sources, however, is that Ford had been promised
the Conservative backing for the New York State assembly seat and then, later,
a spot for Suffolk County legislative position. After being denied the
endorsement, the theory proposes that Ford decided to kill the Conservative and
Republican leaders, and the person who now occupies the 3rd District
Legislative seat, Fred Towle.
Such a theory, however, appears to have little foundation. Although Ford has
been considered by some to be over exuberant with his studies of UFOs, his work
record as a court officer appears unblemished. And he has no criminal record.
But his work in investigating local UFO incidents produced numerous
confrontations with town officials and police personnel. Ford claimed, only
last month, that his phone was tapped and that there was a conspiracy against
both his UFO activities and his involvement with local politics. He
particularly noted that Gazzola, as a former New York City cop, forced to
retire early from that job, had become an "enforcer" of political projects for
the Town of Brookhaven.
Ford's case will be in court today to determine future dates relevant to the
charges and a possible Grand Jury hearing. He is to return again on Friday. The
two other men, Edward Zabo of Medford and Joseph Mazzachelli of Manorville,
have been charged with lessor crimes relative to the alleged conspiracy.
(Although a fourth man has also been arrested, his connection with the Ford
case has yet to be noted by the District Attorney's office.)"
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