By Kathianne Boniello
Longtime Bayside resident and Fort Totten historian Jack Fein will be cleared of charges that he had sexually abused a young boy last month at the fort if he has no other legal problems for the next six months, a spokeswoman for the Queens district attorney said.
Spokeswoman Sherry Hunter said acting Criminal Court Judge Dorothy Chin Brandt issued an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal last week, which means if Fein has a clean record for the next several months, the charges will be dismissed. Fein's next court date is Sept. 15, Hunter said.
If Fein has no other legal problems, the case would be sealed and his record would be cleared at that time, Hunter said. She said the adjournment was not an unusual judgment and was “what we feel the case demands.”
Fein has been the volunteer museum curator at what is called the “old fort” at Totten, where he has worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week since 1967 giving tours of the fort to anyone who was interested.
Fein was arrested Feb. 24 and charged with sexual abuse, endangering the welfare of a child and harassment. He was arraigned and released on his own recognizance the next day.
Don Morrison, a Legal Aid lawyer who represented Fein, said “Mr. Fein is happy to be vindicated in the Criminal Court.”
Fein, who turned 83 earlier this month, cried often during a telephone interview Monday morning as he talked about the case.
“I am following the concept of Jesus Christ and Moses – forgive and forget,” he said.
Fein, who described the last several weeks as “horrible,” said he received over 100 telephone calls from people who expressed their support for him.
“The last few weeks have been horrible,” he said. “Wherever I go-if I go to the bank or I take a walk, people see me and stop me and ask what happened.”
Several community leaders voiced their support of Fein upon hearing judge's decision in the case.
Ann Jawin, president of the Douglaston Manor Civic Association and executive director of the Queens Women's Center, said she was glad the case against Fein was over.
“It was very hard to believe that the charge was valid,” she said.
The criminal complaint filed against Fein last month alleged that he “repeatedly hugged [the boy], kissed him on the face, and rubbed his hands again against the buttocks over his clothing” on Feb. 22 at the Fort Totten museum.
Hope Beecher Wright, executive director of the Bayside Historical Society, said “in my heart I felt that this would be the outcome, but in today's society you just cannot count on justice.”
Frank Skala, president of the East Bayside Homeowners Association, said “the whole story made no sense to me at all. I'm glad it's over. I believe justice has been done.”
When Mandingo Tshaka, president of the Bayside Clear-Spring Council, heard of the judge's decision, he said: “I'm glad to hear that, but the damage has been done. There will always be those that will look at him with a jaundiced eye. There will always be those who want to believe the worst.”
Fein served as the volunteer museum curator, historian, and tour guide at Fort Totten for more than 30 years before being hired by the city Parks Department several months ago.
Fein was suspended by the city Parks Department after the arrest, but there was no word as of press time whether or not the suspension would be lifted.
Fein also said he was upset at the way the Queens Tribune, a weekly newspaper, handled the story.
The Tribune's March 2-8 issue featured a full page, front cover photograph of Fein under the headline “Scandal at Ft. Totten: Sex Abuse of a Child?” and dedicated an entire page to the story.
After obtaining a copy of the complaint, the Times/Ledger decided to run the story in the back pages of the paper, a move adopted by several other Queens weeklies and Newsday.
Fein said he did not understand why the Tribune chose to cover the story that way.
“I'm 83 years old and I've been all over this planet,” he said in reference to the Tribune article. “I've seen the good, the bad and the indifferent. Never in my life did I ever think something like this would happen.”
Michael Schenkler, publisher and editor-in-chief of the Tribune, said the decision to put the story on the front page had nothing to do with Fein's standing in the community.
“I've never met Mr. Fein,” he said. “I have no axe to grind. The police arrested someone and we were informed there was sex abuse against a child. That's what made the decision.”
Schenkler said he received only two complaints about the story and actually had more positive than negative comments about it.
“This type of behavior is the type that alarms the community,” he said. “We informed the community.”
