Apti
NEWS
DISCOUNT PHOTOGRAPHIC CENTER
Your #1 Neighborhood Camera Store
SUMMER'S BEST BUYS!
FREE r FREE E CAMCORDER
PROCESSING CAMERA BATTERIES
CASE
1 Roll
with purchase
10%
of any camera
with
$100 and up
OFF
coupon
up to 10%
L
L of camera value
L
I
Transfer your home movies to video as low as 5(P per foot
33100 Grand River
Farmington
474-4331
27100 Evergreen
Southfield
569-7890
3249 West 12 Mile
Berkley
546-4550
RARE
U.S. COINS
WANTED
1793-1930
Single Coins To Entire Collections
IMMEDIATE FUNDS
Estate Appraisals • Bullion Coins • Precious Metals
All Transactions Held In Strict Confidence
Detroit Metro Dealer for over 20 Years
Dealer & Bank References Available
"Sell Where The Dealers Sell"
a\RN=Tt
RARITI
r
189 MERRILL STREET
BIRMINGHAM, MI 48009
(313) 644-1124 FAX (313) 644-3739
C O R P O R A TICIN
Advertising in The Jewish News Gets Results
Place Your Ad Today. Call 354-6060
106
FRIDAY, JULY 24, 1992
'Crazy Eddie' Antar
Arrested In Israel
Tel Aviv (JTA) — Eddie
"Crazy Eddie" Antar who
once offered New Yorkers
"insane" discounts on elec-
tronic products, has been ar-
rested by Israeli police and is
being held in custody at the
request of the U.S. Justice
Department.
The 45-year-old Mr. Antar,
whose low-budget elec-
tronics chain filed for
bankruptcy in 1987 and was
liquidated in 1990, is wanted
in the United States on
charges of defrauding
stockholders in his company
of more than $74 million.
The object of an interna-
tional search during the past
two years, he was picked up
by Israeli undercover cops
outside his swank condo in
the coastal town of Yavne,
south of Tel Aviv. He was
remanded in custody by a
Petach Tikva magistrate
pending extradition hear-
ings.
Mr. Antar had been living
in Israel for several years
and acquired citizenship at
different times under diff-
erent names.
In its heyday, the Crazy
Eddie chain numbered 43
stores in New York, New
Jersey, Connecticut and
Pennsylvania. For years,
television viewers in those
areas were bombarded by
hard-sell commercials in
which an actor imper-
sonating "Eddie" waved his
arms and screamed that his
prices were "insaaane."
The chain, originally a
family-held business, went
bankrupt in 1987 but was
allowed to re-organize as a
public company trading
shares on the New York
Stock Exchange.
According to an 18-count
indictment obtained by the
U.S. attorney in New Jersey,
Mr. Antar, his brothers Mit-
chell and Allen, and a
cousin, Eddie Gindi, engag-
ed in a complex cash-
skimming scheme and
issued false financial reports
to inflate the value of their
stock.
The arrests of the brothers
and cousin was announced
in New Jersey this week.
Mr. Antar's troubles with
the law began early in 1988
when the Securities and
Exchange Commission ques-
tioned the prospectus he and
his brothers issued.
The chain was sold to the
public in 1990 but liquidated
because the inventory listed
in the sale proved non-
existent. It was discovered
about the same time that
Eddie Antar, described as
secretive and "eccentric"
had disappeared.
It was subsequently learn-
ed that he arrived in Israel
in March 1988 and became a -)
citizen three months later,
changing his name tc;-,
Stewart Alexander.
The U.S. authorities trac-
ed his whereabouts through
a source in Switzerland with'--
access to Zurich bank ac-
counts. Acting on a tip that _
he was in Israel, U.S. mar-
shals appealed to the State
Attorney's Office in
Jerusalem and the Serious
Crimes Division of the
Israeli police to set up a spe-
cial undercover operation to `1
track down the fugitive.
Further investigations in-
dicated that a man calling
himself David Cohen from
Brazil came to Israel in 1990
and became a citizen. Mr.
Cohen was photographed
under surveillance. The pic-
tures sent to New York were`'
identified as Eddie Antar.
A plain-clothed police
operative, posing as a
woman driver in distress,
flagged down the suspect as- ,
he drove from his seaside
condo.
When he stopped, she--- 1
signalled other agents
made the arrest. Police who
searched Mr. Antar's villa
said they discovered a brief-
case containing $60,000 in
various currencies and pass-
ports in several names.
The police said Mr. Antar ----'
attempted to conceal his
identity but admitted it after
his fingerprints were faxed _ 1
from New York.
Two Killed
In Lebanon
Tel Aviv (JTA) — A South
Lebanon Army soldier and a
Palestinian gunman were r
killed in a clash in the cen-
tral sector of the Israeli-
controlled security zone in
south Lebanon .
SLA troops were on c;
routine patrol when they
came under fire. A ;
Kalashnikov rifle and a case 11
of ammunition, a rocket- Y1
propelled grenade launcher
and a case of grenades were
discovered near the body of r_
the gunman killed in the
exchange.
In a statement issued in
Beirut, Nayef Hawatmeh's [7-
Democratic Front for the
Liberation of Palestine
claimed responsibility for
the incident.