Published: August 20, 2008 11:32 pm      

MISSING GIRL: Lawyer calls for criminal charges

Gus Michael Farinella wants help in searching for Magdalena Lubowska

“Criminal charges must be brought.”

That was the message of Gus Michael Farinella, the lawyer hired by the parents of missing 12-year-old Magdalena Lubowska.

Farinella held a press conference Wednesday at the Crowne Plaza Hotel to plead for help searching for Lubowska and to urge the quick arrest of the people he views as responsible.

Lubowska, a Bronx native, slipped into the lower Niagara River on Aug. 13 and was quickly pulled underwater. Despite the large-scale search by numerous agencies she hasn’t yet been found.

Lubowska was staying at a two-week Polish Catholic camp group run by 23-year-old Timothy Hedges and his mother, Eva, out of a Fourth Street home. Just prior to slipping into the river, Lubowska had hiked down the 1-mile-long Whirlpool Rapids Trail with 22 other hikers.

Timothy Hedges, who is not a licensed tour guide, was the only adult supervision. Lubowska and at least several other campers were about 500 feet from the trail when she fell into the river, police have said.

At the very least, Hedgeses should be brought up on reckless endangerment charges for acting as a tour guide, Farinella said.

“Placing children in danger, in harms way, is a crime in New York state,” he said. “It is a crime.”

Attempts to reach the Hedgeses by phone and at their home have been unsuccessful.

State Park Police, who are leading the search for Magdalena, met with Niagara County District Attorney Michael Violante Wednesday to discuss the case.

Reached by phone in the afternoon, Violante said his office had just received the information and cannot yet comment on it.

“We’re moving on it,” he said. “We don’t intend to waste time to bring this thing to a head to determine if any charges should be filed.”

State Park Police Lt. Patrick Moriarity also declined comment on the investigation and said the police were being guided by the DA’s office.

Searches by foot, boat and helicopter are ongoing for Magdalena, he said.

“We have no plans to stop it,” he said. “We’re just taking it one day at a time.”

Niagara Falls officials have said the Hedgeses do not have the proper permits nor the proper zoning to run a camp or a bed and breakfast.

The city has also ordered the Hedgeses to tear down a number of structures at the site for which they don’t have permits and could be fire hazards. Those include a wooden structure and some prefabricated tents in the backyard.

Farinella was hired by Magdalena’s parents, Mariusz and Katarzyna Lubowska, after the accident. He and his brother, Tom, both lawyers from New York City, are working the case.

He called on a number of officials, including Mayor Paul Dyster and Gov. David Paterson, to help get more manpower for both the search for Magdalena and the investigation of the organizers.

He also said that even after the accident Eva Hedges was still attempting to run the service through locals motels. When parents came to take the children away she still resisted, saying everything was safe. He said a man had been found hiding in the basement of the home.

Lubowska was brought by her parents to the camp on Aug. 12 for the two-week stay at the camp, which costs $500, according to the brochure. They appeared to have found out about it from a flyer at their church.

The camp advertised three to five licensed guides and medical services for campers, Farinella said.

“(That is) a very serious misrepresentation to the public,” he said.

Lubowska’s parents flew up Aug. 14 to talk to law enforcement officials before flying back to the Bronx, Farinella said. They returned Wednesday morning for a vigil that night.

A phone number has been established for anybody with information on the case. It is 1(800)961-9615.