CAPTAIN SURRENDERS
JUDGE SETS SKIPPER'S BAIL AT $1 MILLION

Daily News staff and wire services

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y.- The former captain of the Exxon Valdez surrendered to New York authorities Wednesday and hours later a Suffolk County judge stunned the courtroom by setting Joseph Hazelwood's bail at $1 million 40 times what prosecutors requested.

"These are misdemeanors of such magnitude that have never been equaled in this country," said Judge Kenneth Rohl of the New York State Supreme Court, an avid environmentalist who lives on Long Island's Great South Bay.

Hazelwood, a resident of Huntington, N.Y., refused to waive extradition, setting in motion a legal process that could take up to 90 days to return him to Alaska. However, Alaska prosecutors will wait a few days before initiating extradition proceedings because, according to Assistant Attorney General Dean Guaneli, it is "not unusual" for fugitives to change their minds once they get over the shock of being arrested.

Hazelwood was captain of the tanker Exxon Valdez on March 24 when it ran aground and spilled more than 10 million gallons of crude oil in Prince William Sound. Alaska filed criminal charges against him March 31, but he already had left the state.

He surrendered in New York Wednesday after Alaska prosecutors refused to make a bail deal that might have brought him back voluntarily. Bail on his Alaska arrest warrant is set at $50,000. His lawyers wanted that amount lowered, according to Guaneli, who declined to say what figure they requested.

"They tried," said Assistant District Attorney Bob Linton, who is handling the criminal investigation for the state in Valdez. "It didn't go very far. We said no."

Hazelwood is wanted in Alaska on three misdemeanor charges: operating a vessel while intoxicated, reckless endangerment and negligent discharge of oil.

In asking for $5,000 bail in New York, Thomas Russo, one of three lawyers in court for Hazelwood, described the captain as a family man and 35 year Suffolk County resident who was charged with only three misdemeanors. "It was a tragic accident," Russo said.

But the prosecutor Philip Castellano Jr., contended that Russo minimized the crimes Hazelwood is accused of. "He is an architect of an American tragedy," said Castellano, who asked for $25,000 bail. "It's a tragedy that far transcends the three misdemeanor charges. There's been a real disruption of ecological balance."

Judge Rohl said he set the unusually high bail $1 million bond or $500,000 cash largely because of the environmental damage to the sound.

"I would think less of you if you did not term this an accident," Rohl told Hazelwood's attorneys. "That's your job as a defense attorney. But this is a catastrophe on a world scale. . . . This is a level of destruction we've not seen since Hiroshima."

Hazelwood closed his eyes and bowed his head when the amount of bail was pronounced.

Lawyers for Hazelwood called the amount of bail "excessive" and said they would appeal the ruling today to Suffolk's supervising judge of criminal courts, Thomas M. Stark.

After the arraignment, Hazelwood, silent and ashen faced, was led away in handcuffs to the Suffolk County Jail.

If Hazelwood refuses to return to Alaska voluntarily, said Alaska chief prosecutor Larry Weeks, Gov. Steve Cowper will formally request that Gov. Mario Cuomo of New York turn him over to Alaska. If Cuomo decides to do so, Hazelwood will have up to 30 days to challenge the decision. A status hearing on the case is set for May 5 in New York.

The surprising court developments came after two days of negotiations between Hazelwood's lawyers and the Suffolk County district attorney's office over conditions of the surrender. A Suffolk County District Court judge had issued the arrest warrant for Hazelwood on Sunday afternoon, based on the misdemeanor charges filed in Alaska on Friday.

However, Castellano said that "no deal was made" before Hazelwood, accompanied by four lawyers, turned himself in at the district attorney's office.

Hazelwood, who was fired by Exxon on March 30, when blood alcohol tests indicating he was drunk aboard ship were released, was not at the helm at the time of the accident. However, under state law he acted negligently in turning over the ship to an officer unlicensed to navigate in the sound.

In the arraignment on the fugitive warrant, Hazelwood's lawyers said he was not guilty of the misdemeanor charges and had acted responsibly since the accident.

"He did not flee Alaska and was never told by anyone there that he would be charged," Russo said. "He wants to face the legal process."

Russo said his client had received anonymous threats from people in Alaska. He said he called Suffolk and Alaska authorities Monday morning, after Hazelwood learned of the charges against him.

Hazelwood waited until Wednesday to surrender because he was mulling over whether to give up in New York or Alaska, Russo said.

Daily News correspondent Lisa May contributed to this story.

---

Story Index: Main | The Captain	Overall: story 54 of 380 The Captain story 11 of 56