star looks for fresh air

[AS SEEN IN THE NEW YORK METRO]

Embattled radio host eyes comeback after charges dropped

by joshua rhett miller / metro new york

Now that criminal charges against Troi Torain, 42, aka Star — a former Power 105 radio host who was fired for making racist and explicit comments on air about a rival’s wife and daughter — will be dropped, he wants a new start. Torain (above) spoke to Metro yesterday after his court appearance about nearly having to face the music.

So what’s next for you?

I got a lot of great opportunities that I didn’t realize I had since this quagmire happened. You have to make the best out of things. I’m 42 years of age, man. I’m excited to be moving forward — trying to put a book together. My Web site, starandbucwild.com, will keep listeners updated, and I have television and radio meetings next week.

In retrospect, did you go too far?

I never should have been arrested. We all don’t like some things people say, but if you’re not breaking the law, are you not an advocate of freedom of speech? Or do you have a problem with a certain subculture? Where we’re going as a nation is scary, and I’ve spoken about this in the past on my show. Of course [the comments] were taken out of context. To people who are not in the world of hip-hop and rap radio, it would all seem to be overtly aggressive. Did I intend to bring harm to anyone? Of course not. I’m a man of sound mind and a rational thinker. But I don’t necessarily feel that my opinion here means anything after the legal decision — the charges were dropped.

Hot 97 remains the top-rated station in the 18- to 34-year-old demographic. Would that be different if you were still at Power 105?

I’m sure to some degree, but I don’t wish anything bad upon [Power 105]. I’m not angry. That station is what it is. I’ll be going to a different station with different people and people have to realize that there are limits that are pushed — and it’s not just from one person.

Are you considering other formats?

I’d love to do more of a rock format or an alternative show. Hip-hop just doesn’t excite me, it never really has. I don’t even listen to rap radio, I never did. I guess that’s my appeal to people — I’m an outsider.

Were your fans supportive after your arrest?

I was supported by listeners, but I don’t consider them fans. These are people who listen from all genres and all age categories.

Were you unfairly targeted by police and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office?

I’m not a person that needs to cry about what happened to me. Please note that I have never waived the flag of racism. We are at a much different time in our society. Nobody seems to care that we’re becoming a totalitarian nation. You can’t even drive through a tunnel without having your information checked. America is being gutted, man, and we’re brokering our own
demise.

Outside of a police station after your arrest, you told a reporter: “You’re looking at the new Lenny Bruce.” Do you still feel that way?

Yeah. [Comedian] Lenny Bruce shot dope and coke, and died of an overdose, but the guy walked through the fire. Howard Stern never had cold steel on his wrist, but yet he’s made out to be a martyr for free speech. Give me a break.

What did you learn from the ordeal?

I’m political, I’m progressive and I’m informative. I didn’t just all of a sudden pop up on Clear Channel’s radio station and say what I said. I was brought in to do a certain style of radio and I was supported by Clear Channel, so with that being said, for me to get into another situation in light of what has happened now, I’m sure a station would not want that style of radio. Am I capable of doing clean radio? Absolutely.


WHAT HAPPENED

• Star was fired by WWPR-FM in May after on-air comments he made about Gia Casey, the wife of Hot 97’s DJ Envy, and the couple’s 4-year-old daughter.
• During broadcasts on May 3-8, Torain said he wanted to urinate and ejaculate on the girl, offered $500 to any listener who told him where she attended school, and used racial epithets to describe Mrs. Casey.
• He was later arrested by detectives from the Hate Crimes Unit on charges of criminal weapons possession and endangering the welfare of a child.
• A judge yesterday agreed to drop the case in six months if Torain does three days community service and stays away from the Caseys, according to Manhattan District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Barbara Thompson. She said that the decision to drop the charges was made in order to “serve the best interests” of the 4-year-old victim.

an 'explosive' comeback

My apologies for the long absence, but I've been vacationing a bit and taking it easy. After all, tis' summer.

Anyway, I had the pleasure today of covering a truly interesting and tragic story: a 66-year-old successful doctor who was critically injured during the gas-induced explosion of his four-story Upper East Side townhouse in an apparent attempt to keep his ex-wife away from the building to be sold and split in a bitter divorce.

Here are two stories I wrote in the New York Metro and some shots I got from the scene. Enjoy and thanks for reading.


EXPLOSION ROCKS E. 62ND ST. BLOCK
by Joshua Rhett Miller

UPPER EAST SIDE — A deafening gas explosion flattened a four-story brownstone early yesterday and buried a doctor beneath 25 feet of burning debris, leaving him to call rescuers from his cell phone.
The doctor, Nicholas Bartha, was the sole occupant of 34 E. 62nd St. when the blast occurred at 8:40 a.m., according to Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta, who added that authorities were investigating the possibility that the blast was the result of a suicide attempt.
Bartha, 66, had recently lost a $4 million judgment in a divorce case, and was being forced to sell the 19th-century building as a result, according to court records.
Once on the scene, firefighters could hear BarthaÂ’s voice from the basement of the building, trapped under the rubble, said FDNY Assistant Chief of Operations Michael Weinlein.
“They said, ‘Hey, we think we got someone here,” Weinlein said. “The building was pancake down. It’s very surprising to find someone alive in that building.”
Bartha, who owns the building that housed his apartment and medical offices, was in critical condition last night with second- and third-degree burns. At least 15 other people were injured, including five civilians and 10 firefighters, fire officials said.
Rabbi Yaakov Kermaier, 36, who lives at 30 E. 62nd St., said he was on the corner of 62nd Street and Madison Avenue when the explosion occurred. After yelling to his wife and two children — who were across the street — to run in case of another blast, Kermaier had a big scare.
“My wife yelled back that the baby’s in the apartment. So I ran into my building and got the baby and the nanny out,” he said. “Thank God everyone is safe and sound.”
Kermaier said the “sudden, deafening boom” and subsequent collapse immediately covered the street with broken glass, burning wood and other debris.
Another resident of the neighboring building said her first thought was terrorism.
“I thought it was a bomb or an airplane crash,” said Sherry Miller. “After 9/11, you never know.”











'TREMENDOUS' EXPLOSION ROCKED BUILDING
by Joshua Rhett Miller

UPPER EAST SIDE — Firefighters were met with a “tremendous” amount of flames and burning rubble as they responded to the collapse of a four-story brownstone early yesterday after a gas explosion turned a once-tony block into a warzone.
“There was a lot of fire on arrival,” FDNY Assistant Chief of Operations Michael Weinlein said. “There was a total collapse of the building when we started out. So to start off with, there was not much to be able to get into the building.”
Miraculously, Weinlein said firefighters heard a noise coming from the massive amount of debris and soon realized someone had survived the “drastic” collapse.
“We heard some noise and as we quieted down the area, we were able to get someone in a little bit and they heard some more noise,” he said.
That noise was 66-year-old Nicholas Bartha, a doctor who owned the building that housed his medical offices and his apartment. Although badly burnt, Weinlein said Bartha was conscious when firefighters later reached him beneath 25 feet of rubble.
At about 4 p.m., roughly seven hours after the 8:40 a.m. blast at 34 East 62nd Street, Weinlein said firefighters were still extinguishing pockets of fire in the massive amount of debris.
Earlier in the day, FDNY Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said authorities were investigating the possibility that the explosion was the result of a suicide attempt.
“We’re still investigating that, talking about the potential for suicide,” he said.
A law enforcement official with knowledge of the case told the Associated Press that Bartha recently sent out an e-mail to his ex-wife in which he contemplated suicide:
“When you read this ... your life will change forever. You deserve it. You will be transformed from gold digger to ash and rubbish digger. You always wanted me to sell the house. I always told you I will leave the house only if I am dead.”