Shootings New York State

Four patrons watching "The Godfather Part III" in a Valley Stream, N.Y., theater, were shot Tuesday night, one fatally, by two groups of young men who argued over noise. Nassau County police described the groups as "heavily armed gangs" of from five to 10 each, one group sitting in the front row and the other near the back of the Sunrise Cinema Multiplex, located on Long Island near the New York City border.

A sheriff's deputy shot and killed his estranged wife and wounded a teacher's aide during an argument inside a Buffalo elementary school office. Juan A. Roman, 37, had been arguing with 30-year-old Norma Roman as she went into Public School 18 to drop off two of the couple's children in the morning. When a school employee spotted his gun, Roman opened fire. A teacher's aide was struck in the arm. No children were hurt, and the Roman children did not witness the shooting.

John Gotti, reputed to be the most powerful Mafia figure in the country, was arrested Monday evening in Manhattan's Little Italy on a state grand jury indictment charging him with the shooting assault of a New York union official. Gotti, who law enforcement officials say heads the largest of New York's five crime families, the Gambino organization, was arrested by 50 police officers on the street near his headquarters at the Ravenite Social Club, authorities said.

A Brooklyn man who shot his sister in the back and held dozens of officers at bay has been linked to the four "Zodiac" shootings of 1990, a ranking police official said. After police arrested Heriberto Seda, 26, to end a 3 1/2-hour standoff, they matched his fingerprints to evidence from the Zodiac shootings, in which one person was killed, said the official.

A teen-ager pleaded guilty Wednesday to a reduced charge of assault for shooting the wife of her alleged lover, and prosecutors said they would turn their attention toward the husband. Amy Fisher, 18, pleaded guilty to reckless assault, admitting that she shot Mary Jo Buttafuoco on May 19. She claimed the gun went off accidentally when she was using it to strike Mrs. Buttafuoco, who is now paralyzed on the right side of her face and deaf in one ear.

A defiant Amy Fisher was sentenced Tuesday to the maximum of five to 15 years in prison in the "Long Island Lolita" case for shooting the wife of a man she claimed was her lover. "You were a walking stick of dynamite with the fuse lit," the judge told the 18-year-old.

A Brooklyn man who shot his sister in the back and held dozens of officers at bay has been linked to the four "Zodiac" shootings of 1990, a ranking police official said. After police arrested Heriberto Seda, 26, to end a 3 1/2-hour standoff, they matched his fingerprints to evidence from the Zodiac shootings, in which one person was killed, said the official.

A sheriff's deputy shot and killed his estranged wife and wounded a teacher's aide during an argument inside a Buffalo elementary school office. Juan A. Roman, 37, had been arguing with 30-year-old Norma Roman as she went into Public School 18 to drop off two of the couple's children in the morning. When a school employee spotted his gun, Roman opened fire. A teacher's aide was struck in the arm. No children were hurt, and the Roman children did not witness the shooting.

State police tried to negotiate their way onto a Mohawk Indian settlement where they believe shots were fired at a military helicopter, but Indian leaders insisted Saturday that no outsiders would be allowed to set foot on their land. Both sides patrolled blockades on roads leading into the Ganienkeh Mohawk Territory. State police set up the roadblocks Friday after a Vermont National Guard helicopter on an emergency medical flight was hit by three bullets, forcing it down on Indian land.

A sniper fired several shots into the pilothouse of a tugboat Tuesday, but no crew members were hit in the latest violence attributed to a monthlong longshoremen's strike, authorities said. The tugboat reportedly was struck by six to eight large-caliber bullets as it passed through Beach Channel.

A man who was demoted and then quit his job at a wholesale auto parts store returned there with a gun Tuesday, killing a manager and injuring two other men before shooting himself in the abdomen, authorities said. "He went in and shot the boss first, then shot all the other employees," said Robert Carlson, a mechanic at the nearby Greenburgh Mobil station. Sookhdeo "Frankie" Itwaru, 51, of Mount Vernon, was hired as a driver by ISW Auto Parts in November 1994, authorities said.

A gun battle erupted at dawn Saturday between factions feuding for control of the Seneca Nation of Indians, killing three people. Tensions have been high since Dennis Bowen was elected Seneca president in November and then refused to step down when the tribal council impeached him in February. Council members accused him of refusing to hold meetings, barring opponents from meetings he did hold and kicking two people off the council. They also appointed Karen Bucktooth president.

A defiant Amy Fisher was sentenced Tuesday to the maximum of five to 15 years in prison in the "Long Island Lolita" case for shooting the wife of a man she claimed was her lover. "You were a walking stick of dynamite with the fuse lit," the judge told the 18-year-old.

A teen-ager pleaded guilty Wednesday to a reduced charge of assault for shooting the wife of her alleged lover, and prosecutors said they would turn their attention toward the husband. Amy Fisher, 18, pleaded guilty to reckless assault, admitting that she shot Mary Jo Buttafuoco on May 19. She claimed the gun went off accidentally when she was using it to strike Mrs. Buttafuoco, who is now paralyzed on the right side of her face and deaf in one ear.

Four patrons watching "The Godfather Part III" in a Valley Stream, N.Y., theater, were shot Tuesday night, one fatally, by two groups of young men who argued over noise. Nassau County police described the groups as "heavily armed gangs" of from five to 10 each, one group sitting in the front row and the other near the back of the Sunrise Cinema Multiplex, located on Long Island near the New York City border.

State police tried to negotiate their way onto a Mohawk Indian settlement where they believe shots were fired at a military helicopter, but Indian leaders insisted Saturday that no outsiders would be allowed to set foot on their land. Both sides patrolled blockades on roads leading into the Ganienkeh Mohawk Territory. State police set up the roadblocks Friday after a Vermont National Guard helicopter on an emergency medical flight was hit by three bullets, forcing it down on Indian land.

A gang of seven youths, some wearing camouflage fatigues, fired automatic weapons and knifed at least one person as they crashed a fraternity party on a state university campus and took stereo equipment early Sunday, officials said. No one was hit in the shooting. Police said seven non-students, ranging in age from 15 to 19, were arrested several hours later.

A man who was demoted and then quit his job at a wholesale auto parts store returned there with a gun Tuesday, killing a manager and injuring two other men before shooting himself in the abdomen, authorities said. "He went in and shot the boss first, then shot all the other employees," said Robert Carlson, a mechanic at the nearby Greenburgh Mobil station. Sookhdeo "Frankie" Itwaru, 51, of Mount Vernon, was hired as a driver by ISW Auto Parts in November 1994, authorities said.

John Gotti, reputed to be the most powerful Mafia figure in the country, was arrested Monday evening in Manhattan's Little Italy on a state grand jury indictment charging him with the shooting assault of a New York union official. Gotti, who law enforcement officials say heads the largest of New York's five crime families, the Gambino organization, was arrested by 50 police officers on the street near his headquarters at the Ravenite Social Club, authorities said.

A gang of seven youths, some wearing camouflage fatigues, fired automatic weapons and knifed at least one person as they crashed a fraternity party on a state university campus and took stereo equipment early Sunday, officials said. No one was hit in the shooting. Police said seven non-students, ranging in age from 15 to 19, were arrested several hours later.