Read the breaking information below and then
try to stand behind a captain who was obviously
totally unqualfied to run the ferry.

"A high-ranking law enforcement source, speaking
on condition of anonymity, said investigators were
probing what part prescription drugs might have
played in the accident.

"Early blood sample results from the pilot, Assistant
Capt. Richard Smith, indicated alcohol was not a factor
in the tragedy, the source said. Smith attempted suicide
after the crash and was hospitalized under police guard;
his condition Friday was listed as critical but stable.

"Investigators also were examining conflicting reports on
the position of other crew members. Under city Department
of Transportation procedures, the pilot and captain are
typically both in the pilot house as the boat enters port.
"If the policy ... was implemented at the time of the accident,
we don't know," Engleman said earlier.

"The NTSB, which is leading the probe, began interviewing
deckhands and engineering crewmembers Thursday, as well
as survivors of the crash and their families. Investigators were
gathering background information on the crew, including
Smith, and were working to create a "72-hour history" leading
up to the crash.

"Authorities said Smith, 55, bolted from the scene of the
crash and twice attempted suicide at his home. He spoke
with police Wednesday but was not interviewed in depth,
Engleman said. Investigators will talk to him when it is
"medically prudent," she said Friday.

"Investigators confirmed that Smith also was at the helm
of the Andrew J. Barberi when it crashed into the Staten
Island dock in July 1995, injuring some passengers.
That accident was blamed on a propeller failure.

"In 1997, Smith was also transferred off captain's duty
at the Staten Island ferry after he refused to let an inspector
interview him and inspect the captain's quarters, a former
transportation commissioner said.

"Christopher Lynn, commissioner in 1996 and 1997, said
Friday he transferred Smith to command a boat that ferried
corpses to a potter's field.

"I drew a very negative imprint from the fact that he
wouldn't let the inspector in," said Lynn, who first
spoke to the New York Post in Friday editions.
"When you have somebody that's carrying 6,000
people in a boat that cost $25 million, I took him off that."

"Lynn said he was stunned to learn that Smith was at the
controls of the crashed ferry. "I thought I had solved
that problem," he said. "


The man has a rather damning history, don't you think?

S.Simon