A sorrowful day
of double murder

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

Longtime friends Joseph Alullo and William Widmaier emerged unscathed from a combined half-century of police work, after which they moved away from the mean streets of Philadelphia to bedroom communities in Bucks County.
The duo then took jobs as armored-car guards, a risky occupation, but one still considered safer than cop work in the big city.
"He never had any fear," Wednesday Widmaier said of her father last week. "He got up every morning, went to work, came home and had dinner."
That absence of dread was shattered last Thursday.
At about 8 a.m., Alullo, 54, and Widmaier, 65, were shot and killed by a fast-moving robber who ambushed the duo at an ATM machine outside the Wachovia Bank branch at 7345 Bustleton Ave., near Bleigh. The two were servicing the machine for the Loomis security company, for whom they had worked after their retirement from the 7th Police District in the Far Northeast. Another Loomis guard, a 70-year-old man whose identity has been withheld because he is a witness, was shot and injured inside the armored car when the robber fired at the vehicle’s windows.
Within 36 hours, investigators apprehended the suspect they say committed the slayings. Mustafa Ali, 36, also known as Shawn Steele, of the 3800 block of Woodhaven Road, was taken into custody for questioning on Friday while leaving his apartment complex and formally charged on Saturday with the slayings and ATM robbery.
Police were aided by tips generated by security-camera photos of the robbery suspect, including one call from a tenant at Ali’s complex who told police of a black Acura — similar to one driven by the fleeing robber — that was parked there and covered by a tarp.
Investigators collared Ali for questioning and impounded the Acura.
A police source said that Ali, who served seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to bank robbery charges in 1993, has confessed to the crime.
On Monday, police and FBI officials said they were investigating whether the crime was connected to other unsolved bank robberies in the area, including one on Sept. 3 at the Commerce Bank at 3930 Woodhaven Road, which is a short distance from Ali’s home.
As the Times went to press this week, the families of Alullo and Widmaier were preparing to attend services for the longtime friends and police officers. Alullo’s services were on Tuesday; Widmaier’s burial had been planned for Thursday.
The ruthless nature of the slayings upset their former police colleagues, and Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson, during a news conference last week amid the search for the killer, emphasized that the Loomis guards never had a chance to defend themselves.
"He never gave anyone the chance to surrender the money," Johnson said of the assailant. "He just assassinated them."
Police now think that Ali stalked the guards on the morning of the shooting. A surveillance tape shows the suspect sitting in a black Acura TL at the guards’ second stop of the morning at an unidentified location about five miles from the site of the shooting. A Wachovia camera then caught Ali putting on black gloves and walking toward the ATM machine and shooting the two guards, police said.
Ali shot Widmaier, who was at the ATM, once in the chest; he then shot Alullo three times in the chest and abdomen as the security officer reached for his service revolver, police said. Ali then fired at the third guard, seated in the Loomis armored truck, and fled with a canvas bag that authorities said contained a small amount of money.
The bag had been emptied and discarded behind the Turf Club, an off-track race-betting parlor in the Roosevelt Mall, where it was found by investigators.
Alullo and Widmaier were following procedure as they serviced the machine while the third guard remained inside the vehicle, said Mark Clark, vice president of communications at Loomis’ corporate office in Houston. The guards worked out of the 8,000-employee company’s location in Pennsauken, N.J., where Widmaier served as the union shop steward.
It was the first slaying of a Loomis guard in 10 years, Clark said. A guard who was shot in Las Vegas earlier his year has recovered.
"They are trained to avoid the incident (but) the primary concern should be their own lives," Clark said of how guards should respond when in danger. "We don’t know if (Alullo and Widmaier) had a chance."
The guards were not wearing bulletproof vests. Loomis does not require the vests but recommends their use, and the company chips in to help employees with the expense of buying the protective vests, which cost from $350 to $700. On Friday, the security company said it is re-evaluating that policy.
The Wachovia branch has experienced robberies in the past, including a September 2004 incident when a robber demanded money from a teller, according to a previous Times article.
Bank spokeswoman Barbara Nate said that employees were inside the branch, which reopened Friday, at the time of the shootings, but she declined to discuss if they had witnessed any part of the crime. An impromptu memorial, decorated with flowers and candles, took shape at the bank’s ATM over the weekend.
"The families of the victims are in our thoughts and prayers," Nate said.
The shooting quickly spread alarm through Rhawnhurst as police closed off Bustleton Avenue, from Bleigh to Cottman, to search the area for the gunman and investigate the crime scene. The School District of Philadelphia put Northeast High School, Woodrow Wilson Middle School and the Rhawnhurst Elementary School on a precautionary lockdown, but lifted the security measure by noon.
As they stood near the scene, residents talked about the growing crime in the area.
"It’s a shame, you can’t go anywhere anymore," said a resident who wanted to be identified only as Linda. "I’ve been here twelve years, and I’m ready to move."
One woman was preparing to go to the bank with her husband when the shooting took place. "I was like, ‘Oh my God, the bank’s being robbed,’" said the woman, who declined to give her name. "It’s so sad."
Alullo, of Levittown, retired as a sergeant in 2000 after 27 years with the police department. Widmaier, of nearby Fairless Hills, retired in 1989 after 23 years on the force. The longtime friends spent their last posts in the 7th district. The current commander, Capt. Joseph Zaffino, knew Alullo personally and comforted his family last week, said Richard Simon, the district’s community relations officer.
Wendy Widmaier, 38, said her family depended on her dad, who loved collecting doo-wop records and indulging his granddaughter Madison, 4. Her father was considering a second retirement, she said. He turned 65 in January and would have been eligible for Medicare benefits next month.
Widmaier also left behind his wife of 42 years, Joyce, and a son, William. A middle son, Wayne, died in 2000.
Wednesday Widmaier expressed condolences for Alullo’s family, which included wife Donna, daughters Gina, Katie and Lisa, and granddaughter Emma. The family declined to comment on Friday.
"They’re there one day, then they don’t come home," she said. "They killed two good guys for no reason." ••
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com