Terror in Woodside, Queens

Then, on Aug. 22, without much fanfare or media attention, 19-year-old Jamie Oliveira of Queens was arrested for rape, kidnapping and sexual assault in connection with two separate incidents in Woodside, on July 9 and Aug. 6, for which the police had suspected Vicuna. It is believed that Oliveira?like Vicuna?was using a dark four-door sedan and posing as a cabbie to lure women. Also like Vicuna, he then drove the women?one of whom was an Irish immigrant?to desolate areas and attempted to rape them. Oliveira was held on $150,000 bail and appeared in Queens Criminal Court before Judge Douglas Wong, who ordered a mental fitness hearing. Oliveira's next court date to determine whether he's fit to stand trial will be Oct. 10.

But that leaves Vicuna. Police still believe that Vicuna is responsible for four attacks that occurred between July and October of 1999. Vicuna is a 28-year-old Ecuadorian immigrant; his last known address was 1979 Schenectady Ave., in Brooklyn. His victims were beaten and choked, but all managed to eventually escape. The four women have all been able to identify Vicuna through a mugshot of him, courtesy of a 1994 sexual abuse conviction in Queens that Vicuna pled guilty to. He received three years' probation for that crime. DNA evidence has also linked Vicuna to the attacks.

Police say his present whereabouts are unknown. Until Oliveira's arrest he was the main suspect in the two most recent rapes. A police officer who asked to remain anonymous said that it is believed that Vicuna may have fled to Ecuador.

"He'll come back. They always do," said Jack Donovan, a retired NYPD detective and the manager of a legendary Woodside tavern called Donovan's. "And when he comes back here, someone will give him up. A cousin will get arrested, or whatever, and then they'll give him up to cut a deal for themselves. That's the way it goes. That's how it works. There are no Columbos or Kojaks out there, just a bunch of guys ratting each other out."

With Vicuna unaccounted for, residents of Woodside are worried.

"Who knows where this guy is?" said John McCann outside another Woodside bar, Sean Og's. "They had 'wanted' posters of him in all the Irish bars, and now it turns out that it was another guy. The posters are still up. The mystery of the whole thing is disturbing."

Woodside may have been Vicuna's favorite hunting ground because the neighborhood is rife with bars. One section of Woodside is even referred to as the "Bermuda Triangle of Taverns"?between 61st St., Woodside Ave. and Roosevelt Ave., there are seven bars. Livery cabs make a nice living picking up fares outside of them.

"You would think with all this quality-of-life stuff that Rudy Giuliani has been pushing for the last few years, he would have gotten around to this," said an Irishman sitting in Cooper Face Jack's who would only give his name as Mike. "If these rapes took place in Manhattan, you can bet that something would have been done sooner. Look out there. These cabs aren't registered to pick people up off the street, yet they do, day in and day out, right in front of the cops."

"What's surprising about these attacks is that Irish bar patrons and Hispanic gypsy cab drivers have peacefully coexisted in this community for over 20 years," said John Lavin, a mental health worker. "It's certainly an unorthodox cultural tie, but there are a lot of similarities between the Irish and Hispanic culture, so it's a shame that the rapes have taken place and put that in jeopardy."

Vicuna, and possibly Oliveira, apparently counted on the women he attacked not reporting the assaults. Police believe Vicuna may have assaulted an additional four other Irishwomen, who may have been reluctant to come forward because they were illegal aliens.

"I've heard that some of the girls were over here on student visas and didn't know what to do," said a woman on Roosevelt Ave. who identified herself as Noreen. "No one seemed to care much about this until recently. So maybe because of shame or fear they just kept their mouths shut. Now they've gone back home, and no one knows a thing. A shame, really."

Every officer on patrol in the precinct still has a wanted poster of Vicuna.

"We put that poster and information out there as a public service to the community," said Lt. Sean Cussens of the NYPD's Special Victims Squad. "We're looking to warn women in the area to be cognizant of the attacks, especially when they're getting into cabs. Who's the guy driving the cab? Look at the driver and the car."

The bar scene in Woodside isn't known to be rowdy, but residents say that if a group of Irishmen get some drinks in them and decide to start looking for the rapist, a dangerous situation could result. More than being angry, though, Woodside residents feel the idea that their neighborhood's a safe place has been shattered.

"Women are scared," said neighborhood resident James O'Brien. "Now with this second guy arrested and the first one still free, it's creepy."

"I'll tell you, if some of these Irish guys up on 61st St. get a hold of that guy Vicuna, it could be bad," said Jack Donovan.