William Tomar
WILLIAM TOMAR was born in Camden, New Jersey around 1917 to Katie and Morris Tomar. When the Census was taken in 1920 he was living with his parents, brother Joseph, and sister Bessie at 2413 Federal Street in East Camden, where his parents had a dry goods store. Another brother, Julius, was born shortly thereafter. The 1930 Census shows that the family had moved to 2409 Federal Street and that his father was still in the dry goods business. Morris Tomar and family later moved to 2411 Federal Street, according to the 1940 and 1943 Camden City Directories. Those years’ editions also list William Tomar at 2413 Federal Street. After serving in the United States Army during World War II William Tomar returned to Camden. The 1947 City Directory shows him living at 1635 Park Boulevard in Parkside.
William Tomar graduated from the South Jersey Law School (present-day Rutgers University School of Law) in 1939. Admitted to the bar the following year, he founded a law firm with Albert Plone in 1948. The firm grew to 60 lawyers, and handled a number of notable cases over the years. William Tomar was an active member of Congregation Beth El in Camden.
William Tomar moved from Camden in 1958 to the then-new Barclay Farms neighborhood of Delaware Township (present-day Cherry Hill), New Jersey. He resided there until June of 2003 when his wife, the former Bette Brown, passed away.
William Tomar passed away on September 10, 2003 at an assisted living facility in Potomac, Maryland, survived by his sons Richard and Jonathan, 11 grandchildren and a sister.
Jury Dismissed in Arsenic Case
Camden Courier-Post —
Of Dead Mouse in Prune Juice
Restaurant Customer Ill After Alleged Discovery of Reputed Rodent; Sues for Damages to Health and Good Nature
Hopelessly divided, six to six, the jury in Camden’s celebrated “arsenic case” was discharged last night in Court No. 4 by former Judge Leroy W. Loder, of the Cumberland County Common Pleas Court, sitting as special justice to hear the case.
After Foreman Richard C. Hutchinson, of Collingswood, stated he did not believe the jurors could agree if sent back for an all night session Judge Loder discharged them.
Allegations she had drunk prune juice, freighted with an arsenic-stuffed mouse, were the basis on which the plaintiff, Miss Celeine Seigle of Camden asked damages from the Home Restaurant Company Camden, of which Frank Testa is manager.
The plaintiff was represented by Charles A. Rizzi, William Tomar and Saul Teitelman while the defendant’s counsel included Charles E. Gant, David E. Van Name and Henry D. Lodge.
Beside Hutcheson the jury comprised Peter Albano, Audubon; Alandria Kozak, Florence; R. Beverly Loring, Wilmington, Del.; Davis F. MacGhee, Moorestown; Gabriel Rudolph, Gloucester; Harold A. Uhl, Glassboro; Veronica Weidman, and Evelyn C. Berg, Martha Essig, Zaven A. Hovsepian and Marjorie S. Smith, all of Camden.
Discovered Dead Mouse
Miss Siegle went to the restaurant about 5:30 p.m. on March 6, last. She ordered prune juice, drank the beverage, and discovered the dead rodent at the bottom.
“I was taken deathly sick,” she testified, “and was compelled to return home in a taxicab where I was attended by my family physician. I have been intermittently ill ever since, having lost considerable weight.”
Thomas F. Connery followed her on the witness stand. He said he sat at the table directly across from Miss Seigle and saw the entire episode. Connery, on cross examination, said he had not seen the plaintiff drop anything into the glass. Melvin E. Karns, who said he attended Miss Seigle, described her illness and also the symptoms.
Karns said he discovered by chemical analysis arsenic in the mouth of the mouse and also in the prune juice. He described the amount as one part in 40,000, which he asserted would have been sufficient to cause Miss Seigle’s illness.
Knew His Arsenic
On cross examination Karns detected the presence of arsenic by chemical analysis, and also that he was qualified to describe arsenic poisoning because of the number of such cases he had known.
Testa described the cleanliness with which he said he safeguarded customers, and denied the restaurant was crowded at the time of Miss Seigle’s alleged sickness.
Samuel L. Shapiro, a law student, stated he was the sandwich at the restaurant and poured out all the fruit juices ordered. He recited and illustrated how he had poured Miss Seigle’s drink, denying anything was in the glass save prune juice.
Miss Myrtle A. Haffer, a waitress, disputed every statement made by the plaintiff’s witnesses. She described how she had fastened her eyes on Shapiro when he poured the juice. On cross-examination by Tomar, she denied “she was very friendly with the sandwich man.”
She also stated she took Miss Seigle to a room after her illness and the girl told her to “go away and leave me alone.”
“She wouldn’t take a dose of aromatics,” testified the waitress, “and she wouldn’t let me get her a glass of water. Why she wasn’t sick after she almost drank the mouse.”
William E. Peel and Dominic Gattuso, court officers, guarded the jury while they were deliberating and Charles M. Ackley, court clerk, was given the verdict of disagreement.
P. S. All this happened at the practice trial by members of the graduating class of the South Jersey Law School as part of the commencement program.
William Tomar, 86, lawyer who thrived in S. Jersey
Philadelphia Inquirer —
William Tomar, 86, a prominent trial lawyer from Cherry Hill who stayed close to his South Jersey roots, died Wednesday at an assisted-living facility in Potomac, Md.
Mr. Tomar had been senior partner of the former Tomar, O’Brien, Kaplan, Jacoby & Graziano, served on the boards of several institutions, including Cooper University Medical Center in Camden, the Haddonfield Symphony, and local chapters of the Boy Scouts of America, American Red Cross and Salvation Army.
He had lived in the same house in the Barclay Farm development in Cherry Hill from its construction in 1958 until 2003, when his wife, Bette, died and he moved to Summerville Senior Living at Potomac.
A 1939 graduate of what is now the Rutgers Camden School of Law in Camden, Mr. Tomar was admitted to the bar the next year.
“He was the last of the breed of lawyers who did everything,” said his son Richard Tomar, also a lawyer. “Now everybody specializes in something.”
After serving as a captain in Army intelligence during World War II, Mr. Tomar went into partnership with another lawyer, Albert Plone, in 1948.
His firm eventually grew to 60 lawyers, and he was honored by his law school as one of its notable graduates.
Michael Kulzer, a Haddonfield lawyer, called Mr. Tomar “a true well-organized professional” who always dressed well, was well-organized, had a good speaking voice, and was respected in the field.
“Like many old-time attorneys, he was always very courteous,” Kulzer recalled. “The face he was your adversary did not detract from that.”
Mr. Tomar was a state parliamentarian for the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and received numerous honors from the legal profession.
In 1987, his firm won a major case against Du Pont Company when a Superior Court jury in Camden found the chemical giant liable for creating asbestos-related illnesses of six of the company’s New Jersey workers.
In a 1975 federal case, Mr. Tomar represented then-State Sen. Alene Ammond, who had been barred from Democratic caucus meetings after she reported details of caucus deliberations to the media. A judge ruled in Ammond’s favor, and she was readmitted to the caucus. Ammond is now a Republican.
Mr. Tomar was born in Camden to immigrant parents from Lithuania and lived in the city until 1958.
“He was a real South Jersey boy,” Richard Tomar said, noting the family also kept a Shore house in Margate.
When first completing their Barclay Farm home in the 1970s, Mr. Tomar and his wife rebuilt it. “He was an incredible handyman,” Richard Tomar said. “He could build furniture and renovate houses.”
The son, who lives in Potomac, said his father had been an avid sportsman who enjoyed sailing and skiing and had even sky-dived.
In 1993, Mr. Tomar helped arrange and took part in an Operation Smile trip to Vietnam, where American doctors performed surgery on children to repair facial birth defects.
“He thought it was very spiritually inspiring,” his son said. “They operated in very tough conditions. It was a humanitarian mission.”
Mr. Tomar also is survived by another son, Jonathan; 11 grandchildren; and a sister.
A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday at Piatt Memorial Chapel, 2611 Park Rd., Cherry Hill. Interment will be in Crescent Memorial Park, Marlton.