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A father’s search for his missing son leads him to believe the local police department covered up his death.  Michael Rosenblum  Michael was never seen again CASE DETAILS On April 2, 1988, 30 volunteer firemen gathered on a steep bluff overlooking the Monongahela River just south of Pittsburgh in Baldwin Borough, Pennsylvania. At the suggestion of a psychic, they were there to search for the remains of Michael Rosenblum, a young Pittsburgh man who had been missing for more than eight years.  The car was towed and left for 3 months For Michael’s father, Maurice, the search was another desperate attempt to find out what happened to his son, who disappeared on Valentine’s Day 1980, from a road that runs along the foot of the cliff. According to Maurice:
During high school, Michael began experimenting with drugs and soon became a heavy user of prescription painkillers. His life spun wildly out of control, and his family struggled to help him get back on track. They insisted that he go to drug rehab. On the night of February 13, 1980, a month after Michael was released from drug rehab, he began behaving oddly. His mother, Barbara, found a bottle of painkillers in his bedroom, and she kicked him out. Michael left with his girlfriend, Lisa, in her car. According to Barbara Rosenblum:
 A bone fragment was discovered But the next day wasn’t different. After a night of partying, Michael became extremely agitated. He insisted on driving Lisa’s car. Then he left her stranded at a local gas station. Michael’s last words were, “Go to my parents’ house. I’ll see you there in two hours.” Michael’s father, Maurice, said he thought his son would return:
Michael’s mother said it was not characteristic of her son to disappear:
The following day, the Rosenblums filed a missing persons report with the Pittsburgh Police Department. Private Investigator Stephen Tercsak was a detective for the department at the time Michael vanished:
But after two weeks, they had found nothing. So Michael’s father began his own search. He offered a reward for information, posted flyers, and traveled as far as California to find friends Michael might have contacted. Maurice said that he hoped to find his son and “put him on the right track again.” Three months later, on May 21, 1980, police in a Pittsburgh suburb notified Lisa that her car had been found. Official records show that the car had been impounded on the very day that Michael vanished. Maurice said he was shocked:
According to police reports, just two hours after Michael left Lisa, a Baldwin Police unit found the car on River Road. Two of the tires were flat, the keys were gone, and the engine was cool. The car had been towed to the Baldwin Borough car impound, where it remained, resting on its bent tire rims, for the next three months. According to private investigator Tercsak:
When Maurice found out that the police had found the car, he said that he immediately thought his son was dead. He demanded an explanation. The Baldwin police claimed that they’d mailed Lisa a letter the day after the car was found, saying they had impounded it. Lisa says she never received it. They eventually produced a copy of the letter dated the day after Michael disappeared. But Lisa still insisted she never received a letter from the Baldwin police. Maurice Rosenblum suspected a police cover-up:
Around that same time, Maurice claims that he received two anonymous phone calls:
Maurice offered a reward for information about Michael. But after five months, the only concrete clues were the discovery of the car and the two anonymous phone calls. Then, on July 15, 1980, a shocking turn of events: the Baldwin Police issued a warrant for Michael’s arrest. They claimed he was wanted in connection with a robbery that had taken place two and a half months after he had vanished. According to private investigator Tercsak:
One week after it was issued, the warrant was suddenly dismissed. Something very strange was going on in the borough of Baldwin. Were the Baldwin police working to solve this missing person case, or were they trying to hide the truth? A full inquiry into the case cleared the department of any wrongdoing. But years later, new evidence emerged. Six-and-a-half years after his son disappeared, Maurice Rosenblum received an unsigned letter. It urged him to talk to a former Baldwin police dispatcher named Margaret Haslett. The tip ultimately led to accusations that the department, headed by Police Chief Aldo Gaburri, had mishandled Michael’s case. According to Margaret:
The chief’s former clerk, Fred Cappelli, confirmed Margaret’s disturbing story:
Fred claims that after he typed the letter, the Chief ordered him to sign the name of Chester Lombardi, the senior officer at the River Road scene that day. Lombardi is now deceased. According to Fred Cappelli:
Based on these new revelations, Maurice wrote an angry letter to the Baldwin Borough Council, demanding an investigation into what he thought was a cover-up. The Council held a hearing on the matter and dismissed Chief Gaburri for interfering with the investigation into Michael’s disappearance. But the Civil Service Commission voted to reinstate Gaburri as police chief, finding there was no misconduct. They have never published a transcript of their hearings, but clearly they didn’t believe Fred Cappelli. Fred thinks it’s because the chief had friends on the commission. At the time, the secretary of the Civil Service Commission was Robert C. McFall:
In April 1988, eight years after Michael disappeared, a bone fragment and some scraps of clothing were found near River Road. The bone couldn’t be identified, but the pieces of clothing matched those Michael had been wearing. Maurice Rosenblum:
The final proof was discovered four years later. A hiker in the River Road area found a piece of human skull and turned it in to authorities. Tests confirmed that it belonged to Michael Rosenblum. After 12 years of searching and wondering, Michael’s parents were finally able to bury their son. But for them, the agony isn’t over. They still want to know how and why Michael died. Watch this case now on Amazon Prime in season one with Robert Stack and season seven with Dennis Farina. Also available on YouTube with Dennis Farina. Various seasons available now on Hulu. SUBMIT A TIP |
Anonymous
This is just like the Bill Clinton cases. Just because something is covered up doesn’t make a person guilty of murder. Most cities have a rotation on what tow truck companies they call. This one probably had some secret friends helping each other. The chief later became their mayor. I will not call him a liar. But he has given opposite accounts on that issue. He told the Rosenblum family that they sent a letter notifying of an impound. But when asked about missing items. (Photographs etc.) he testified under oath that they had no knowledge of the vehicle being impounded much less visited it. But as shady as that may appear. That doesn’t necessarily make someone responsible for a disappearance. You need courts to decide all that. I could get in trouble just writing an accusation. But one could argue that their lack of protocol may have contributed to the search and rescue attempts. But you would have to know how he died first. If from the cold or not eating. That could qualify for a civil complaint in court.
Anonymous
I found this article after my grandfather drunkenly bragged to me about this man. He’s mentioned as Skippy in the wiki article. He… had way more details than any article. Way more gruesome listening to this story from a first hand witness
X
Not the first time Baldwin Police involved with a suspicious murder. Johnny Gammage ring a few bells
Joe Shlabodnik
This was way before Johnny Gammage
Desi Chapple
Like he said it’s not the first time.. doesn’t matter who they killed first..
Kt
If people know who did it or was in the area the time of the crime why don’t they come forward ? I think u can be anonymous.
Cici
The cops did it.
DEEPTOOT
If Frances Ann up there don’t just say who did it
thinkingoutloud
if the police had lied about the car being impounded and covered up, they clearly were in involved in Michael’s death. they killed him that same night he went out and impounded his car so they could get away with it.
they deliberately did not mention about the impounded car cause im sure it contained evidence of his murder.
Anonymous
I know someone that was in the Baldwin woods the night the cops killed him..
Anonymous
Have you gone to anyone with that information? Even though I’m sure whoever is responsible for Michael’s death is probably deceased now too. I would imagine his parents are probably deceased now as well, but he does still have a sister. My brother and I knew Michael and his family when they lived in WV. My brother and him were very good friends.
Cobra Alessi Lassitter
There is no question that someone got taken from and (felt/was) unhappy in regards to what happened. His car was taken assunder and then came the disappearance. My heart goes out to the family! I wish them the very best as there was just a very smigeon of silverlining in regards to the matter at the end of this!
Sid
Two tires of the car in question were flat. They should have been checked for bullets holes. It appears that he was stopped by police for routine check but due to having drugs in his possession he tried to run away.
Former Resident
Considering how many small towns in this area have figureheads connected to the mafia, wouldn’t be surprised th cops were crooked. Poor man and his family. Rest In Peace.
Anonymous
In my opinion, based on the evidence, the Cops did it. Michael probably tried out run the cops and then when caught resisted arrest and was killed as a result then the police covered it up and got away with murder as usual. Case closed.
M.C
I think that he crossed the person(s) who deal to him and maybe they killed him as a result.
Anonymous
I live in Monongahela, PA which is near Baldwin. Based on my experience with local police departments in the area, I find it very easy to believe that this was probably a traffic stop that went sour and subsequently was covered up to prevent Baldwin police from looking bad. The Baldwin police department has among the worst reputations in the local area for how they handle crime even to this day.
M.C
I am so terribly sorry for what has happened i hope someday soon the person who committed this crime, did this terrible deed that justice will be served and they will never see daylight again. I hope everything will get better for the family.
M.C
Anonymous
If I had to take a guess, I would say this young man was killed by the Chief or someone he knew, whether as a case of mistaken identity, accidental, or otherwise (maybe saw something he shouldn’t have) and the cover-up began 3 months later when the Chief discovered someone was looking for the car (and the boy). I’m curious to know how police officer Chester Lombardi died. Was it another part of this cover-up? Had Chester found out his name had been forged and was going to speak out? It’s obvious that Officer Lombardi was not involved in this death or the subsequent cover-up, otherwise he would have signed the back-dated letter. It’s also obvious the Chief of Police was responsible for the cover-up, thus somehow involved in the boy’s death.
Anonymous
well i feel for the family, a cover up definitely seems to have happened the question is why? why would the police not notify them about the car that was found for 3 months & make up a fake letter? something is not right about this case at all!
Vincmes
Hello. And Bye.
K Jucha
In 1974 my sister was murdered in Baldwin Borough. Her head was blown off with a 357 magnum rifle, in her home where she was living with her boyfriend, who owned a chop shop, used by the Baldwin police. At the police station, my father and brother in law were given completely different stories. My dad saw the rifle used on a shelf along with her purse at the morgue when he went to identify the body. There never was any investigation. The case file was sealed. It was all extremely horrific and devasted my family. I have always wished cold case files would reopen this case. We always believed the Baldwin police had something to do with my sisters murder. K Jucha
M.C
OMG I am so sorry I know if anything like that ever happened to on of my siblings I don’t know how I would live. Stay strong and be hopeful and maybe the case will get reopened.
Curious
I know this may be a stretch but perhaps he gave the police information of another drug addict or criminal he knew of and was put into Witness Protection? That could be why the police were so …. messy with the investigation. Just something I thought of while watching the episode.
RISSSS
Yeah and then he just happened to die mysteriously on the road where the car was found. Or maybe he’s running around without a head somewhere….
M.C
Show some sympathy
M.C
Show some respect rissss
Torya
This was a very beautiful man the murder had to be horrific, for the cops to come to the conclusion of covering it up , I don’t believe his entire body was ever found just a bone and skull fragment , I feel if his body had been left in tact after death he would have easily been found right away by someone, I believe he was dismembered after death making it almost impossible to retrieve his entire body clothing fragments proved it was him also and they probably were aged from time. So sad he was beautiful and I’ll always remember this case.
Canopy
My guess is that Michael died in custody. It would hardly be the first time a police department covered up a death of a suspect, though this one certainly went to a sizable extreme. I am also interested in the fact of the faked eyewitness sketch, something that also popped up in the original false arrest of Steve Avery.
socialfilter
Ive read alot about this case after originally seeing it on Unsolved Mysteries or a similar program. It’s obvious to me that this is just another case of small town cops covering thier own ass. Ill stop short of accusing them of murder but that wouldn’t surprise me either.
My brother was a cop for 12 years in 4 different departments. He kept trying out new precincts hoping to find one that wasn’t full of racism, cops planting drugs & other “evidence”, and just a general attitude of being above the law. His final job as a cop he testified against 2 cops who beat a guy while hancuffed ( blinded him in 1 eye & has permanent brain damage). Anyway the grand jury refused to indict them ( surprise surprise) and my brother was so disillusioned he quit and has never worked in law enforcement again.
Corruption is rampant in police departments large and small, country wide. In most cases they police themselves so why be surprised?
M.C
I agree
Anonymous
I know who killed michael
unsolved
Please email us at unsolved@unsolved.com with more information!
CuriousOne
Did this case ever get resolved?
Unsolved Mysteries Post author
Unfortunately Michael’s death is still unsolved.
M.C
what if you tried to figure out who sold him drugs and maybe the cops do drugs there to and were sent to kill him by the sellers.
M.C
Who?
Anonymous
If you know then go to authorities.
Anonymous
Do you?
Kristie
Wow! Just watched this episode and can’t let it go. What a horrible way for his parents to find out.. And especially to be left with no answers, no nothing, just a dead end. I hope whoever is responsible for this will still be brought to justice.. My deepest sympathies.. From, kristie W. In Gonzales, Louisiana
France's Ann Nagel
I’ve worked on this case for years , still do… We know exactly what happened and who is responsible… Law Enforcement Refused to bring those responsible to Justice.. Only Two left do the math…
alistaircrane
So what happened and who is responsible?
Joe
Why was the FBI not brought into this case?
M.C
Who was responsible?
phil r
Dirty cops? the flat tires and bent rims on one side , I think he was driving erratically,and was pulled over. HIgh on drugs , he resisted and was badly injured or shot. A cover up ensues…..or he was the man who knew too much…just saying……still, my sympathies to the family …RIP
Flabbergasted
Why would you say that?
Based on the cover up, it makes more sense that he was chased by the police officers, and that is why he was needing to drive erratically.