NEW KENSINGTON -- Philip Riedel and Jennifer Polito were relaxing in Alan "Goat" Wilson's basement bar after Riedel finished repairing the outside door to the bar.
It was about 9:30 p.m. Feb. 16. Within seconds, the door would be kicked in and two armed men would shoot and wound Riedel, Polito, Wilson and another man inside what police said was a speakeasy, or illegal bar.
Riedel, 39, of Upper Drennen Road, Upper Burrell said the intruders wore masks and black or dark blue clothing. Each man held a loaded semi-automatic pistol.
"They said something unintelligible, then each took turns pointing their pistols at each of us and firing. One man and then the other fired their guns. This was no robbery," Riedel said.
Police are trying to determine whether the shooting is related to a fight Wilson allegedly was involved in at the Normandy Bar in the Parnassus section of the city or whether the shooting is connected to other violence in the region, Detective Sgt. Dennis Marsili said.
Regardless of motive, Wilson, 28, of 1253 Kenneth Ave, the house where the bar was located, might have been shot first and might have been the target, police said. One theory is that the others were shot by accident incidental to the shooting or intentionally in an effort to get rid of witnesses. Police said one victim told them the shooters warned them to get down.
If there was a warning, Riedel said he didn't hear it.
All he knew was that he had been shot in the shoulder, arm and thigh, and Polito, Wilson and Sydney Banks, 30, of Fourth Avenue, Arnold, were bleeding from bullet wounds.
Now, a little more than two weeks after the shooting, all but Polito have been released from the hospital.
Polito, 43, remains in Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh with three serious bullet wounds to her abdomen, Riedel said Monday.
Riedel, who said he has lived with Polito about eight-and-a-half years, said she likely will remain in a hospital for an extended time.
He said surgeons removed Polito's spleen and repaired damage to her stomach. They also are guarding her against pneumonia, he said.
"She's somewhat better," but still in the hospital's intensive care unit, Riedel said.
It may take months for Polito to heal, but Riedel is confident she will improve.
"She's a fighter," he said.
Riedel said the day of the shooting was a usual day for him and Polito. He went to work as a contractor. He drove home and had a couple of glasses of wine while talking with Polito about their joint business of buying houses, fixing and selling them for profit.
Then, Wilson called about 8 p.m., Riedel said.
He said Wilson asked to borrow some tools to fix the metal "motel type" outside basement door.
Riedel said he asked Wilson to delay the project until the next day, but Wilson was insistent that the door be fixed that night.
So Riedel agreed to do the work.
He said Polito drove him to Wilson's house that night because he had been drinking wine and didn't want to drive.
"I regret that," he said.
It was peaceful until the door opened about 9:30 p.m.
"When the shooting started, I tried to cover her up," Riedel said about Polito.
"All I had were superficial wounds. Then one of them walked over and aimed right at her and shot. He was trying to finish her off and that was the shot that really hurt her," Riedel said. The shorter of the two men fired the shot, he said.
Mercifully, the shooting stopped as quickly as it started.
"I held her and her eyes just rolled back in her head," Riedel said.
Police would later say they found more than a dozen empty shell casings -- from two different pistols -- in the confines of the small basement.
When the shooters left, Wilson, who police said was shot four to five times in his abdomen and legs, went to a neighbor's house three doors away. Riedel put Polito down and tried to get help.
Except for one thing -- the wounded Riedel couldn't remember the address.
"I had to go upstairs and look out on the mailbox to see the house number so that I could call for help," he said.
A trail of blood drops was found leading up the stairs and then back down, police later said.
After police and ambulance crews arrived, Polito, Wilson and Riedel were flown to Allegheny General Hospital.
Banks was first taken by ambulance to Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison, then transferred to Allegheny General, police said.
Riedel said he was surprised to hear police call Wilson's basement a speakeasy.
"We watched at least one football game on the large screen TV and there was a bar. If it was a speakeasy, we didn't know about it," he said. "We haven't even been in an after-hours club."
But Riedel knew that Wilson had been wounded at least once before.
In 2001, Wilson and others were wounded by a man who fatally shot another man in a private club.
"We didn't know that side of him," Riedel said about Wilson.
Riedel said Wilson called him from home Feb. 22, but was taken back to the hospital after a lung collapsed. Wilson later left the hospital.
Riedel said he last saw Wilson on Feb. 25 when Riedel gathered his tools from the basement bar.
"He said he was going on a vacation," Riedel said.
Police said Wilson is wanted on a simple assault charge related to a fight at the Normandy Bar.
Wilson and Banks did not respond to requests for interviews. Additional Information:
Still looking
Police are looking for two men in connection with the Feb. 16 shooting of four people inside a New Kensington speakeasy.One man is thin, about 5-foot 7 to 5-foot 9 tall and with a light complexion. One man used a .45-caliber pistol. The other used a .380-caliber or similar caliber pistol, police said. No other description was available Thursday, Police Chief Chuck Korman said.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 724-339-7533 or call 911.
