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Injured Flier's Tale Questioned

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 23, 2007

LARGO - Pinellas County sheriff's investigators on Monday continued trying to confirm claims by a Clearwater man that he boarded an airplane with three bullet wounds. They also were trying to confirm whether he was even shot.

'Our investigators are not able to confirm most of this guy's story,' Pinellas sheriff's Sgt. Jim Bordner said.

William Notaro, 37, told authorities he was shot hours before he boarded a US Airways flight at Tampa International Airport at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Among Notaro's inconsistencies was his address. Sheriff's reports have him living at 115 Belleair Place in Clearwater, an apartment complex, but the leasing office said he hasn't lived there for months.

While on the flight, Notaro asked a flight attendant if he could have a bandage for a gunshot wound, but the bleeding became obvious when Notaro changed planes in Charlotte, N.C., authorities have said.

He was treated at Carolina Medical Center before resuming his flight to Albany, N.Y. A woman who answered a phone for a number listed under the name William Notaro Sr. declined to comment.

Notaro said he was injured by a woman at a card game at Windemere Apartments, 1763 Main St., Dunedin. Officials at Windemere declined to comment.

Mike Miranda, who lives in the complex, said he didn't hear anything at the time Notaro said he was shot.

'Me and my friends were hanging out here on my porch and that's why it's really surprising to me that anything like that would happen in here,' he said. 'A gunshot's a distinctive sound.'

Deputies also are puzzled.

'Whatever happened is different from what he told us happened,' Bordner said.

'At this point, investigators are focusing on his injuries, what his injuries are, how he was injured and whether or not a crime occurred.'

In general, shooting victims are not required to cooperate with authorities, nor are they typically charged if they choose not to identify their shooter.

In Pinellas sheriff's records, Notaro's name comes up in a domestic dispute in September involving a woman at a different apartment in Dunedin, but no one was injured or harmed, and no one was arrested, sheriff's spokeswoman Marianne Pasha said.

Last year, Notaro's wife, Jodie, filed for divorce and sought full custody of their three children, Pinellas court records show. Court records show he was in arrears in child support by more than $2,000 as of May.

Court records filed this month also suggest he was fired from his most recent job. The divorce action says he was working for Bright House Networks.

News Channel 8 reporter Yolanda Fernandez contributed to this report. Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at spthompson@tampatrib.com or (727) 823-3303.

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