The police expert offered the same opinion during the trial. But when the jury was given an opportunity to handle the weapon, the gun seemed to work freely, even without cocking it first. The revelation threw the case into jeopardy and Abraham into a rage.

Without consulting with her boss at the time, future U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, Abraham barged into Rizzo's office.

"I demanded to speak to the police commissioner right away," she said. "I stormed in and said, 'This is no way to run a police department. I pitched a fit.'"

Years later, Rizzo, then the mayor, called upon Abraham to leave the district attorney's office and become executive director of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority. She accepted.

At the ensuing news conference, Rizzo introduced Abraham as "One Tough Cookie."

"It all came from a murder case gone wrong. I haven't been able to shake it since," she said. "Rather than reject it, I've embraced it."

She's tried to live up to it, too, whether her toughness manifests itself in the more than 70,000 cases that her office prosecutes annually or in her refusal to fix parking tickets for her late husband.

"He'd say, 'Can you take care of this for me? You're the district attorney,'" Abraham recalled. "I'd say, 'Yes I can.' Then I'd go downstairs and write a check. ... I paid them."

The Somerton Civic Association executive board brought the actual cookies to last week's meeting. They were a going-away gift, along with a cake, for the DA.

Meanwhile, Abraham brought a case of gun locks to distribute to area residents for free. With handguns increasingly prevalent in the community and in people's homes, the locks can save lives.

The locks feature a sturdy metal loop that can be fed through the barrel, chamber or ammo clip holder of most modern handguns.

"In Philadelphia, we are awash in guns, some legal and some not," Abraham said. "And this country has been on a gun-buying binge."

Analysts believe that gun proponents fearing stricter gun restrictions under President Barack Obama are responsible for a recent spike in gun sales.

Those who keep guns in their homes must remain ever mindful of the curiosity and resourcefulness of their children, according to the district attorney.

"The important thing is you do not keep the gun that is locked and the keys (for the lock) in the same place," Abraham said. "It might save somebody in your house's life."

The Somerton Civic Association also addressed local zoning issues during the monthly meeting. Residents voted unanimously not to oppose the proposed sign configuration for a new Big Lots store just north of Bustleton and Philmont avenues, in a former Super Fresh building.

SCA board members reported that the civic group had failed in its attempt to totally block beer sales from a proposed chicken wing restaurant at Roosevelt Boulevard and Red Lion Road.

Neighbors don't want to see a liquor license at the business because of its close proximity to homes. Also, a public high school, Swenson Arts and Technology, is within a couple of blocks of the restaurant.

SCA board members met with the business owners and agreed to conditions for the beer sales. On weekdays there will be no beer sold before 4 p.m.

The next Somerton Civic meeting will be on Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 7:30 p.m., at Walker Lodge 306, 1290 Southampton Road.