I don't know if you have already tried to contact the Daily News, Post or Times but they should have the info you are looking for. If it's not yet been converted to digital they might still have it on microfilm. When I worked for Village Voice Media we had to go back and research things once in while - it took time but we found it (most of the time anyway). They might charge you a few bucks but it sounds like an interesting story and if I know anything about librarians they welcome a distraction from the same ol' day to day routine. I know the SF Chronicle will do this for free including searching their photo archives.
Thanks for the story, best of luck!