JuristMail - Legal News

Task Force to Probe Mass. Fires

John Fiore — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:05:59 +0000

A task force of state, regional and federal officials is investigating a string of suspicious weekend fires in Massachusetts, including one in which two people died. At least nine fires were reported early Sunday in houses and cars within a half-mile radius in the college town of Northampton, Mass. Authorities say they suspect arson.

Officials are returning to the sites Monday, including the home in which two men died. Their identities were not immediately released. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has announced a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. State and local officials are working with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in the investigation.

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Lawyer Charged in Fraud Gave $6M to Non-Profits

John Fiore — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:05:42 +0000

A defunct South Florida law firm run by an attorney now charged with operating a huge Ponzi scheme gave more than $6 million in the past year to charities and nonprofit groups. A federal bankruptcy court filing details contributions by the firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler to more than 100 organizations. Former firm CEO Scott Rothstein has pleaded not guilty to racketeering and other charges stemming from what prosecutors say was a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme involving legal settlement investments.

The biggest amount was more than $2.5 million to Rothstein’s own Rothstein Family Foundation. Big donations also went to Boys and Girls Clubs, arts groups, Jewish organizations and several groups affiliated with professional athletes.

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Sex Offender Charged in Girl’s Disappearance

John Fiore — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:05:27 +0000

Maryland authorities are searching Christmas Eve for an 11-year-old girl last seen wearing red fuzzy Christmas pajamas, and they say a registered child sex offender has been charged in her disappearance. Sarah Haley Foxwell went missing from her home on Maryland’s Eastern Shore late Tuesday or early Wednesday. Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis said family acquaintance Thomas James Leggs, a registered child sex offender from Salisbury, has been charged with kidnapping and burglary.

Dive teams searched a local pond Wednesday night. Officials from across the region are continuing the search on Christmas Eve. When Sarah disappeared, she was wearing red fuzzy pajama bottoms with Christmas trees on them and a pink John Deere T-shirt.

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Madoff had Dizziness, High Blood Pressure

John Fiore — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:05:13 +0000

A lawyer for the hospitalized Bernard Madoff says his client has experienced dizziness and high blood pressure. The Bureau of Prisons said Thursday that the 71-year-old disgraced financier remains under medical care for a seventh day. Prison officials have declined to reveal why he was transferred from a North Carolina federal prison to a hospital. But bureau spokeswoman Traci Billingsley did say there have been no assaults at the prison in the past week.

Lawyer Ira Sorkin tells The Associated Press that Madoff has “had some dizzy spells and some high blood pressure.” Duke University Medical Center says Madoff was released Monday. Billingsley says he is now in a prison medical facility. Madoff has been imprisoned since March after pleading guilty to fraud and admitting cheating thousands of investors out of billions of dollars.

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Standoff Suspect Charged with Kidnapping

John Fiore — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:04:54 +0000

A Tennessee man accused of taking three people hostage at a small-town post office in Virginia has been charged with kidnapping. Warren A. “Gator” Taylor of Sullivan County, Tenn., was arraigned Thursday morning in U.S. District Court in Roanoke. U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Urbanski ordered the 53-year-old Taylor to be evaluated at a federal prison faciliity to determine if he is competent to face the charges, which also include possession of a firearm during a crime and possession of a firearm in a federal facilty.

Taylor is accused of holding three people inside the post office in Wytheville for more than eight hours Wednesday. He surrendered late Wednesday night after freeing the hostages. FBI officials had no comment regarding the motive.

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Woman Gives Three-Year-Old Granson Pot Cookie

John Fiore — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:04:11 +0000

A Denver grandmother who recently took her own lifecriminal law was under investigation for giving her 3-year-old grandson a marijuana cookie. Family members say 44-year-old Erin Marcove gave the toddler at least one peanut butter cookie made with cannabis butter on Dec. 4. The next day, she had trouble rousing the boy and called an ambulance.

A week later, relatives told press the grandmother took her own life. Marcove was an advocate for medical marijuana and had used the drug for chronic back pain most of her life. Police seized a jar of cannabis butter at her home, and a police report showed the little boy had the drug in his system when he was taken to the hospital. The toddler has fully recovered.

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Two Mi. Brothers Sentenced for Investment Scam

John Fiore — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:03:57 +0000

Two Lansing, Mich.-area brothers have been sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $21.6 million in restitution as part of what authorities described as an oil and gas investment scheme. Fifty-five-year-old Eric Riley Merkle and 53-year-old Jay Vernon Merkle were sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids. The Williamston men earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy, securities fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud.

Authorities say the brothers created a company known as Platinum Business Industries, which operated as a Ponzi scheme. They solicited investors by telling them PBI would use their money to fund oil and gas exploration. A third man earlier was sentenced to 30 months in prison for helping operate the scheme.

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Teen Set on Fire Suffers from Nightmares

John Fiore — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:03:27 +0000

The mother of a South Florida teen doused with rubbing alcohol and set on fire says her son suffers from nightmares and won’t be returning to the family’s old neighborhood. Valerie Brewer, whose son Michael was discharged from the hospital Tuesday, praised her son’s determination at a news conference in Miami on Wednesday. On his first night home, the 15-year-old watched television with his family and spent time outdoors.

Three teens have been charged as adults with second-degree attempted murder in the Oct. 12 attack, in which Michael was left with burns over 65 percent of his body. Michael must return to the hospital five times a week for physical therapy. His doctor says a long-term prognosis likely won’t be known for at least another year.

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Fund Manager Settles Four of Eighteen Underage Sex Suits

John Fiore — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:03:15 +0000

A New York billionaire jailed for soliciting underage prostitutes in Florida has settled four out of 18 abuse lawsuits by young women. Jeffrey Epstein’s most recent settlement was approved Sunday by a U.S. District Court judge. It involved a woman who said she was 14 when Epstein paid her for sexual favors. The 55-year-old money manager pleaded guilty in June to soliciting prostitution from underage girls. He was sentenced to 18 months in jail, followed by a year of house arrest.

The terms of the lawsuit settlements are confidential and most of the young women used pseudonyms in court filings. Epstein’s attorney Robert Critton did not immediately respond to an e-mail from The Associated Press seeking comment. His office was closed for the holidays.

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Woman Asks Thief to Return $1K Wheelchair

John Fiore — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 18:03:02 +0000

A 72-year-old Vermont woman whose wheelchair was stolen out of her daughter’s car is pleading for the thief to return her lifeline. Lucille Riccio of Wilmington tells The Republican of Springfield, Mass., that the $1,000 chair is the only way she can leave her home. She says she bought it in April and hasn’t finished paying for it. The wheelchair was stolen from the back of her daughter’s car while she was shopping Dec. 16 at the Holyoke Mall in Massachusetts.

She’s hoping that whoever took the chair has a change of heart and returns it. She says she can’t afford a replacement, and her daughter’s car insurance won’t cover it. Holyoke Police Capt. Arthur Monfette says there are no suspects.

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