Archive for the ‘Clippings’ Category

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Legal update.

Thursday, March 6th, 2014

I have written several times in the past about the case of Robert Middleton, who was set on fire by a neighbor boy when he was eight years old and died of cancer (possibly related to skin grafts) when he was 20.

Latest update: a judge has ruled that Donald Collins, who set Middleton on fire (and who was 13 at the time) can be tried as an adult for murdering Middleton.

Montgomery County Attorney J.D. Lambright called the ruling a “tremendous victory” for the Middleton family. He said the prosecution will now be turned over to the county District Attorney’s Office, which will try to indict Collins for murder. Lambright’s office is responsible for matters involving juveniles.

It is worth pointing out here that Collins has not actually been charged yet, as Lambright notes. The DA has some hurdles to overcome, since Middleton is dead, and there were no other witnesses to the attack. And if Collins is convicted, his attorney can appeal both the conviction and the ruling allowing Collins to be tried as an adult.

Posted in Clippings, Law | Comments Closed

Obit watch: March 5, 2014.

Wednesday, March 5th, 2014

Noted French film director Alain Resnais. LAT. NYT.

Dr. Sherwin B. Nuland, perhaps most famous for his book How We Die. I haven’t read that, but I did read (and was extremely impressed by) Doctors: The Biography of Medicine.

Posted in Books, Clippings, Movies, Obits | Comments Closed

The Island of Mayor Moreau.

Saturday, March 1st, 2014

That would be Charles D. Moreau, the former mayor of the bankrupt city of Central Falls, RI.

Former mayor Moreau is out of prison now after serving one year. (Previously.)

What’s interesting about this is how his release went down. Mayor Moreau originally pled guilty to a charge of taking “illegal gratuities” from a “friend and political supporter” who was given a contract to board up abandoned buildings.

However, a federal appeals court apparently ruled sometime last year that “accepting gratuities” was not a crime. No, really, I’m not making this up:

…in 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit found in an unrelated case that it is not a crime for a government official to accept gratuities. A gratuity is a reward for a future or past act, as opposed to a bribe, which is a quid pro quo meant to influence an official.

So Moreau’s people moved to have his conviction thrown out, the prosecution said “Let’s make a deal”…and Moreau got the “accepting gratuities” conviction thrown out, and then pled gulity to a bribery charge.

Yep. You read that right. Why would he do that? Because the sentence on the bribery charge was basically “time served” (see below) so he got to walk away a more-or-less free man, and the prosecution got to chalk up a felony win.

Other penalties from his previous conviction stand, as a result of Moreau agreeing to plead guilty to bribery. That includes the $25,000 fine, which has been paid, three years’ probation and 300 hours of community service that must “redress the harm caused by the defendant’s criminal conduct in Central Falls.”

I think the key takeaways here are: try the veal at Joe Marzilli’s Old Canteen, and remember to tip your government official.

Posted in Clippings, Law, Rhode Island | Comments Closed

You know what China needs?

Saturday, March 1st, 2014

Strict knife control.

A group of knife-wielding men attacked a train station in southwestern China on Saturday, leaving at least 27 people dead and another 109 injured, the official Xinhua News Agency said, making it one of the deadliest attacks in China in recent years.

Posted in Clippings, Guns | Comments Closed

Free Bubble-Up.

Friday, February 28th, 2014

Preservationists are raising money to buy, restore and move the boxcar to the Kern County Museum in nearby Bakersfield, which is just under a two-hour drive from Los Angeles.

You may be wondering why this boxcar is so important to preservationists. After all, aren’t there plenty of boxcars in the world?

Yes. But this isn’t just any boxcar: this is Merle Haggard’s childhood home.

Though the house was intended to be temporary, the remodeling was a family effort: James Haggard added a pop-out dining area, a wash house and a hand-poured concrete bathtub and front steps; his wife, Flossie, planted fruit trees, climbing roses and a backyard grape arbor, drying raisins for pies on the roof.

I wanted to drop some Haggard into this post, but I had a lot of trouble finding a performance of “Rainbow Stew” or “Fighting Side of Me” on YouTube that allowed embedding. So how about this: Merle Haggard in 1978 on “Austin City Limits”.

Posted in Clippings, Museums, Music | Comments Closed

Banana republicans watch: February 27, 2014.

Thursday, February 27th, 2014

Somebody has been looking very closely at California police departments.

Five San Francisco police officers and a former officer have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges including extortion, dealing drugs, stealing computers and other property from suspects and searching residential hotels without legal justification.

The criminal indictments appear to be a result of this series of events:

Officers Arshad Razzak, 41, Richard Yick, 36, and Raul Eric Elias, 44, all formerly assigned to the Southern police station at the city’s Hall of Justice, are accused of conspiring to threaten and intimidate residents of single-room occupancy hotel rooms by entering them without legal justification by using a master key.

Razzak and Yick are also accused of falsifying incident reports.

Sgt. Ian Furminger, 47, Officer Edmond Robles, 46, and former Officer Reynaldo Vargas, 45, of Palm Desert, engaged in “multiple criminal conspiracies,” including dealing marijuana, stealing money, a $500 Apple gift card, and other items from suspects, and stealing money, drugs and other valuable items that were seized on behalf of the city, the indictment said.

Other high points:

Posted in California Über Alles, Clippings, Cops, Law | Comments Closed

Leadership Secrets of Non-Fictional Characters (part 11 in a series)

Wednesday, February 26th, 2014

“He was always such an a—— to people working for him,” one insider says of the bombastic Brit. Morgan’s last show is likely to be this week, but no specific date has been set. We hear it was low ratings and a bad attitude that killed it, and the decision was made by network boss Jeff Zucker. “The makeup girls suffered the worst — he was rude and belligerent,” says our source. “The general feeling is Morgan didn’t show any respect to anyone working under him — the people who were trying to make him look good.”

Yes, this is a gossip column in a NYC paper. As much as I dislike Piers Morgan (and hope he spends time in prison for phone hacking), I would recommend taking the report itself with a grain of salt.

It does, however, give me an opportunity to make a point.

I don’t remember who originated this quote: I want to say it is a Dave Barry-ism, but I could very well be wrong.

Anyway: “If someone is nice to you, but rude to the waitress, they are not a nice person.”

Posted in Clippings, Leadership, Media | Comments Closed

You come at the King (City), you best not miss.

Wednesday, February 26th, 2014

The LAT has a second-day story on the King City PD arrests, noted in this space yesterday.

There are several interesting new aspects to the story:

Posted in California Über Alles, Clippings, Cops, Guns, Law, Media | Comments Closed

GMR 4×4 update.

Wednesday, February 26th, 2014

Linoge has posted a follow-up on his dealings with GMR 4×4. In brief, he filed a complaint with the Vermont Consumer Assistance Program, GMR was given the chance to respond…and pretty much lied through their teeth.

And apparently Linoge isn’t the only person they’ve burned. Once again, I encourage you to read the original post, and Linoge’s update, and then carefully consider whether GMR 4×4 is the kind of company you’d like to do business with.

Posted in Cars, Clippings, Consumer | 2 Comments »

Lord of the I Told You So Dance.

Wednesday, February 26th, 2014

The Saxet gun shows in the Austin area are on again.

Note my careful phrasing there. Saxet did not make a deal with the Travis County commissioners. Instead, the gun show is now in Hays County; specifically, in Dripping Springs.

Travis County has lost over 100 thousand dollars with the shift of Saxet’s contract.

The next show is March 29th and 30th; Saxet does not currently have any shows listed other than that one, so we’ll see how things play out.

(And Dripping Springs is a little less convenient for me than the Travis County Expo center. But I used to drive out to Dripping on a regular basis, so it isn’t a deal breaker.)

Posted in Clippings, Guns, Politics, Travis County | 2 Comments »

Banana republicans watch: February 25, 2014.

Tuesday, February 25th, 2014

A top Monterey County prosecutor confirmed Tuesday that a group of former and current King City police officials — including the longtime former chief and acting chief — have been arrested in connection with a district attorney’s investigation.

Former chief Chief Nick Baldiviez is being charged with embezzlement. Bruce Miller, who was serving as the acting chief, is charged with bribery. Bobby Carrillo, who was a sergeant with the King City PD, is charged with “conspiracy to commit a crime and bribery by a public officer”. Officer Mario Mottu Sr. is charged with “embezzlement by a public official”. Officer Jaime Andrade was also charged, but the charges against him are not stated, and it is unclear if he has been arrested. There are also claims that a sixth officer, who has not been named, is also charged. The King City PD, according to the LAT, has 17 officers.

I’m trying to find information from sources closer to King City, but neither of the San Francisco newspapers seem to have anything. (King City is a little south of Salinas, putting it closer to SF than LA.)

However, I did turn up this story that I’d previously missed: Stephen Tanabe is going to serve 15 months of federal time. Tanabe was a deputy with the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Department: he was convicted of “multiple felonies including conspiracy and extortion” in the “Dirty DUI” case, which I have written about previously.

Posted in California Über Alles, Clippings, Cops, Law | Comments Closed

Random notes: February 25, 2014.

Tuesday, February 25th, 2014

Harold Ramis obits: NYT. LAT. A/V Club.

Gary Melius, a well-known Long Island developer and prominent political patron, was shot in the head by a masked gunman on Monday in the parking lot of his opulent Gold Coast estate in Suffolk County, the police said.

So what? This is the “opulent Gold Cost estate”. You may recognize it:

He bought Oheka Castle in 1984. The house, completed in 1919, was built by the financier Otto Herman Kahn; its exteriors were featured prominently in the movie “Citizen Kane.”


More on Samuel Sheinbein.

Russell Erxleben is going to prison for 90 months. (Previously. The 90 months figure comes from the Statesman whose coverage is behind a paywall.) (Edited to add: story from KLBJ-AM.)

Posted in Clippings, Law, Obits | Comments Closed

Obit roundup: February 24, 2014.

Monday, February 24th, 2014

There will be more to say about this tomorrow, but Harold Ramis is dead. I liked this line from the Chicago Tribune:

Ramis also left behind a reputation as a mensch and all-around good guy.

I didn’t post this yesterday, because I couldn’t find any obits I wanted to link to. While this has been well covered, I wanted to mention the passing of Maria von Trapp, last of the singing von Trapps.

And I missed this earlier in the week, but Richard Cabela, founder of the eponymous chain, passed away.

Mr. Cabela was a vocal supporter of the National Rifle Association. In a video posted on the group’s website this week, Mr. Cabela was asked what he would say to someone who identifies as a hunter but who does not belong to the N.R.A.
“How are you going to hunt without a gun?” he responded. “These guys protect your right to own a gun. That’s what it’s all about.”

Posted in Clippings, Guns, Movies, Music, Obits | Comments Closed

And another bulletin from Bizarro world.

Sunday, February 23rd, 2014

Missed this until the NYT picked it up today: Steven Mandell was convicted on Friday of one set of charges relating to a kidnapping plot.

Specifically, Mandell was convicted of plotting to

…kidnap a Riverside, Ill., businessman, and then torture and extort money from him. He planned to kill and dismember him in an office that Mr. Mandell and an accomplice had equipped with saws and a sink in which to drain their victim’s blood, the authorities said.

Apparently, Mandell and his accomplice wanted the businessman to turn over ownership of 25 buildings to them.

What’s so odd about this? Well…

1. Mandell was actually acquitted on a second set of charges; the claim was that he intended to kill another businessman, along with that guy’s wife, so he could get control of their strip club. The strip club was reportedly “mob connected”.
2. Keeping with our theme for the day, Mandell’s supposed accomplice killed himself in jail before the trial.
3. Mandell was a former officer with the Chicago Police Department. No, really, I am not making this up. He served for 10 years and left the force in 1983.
4. So why am I not making “only ones” jokes or suggesting the CPD needs adult supervision? (It does, but not because of Mandell.) Because Mandell’s history since 1983 has been “colorful”.

Formerly known as Steven Manning, he was convicted in 1992 for his role in the 1984 kidnapping of two reputed Kansas City drug traffickers and was sentenced to two life terms plus 100 years. He was cleared of those charges on appeal, and in 2005, he was awarded more than $6.5 million in damages by a federal jury that determined that two F.B.I. agents had framed him. A federal judge threw out the award in 2006.

Framed by the F.B.I. But wait, the story gets even better!

In 1993, Mandell was convicted of murdering Jimmy Pellegrino in 1990. Pellegrino owned a trucking company, and was allegedly murdered by Mandell as part of a drug deal, according to an informant with Mafia ties.

Mandell spent eight years on death row. And I bet you know what happened next: that’s right, the conviction was overturned on appeal, and Mandell walked in that case as well. (That KansasCity.com link has some more background on why both of these convictions were thrown out. And Mandell’s supposed accomplice in the current case? The one who killed himself in jail? He was also convicted in the KC kidnapping, and also had his conviction overturned on appeal, based in large part on the evidence Mandell collected in his civil case.)

So I’m avoiding cop snark in general here, and CPD snark in particular, because I don’t know what to make of this. It seems like there’s two possibilities: Mandell is a really bad guy who got lucky twice in having his convictions thrown out. Or somebody in law enforcement has a real problem with Mandell, has gone after him three times, lost twice (“Jurors also found that the investigators encouraged perjury, fabricated evidence, and concealed those facts from Clay County prosecutors.“), and now they have at least a temporary victory. It’ll be interesting to see if this holds up.

(I suppose there is a third possibility: why not both? But if Mandell really is such a bad guy, why did law enforcement need to fabricate evidence against him?)

It will also be interesting to read the true-crime book that I’m sure someone is writing about this case.

Posted in Clippings, Cops, Law | Comments Closed

Here’s an ending for you.

Sunday, February 23rd, 2014

The case of Alfredo Enrique Tello is over. And the ending is almost as strange as the rest of the case.

Tello was murdered (according to Murderpedia, he was “beaten with the butt of a sawed-off shotgun”: there’s a “gun” death for you, Weer’d) and dismembered in 1997 by two scumbags, Samuel Sheinbein and Aaron Needle. Sheinbein was 17, and I believe (but can’t confirm) Needle was as well; Tello was 19.

Shienbein fled the US for Israel before he was arrested. As soon as he reached Israel, he claimed citizenship and argued that he couldn’t be extradited because he was an Israeli citizen.

This, of course, turned into an enormous “who struck John” that went on for a while. Ultimately the Israeli courts ruled that Sheinbein couldn’t be extradited because he was a citizen: but he could be tried for the murder in Israel and imprisoned there. He pled guilty in 1999. (Needle killed himself just before going on trial.)

Anyway, Shienbein was sentenced to 24 years in an Israeli prison, with the possibility of parole in 16 years. He was also eligible to get furloughs after four years.

So now we’re at 2014. He’s got a shot at parole in two more years. What happens next?

…Sheinbein made a bathroom stop while being transferred from one cell to another in the Rimonim prison in central Israel, a maximum security jail. He reportedly pulled out a handgun and shot three prison guards escorting him, seriously wounding one of them.

Yes. Somehow he obtained a gun in a maximum security jail in Israel. (Authorities are saying he didn’t grab it from one of the guards.) The Israelis called in a SWAT team and attempted to negotiate, he fired shots at the SWAT team, they shot back, and Sheinbein “was mortally wounded when they fired back and died despite medical attention.”

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes, as Jay G. likes to say.

Oh, those furloughs? According to the LAT Sheinbein was considered “so dangerous” they were denied to him until last year. And a few weeks ago, while he was on one of his furloughs from prison, he attempted to steal a handgun from somebody who had one for sale. That crime sounds about as inept as the shootout; Sheinbein jumped out of a moving car with the gun, the driver stopped, ran after him, grabbed him, and turned him over to the cops, who were quite surprised to find out they were dealing with a notorious murderer on furlough…

Posted in Clippings, Law | Comments Closed

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