Austin, TX – According to the Associated Press, a volunteer DJ set fire to community radio station 91.7 FM KOOP over a playlist dispute. Volunteer Paul Webster Feinstein was upset that the station altered his playlist selections for an overnight Internet broadcast. Feinstein was a known jazz fan and had been arguing with another volunteer about what music should be included in the station’s digital library for Internet programs. He quit a week before the fire, telling station personnel that he was moving on to do other things.
Austin Fire Department Battalion Chief Greg Nye commented that Feinstein was very unhappy about the changes. According to Nye, the man admitted making a copy of the station key and waited for station personnel to leave before committing the crime. Nye explained that Feinstein poured gasoline on control panels in two studios to start the fire. Investigators knew it was an act of arson when the fire department’s dog detected the scent of gasoline on the scene of the crime.
Feinstein faces charges of second-degree felony arson charges, with a possible penalty of two to 20 years in jail and a $10,000 fine. The radio station suffered $300,000 in damages and was off the air for 19 days. more
Sydney, Australia – MSNBC.com explained that retiree Werner Reinhold won the lottery, lost the prize, and then reclaimed it in the courts. Reinhold purchased his lottery ticket from a Sydney newsstand in 1995. Since the original ticket did not print properly, Reinhold asked for a replacement to be printed. The reprint turned out to be the winning ticket for a sum of $1.8 million.
When the man tried to claim his winnings, he found that the replacement ticket was canceled rather than the original ticket. As a result, Reinhold could not claim the prize money.
Reinhold sued NSW Lotteries, the entity responsible for both the lottery management and the operations of the newsstand. Supreme Court Judge Reginald Barrett found in favor of Reinhold, stating that NSW and the newsstand were both negligent and in breach of contract. Reinhold was awarded the full sum of $1.8 million in return. more
Alice, TX – Grace Saenz-Lopez, mayor of the small town of Alice, Texas, apologized to residents on Friday for her theft of a neighbor’s dog. Several months before, neighbors asked Saenz-Lopez to care for their dog Puddles while they were away on vacation. One day after they departed for their vacation, Saenz-Lopez contacted the neighbors and claimed that the dog had died.
Three months later, a relative of the owners saw Puddles at a pet groomer. When the neighbors requested that Saenz-Lopez return the dog to them, the mayor refused. According to the woman’s attorney, Saenz-Lopez believed that the dog would die if returned to its owners. Shortly afterward, Saenz-Lopez then filed a police report that Puddles was missing. The dog was later seen at the home of the mayor’s twin sister, approximately 10 miles away from the town of Alice.
Saenz-Lopez was indicted for two felony counts of tampering with evidence and concealing evidence as a result of her actions. City commissioners unanimously decided to ask for Saenz-Lopez’s resignation as mayor. The dog’s former owners have filed a criminal complaint and civil lawsuit against Saenz-Lopez, and will be engaged in a later custody hearing to determine if Puddles will be returned to them. more
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Melbourne, Australia Two Australian robbers were sentenced Tuesday for a crime so severely botched one would think it was a practical joke. According to The Associated Press, Australians Benjamin Jorgensen and Donna Hayes robbed the Cuckoo restaurant in Melbourne on April Fools Day of last year. The armed accomplices believed they were making off with a sack of cash when in fact the bag contained bread rolls. The robbers believed the bag contained the restaurants daily cash intake, approximately $27,000. To make matters worse, Jorgensen accidentally shot Hayes in the buttocks during the robbery.
Judge Roland Williams of the Victorian County Court proclaimed the defendants a pair of fools. He sentenced Jorgensen to a seven year term and Hayes to an eight year term in prison. According to Jorgensens defense lawyer, Jorgensen had been under the influence of drugs when committing the crime…more
Moscow, Russia A Russian military official explained to Reuters that two small rockets dispatched in a military exercise strayed off course last Wednesday. One of the rockets hit an unoccupied house in the Moscow area, causing 60,000 rubles ($2,466) in damage. Fortunately for the owner of the home and nearby residences, the rocket had already disconnected from its normal load of explosives. Which are normally used to clear minefields. No one was injured from the rockets impact.
Yevgeny Konashenkov, spokesman for Russian land troops, commented that the home owner would be compensated in two days for the damages. He commented, The owner of the house treats the incident with understanding. He has no legal claims.” more
China According to Reuters, more than 100 police couples married in China in a recent mass wedding. Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu shared his well wishes for the participants in the ceremony, a group comprised of police couples who met in the line of duty. China’s state news agency publicized the event, noting that the event was held to boost morale in the year of the Beijing Olympics.
Mr. Meng commented on the difficult responsibilities of Chinas police force. “In order to guarantee the peace and stability of our nation, we have to often work overtime, suffer injuries and even sacrifice our lives,” he stated.
More than 2,700 police were killed in the line of duty and approximately 29,000 suffered injuries in the past six years. China hopes the ceremony will create a positive message for its police force.more
Portage, WI The Associate Press noted that Mathew Kowald of Pardeeville, WI was cited for disorderly conduct for forcing his son to wear a Green Bay Packers jersey. When the seven-year-old boy refused to wear the jersey during the playoff game between the Green Bay Packer and the Seattle Seahawks, the father restrained the boy with tape and proceeded to tape the jersey onto the child. The father restrained the boy in this fashion for an hour.
Lt. Wayne Smith of the Columbia County Sheriff’s Department said the incident sounded strange when the boys mother called authorities to report her husbands actions. However, the mother showed authorities cell phone pictures of the boy restrained by tape with the jersey taped to him. Police arrested the man and he was later released after paying a fine of $186.
Mathew Kowald told a local paper that the incident was a joke that got out of control. The father and son joked when the boy said he wouldnt root for the Packers, at which point Kowald tied up the boy. The father claims that his son was laughing as his wife took pictures of their antics.
The father commented, “Then he couldn’t get out and he got upset and that’s it. It lasted a minute. I didn’t mean no harm, and he knows that, but I haven’t been able to tell him that.”
Since the incident, the wife filed a restraining order to keep Mathew Kowald from any contact with his family. According to Lt. Smith, the family has experienced other domestic issues.more
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Oslo, Norway – According to Associated Press Writer Doug Mellgren, 33-year-old Barbora Skrlova succeeded in posing as a 13-year-old boy for several months in Norway. A woman enrolled Skrlova as “Adam” at the Marienlyst School, where Skrlova attended in disguise by binding her breasts and shaving her head to look like an adolescent male. The 5’2” woman was convincing enough that she deceived teachers and childcare workers and qualified to receive food and shelter in an Oslo children’s home.This was not Skrlova’s first time posing as a youth, according to Czech police. Skrlova previously disguised herself as a 13-year-old girl and was adopted by a Czech woman in Brono. When the adopting woman was under investigation in a high profile child abuse case, Skrlova was identified as a key witness. She fled to Norway when faced with investigation.
In December, “Adam” disappeared from the Oslo children’s home. Police launched a nationwide search for the missing “child” and discovered Skrlova’s location and identity. She was deported back to the Czech Republic where she is undergoing psychiatric evaluation. Czech police are deciding whether or not to charge the woman with identity theft and misleading authorities…more
Grand Rapids, MI – According to The Associated Press, a Michigan man foiled his own theft attempt when he stabbed himself while fleeing a Meijer Inc. superstore. According to police, the culprit tucked about $300 worth of hunting knives into the waistband of his pants and attempted to leave the store but was confronted by store employees. A scuffle ensued and the man fell, stabbing himself with the knives hidden in his clothing. The Grand Rapids Press commented that the wounds did not appear life threatening.
The man was hospitalized and is expected to face a misdemeanor shoplifting charge…more
ABC News noted that Serbian director Emir Kusturica symbolically buried a Bruce Willis film at the opening of the Kustendorf Film Festival on Monday. Kusturica, winner of two Golden Palm awards at the Cannes Film Festival, buried Live Free or Die Hard in a “Graveyard of Bad Films.” The acclaimed director sought to counter Hollywood’s influence on film students through the “burial ceremony.” Footage of Kusturica’s symbolic action was shown on RTS television.
The Kustendorf Film Festival was organized by Kusturica and is partially funded by the Serbian government. During the festival, film students from 12 countries will be competing with short films for acclaim. Kusturica also stated that no commercials would be shown during the festival so that “the auteur will be the one under the spotlights.”…more
According to Reuters, a FBI international wiretap was cut off after the agency failed to resolve a delinquent bill owed to the telephone company. The Justice Department’s inspector general blamed poor financial management of undercover investigative funding for the FBI issues of theft and mishandled invoices in a recent audit. The failure to manage monies effectively resulted in disruption of intelligence casework.
An audit demonstrated that, “Late payments have resulted in telecommunications carriers actually disconnecting phone lines established to deliver surveillance results to the FBI, resulting in lost evidence, including an instance where delivery of intercept information required by a … FISA order was halted due to untimely payment.”
Inspector general spokeswoman Cynthia Schnedar declined to comment further on the issue, noting that much of the audit report contained sensitive law-enforcement information…more
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George Bush still has almost 2 years to live to become the first president to stay alive despite the Tecumseh’s curse…
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