Crime of the Day - Keep it light-hearted

[Warhawk]

Boy's 911 Call Leads To Mother's Arrest

http://www.kptv.com/news/14395782/detail.html

VANCOUVER, Wash. -- An 8-year-old boy called 911 about his mother's driving Saturday night, leading Clark County deputies to arrest her.


Listen To 911 Calls:
Boy Calls 911
911 Calls Mom Back
Boy Calls 911 Back After Mom Hangs Up

"I don't know where we are and mom's not acting normal," the boy told a 911 dispatcher.

The mother, 33-year-old Paulette Lynn Spears, is accused of taking the phone away from the boy and telling the dispatcher not to worry. She hung up, but the boy called back.​

Clark County sheriff's sergeant said Spears also bit the boy's hand to get the phone away from him.
The dispatcher asked the boy to point out businesses or landmarks that he saw.
With information from the 8-year-old and call-tracking technology, deputies eventually found the car in the parking lot of a fire station and arrested Spears.
Deputies said several drivers called to report the car Saturday afternoon.
Spears, of Vancouver, faces charges of drunken driving, reckless endangerment and assault of a child.
The boy and a 5-year-old who was also in the car were placed with an aunt.
Spears was set to appear in court Monday afternoon.



I saw the "Spears" last name and wondered.... but no, it's a different one.

 

[Warhawk]

Woman Charged in Highway Beer Stunt

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BEER_STUNT?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- A woman let her teenage daughter lean out of a moving van to take beer from a vehicle that was driving alongside on a southeastern Nebraska highway, authorities said Wednesday.
Terry Kisling, 47, of Hickman, was driving the van of high school cheerleaders to a football game in Nebraska City earlier this month when a group of boys pulled up next to them in a sport-utility vehicle, Norris High School principal John Skretta said.
One of the girls apparently signaled to the boys and asked for a beer, and Kisling inched the van closer to the SUV, letting her daughter lean out to grab the can, he said.
"To say that we were shocked and taken aback would be an understatement," said Skretta, who said he learned of the incident last week. "It's almost unfathomable."
The vehicles didn't touch and nobody was hurt. The beer was passed around the van for several girls to drink, Skretta said.
Kisling was charged with procuring alcohol for minors, contributing to the delinquency of minors and reckless driving, said Chief Deputy Mike Holland of the Otoe County sheriff's department. Kisling is due in court Nov. 26.
A woman responding to a message left by The Associated Press at a telephone number listed for Kisling said Wednesday that the listing was wrong.
Authorities said they did not know how fast the van was traveling. Nebraska Highway 2 is a divided four-lane highway with a speed limit of 65 mph, Holland said.
Kisling, one of many parents who volunteer to drive students to school activities in district-owned vans, will not be allowed to drive students for the school again, Skretta said.
The girls were disciplined by the school and would likely not face additional charges, Skretta said. He would not say how the school punished the students.

 

[VF21]

Oh, nice. My candidate for Mother of the Year.

 

[kennadog]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BEER_STUNT?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US
"To say that we were shocked and taken aback would be an understatement," said Skretta, who said he learned of the incident last week. "It's almost unfathomable."

"Almost?"

Some poor kids sure get the short straw when it comes to parents.

 

[Warhawk]

Yeah, we call it our chainsaw sea view...

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN0141305720071101

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German retiree secretly cut down or shortened 122 trees in a publicly owned forest to give his holiday cottage a clear view of the Baltic Sea, police said Thursday.
The 70-year-old Hamburg resident told police he had felled 56 trees with a chainsaw and left only the bottom four yards of 66 others, mainly copper beech, oak, ash and wild cherry trees.
"He told us he wanted to enjoy an unobstructed view of the Baltic," about 50 yards from his cottage, said Jan-Hendrik Wulff, a police spokesman in the northern city of Luebeck.
The man, whose tree-felling caused an estimated 15,000 euros ($22,000) of damage, is likely to be charged with damaging property and breaking conservation laws, officials said.

 

[Warhawk]

Teenager escapes prison in suitcase

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL2925720420071030

BERLIN (Reuters) - A 19-year-old German woman has escaped from prison by hiding in a friend's suitcase.
The fugitive hid inside the large case when her 17-year-old fellow inmate was released from the youth prison in northwest Germany on Friday, Lower Saxony ministry spokesman Dennis Weilmann said on Monday.
The girl simply walked out of the building with her friend concealed in her luggage, Weilmann said.
"Our staff are going to make sure they inspect big suitcases more carefully in the future," Weilmann said.
Neither of the teenagers has since been caught. Both had been jailed for theft. The escaped prisoner had less than two weeks left to serve.

 

[Warhawk]

He's not undead, just unsober...

Not a true "crime", but the police were called out, so I'm putting it here....

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSEIC94583820071029

BERLIN (Reuters) - Passengers on a German train mistook a Halloween reveler dressed up as a gore-covered zombie for a murder victim and called the police.
The 24-year-old man fell into a drunken slumber on his way home from a Halloween party in Hamburg, police in the northern town of Bad Segeberg said Monday.
Believing his hands and face were smeared with blood, passengers alerted police after getting no response from him.
A first aid team called to the scene soon cleared up the confusion. Police told the man to remove his make-up after which he was allowed to continue his journey.
"Bad Segeberg is in a rural area and Halloween isn't very well known there," police spokeswoman Silke Tobies said. "So people weren't expecting anyone to be dressed up in the train."

 

[HndsmCelt]

"Almost?"

Some poor kids sure get the short straw when it comes to parents.

Makes you wonder if there is not at least a local pack of wolves that can be given coustody,

 

[kennadog]

Makes you wonder if there is not at least a local pack of wolves that can be given coustody,

Well, I'll have to admit here, that I often think my own son got a bit of a raw deal on parents, too. But nothing at all like some of these horror stories. What frightens me is the parents that seem to think their behavior is acceptable.

 

[Elise10]

Pig sitter charged; portly pet on diet

Pig sitter charged; portly pet on diet
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071107/ap_on_fe_st/odd_pig_abuse;_ylt=AslbySdjLcaSkY1kMhTdz.ftiBIF
Tue Nov 6, 9:20 PM ET


WINONA, Minn. - A pet pig whose weight tripled while it was in the care of a sitter has been placed on a diet — and an animal cruelty charge has been filed against the caretaker.

The 5-year-old animal, Alaina Templeton, part potbellied pig, has lost 10 percent of her 150 pounds and is recovering well from surgery to remove a collar that had become embedded in her overly fat neck, owner Michelle Schmitz said.

Alaina made headlines last week after Schmitz complained that the pet sitter had allowed Alaina to go from her normal 50 pounds to 150 pounds in just nine months. Schmitz had left Alaina with the sitter, a co-worker, while she was on medical leave to recover from ankle surgery.

Alaina apparently had been foraging for cat food and chicken feed outdoors at the co-worker's farm.

Schmitz said now that her pet is back home, the excess pounds will "melt off" with a healthy diet and exercise. She said she and Alaina's veterinarian consider 50 pounds a more suitable weight for the mixed-breed pig.

A misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty has been filed against Mary Beesecker, 52, of Houston, Minn., Winona County Sheriff David Brand said.

"I want her to be held responsible for what she did and what she didn't do," Schmitz said.

Beesecker did not immediately respond to a call from The Associated Press seeking comment Tuesday, and she has refused requests from The Winona Daily News for an interview.

 

[Elise10]

Police station no place to smoke weed

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071107...n_marijuana;_ylt=AjSrZ4MC2J0lqnVtpv8Vqgms0NUE

Tue Nov 6, 9:07 PM ET
DANBURY, Conn. - A man is facing drug charges after he allegedly walked into the Danbury police station puffing on a marijuana-filled cigar.

Capt. Robert Myles says Scott Snow walked into the station early Saturday and blew smoke from his cigar into a small opening in the bullet-resistant glass separating desk officers from the public.

Myles says the 24-year-old man was told there's no smoking inside the building and he allegedly stubbed out the cigar on the counter.
Officers came out and smelled the distinctive odor of marijuana and arrested Snow.

Police say they found more alleged marijuana in Snow's pants. He has been released after posting bond.

 

[Prophetess]

Girl gets detention for hugging

not really a crime but worthy none the less, If this was a rule in CA in the 80's I would have been kicked out of school.

Illinois middle school bans public displays of affection; parents urge change
The Associated Press
updated 6:57 p.m. PT,Tues., Nov. 6, 2007
MASCOUTAH, Ill. - Two hugs equals two days of detention for 13-year-old Megan Coulter.
The eighth-grader was punished for violating a school policy banning public displays of affection when she hugged two friends Friday.
“I feel it is crazy,” said Megan, who was to serve her second detention Tuesday after classes at Mascoutah Middle School.
“I was just giving them a hug goodbye for the weekend,” she said.
Megan’s mother, Melissa Coulter, said the embraces weren’t even real hugs — just an arm around the shoulder and slight squeeze.
“It’s hilarious to the point of ridicule,” Coulter said. “I’m still dumbfounded that she’s having to do this.”
District Superintendent Sam McGowen said that he thinks the penalty is fair and that administrators in the school east of St. Louis were following policy in the student handbook.
It states: “Displays of affection should not occur on the school campus at any time. It is in poor taste, reflects poor judgment, and brings discredit to the school and to the persons involved.”
Parents urge change in policy
Coulter said she and her husband told their daughter to go ahead and serve her detentions
because the only other option was a day of suspension for each skipped detention.
“We don’t agree with it, but I certainly don’t want her to get in more trouble,” Coulter said.
The couple plan to attend the next school board meeting to ask board members to consider rewording the policy or be more specific in what is considered a display of affection.
“I’m just hoping the school board will open their eyes and just realize that maybe they shouldn’t be punishing us for hugs,” Megan said.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21661718/?GT1=10547

 

[kennadog]

Pig sitter charged; portly pet on diet
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071107/ap_on_fe_st/odd_pig_abuse;_ylt=AslbySdjLcaSkY1kMhTdz.ftiBIF
Tue Nov 6, 9:20 PM ET


WINONA, Minn. - A pet pig whose weight tripled while it was in the care of a sitter has been placed on a diet — and an animal cruelty charge has been filed against the caretaker.

The 5-year-old animal, Alaina Templeton, part potbellied pig, has lost 10 percent of her 150 pounds and is recovering well from surgery to remove a collar that had become embedded in her overly fat neck, owner Michelle Schmitz said.

Alaina made headlines last week after Schmitz complained that the pet sitter had allowed Alaina to go from her normal 50 pounds to 150 pounds in just nine months. Schmitz had left Alaina with the sitter, a co-worker, while she was on medical leave to recover from ankle surgery.

And this owner didn't check on the well-being of her pet for 9 months? The pet-sitter is clearly in the wrong, but I can't believe the owner did not check once in 9 months.

 

[Elise10]

Shaq's not the only one....

Tallest US man is 7-foot-8 Va. deputy

By SONJA BARISIC, Associated Press Writer Wed Nov 7, 11:28 PM ET



NORFOLK, Va. - To all those people who blurt out "Wow, you're tall!" as they stare up at George Bell: He knows. And now, the world will know, too. The lanky, 7-foot-8 Norfolk sheriff's deputy is being recognized Thursday by Guinness World Records as the Tallest Man in the United States.

That makes him 2 inches taller than the NBA's current tallest player, Yao Ming, but too short to be the world's tallest living man. He stands below, according to Guinness, Ukraine's 8-foot-5.5 Leonid Stadnyk and China's Bao Xi Shun, who is 7 feet 8.95 inches.

To answer the inevitable questions:
Bell wears size-19 shoes, pants with a 43-inch inseam and shirts with 45-inch sleeves.

He did play basketball, in college and with the Harlem Wizards and Harlem Globetrotters show teams.

And as for how he feels about being so tall?

"I have no choice but to like it," Bell, 50, said in an interview with The Associated Press as he paced the sidelines of a Pee Wee football game at a city park, where he was providing security.

"I'm used to a small man's world," he added in a deep voice that suits his stature. "I've been dealing with a small man's world since I was a kid."
Bell was to be revealed as America's tallest man on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Thursday, when 200,000 people worldwide were expected to celebrate Guinness World Records Day by attempting to set records of their own.

Guinness began searching for America's tallest man in August. Bell's ex-wife registered him online, and Guinness spokesman Stuart Claxton said Bell's doctor documented his height.

The Guinness record book now lists only the tallest man in the world, but Bell will be noted — along with the tallest men in several other countries — in the edition to be published next year.

Bell hit 5-foot-4 at age 9. In middle school, he topped 6 feet. By the end of high school, he was 7-foot-6. He played basketball until, at 30, he lost interest in the sport and switched to law enforcement.

His height doesn't intimidate jail inmates — it helps him develop a rapport.

"They've never seen anyone this tall before, so they're amazed," Bell said.

"They want to talk."

Bell focuses on the perks of being tall. For example, he usually gets free upgrades to first class on flights when the ticket-counter attendants realize he's going to need a lot of leg room.

He credits his late great-aunt, Etonia Johnson, with his positive attitude:

"She always told me, 'Don't feel ashamed of yourself. Stand tall. God made you. Be happy and show your pride.' "

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071108/ap_on_fe_st/tallest_man;_ylt=AuxTRECUL7uRK.31VvQFwWWs0NUE

Not a crime per se but it's rather cool though

 

[Warhawk]

Stripper Mistakenly Sent to School, Whips Teen

OK, no charges yet, but they are investigating. And isn't playing Britney Spears music a crime anyways? Close enough!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,309462,00.html

Officials at a U.K. high school were aghast after a stripper visited a student during class and whipped him in front of other students and a horrified teacher, Sky News reported Thursday.

A booking error is to blame after a mother arranged to send a "gorilla gram" to her son on his 16th birthday, an arrangement she cleared with Nottingham's Arnold Hill School and Technology College. Instead, the agency sent a stripper clad in a policewoman costume, Sky reported.

After whipping the teen, the stripper placed a collar around his neck and led him around the classroom with a leash, telling him he had been a "bad boy" for not doing his homework. She then put on a Britney Spears tune and stripped for the shocked class, witnesses told Sky.

The police were not called and no one was suspended from the school in the incident, and officials said they were investigating.

 

[Ryle]

OK, no charges yet, but they are investigating. And isn't playing Britney Spears music a crime anyways? Close enough!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,309462,00.html

Officials at a U.K. high school were aghast after a stripper visited a student during class and whipped him in front of other students and a horrified teacher, Sky News reported Thursday.

A booking error is to blame after a mother arranged to send a "gorilla gram" to her son on his 16th birthday, an arrangement she cleared with Nottingham's Arnold Hill School and Technology College. Instead, the agency sent a stripper clad in a policewoman costume, Sky reported.

After whipping the teen, the stripper placed a collar around his neck and led him around the classroom with a leash, telling him he had been a "bad boy" for not doing his homework. She then put on a Britney Spears tune and stripped for the shocked class, witnesses told Sky.

The police were not called and no one was suspended from the school in the incident, and officials said they were investigating.

Um, why didn't the teacher stop this???

 

[kennadog]

Um, why didn't the teacher stop this???

Because he couldn't believe his good fortune?

 

[kingsfan916]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071107...n_marijuana;_ylt=AjSrZ4MC2J0lqnVtpv8Vqgms0NUE

Tue Nov 6, 9:07 PM ET
DANBURY, Conn. - A man is facing drug charges after he allegedly walked into the Danbury police station puffing on a marijuana-filled cigar.

Capt. Robert Myles says Scott Snow walked into the station early Saturday and blew smoke from his cigar into a small opening in the bullet-resistant glass separating desk officers from the public.

Myles says the 24-year-old man was told there's no smoking inside the building and he allegedly stubbed out the cigar on the counter.
Officers came out and smelled the distinctive odor of marijuana and arrested Snow.

Police say they found more alleged marijuana in Snow's pants. He has been released after posting bond.

lol this has to be the best one

 

[Ryan]

I heard this story a while ago and loved it.

FORT SUMNER, N.M. — A mouse got its revenge against a homeowner who tried to dispose of it in a pile of burning leaves. The blazing creature ran back to the man's house and set it on fire.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,181008,00.html

Luciano Mares, 81, of Fort Sumner said he caught the mouse inside his house and wanted to get rid of it.

"I had some leaves burning outside, so I threw it in the fire, and the mouse was on fire and ran back at the house," Mares said from a motel room Saturday.

Village Fire Chief Juan Chavez said the burning mouse ran to just beneath a window, and the flames spread up from there and throughout the house.

No one was hurt inside, but the home and everything in it was destroyed.
Unseasonably dry and windy conditions have charred more than 53,000 acres and destroyed 10 homes in southeastern New Mexico in recent weeks.

"I've seen numerous house fires," village Fire Department Capt. Jim Lyssy said, "but nothing as unique as this one."

 

[Elise10]

If not the monkeys...

In land of the Monkey God, a primate menaces

By Alistair Scrutton Tue Nov 13, 1:55 AM ET


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071113...dia_monkeys;_ylt=AnA2AJ6KXPR8HMlQys1gqATtiBIF
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - First it was the death of Delhi's deputy mayor, who fell after a fight with monkeys on the balcony of his home last month.

Then, 25 residents were bitten, scratched and mauled by a lone monkey which went on the rampage in the capital last weekend.

The monkey reportedly tried to snatch several infants before being beaten back by residents armed with sticks and metal bars.

"Primal Invasion" read the headline in the Hindustan Times.

Authorities are struggling to contain primates that are stubbornly resisting efforts to portray New Delhi as a modern, clean and globalised capital.

The city of 14 million people is growing quickly and experts say monkeys are increasingly being forced out of forests to lead urban lives, putting them on a collision course with humans.

It is a pattern seen across India as the economy booms. Elephants, leopards and tigers are also coming face to face with man as cities sprawl into their former habitats.

Monkeys are a regular sight in New Delhi. They can be seen in groups climbing outside government ministries. Troupes lounge on pavements, oblivious to the chaotic traffic around them.

But culling monkeys has never been an option as many Hindus worship the monkey god Hanuman, seen as a symbol of strength, perseverance and devotion. And when Delhi tried to shift them out of the city, neighbouring states complained.

Faced with what many saw as a monkey plague on homes, offices and ministries, this year city authorities started to capture and send them to a sanctuary on Delhi's outskirts.

Delhi government officials say they have caught and relocated around 1,900 monkeys. While there is no census of monkey numbers, officials say thousands still live on the city's streets.

UNPRECEDENTED ATTACK

But a spate of high-profile monkey attacks has made headlines and increased public pressure for the government to act quicker.

"The latest attack was unprecedented," said J.K. Dadoo, environment and forest secretary in the Delhi government. "Monkeys normally operate in groups."

Experts say there is a growing pattern of lone attacks that may highlight the random way authorities are trying to reduce the monkey population in the city.

"Incidents of lone monkey attacks were almost unknown until recently," said Sonya Ghose, founder of Citizens for the Welfare and Protection of Animals and a member of an enforcement panel overseeing the monkey relocation campaign.

"I fear that monkeys are being trapped in a haphazard manner. Monkey catchers are breaking up troupes of monkey families, leaving some monkeys alone without their families."


"Then they have nothing to lose and turn aggressive."

Last year, the Delhi Metro train service hired a larger langur monkey to frighten off smaller creatures after a monkey boarded a train and scared passengers by scowling at them for three stops.

Another langur is on the government payroll to scare off monkeys from Delhi's top federal government offices.

This year, a monkey sneaked into New Delhi's international airport, forcing the partial closure of the lounge for more than an hour as it scampered through the international departures area.

Dadoo said the problem was that some people fed monkeys on Tuesdays and Saturdays, seen as auspicious days for the animals.

"That is when we have most cases of monkey attacks, when people try to feed them," he said.

Ghose said she suspected monkey catchers -- often villagers from outside Delhi who are paid 450 rupees ($11.5) a monkey -- sometimes snatched monkeys in nearby forests and claimed they were caught in the city.

The Delhi residents terrorised at the weekend said the monkey attack was a terrifying experience.

"I thought it was a man at first," Manohar, one of the residents, was quoted as saying in the Times of India.

"It got hold of my son's leg and was carrying him away but I managed to snatch him back."
(Additional reporting by Onkar Pandey; editing by Y.P. Rajesh)

 

[Elise10]

...then it's the elephants

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071113/ap_en_ot/people_paris_hilton;_ylt=Ai9ks9ptgsgJ3jIdGPuSDDNxFb8C
Hilton tries to help drunken elephants

By WASBIR HUSSAIN, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 20 minutes ago


GAUHATI, India - With Rwanda off her charity calendar, Paris Hilton has turned her attention to the plight of ... drunken elephants in India.

"The elephants get drunk all the time. It is becoming really dangerous. We need to stop making alcohol available to them," the 26-year-old socialite was quoted as saying by the World Entertainment News Network's Web site.

In the wake of her jail term for an alcohol-related reckless driving case, Hilton is seeking to remake her image from club-hopping party girl to world-traveling do-gooder. She announced plans to do charity work in Rwanda, but the trip was postponed until next year.

Then opportunity for Hilton's "global elephant campaign" knocked last month when six parched pachyderms broke into a farm in the state of Meghalaya and guzzled farmers' homemade rice beer. The elephants went on a rampage, then uprooted an electricity pole and were jolted to death.

"There would have been more casualties if the villagers hadn't chased them away. And four elephants died in a similar way three years ago. It is just so sad," Hilton was quoted as saying in last week in Tokyo, where she was judging a beauty contest.

Sangeeta Goswami, head of animal rights group People for Animals, told The Associated Press: "I am indeed happy Hilton has taken note of recent incidents of wild elephants in northeast India going berserk."

"As part of her global elephant campaign, Hilton should, in fact, think of visiting this region literally infested with elephants," Goswami said.

Hilton's publicist couldn't immediately be reached Tuesday to verify her comments. Another conservationist said elephant alcohol abuse was just a symptom of the real problem. (No, he wasn't talking about celebrities.)

"Elephants appear on human settlements ... because they have no habitat left due to wanton destruction of forests," said Soumyadeep Dutta, who heads Nature's Beckon, a leading regional conservation group. "A celebrity like Hilton must focus her attention on this fact."

 

[Warhawk]

Parker not arrested but team looks into dispute with valet

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3134096

MIAMI -- Heat guard Smush Parker missed practice Thursday in the wake of a dispute with a parking valet service.

Police said Parker got into an argument Tuesday morning over whether he had paid a $12 valet parking fee at a condominium.

Parker has not been charged. He also missed Tuesday's game against Charlotte.
"We are currently investigating the reported incident," coach Pat Riley said in a statement. "Until we have concluded it, Smush will not be with the team. He has not been suspended and is currently on our inactive list. This is a legal matter, and we will have no further comment until the legal process runs its course."
Parker has played as a reserve in nine of Miami's 14 games and is averaging 4.8 points.

 

[Elise10]

Court sends summons to Mickey Mouse

Court sends summons to Mickey Mouse
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071204/ap_on_fe_st/looney_witnesses;_ylt=ApEquzyEbl.Xm4TWY_9ccPes0NUE

By ARIEL DAVID, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 39 minutes ago



ROME - Your honor, I thought I saw a pussycat! Tweety may finally air his signature complaint in front of a judge, after an Italian court ordered the animated canary along with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and his girlfriend Daisy to take the witness stand in a counterfeiting case.

In what lawyers believe was a clerical error worthy of a Looney Tunes cartoon, a court in Naples sent a summons to the characters ordering them to appear Friday in a trial in the southern Italian city, officials said.

The court summons cites "Titty, Paperino, Paperina, Topolino" — the Italian names for the characters — as damaged parties in the criminal trial of a Chinese man accused of counterfeiting products of Disney and Warner Bros.

Instead of naming only the companies and their legal representatives, clerks also wrote in the witness list the names of the cartoons that decorated the toys and gadgets the man had reproduced, said Fiorenza Sorotto, vice president of Disney Company Italia.

"Unfortunately they cannot show up, as they are residents of Disneyland,"
Sorotto joked in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "It certainly pleased us that the characters were considered real, because that's what we try to do."

The Naples court will have to rewrite the summons, though this will probably delay the trial, said Disney lawyer Cristina Ravelli.

"Let's hope the characters will not be prosecuted for failing to appear," Ravelli quipped.

Calls seeking comment from Warner Bros. in Milan were not immediately returned. Phones at the Naples court were not answered on Tuesday afternoon.

 

[Warhawk]

Judge Sides With Man Fired for Posting 'Dilbert' Comic in Office

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,317469,00.html


DES MOINES, Iowa — A judge has sided with a man who was fired for posting a "Dilbert" comic strip that made fun of managers on an office bulletin board.
David Steward was fired from the Catfish Bend Casino because management found the cartoon "very offensive," human resources director Steve Morley testified at a recent unemployment benefits hearing. The casino had challenged his claim for unemployment benefits.
"Basically, he was accusing the decision-makers of being drunken lemurs," Morley testified. "We consider that misconduct when you insult your employer."
According to state records, Steward posted the comic in late October, shortly after officials announced the casino in Burlington would be closed.
In the strip, Dilbert and another character are shown having the following exchange:
"Why does it seem as if most of the decisions in my workplace are made by drunken lemurs?"
"Decisions are made by people who have time, not people who have talent."
"Why are talented people so busy?"
"They're fixing the problems made by people who have time."
Steward testified that he posted the comic partly because of the impending layoffs.
"I thought maybe it would cheer some people up," he said. "I found it humorous."
Administrative Law Judge Lynette Donner sided with Steward, ruling it was "a good-faith error in judgment," not intentional misbehavior.
"Dilbert" creator Scott Adams said it might have been the first confirmed instance of a worker being fired for posting a "Dilbert" strip in a workplace.

 

[Warhawk]

And, in the spirit of the season....

Santa in g-string arrested on DUI charge


http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/25/gstring.santa.ap/index.html

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Some gifts from Kris Kringle are better kept wrapped.
A man in a Santa hat was arrested Sunday night for investigation of drunken driving after he was spotted outside Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood wearing a wig, a red lace camisole and a purple G-string, police said.
"We are pretty sure this is not the Santa Claus," Deputy Chief Ken Garner said.
The suspect was booked into jail after his blood-alcohol level measured just above the state's legal limit of .08, police said. He was later released on $5,000 bail.
The man, who is 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 280 pounds, also wore black leg warmers and black shoes. His car was towed to an impound yard, police said.

 

[6th]

Santa in g-string arrested on DUI charge


http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/25/gstring.santa.ap/index.html

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Some gifts from Kris Kringle are better kept wrapped.
A man in a Santa hat was arrested Sunday night for investigation of drunken driving after he was spotted outside Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood wearing a wig, a red lace camisole and a purple G-string, police said.
"We are pretty sure this is not the Santa Claus," Deputy Chief Ken Garner said.
The suspect was booked into jail after his blood-alcohol level measured just above the state's legal limit of .08, police said. He was later released on $5,000 bail.
The man, who is 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 280 pounds, also wore black leg warmers and black shoes. His car was towed to an impound yard, police said.

Santa Claus? This is just so wrong.

 

[Elise10]

Coming together in the name of......college football?

Trial delayed due to LSU-Ohio St. game


By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, Associated Press Writer Sat Dec 22, 9:25 AM ET



NEW ORLEANS - Justice can wait until after the LSU game. A state judge near the home of the Tigers has agreed to postpone a trial scheduled to start on the same day LSU plays Ohio State in the BCS national championship game.

Stephen Babcock, an attorney defending Imperial Casualty Insurance Co. in a lawsuit over a car crash, requested the delay because he has tickets to the Jan. 7 game at the Superdome in New Orleans. He and other LSU fans have rented out the second floor of a Bourbon Street bar for a pre-game tailgate party.

In his written request for a new trial date, Babcock refers to Ohio State as "Slowhio" ("due to their perceived lack of speed on both sides of the ball") and notes that Allstate, sponsors of the Sugar Bowl, are not a party in the insurance case.

"All counsel to this matter unequivocally agree that the presence of LSU in the aforementioned contest of pigskin skill unquestionably constitutes good grounds therefor," Babcock wrote. "In fact we have been unable through much imagination and hypothetical scenarios to think of a better reason."

Babcock, whose law office is in Baton Rouge, said lawyers for the plaintiff in the case also have tickets to the game.

"We might disagree on the merits of the case, but everyone was in agreement on this, for sure," he said during an interview Friday.

That includes West Baton Rouge Parish District District Judge Alvin Batiste, who agreed Thursday to postpone the trial but didn't immediately set a new date. Babcock said he doesn't know if Batiste is an LSU fan, "but most people around here are."

Louisiana already has a legal precedent for football trumping a trial date. In January, a judge agreed to postpone a trial due to a conflict with last season's NFC championship game between the New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071222/ap_on_fe_st/odd_lsu_trial_date;_ylt=AjioAKTadXK.rhgP7eYWy.ssQE4F

 

[AleksandarN]

That is sad and pathetic

Pair wheel corpse to store to cash check

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080109/ap_on_re_us/dead_man_s_check;_ylt=AkihnOxZELHPxecGFXwlBDIXIr0F

NEW YORK - Two men wheeled a dead man through the streets in an office chair to a check-cashing store and tried to cash his Social Security check before being arrested on fraud charges, police said.

David J. Dalaia and James O'Hare pushed Virgilio Cintron's body from the Manhattan apartment that O'Hare and Cintron shared to Pay-O-Matic, about a block away, spokesman Paul Browne said witnesses told police.
"The witnesses saw the two pushing the chair with Cintron flopping from side to side and the two individuals propping him up and keeping him from flopping from side to side," Browne said.
The men left Cintron's body outside the store, went inside and tried to cash his $355 check, Browne said. The store's clerk, who knew Cintron, asked the men where he was, and O'Hare told the clerk they would go and get him, Browne said.
A police detective who was having lunch at a restaurant next to the check-cashing store noticed a crowd forming around Cintron's body, and "it's immediately apparent to him that Cintron is dead," Browne said.
The detective called uniformed New York Police Department officers at a nearby precinct. Emergency medical technicians arrived as O'Hare and Dalaia were preparing to wheel Cintron's body into the check-cashing store, Browne said. Police arrested Dalaia and O'Hare there, he said.
Cintron's body was taken to a hospital morgue. The medical examiner's office told police it appeared Cintron, 66, had died of natural causes within the previous 24 hours, Browne said.
"He was deceased in the apartment when he was removed by these two," Browne said.
Dalaia and O'Hare, both 65, were being held by police and faced check fraud charges, Browne said.
A call to a telephone number listed for Cintron at the apartment he shared with O'Hare went unanswered Tuesday evening. Police said they didn't have an address for Dalaia or attorney information for him or O'Hare.

 

[kennadog]

I sat here for about 30 seconds trying to figure out what the two could have been thinking when they wheeled the body down there. That was 30 seconds too long. There is no fathoming the thinking process.

Anyway, Mr. Cintron could just as easily "endorsed" the check at home.

 

[vj9999]

I ordered a laptop from Dell for my wife. DHL delivered it today. I signed for the package, driver handed it to me. As I was walking back in the house, I said right away that the box feels a little light. It didn't feel like 12lbs. I turn around and by that time driver is already gone.

I look and the bottom seal of the box looks cut (not very obvious) and taped over. I weigh my self and then myself with the box. Box weighs 5 lbs.

I get in the car to see if I can find the driver before I open the box. Of course I couldn't.

I call DHL before opening the box and have them note it and see if either driver can come back or whatever else. Lady says she noted it and if I want to go ahead and open the box and call back or call Dell as well.

I open the box and ofcourse. Everything but the laptop is in there. I called Dell and they will send a replacement in 3-5 days plus overnight it. So I'm happy on that account. I told them not to use DHL

I called DHL back and told them they have a thief somewhere in their chain. Sombody from their customer relations will call me back I guess.

I called American Express and had them put a note next to the charge from Dell just in case something else goes wrong so I can have it disputed.

Anyway. Caveat. If you have anything of value deliver to you and you have to sign (I did, but driver handed me the box after I signed and by the time my brain registered the weight as I was walking in it was too late), check the box thouroghly before you sign. From now on I will check the box and open it before I sign. If they have a problem with that oh well.

I'm glad dell was understanding, because you hear horror stories of people getting ripped of like this and end up being SOL.

Rant/Crime report over.