MAYBE THEY SHOULD HAVE GONE TO WENDY'S

SNOOP DOGG'S #1 FANS?

BUFFALO, N.Y. - A pair of pot smokers picked the wrong day to use the drive-thru window at a KFC restaurant in Buffalo. Two men in their 20s pulled up to the restaurant's window and asked for the Wednesday special.


Meanwhile, a couple of narcotics detectives were inside ordering their food. That's when a cloud of marijuana smoke wafted into the restaurant. The detectives then spotted the two men smoking what one of the cops called "the biggest marijuana cigar your ever saw." (The apparently haven't seen Snoop Dogg's daily dose...)


The detectives went outside and arrested 23-year-old Charles Morris and 26-year-old Gregory Quick, both of Buffalo. The two men were charged with possession of marijuana and smoking it in public. One of the cops said he got the cashier to refund the pot smokers' money for the Wednesday special.

JUDGE DONALD THOMPSON MASTERBATED AD USE A PENIS PUMP DURING COURT!'

JUNE 29--Closing arguments are scheduled today in the trial of the former Oklahoma judge charged with indecent exposure for using a penis pump (among other really gross acts) while on the bench. Donald Thompson, 59, is facing felony counts for his alleged lewd behavior while a Creek County District Court jurist (Thompson resigned from the bench in 2004). 

According to a yucky probable cause affidavit, a copy of which you'll find below, Thompson exposed himself during three separate 2003 cases (two of which were murder trials). 

For example, on May 13, while he was presiding over State v. Kurt Arnold Vomberg (who was accused of killing his girlfriend's 21-month-old daughter), Thompson loudly pumped himself up. Two court employees told investigators that they saw Thompson attach the suction device to his penis, while five jurors reported hearing whooshing sounds, which they thought were coming from either a bicycle pump, blood pressure cuff, or an air cushion on the judge's chair. 

After a search of Thompson's former courtroom and chambers yielded items that tested positive for seminal fluid, investigators secured a search warrant to obtain a DNA sample from the ex-jurist. 

Thompson's demise was triggered by a complaint filed against him by the Oklahoma Attorney General, who sought to oust the jurist for a variety of illicit behavior. Along with using the penis pump, Thompson also allegedly shaved and oiled his private parts, according to accounts given to state investigators by court employees. 

If convicted of the indecent exposure counts, Thompson could face a maximum of 10 years in prison on each charge.

Read 7 page probable cause affidavit
Previous Articles About Judge Pervert
September 2005 June 2006

STUDY--ALCOHOL WORSE THAN DRUGS

This study was a total no-brainer. As a former serious
teen binge drinker, I would agree with this 100%,
and I didn't need a study to tell you, either.


How many alcoholics do you know?
Now, how many cokeheads do you know?


If you know more cokeheads than alcoholics,
then I'm afraid you need help finding some new friends.

Alcohol a Bigger Threat to U.S. Youth Than Drugs

THURSDAY, June 29 (HealthDay News) -- Alcohol abuse by minors results in almost 3,200 deaths a year -- four times more than deaths due to all illegal drug use combined, a new study finds.


Underage drinking also costs the United States $62 billion each year, the researchers found. Despite these numbers, policymakers remain focused on the impact and prevention of drug use in minors, rather than alcohol, the study's authors said.


The budget for anti-drug use by America's youth is nearly 25 times that of public funds earmarked for the prevention of alcohol use. "Alcohol-related traffic crashes, violence, teen pregnancies, STDs, burns, drownings, alcohol poisoning, property damage and other risks take a human and economic toll that's much greater than illegal drugs. Yet, we spend so much more on youth drug abuse," study author Ted Miller, director of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE), said in a prepared statement.


Miller's team at the PIRE Public Services Research Institute in Calverton, Md., found that a large number of minors are drinking great quantities of alcohol. In fact, the study showed that underage youth consume at least 16 percent of all alcohol sold in the United States, a number the researchers called conservative.


The costs of underage drinking come from a variety of sources, with expenses linked to traffic accidents alone totaling roughly $13.7 billion per year. "Drinks in bars, drinks in cars, drinks stolen form Mom's liquor cabinet: The average harm from a kid's illegal drink is $3," said Miller. "That's far more than the 85-cent price tag those drinks carry. It dwarfs the 10 cents in taxes we collect or the 40 cents in profit the alcohol industry reaps," he said.


Miller said poor legal enforcement is a major factor in the underage drinking epidemic, and that stricter regulations and inspections of institutions where alcohol is sold would cut the amount of alcohol getting into minors' hands. Improvements in identification and age-verification, driving curfews, zero-tolerance laws and regulations placing liability on parents who allow underage drinking in their home would also help control the problem, he said.


The study is published in the July issue of Journal of Studies on Alcohol. More information The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has more information on underage drinking.

I'D LOVE TO SEE THIS BITCH IN JAIL!

God Damnit! Where are my F*@!king JEANS?!?!

NEW YORK (AP) — Naomi Campbell is being accused of less-than-model behavior again: Another of her maids claims the supermodel hit her. In a terse filing in a state court in Manhattan on Monday, Gaby Gibson accuses Campbell of injuries, employment discrimination, "civil assault, civil battery" and other wrongs.


Gibson sued on the eve of a scheduled Manhattan Criminal Court appearance by Campbell on charges of assaulting another maid. The damages she seeks are not specified in the lawsuit. The court document offers no details, but in a published interview in April, Gibson said the model hit her Jan. 17, called her names and threatened to have her arrested. Gibson told the New York Post that Campbell got upset when she couldn't find a specific pair of jeans.


Gibson's lawyer, Thomas D. Shanahan, did not immediately return calls for comment. Neither Campbell's lawyer nor her publicist responded immediately to requests for comment.


Campbell's court hearing Tuesday deals with a similar charge and a similar situation, in which the supermodel couldn't find a pair of jeans. In that incident, Campbell is accused of hitting Ana Scolavino in the back of the head with a cell phone in the model's Manhattan apartment. Scolavino says Campbell accused her of stealing the jeans.


Campbell, 35, faces up to seven years in prison and deportation if convicted. Campbell pleaded guilty in Toronto to assault for beating an assistant while making a film in Canada in 1998.

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE???

Is this Axl's attempt to become
a full-fledged MEDIA WHORE?

Police: Singer Axl Rose arrested after allegedly biting security guard

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose was arrested in Stockholm early Tuesday after allegedly biting a security guard in the leg outside his hotel, police said.


Rose -- who performed in the Swedish capital on Monday evening -- was being held on suspicion of attacking and threatening the guard, as well as causing damage to the Berns Hotel where the alleged scuffle took place, police spokeswoman Towe Hagg said. Hagg told The Associated Press that Rose was intoxicated during the confrontation, which broke out around 8 a.m., and would face questioning after he sobers up. "He was deemed too intoxicated to be questioned right away," she said. A prosecutor will then decide whether to press charges against him, Hagg also said.


It was unclear what caused the fight, but Swedish tabloids said the guard tried to intervene when Rose started arguing with a woman in the hotel lobby. Fredrik Nylen, one of the police officers who helped arrest Rose, was quoted by the daily Aftonbladet Web site as saying that the singer acted aggressively toward police and had to be "handcuffed and restrained" in the hotel. "He kept a high profile, so to speak," Nylen was quoted as saying.


Guns N' Roses played a concert in Stockholm's Globe Arena Monday night, and had been partying at a well-known night club before the scuffle, Aftonbladet said.

What's the deal with Axl?

Read here.

ONCE MISSING NOW FOUND...A STRANGE DISCOVERY

CONCORD, N.H. A nationwide search ended Monday for an 8-year-old New Hampshire boy after his mother was spotted "making out" at a Florida bus station with a teenager who disappeared with them 10 days earlier, police said.


A city transit worker at a St. Petersburg bus depot recognized Jennifer Malone, 32, of Canterbury; her son, Brennan; and 16-year-old Christopher Cole of Nashua, police said.


The worker saw the three hanging around the depot last week acting strangely, then saw their photos on television news during the weekend, St. Petersburg police spokesman Bill Proffitt said. He saw them again Monday and called police around 7:30 a.m. Proffitt said the strange behavior was the woman "making out" with the teen, while the 8-year-old watched.


Canterbury Police Chief Gwen Deurell said officers stopped a bus headed to the beach about 40 minutes after the call, identified the three and took them into custody. She said they were safe and being questioned. "They all are in custody right now and they're all being interviewed by St. Petersburg Police Department for crimes they may have committed down there also," Deurell said.


Proffitt said the three apparently came to Florida in a minivan, which broke down. They had been splitting their time living on Clearwater Beach, in the broken-down minivan and at a Salvation Army shelter, he said.


An elated Rodney Malone, Brennan's father, talked to his son by telephone Monday morning. He was headed to Florida on Monday to ask a judge for a custody order so he can bring his son home. "He sounded a little sad, a little tired," Malone said minutes after speaking to the boy. "I'm sure it's been a wild adventure for an 8-year-old."


But Malone said he did not ask about the 10-day trip. "I kept it real light with him: how he's feeling, told him I want him to come home, let him talk to Logan (his older brother) a little bit, told him we missed him and wanted to get him home so he could sleep in his own bed," Malone said.


Deurell said police were looking at the relationship between Jennifer Malone and Cole and into potential crimes such as car thefts in Florida. The discovery came three days after at least two witnesses reported seeing the three in nearby Tampa.


The Malones' minivan was discovered early Friday in Clearwater, Fla., without its license plates. Police said it appeared they were using the New Hampshire plates and had been spotted in two other cars with the same plates. Jennifer Malone has not been charged with any crime, but she is being investigated by the state Division for Children, Youth and Families over allegations that she was having a relationship with a teen she met at Mount Prospect Academy in Plymouth, where she worked as a youth counselor. Cole was a student there. The teen had not been seen in Nashua since June 16, according to his mother Jennifer Reyes.


Malone was fired from her job at the school in mid-May after Reyes found them together at her home and called police, Rodney Malone said. Nashua police did not file charges at that time because Cole was at the age of consent, but the incident triggered a state investigation to examine her relationship with Cole at the school, he said.


The three apparently took off just after investigators called and requested Jennifer Malone show up for an interview Monday. Police say the mother picked up Brennan from Canterbury Elementary School on June 16, saying he had a dental appointment. Rodney Malone discovered his wife and son were missing when she didn't show up for work that day; he also noticed their bank account was drained.

A SICK, SICK MAN...

GODFREY, Ill. (AP) — A doctor who hurled his two sons off a Florida hotel balcony and then leaped to his own death had accused his wife of having an affair with the family's gardener, according to investigators.


Investigators said in court papers unsealed Friday that Dr. Edward Van Dyk's wife told them that he had accused her of being unfaithful. The court papers did not specify when Van Dyk made the allegation.


On May 27, the 43-year-old cancer specialist threw his sons, ages 4 and 8, to their deaths from the 15th floor of a hotel in Miami Beach, Fla., and then jumped. Van Dyk and his wife, Qinuo, were on vacation, celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary, authorities said. Van Dyk left no suicide note, authorities said at the time.


Investigators looking for clues to the crime searched the Van Dyk home in Godfrey, seizing a computer and related disks, a handwritten note, digital and video cameras, and an anniversary card, according to court papers.

A GREAT IDEA! WAY TO GO VIRGINIA!

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A new law requiring Virginia's colleges to hand over prospective students' personal information to police for cross-checking against sex offender lists is coming under fire from privacy advocates and education leaders.


Under the law, which takes effect July 1, public and private college officials must send state police the names, Social Security numbers and birth dates of all students accepted to their schools. Proponents say the law will help protect students from sex offenders and state police are confident the personal information will be secure. But critics are raising concerns about privacy rights and risks that the data could be misused or stolen.


Privacy law experts believe it is the first time a state has ever imposed such a requirement. "I am not aware of anything on this breathtaking a scope when it comes to violating the potential prospective students' privacy," said Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admission Officers. "Certainly the damage to privacy interests of innocent people is obvious."


The new requirement was part of a unanimously approved bill that makes sweeping changes to Virginia's sex offender laws, including tougher punishments and better monitoring of offenders once they are released from prison. Police expect to have guidelines in place for most schools by the fall. Although the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act protects the personal information of enrolled students, it does not apply to those who have merely been accepted. The law does not bar sex offenders from entering college but provides a way to keep track of them. "This law may not technically violate federal law, but it certainly violates the spirit of federal law intended to maintain student privacy rights," said Kent Willis, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Virginia.


University of Virginia spokesman Jeff Hanna said the school already asks applicants if they have been convicted of a felony and can deny admission to anyone because of a felony record. But Republican state Sen. Kenneth Stolle, the bill's chief Senate sponsor, said the legislation was an important part of the effort to prevent sex abuse. "We would be housing some of these sex offenders in an area that is close to other students," he said. "The only way we could ensure that this information was verified was to feed the information to the state police."


However, one lawmaker who voted for the bill said he is having second thoughts. "The bill went through with little or no debate," said Senate Minority Leader Richard Saslaw, a Democrat. "There may have been another solution." Schools will send the information electronically to police, who will check it against the state and national sex offender registries, said Col. W. Steven Flaherty, superintendent of the state police.


If a prospective student is a registered sex offender and enrolls in the school, police will check to see if the offender fills out a change of address form within the required 72 hours. If the offender does not, police will investigate. The school also is notified that a sex offender is among the students who enroll. Personal information of those who are not registered sex offenders will be destroyed, Flaherty said.


Robert Ellis Smith, publisher of Privacy Journal, said the overuse of Social Security numbers can have devastating results. "The more you have Social Security numbers floating around in the state bureaucracy or university bureaucracy, the more chance for identity theft," he said. But Polly Franks, a Virginia advocate for victims of sex crimes, said the risk of harm from offenders trumps privacy concerns. Two of Franks' young relatives were sexually assaulted by a neighbor who, unbeknownst to Franks, had been convicted of sex crimes in Texas. "It is like putting a rattlesnake in a baby's crib," said Franks, 47, of Richmond. "It may not bite, but who's gonna take the chance?"

TWO SEPARATE STORE SHOOTINGS IN COLORADO

2 dead, 5 hurt in Denver shooting rampage

Associated Press--A gunman burst into a sprawling Safeway Inc. warehouse, killing one person, wounding five others and sending terrified workers fleeing the building. The attacker was later killed in a shootout with police.


Several fires also were set inside the distribution center Sunday a few miles northeast of downtown along the busy Interstate 70, authorities said. Police Chief Gerry Whitman said more than 150 employees were forced to evacuate — including Raymond Rivas, who had recently moved from California to what he believed would be a safer place. "I can't imagine this happening out here," said Rivas. "It could happen anywhere."


Police received several 911 calls reporting the shooting by 3:12 p.m. About an hour after entering the warehouse, officers confronted the suspect, who then shot 38-year-old SWAT officer Derick Dominguez with a handgun in the left hip, Whitman said. Dominguez also suffered a broken leg.


An officer then shot and killed the suspect, Whitman said. As officers swept through the 1.3 million-square-foot center, they later found another victim who was dead. Police spokesman Sonny Jackson said at least one 911 caller named employee Michael Ford as being involved in the shootings, but police did not immediately confirm the gunman's identity.


A Safeway spokesman, Jeff Stroh, said Ford worked filling orders in the produce department and was employed at the center for more than a year. Whitman said there was no reason to believe there was more than one suspect, though the investigation was expected to continue Monday.


By late Sunday, two victims were in critical condition, two others, including Dominguez, were in serious condition, and one had been released from Denver Health Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Benny Samuels said. Safeway worker Jesus Lopez told KMGH-TV he was about 20 feet away from the gunman. "He was just shooting and lighting fires. He wanted to turn the building on fire," Lopez told KMGH. "I just ran. Everybody just ran out."


Stroh said he believed parts of the warehouse would reopen Monday and that store officials had contacted grief counselors for employees. The company planned to evaluate its safety policies, he said. "Whenever workplace violence occurs, you really have to take a step back and look at what you're doing," Stroh said.

Gunman Shoots 2 People Inside K-Mart SuperCenter

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- An apparent shoplifting incident gone bad inside a Super K-Mart ended with a shooting that injured two people Sunday night, 7NEWS reported. The suspect then ran to a nearby apartment complex and remains at large.


Police and SWAT teams are fanning out in the Englewood and Littleton neighborhood, looking for the gunman. A police helicopter is also helping in the search.


The shooting occurred inside the K-Mart Super Center at Belleview and Broadway shortly after 8 p.m. One victim was shot in the chest. The other victim was shot in the lower back. One witness told 7NEWS that a female security guard was shot and killed but that has not been officially confirmed by police. The other victim was said to have tried and stop the shoplifter.


"It sounded like black cats (fireworks.) It's the Fourth of July, the first thing that popped into my head was black cats (fireworks). I didn't think nothing about no guns ... I thought somebody was trying to play a joke and then I saw her fall and I went over and tried to help her out. So, some scary stuff," witness Victor Leija told 7NEWS.


Police are looking for a black man, about 5 feet 9 inches tall, last seen wearing a brown jacket and checkered shirt.

JEFFREY R. MARTIN--CHARGED IN MURDER OF GABRIELLE BECHEN

WAYNESBURG, Pa. (AP) — A farmhand charged with strangling a 12-year-old girl told police in a recorded statement that he panicked after the girl threatened to tell her parents that he molested her.
Jeffrey R. Martin was ordered Wednesday to stand trial on homicide and other charges in the death of Gabrielle M. Bechen, who hung out on the farm where he worked because she liked to visit the horses.

Gabrielle vanished June 13 when she left her rural home to ride her all-terrain vehicle to the farm. State troopers said they found her ATV in a manure pit Saturday and questioned Martin that afternoon because his duties at the farm included hauling manure. Martin led them to the girl's grave, officials said.
Prosecutors said he confessed and played a recording of his statement in court. "She just came out of the blue and said, 'I'm going to tell my mom and dad that you molested me,'" Martin said on the tape. "And I just panicked." Martin, 48, has a record of petty crimes. He did not confess to molesting Gabrielle, authorities said.

Martin told troopers she jumped off her four-wheeler and ran down the farm's driveway after confronting him. He said he chased after her and, when she fell on loose gravel, jumped on top of her. "I'm still scared, panicked, and I started choking her," he said in the recording. Martin told the troopers it was a "good while" before the girl stopped moving.

Bechen's body was found in a shallow grave beneath some rocks on the farm. Authorities said he strangled her and then used farm equipment to move her body to the field where he buried her, her ATV, her helmet and her shoes in four separate holes. Martin also will stand trial on an aggravated assault charge and four counts of tampering with physical evidence.

Public Defender Harry Cancelmi did not directly contradict the charges against Martin, but after the hearing attempted to explain why his client had trouble holding jobs and had a criminal record. Martin was badly injured in an accident when he was 12 and spent two years in a body cast. He fell behind in school and, Cancelmi said, that possibly affected him mentally. (Who cares??? What kind of excuse is that?!) The girl's parents, Christopher and Blanche Bechen, wept quietly as Martin's statement was played at his preliminary hearing. They later declined comment.

THE HONORABLE JUDGE PERVERT RESIDING...

BRISTOW, Okla. — As the trial opened Tuesday for a former Oklahoma judge accused of masturbating on the bench, his lawyer blasted police for holding grudges against the judge and trying to ruin him.


In his opening statement during the trial of Donald Thompson, lead defense lawyer Clark Brewster claimed Sapulpa police wanted to "take the judge out" because of unfavorable rulings against them.

Thompson, a former Creek County district judge, is charged with four felony indecent-exposure counts for allegedly using a sexual device, known as a "penis pump," during trials. Prosecutors also claim that Thompson "shaved his scrotum" during one of his trials.

Because of extensive pretrial publicity, his trial on the indecent-exposure charges was moved 15 miles away to the small town of Bristow. If anything, Brewster told the jury, his client is guilty of bad judgment for having a sex toy in his chambers or under his bench. Brewster said the pump was a "gag gift," and Thompson never kept it a secret. The lawyer also acknowledged the presence of a second pump, which Thompson allegedly bought himself at the recommendation of a doctor who had been treating him for a variety of medical problems, including prostatitis and erectile dysfunction.


Prosecutors showed jurors Tuesday one pump taken from a filing cabinet in Thompson's chambers. They also plan to produce photos of the second pump during testimony this week. Their main witness against Thompson is expected to be his court reporter, Lisa Foster, who has testified previously that she repeatedly observed Thompson using the device.


Prosecutors first called a trio of Sapulpa police officers, who claimed to have heard a whooshing sound, like that of a blood pressure cuff, during a Aug. 22, 2004, murder trial. Mike Reed, who was on the witness stand during that trial, said he realized the sounds were coming from the judge. He said he believed he saw Thompson working a pump with a plastic tube extending toward his crotch. During a lunch recess at that trial, Police Chief Jim Wall directed Reed to take a picture of the device under the bench. Those photos were shown in court Tuesday. Wall later filed a complaint with the Oklahoma Office of Judicial Complaints on Aug. 25, 2004. When news of that allegation hit the media, Thompson retired a few days later, on Sept. 1, 2004.


During cross-examination, Brewster suggested the officers might have been trying to get revenge against Thompson for past rulings against them. He noted that all three had already heard rumors about Thompson's penis pump, and they may have wanted Thompson out of the way to have a more favorable judge appointed in his place.


Wall admitted in court that he was unhappy with one ruling in 2000, but testified he never held a grudge against Thompson for it. Wall, along with Reed and another officer, William Brant Green, said their dealings with Thompson had always been pleasant. Also testifying Tuesday were court reporters Michelle Smith and Jan Doolin, who cleaned out Thompson's chambers about two months after he retired.


Smith told the court that in a desk drawer she found hand lotion, a pornographic magazine, a condom, a prescription bottle for Viagra and some disposable razors.


Before trial began Tuesday, special prosecutor Richard Smothermon was forced to drop a misdemeanor charge of misusing state property filed against Thompson. Smothermon told the trial judge, Charles Allen McCall, that a key witness on that charge — Angela McClanahan — could not be found to testify. A warrant for her arrest has been issued. Prosecutors filed the misdemeanor charge after discovering four pornographic photos in a computer seized from Thompson's office. The photos show a woman performing oral sex, supposedly on Thompson. Brewster has denied the photos are of his client, and says that Thompson was unaware of their presence in his computer.

MORE STUPID PARENTS--TAKE THE KIDS AWAY!

This happened to Courtney Love when she was
around the same age...and look how she turned out!

CEDAR PARK, Texas (AP) — The mother of a 3-year-old boy was arrested after her son ate candy laced with LSD during a weekend party.


Ashli R. Freas, 22, was charged Monday with child endangerment after taking her son to a hospital. She was released Tuesday on $10,000 bond. According to a police affidavit, Freas and her boyfriend took her son to a party at an apartment. They went outside, leaving the boy inside with another adult.


The apartment's leaseholder noticed that his roll of Sweetarts, which had been laced with the hallucinogenic drug, was open and that nine candies were missing. Freas took her son home, then to the hospital after he began hallucinating.


Chris Van Deusen, spokesman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, said the boy will be placed in a foster home after he's released from the hospital.

THREE CAPTURED...THREE MORE ON THE LOOSE

Three of the six men who escaped from the Van Buren County Jail early Tuesday morning have been found. Deputies say Peter Boulette, Randy Crisel, and Thomas Martin IV were found near Wal-Mart off Highway 65 in Clinton. Boulette was found at 3:45 Wednesday morning. The other two were discovered about 5 hours later.


The six escaped around 3:00 a.m. Tuesday, but weren’t discovered missing until around 6:30 in the morning. The sheriff says they were able to poke a hole in the ceiling and climb out. It’s the same way two men escaped only 4 months ago. Since then, the sheriff put sheet metal on the ceilings, but the six men found a way to get around it without the jailers catching them.


“Every hour they are supposed to do a head count and check the pods and make sure everything is OK and looking at the paperwork, it looks like it was done, and how they missed this, I don’t know,” says Van Buren County Sheriff Scott Bradley.


If you’ve seen the men or know anything about where they might be hiding, call the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Department or your local police department.

CONNECTICUT MAYOR--A COKEHEAD

Bridgeport, Conn., Mayor Admits Cocaine Use

STAMFORD, Conn. — Bridgeport Mayor John M. Fabrizi admitted he used cocaine after taking office in 2003 and told the Connecticut Post in an interview published Tuesday that he feels ashamed and humiliated.



Fabrizi sought a meeting with the newspaper's editorial board after an FBI report surfaced in which an alleged drug dealer claimed an associate had a videotape of the mayor using cocaine.

"I'm ashamed. I'm humiliated for myself. I never meant to let the world know. I didn't want my family to know," Fabrizi told the newspaper. (Of course he didn't want anyone to know! Duh!)

Fabrizi, a Democrat who took over leadership of the state's largest city after his predecessor was convicted of corruption, would not say how he obtained cocaine but said he occasionally spent $20 or $40 to purchase it. ($20-$40??? I doubt cocaine comes that cheap...unless he had some "special deal")



He said he has sought treatment and has not used the drug since late 2004. He offered to take periodic drug tests if anyone doubts he has stopped using cocaine. "I used it very intermittently. I don't want to use excuses of recreational or social use. I used it some during the period when I was on the council," said Fabrizi, who was City Council president before he took office.



The FBI report naming Fabrizi was inadvertently filed in court, and Fabrizi said after it was reported last week that he had made "poor choices in the past" but declined to be more specific. Adversaries have called on the mayor to resign, while supporters have urged him to address the drug allegations.



Fabrizi planned to make a public statement Tuesday morning in an address to city employees, said his spokeswoman, Caryn Kaufman. "He is not resigning," she said but declined to comment further. Fabrizi participated in a City Council meeting Monday night. He gave a brief statement, but the council did not discuss the allegations during the meeting. "I take this opportunity to apologize for the recent headlines in the news," Fabrizi said. He invited public officials at the meeting to attend his address Tuesday morning.



Bridgeport, a city of about 140,000 residents on Long Island Sound, has struggled with violent drug dealers who gave the city a reputation as the murder capital of the state in the 1990s before the homicide rate plummeted.


"I do believe that he's got to resign," said Rick Torres, a Republican who ran against Fabrizi in 2003. "How do we explain to children drug use is dangerous and can ruin your life if the top guy is a drug user?" U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor said Friday that Fabrizi was not a target of the drug investigation in which his name surfaced. He said FBI reports are typically filed under seal and apologized to Fabrizi after the document was released.

MORE PROBLEMS FOR "MY SPACE"

AUSTIN, Texas (AP)—A 14-year-old girl who says she was sexually assaulted by another user of MySpace.com sued the social networking Web site Monday, claiming it does not take sufficient steps to protect underage members.

The girl says a 19-year-old man lied in his profile about being a senior on a football team to gain her trust and phone number. Pete Solis was arrested in May on a charge of sexual assault of a child. He could not immediately be reached Monday evening.



The suit alleges that MySpace has "absolutely no meaningful protections or security measures to protect underage users." "(MySpace) has got to take this seriously," said attorney Carl Barry, who is representing the girl and her mother. The suit seeks $30 million.



In a statement, MySpace said it is committed to the safety of its members. "We take aggressive measures to protect our members," said Hemanshu Nigam, chief security officer. "Ultimately, Internet safety is a shared responsibility. We encourage everyone on the Internet to engage in smart Web practices and have open family dialogue about how to apply offline lessons in the online world."

MISSING PENNSYLVANIA GIRL FOUND DEAD

WAYNESBURG, Pa. (AP) — The body of a 12-year-old girl who disappeared last week was found buried at a farm where she liked to visit horses, and a farmhand was charged in her death, authorities said.


Gabrielle Bechen was reported missing Tuesday after she went riding on her all-terrain vehicle near her family's home in southwestern Pennsylvania. Her body was found late Saturday, state police said. The ATV she had been riding was found partially buried at a large manure dump site about a mile from her body. "Once the quad was located, there were several cadaver dogs that were brought in and they searched other areas around the farm, which led us to the location where ultimately Gabby's body was found," Trooper Joseph Christy said.


Authorities charged Jeffrey Robert Martin, a 48-year-old caretaker at the farm, with homicide, assault and tampering with physical evidence. Bechen had visited the farm several times in the past to see the horses, and it's likely Martin and the girl knew each other, Christy said.

Michelle's Wish:

Jeffrey Robert Martin's Ultimate Demise...

THE DEATH PENALTY

VIOLENT CHILDREN--BORN OR BRED?

Boy Wrongly Accused of Murder at 7
Arrested in Double Shooting

CALUMET PARK, Ill. — Eight years after he was wrongly accused as the nation's youngest murder suspect that led to a $2 million settlement with the city of Chicago, the teenager is facing a new charge as an adult in a double shooting in a south suburb.


Romarr Gipson, now 15, and his stepbrother, Roman Foreman, 18, were caught on video surveillance as they approached a parked car Wednesday at a gas station, then opened fire with handguns, said Calumet Park Cmdr. Mel Davis. "He turned around and looked at the camera with a gun in his hand," Davis said. "It doesn't get any clearer than that."


...the teenager has not given a statement to police because his mother is "concerned for his safety and wanted to be in the room with him while he was being questioned," Mel Davis said.


Davis said the boys knew the victims in the gas station shooting. "The whole case seems to revolve around something that happened several years ago in Chicago with a female," he said.


The shooting happened around noon Wednesday at a gas station. The victims were parked in a car at the station when the 15-year-old allegedly approached the driver's side door and his brother approached the passenger's side, each holding handguns, the police chief said. One of the shooting victims, whose name was not released, was on a breathing machine at an area hospital, Davis said. The other victim, also not identified, was treated and released for a bullet wound in the leg.


In 1998, a 7-year-old Gipson and another boy, then 8, were accused in the death of 11-year-old Ryan Harris, making them the youngest murder suspects in the nation at the time. It took almost a month before they were cleared in the killing after tests showed semen on the girl's clothing could not have come from the children.


DNA tests later led prosecutors to charge Floyd Durr, a convicted sex offender, who pleaded guilty in April and was sentenced to life in prison. A lawsuit subsequently filed by the boy's family against the city of Chicago was settled last year.


Police there have approached Gipson's case with caution because of his history with the Harris case, Davis said, adding that his mother was present when he was questioned for about two hours. Gipson is enrolled in a private therapeutic-based school and still suffers psychologically from the arrest in Harris' murder, Jan Susler of the People's Law Office, which represented him in his civil lawsuit.


"This child never got a fair chance," Susler told the Chicago Tribune. "In the computer, every time they pick up this child for sneezing it will always say this child was picked up for this awful, awful crime." Gipson and Foreman are next scheduled to appear in court July 6 for a preliminary hearing, Gorman said.

WHERE ARE THEY FINDING THESE TEACHERS???

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) — A substitute teacher gave cocaine to two 14-year-old girls she met at a private school and used the drugs with them, police said.


Kim Pike was fired from Faith Christian Academy in Longs, where she worked for about two months, principal Sylvia Kenney said. The students told school officials that Pike invited them over to her house, where they shared some cocaine in April, Kenney said.


Pike, 31, of Little River, was charged Tuesday with two counts of distribution of cocaine and released on a $20,000 bond. The school did not conduct a background check on Pike. Kenney said she hired Pike because she knew her family and trusted her. Background checks also weren't conducted on the school's two other substitutes because they were parents of students.


Now all subs will be checked, Kenney said. Longs is about 20 miles northeast of Myrtle Beach.

RAPE--STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

By Lis Wiehl-Fox News

There is no statute of limitations for murder. Murder cases remain open until there is a conviction — even if that conviction happens decades after the crime. The same is true for first-degree arson, first-degree kidnapping and certain drug-related crimes — and for good reason. These crimes are so heinous that a perpetrator shouldn't escape punishment because more than five years have passed since the crime.

But in many states, the same is not true for rape.

Rape is among the gravest of crimes, one that traumatizes victims long after their physical injuries have disappeared, so how can we let a rapist escape justice just because they evade the system for five or more years?


One summer night, more than 33 years ago, Fletcher Worrell climbed into the bedroom of Kathleen Ham's New York City apartment. He put a bag over her head and raped her at knifepoint. It took 32 years to send Worrell to prison, and there's only one reason that he will spend up to 46 years behind bars — a technicality kept the case open.


When Worrell tried to buy a gun in 2004, a police background check revealed an outstanding warrant from Ham's case. Worrell had skipped bail after his first rape trial resulted in a hung jury. When he tried to buy the gun in 2004, police matched his DNA to evidence in the rape trial and arrested him.


Had it not been for the outstanding bail jumping charge, Worrell never would have been convicted or served time for raping Ham. The case would have been tossed for exceeding the state's five-year statute of limitations on rape. "We would never let a murderer walk, just because they committed a crime five years ago," says Sonia Ossorio, president of the National Organization for Women in New York. "No one should get away with rape simply because time has passed."


Many lawmakers agree on the urgent need to eliminate the statute of limitations for felony sex crimes. But opponents, such as the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, say repealing the statute of limitations removes the drive to prosecute cases in a timely manner.


There has been some progress made; 20 states have already eliminated the statute of limitations for the equivalent of rape in the first degree. An additional nine states have statutes of limitations of 10 years or more. Now, New York has an opportunity to take a critical step forward. The state legislature has passed competing bills tackling this issue.


After years of failed attempts, the assembly and state senate are finally on the verge of successfully passing a new law that repeals the state's five-year limit. The assembly approved Bill 11283, which would eliminate the statute of limitations for rape, serious sexual assault and sexual abuse of a child for criminal and civil prosecutions.


The senate passed Bill 5342, which would eliminate the statute of limitations in criminal cases, but keep it at five years for civil cases, in which a victim can sue her assailant for damages and win money. But the civil limitation is a fly in the ointment to passage of the bill. Those who support repealing the civil statute of limitations say that eliminating the time deadline will help victims. "Many survivors are so traumatized that they cannot immediately report their crime," says Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. "This legislation seeks to leave the window of opportunity open for any victim to seek justice in a time frame that is dictated by their needs."



Other lawmakers see extending the deadline for civil suits as a thinly-disguised attempt to line the pockets of trial lawyers. Majority Leader Joseph Bruno said that extending the time deadline is little more than a gift to trial lawyers, and State Senator Jeffrey Klein called the civil provision a "poison pill" designed to torpedo the bill's chances of passing.


In my opinion, we need to look at the facts: the Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that one woman is raped or sexually assaulted in the U.S. every 2.5 minutes, and one in six women have been the victims of rape or attempted rape. Yet, the New York State Division of Criminal Justice reports that "332 sex fiends fingered by DNA evidence will not be prosecuted because of New York's archaic statute of limitations on rape." And that's just one state! We should stop contributing to the number of rapists going unpunished because of a time deadline.


This is a fight that can be conquered one state at a time. In New York, the lawmakers should pass a bill eliminating the criminal statute of limitations for rape and loosening the deadline for filing civil claims against rapists. There is no reason to protect rapists from lawsuits or jail.

RICHARD PRYOR'S GHOST

At least he didn't set his face on fire, like Richard Pryor

Man accused of smoking crack blamed for housing complex fire

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — A man accused of smoking crack cocaine over an open flame is being blamed for a fire at a high-rise public housing complex that left 155 people homeless, authorities said.


Quentin B. Bruce, 59, was arrested Wednesday and charged with 13 felony counts of first-degree reckless endangering. He was released after posting $26,000 secured bail. It was not immediately clear whether Bruce had an attorney.


Investigators said Bruce and another resident at Crestview Apartments, owned by the Wilmington Housing Authority, were smoking crack over an open flame on May 30 in the area where the blaze started. "We don't know how long the fire was going," said fire spokesman Capt. Michael Schaal. "But the use of illegal substances and alcohol probably impaired his reactions."


The fire, which was ruled accidental, injured 22 people, including six firefighters. Bruce told The ( Wilmington ) News Journal on the day of the fire that he had no idea what started the blaze, but that he tried to extinguish the flames with buckets of water.

OPRAH'S FUGITIVE RAPIST GETS 68 YEARS

Child molester profiled on 'Oprah' sentenced to 68 years in prison

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) — A fugitive arrested last fall on sex abuse charges after he was profiled on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" has been sentenced to 68 years in prison.

A Vanderburgh County jury found William C. Davis, 33, guilty in April of five counts of child molestation.

In February, Davis was convicted in neighboring Posey County of abusing three boys in 2004, when they were ages 13, 12 and 5. Davis will begin serving the new sentence after he completes his 52-year term from the Posey County case. "There exists no evidence that you can or will be rehabilitated," Vanderburgh Superior Court Judge Wayne Trockman said.

Davis testified during his Vanderburgh County trial, denying the allegations. His attorney said an appeal was planned.

Davis disappeared in the summer of 2004, after learning that police were looking for him, authorities said. He was arrested Oct. 6 in North Dakota, two days after Winfrey broadcast his picture on her talk show and offered $100,000 for information leading to his capture.

Two friends, women in North Dakota and Minnesota, divided the $100,000 reward after Davis was caught in Fargo, N.D.

OUCH! PARENTS FIGHT OVER CIRCUMCISION?

CHICAGO (AP) — Groups opposed to circumcision are watching the case of an 8-year-old suburban Chicago boy whose divorced parents are fighting in court over whether he should have the procedure.

The child's mother wants him circumcised to prevent recurring, painful inflammation she says he's experienced during the past year. But the father says the boy is healthy and circumcision, which removes the foreskin of the penis, is an unnecessary medical procedure that could cause him long-term physical and psychological harm.

"The child is absolutely healthy," the father said during a break in a court hearing on the matter Wednesday. "I do not want any doctor to butcher my son." The mother testified that her son has had five bouts of painful inflammation and has begged her to help him. Her son cannot wear underwear or jeans during the bouts and is comfortable only in loose-fitting pajamas, she said.

"My child was in the bathroom crying. He asked me to come in because his penis did not look normal," she said, describing one of the episodes. The couple's 2003 divorce decree gave the father the right to offer input on medical decisions. Earlier this year, he sued to block the surgery and Cook County Judge Jordan Kaplan ordered the mother not to have the boy circumcised until he could hear from both parents and the opinions of doctors who've examined the boy. The Associated Press is not naming the parents to protect the child's privacy.

The father was born and raised in Poland. The mother is from Slovakia. The case reflects a national debate over the medical necessity of circumcision. In 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics reversed its support for routine infant circumcision, citing questionable benefits and medical and anecdotal evidence that circumcised men have less penile sensitivity.



David Llewellyn, an Atlanta attorney who specializes in circumcision cases, is helping the father's attorneys without a fee. He called the surgery "a bizarre American custom."

Most U.S. newborn boys are circumcised before they leave the hospital. But a growing number of parents are opting against the surgery. The percentage of male babies circumcised has fallen from an estimated 90 percent in 1970 to about 60 percent today.

Roger Saquet, director of the Non-Circumcision Information Center in Belmont, Mass., said he heard about the case from others who promote leaving boys' foreskins intact. "I can't imagine an 8-year-old boy to be forced to go to a hospital and have his genitals mutilated," he said.

Tracy Rizzo, the mother's attorney, said religion, not medicine, is the father's concern. Rizzo said the father disagrees with circumcision because he resents the fact that his ex-wife has remarried a Jewish man.

The mother lives with her new husband, her son and her husband's son from a previous relationship in Northbrook.

The father, an Arlington Heights resident, denies he's concerned about the religion of his ex-wife's husband. The mother testified Wednesday that she wanted the boy circumcised when he was a newborn, but her then-husband refused. She quoted him as saying at the time: "There is no way my son is going to be circumcised. He is not a Jew." But the judge would not allow Alan Toback, an attorney for the father, to ask the new husband, who also testified Wednesday, if he is circumcised. "We're not going there," the judge said.

For Jews, a ritual circumcision, or bris, is a sacred covenant with God, commanded in Genesis. Jews have been circumcising their sons for thousands of years. In a March 1999 policy statement that was reaffirmed this year, the American Academy of Pediatrics said there are "potential medical benefits" to circumcision, including a reduction in risk of urinary tract infections.

However, existing data "are not sufficient to recommend routine ... circumcision" of newborns, the statement says. The group estimates that 1.2 million newborn males are circumcised in the United States a year at a cost of between $150 million and $270 million.

Dr. David Hatch, a pediatric urologist who testified, said he performs 250 circumcisions a year, including about 20 on boys between the ages of 5 and 10. Hatch testified his own three sons are uncircumcised because he does not think it is normally medically necessary. But he said he would recommend circumcision for a son with a history of recurring inflammation or infection. Kaplan declined to decide the case Wednesday, ordering both sides to submit additional arguments in writing.

TARA GRINSTEAD--FAMILY SUFFERS FOR 9 MONTHS

June 15, 2006 Ocilla - - It's been nearly 9 months since Ocilla school teacher Tara Grinstead disappeared. But her friends and family are still desperately searching for her.

Today, representatives of a North Caolina based missing persons center visited Ocilla. Tara Grinstead's name has made national headlines. Police have been investigating for months. Still no word on what happened or how Tara went missing. Her family is praying for answers before there's any closure.

They're faces of hope. Many smile, as their family members mourn. Tara Grinstead's smile stands out from the rest. "She missed all the holidays with her family. She missed her birthday, she missed the funeral of one of her favorite uncles who passed away. Things that she would be doing in our normal life and I'm just angry that she's not here to be a part of that with us," says Tara's sister Anita Gattis. She tries to smile but can't come to grips that her only sister is still missing.

Today, representatives from the Center for Missing Persons in North Carolina visited the family. They're bringing awareness all over the country about people like Tara who haven't been found. "I realize Tara has had a lot of media attention, but people need to know that she still is missing. People need to know that she is still missing. When people fade from the headlines, the community automatically assume that they've been located or something has transpired in their case and that's simply not the truth here," says Monica Caison from the center.

Family and friends are also doing their part. Their using a new building for support, it's called the Tara Center. Someone is on hand everyday to answer calls and take tips. "Toward whoever would've done this to Tara becasue we know she didn't just leave on her own and someone is responsible for her not being here. That's where my anger has been," Gattis says.

The anger is tamed by a flame. One that burns in the hearts of those who knew Tara and knew her smile that sparkled to everyone she encountered. "That's been my light at the end of the tunnel...just to get her back," Gattis says. Though the pain is still hard to quench.

The family also created a new website in Tara's honor, it's www.missingtara.com. They're offering up to a $200,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

The Center for Missing Persons is traveling across the country this week to visit with other families. They're headed to Naples, Florida now.

MAN CUTS OF WIFE'S HEAD, KILLS 2 OTHERS

BOISE, Idaho— The severed head of a man's wife flew from his pickup truck Thursday after he crashed into an oncoming car, killing the driver and her child, police said.

The investigation of the deadly wreck and the head, which was tossed onto the roadway by the impact, led police to the decapitated body of 47-year-old Theresa N. Time in the garage of the home she shared with her husband, Alofa Time, said Nampa police Lt. LeRoy Forsman.

Time, who was not injured in the crash, told officers that he also was involved his wife's death, officials said. A Boise police officer was driving behind Time's truck on a busy road when he noticed the man's erratic driving and then watched him slam into the car, said police spokeswoman Lynn Hightower.

An autopsy was scheduled next week to determine Theresa Time's cause of death, Canyon County Coroner Vicki DeGeus-Morris said. Time was being held on two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of car accident victims Samantha Nina Murphy, 36, and her 4-year-old daughter Jae Lynne Grimes, both of Boise.

Murphy's other daughter was injured and was in stable condition at a Boise hospital. "It was one of the more horrific and complex crime scenes on memory," Hightower said. "A woman and her child killed in a crash, and a severed head from an earlier homicide: It's nothing short of bizarre and tragic."