truesee's Blog

CRANSTON, R.I. -- Cranston police are refereeing a neighborhood dispute in which one neighbor posted a sign expressing the wish that the other, who is in remission from cancer, would die.

About 17 people staged a protest in front 50 Peerless St. in the Stadium neighborhood carrying signs that said "Leave our peaceful neighborhood," "Evil to cancer patients," "Shame on you," and "God please help him" -- all of them directed at the man who put up the sign, Edward Jimmis.

Cranston Police Chief Marco Palombo Jr. told those carrying placards that "the fact that you are all here together is a good thing." He said earlier he wanted neighbors to know that the police were involved and trying to work toward a resolution, and would keep an eye on the protest.

Bob Gold, 55, has been in remission for a year from Hodgkin's lymphoma, which he has been fighting since February 2009. He said that on Monday, he was in his backyard when he saw a holiday wreath with a red bow on the back window of Jimmis' garage. A hand-lettered note inside the wreath read: "Glad you have canser (sic). So die stupid."

Gold called Cranston police, who, he said, talked to Jimmis, but the police reported that Jimmis was not breaking any law. An officer asked Jimmis to take down the sign in the interest of neighborhood peace, Gold said, but Jimmis did not.

Gold then called a reporter, who tried twice to talk to Jimmis. Jimmis later changed the sign to one that said, "Love your neighbor."

This story was originally published at 6:43 p.m.

David Lohr

Huffington Post 

First Posted: 8/3/11 05:51 PM ET 

Updated: 8/3/11 11:46 PM ET

In 2004, Isaac Turnbaugh of Vermont was acquitted of killing his coworker. Police say he recently contacted them, however, and confessed to the murder. But there's not much they can do.

Some might call it an outrage, but he's protected under a basic Fifth Amendment concept better known as "double jeopardy," and prosecutors say their hands are tied.

"He could have turned over a video tape of him committing the murder and it wouldn't change the fact that double jeopardy is attached," Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell told The Huffington Post. "We had our chance. The jury acquitted him and, just in the same way OJ could confess today to his wife's murder, it wouldn’t affect what could be done to him."

Turnbaugh, now 28, stood trial in 2004 on a charge of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Declan Lyons, 24. The two men were coworkers at the restaurant American Flatbread in Waitsfield, a town located about 20 miles southwest of Montpelier, Vt.

Lyons, engaged and expecting his first child, was found dead outside the restaurant on April 12, 2002. He had been mixing sauce in an outdoor cauldron when witnesses inside the restaurant heard a loud popping noise. WPTZ reported that, when the waitresses went outside to investigate, they found an unresponsive Lyons on the ground with a gaping head wound.

Police had no suspects in the case until the following month, when Turnbaugh went to a party and allegedly told six friends that he had shot Lyons. One of the friends told Turnbaugh's mother and she reportedly contacted the police.

"The whole reason he was charged was because he was sitting around the campfire with friends taking mushrooms and, amidst some sort of schizophrenic break, he confessed to this shooting, to being responsible for [the terrorist attacks of] 9/11 and an assortment of other things," Turnbaugh's former attorney, Kurt Hughes, told HuffPost.

A Vermont citizen who was acquitted of killing a coworker in 2004, recently contacted police and allegedly confessed.

 

During police questioning, Turnbaugh denied killing Declan Lyons and said he considered him a "really good buddy."

Friends also described Turnbaugh and Lyons as good friends, which made it difficult to establish a motive.

"All of us can't fathom why this would have happened," former co-worker Jen Moffroid told WPTZ in August 2002.

"Not a lot of bad vibes. Not a lot of animosity . . . You don't know what to believe and we're just trusting in the system and hoping that the police and courts can figure out what really happened here. We all would really like to know what really happened."

Hughes said the case was extraordinary, in that he had easy access to Lyons' coworkers and friends -- a rare convenience for a suspect's defense.

"They all loved Isaac as much as they loved the victim. It was unlike anything I had been involved in before," he said.

Following his arrest, Turnbaugh was diagnosed with a serious mental illness. The case did not go to court for roughly two years. When it did, Turnbaugh's lawyer argued that his client was ill and said that the FBI was unable to establish that a rifle belonging to his client was the murder weapon.

According to WCAX, prosecutors never denied that they did not have a motive for the crime, but were hoping that lies Turnbaugh had told police -- as well as his confession at the party -- would help them to prove premeditated murder.

On April 6, 2004, after five hours of deliberation, jurors found Turnbaugh not guilty of murder.

Sorrell said that he was surprised by the verdict.

"We had these admissions from him, but he had a very good lawyer who was able to raise reasonable doubt that if you couldn't believe that he was involved with 9/11, then you couldn't believe that he was involved in this murder," the Vermont attorney general said. "The jury did its job. We gave it our best shot. Our justice system isn't always perfect, but it is darn good."

In the month after he was found innocent, Turnbaugh found himself in hot water with police following a 7-hour standoff in which he was involved. Other than that, he has kept a relatively low profile. That is, until he contacted police in Montpelier recently and allegedly confessed to killing Declan Lyons. There is, however, nothing police can do about it.

According to Anne Bremner, a Seattle attorney and legal analyst, the double jeopardy clause forbids authorities from trying Turnbaugh again for murder in this case.

"The framers of the Constitution wanted to preclude government harassment of citizens via successive and potentially harassing prosecutions," Bremner explained to HuffPost.

"Let's take Casey Anthony's case," Bremner continued. "Even if she confesses to Barbara Walters, Oprah, or Larry Flynt, for that matter, double jeopardy would preclude charging or prosecuting her again."

Once again, attorneys on both sides are in disagreement about the alleged confession.

"He's mentally ill. He made similar so-called confessions before the trial, so it's nothing new. It's part of his illness [and] it sounds like he's having a relapse of some sort," Hughes said.

Sorrell, on the other hand, believes Turnbaugh's alleged confession.

"He gave some details this time that were consistent with evidence in the case," Sorrell said. "Clearly, the victim had a head wound, but the police were never able to find any bullet or bullet fragments enough to do any ballistics, so we did not have evidence of any particular caliber or any particular gun. We believed it was a high-powered rifle, and we knew that Isaac Turnbaugh owned a 30-30 rifle. So, this time, he did say he shot him in the head with the 30-30.”

There have been speculation and rumors that authorities could go after Turnbaugh on other potential charges such as perjury, but Sorrell said the defendant did not testify on his own behalf, so perjury is out of the question. Besides that, the statute of limitations is up and "that's not what we're looking to do here," he said.

A civil suit is also unlikely, the attorney general said.

"Quite frankly, I'm not sure that the victim's family would be looking for monetary reward," Sorrell said. "[Secondly], even if they got a verdict for a hundred million dollars, I'm not sure they would be in a position to collect a dime from Isaac Turnbaugh."

Police have not talked to Turnbaugh since his alleged confession. He did not respond to an interview request from The Huffington Post.

According to Sorrell, authorities still believe Turnbaugh is the killer, and do not plan to re-open the case.

"It's just a terrible tragedy," he said. "But, he has to live with what, in fact, he has done."

MOBILE, Alabama — A Clarke County woman responsible for the region’s biggest personal fraud against the Federal Emergency Management Agency following Hurricane Katrina wasted no time committing a new offense when she got out of prison, prosecutors allege.

In fact, according to a federal prosecutor in Mobile, Lawanda Williams set the wheels in motion before she even got out of a halfway house Feb. 11. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Costello said Williams faxed documents to Alabama Power from a work-release job at a Taco Bell in Spanish Fort in preparation for fraudulently obtaining a loan in someone else’s name.

U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade threw the book at Williams today, rejecting the 37-year-old Jackson woman’s explanation that she intended to pay for the $3,000 worth of appliances she bought on credit.

“Frankly, Ms. Williams, I don’t believe your representations,” Granade said before sentencing her to another 2 years in prison, the maximum penalty. “The record from this court and others is that you are a con person and a fraudster. ... You have begun down a path from which there is no going back unless you decide to change.”

The judge also denied a request by Assistant Federal Defender Fred Tiemann to allow Williams to serve the sentence at the same time she serves a 10-year prison term imposed by a Clarke County Circuit Court judge for the same conduct.

According to court records, Williams got out of the halfway house on Feb. 11 and completed the purchase that same day in Jackson of a washer and dryer, a computer and a TV set from Alabama Power. A tip led Alabama Power to reclaim the items on March 4.

Williams admitted that she used the name and personal information of a woman named Tiffany Brooks, whom the defendant met in prison. Tiemann said his client knew she would not qualify for credit in her own name and had the woman’s permission to use hers.

“I wanted the court to be aware that the state is punishing her for the underlying conduct,” Tiemann told the judge.

Costello sought the 2-year maximum, noting that Williams has a string of criminal convictions dating to age 17 and that she has had only 2 months of verified employment in her life — in 1995.

“It’s the only appropriate sentence in this case. Frankly, it’s probably too little,” he said. “She had no intention of paying the money back.”

Williams pleaded guilty in 2006 to federal crimes stemming from her submission of 28 phony applications for assistance following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. FEMA approved 20 of those applications for $277,377.

Granade sentenced her in 2007 to 6 years and 3 months in prison and ordered her to pay back $267,377. The judge also ordered her to surrender 4 automobiles, real estate, televisions, electronics equipment and other items she purchased with the money.

At the request of prosecutors, Granade later chopped 8 months off of Williams’ sentence in recognition of assistance she provided in another case of FEMA fraud.

 

Danny Drake/AP

 

Louis Magazzu, a Cumberland County freeholder in New Jersey, resigned Tuesday after nude photos of him surfaced.

Garden State Democrat Louis Magazzu announced his resignation Tuesday after nude pictures he sent to a woman he had been corresponding with were posted on a Republican activist's website.

At least two of the photos showed the Cumberland County freeholder's crotch, two showed him dressed to the nines in a suit, and a fifth showed him waist up without a shirt.

The tawdry photos - taken in front of a mirror with a smartphone - are similar to those that led to Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Queens-Brooklyn) to call it quits in June.

Magazzu, a 53-year-old lawyer who had been an elected county official for more than a decade, apologized to his friends, family and constituents in a statement, but indicated he had been set up.

"I did not know that she was working with an avowed political enemy to distribute these pictures," Magazzu said of the Chicago woman he corresponded with online with for several years but claims he never met. "I have retained counsel to determine what laws may have been broken by the unauthorized distribution of those pictures."

Magazzu, who has five children, has been separated from his wife for about two years. He claims no government devices were used to receive or send the pictures.

Unlike Weiner, who waited weeks before resigning, Magazzu stepped down just a day after the photo scandal hit local papers.

Carl Johnson, of Milville, who posted the photos on Magazzuwatch.com, said he would consider taking down the photos.

"He should have stepped down a long time ago for many reasons. His brand of politics is harmful to the entire political process," Johnson told The Associated Press.  "I'm sorry it had to happen this way."

With News Wire Services

80-year-old teacher sues to get job back after arguing with school about bathroom breaks

Jose Martinez
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Wednesday, August 3rd 2011, 4:00 AM

Gwinnett inmate charged with trying to hire hitman

Joel Provano

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A Gwinnett County jail inmate has been charged with trying to hire a hitman.

 

Gwinnett County Sheriff's office Richard Allen Fowler has been charged with is charged with criminal attempt to commit a crime and criminal solicitation, both felonies.

 

Richard Allen Fowler, 55, allegedly offered to pay $4,500 to the "hitman" -- actually an undercover Gwinnett County deputy -- to kill a woman, Channel 2 Action News is reporting.

Fowler, of Norcross, allegedly told the deputy he wanted the woman killed because she had caused him problems.

Now he has even bigger problems. Fowler is charged with criminal attempt to commit a crime and criminal solicitation, both felonies. He is being held without bond at the Gwinnett jail.

Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Stacey Bourbonnais said more information on the case would be released Tuesday afternoon.

Fowler had been jailed for terroristic threats and criminal trespass.

Man chainsaws giant middle-finger salute to neighbours as feud boils over into court

The finger sculpture might have sent an even stronger message if it faced the right way.

Residents of Frogmore Cres, Park Orchards, yesterday said they had been caught in the middle of a street war after the man moved into the peaceful area, the Herald Sun reported.

A neighbour said a long-running feud started soon after complaints were made to Manningham Council that the man, 47, had cleared trees on his property in the renowned green wedge.

As the tension in the street reached boiling point, the man chainsawed a 1.2m sculpture of a middle finger out of wood and sat it up in his front yard as a message to his neighbours.

to the Herald Sun and would not comment on whether he had followed orders to remove the statue.

"Leave me and my family alone, I have nothing to say," he said.

Another neighbour, too scared to be named, said the man had terrorised dozens of residents.

"He is the neighbour from hell," the neighbour said.

"We would all be quite happy if he just packed up and went away.

"We've had to endure 18 months of this."

At Ringwood Magistrates' Court last week the court heard a neighbour, John Washbourne, was assaulted after he asked the man to turn off a leaf blower that was sending dust and debris into the caravan Mr Washbourne was cleaning.

The court was told the man headbutted Mr Washbourne, shoulder-barged Mr Washbourne's wife, Judy Lewis, and put the leaf blower in their faces.

After being visited by police following the assault, the man ignored an order to turn down music.

Defence lawyer Paul Lawrie said the man had begun to adopt strategies to avoid conflict and wanted to resolve all matters.

But residents said they were still fearful of the man.

The offender pleaded guilty to charges relating to the assault, sculpture and failure to turn off his stereo and was convicted and fined $700.

In a separate hearing, he was fined $10,000 by Manningham Council after pleading guilty to removing vegetation and doing earthworks without a permit.

The debt-and-deficit bill signed into law on Tuesday forestalled a dangerous federal government default. But it will also slash aid to states already reeling from the recession, almost certainly forcing them to curtail services and raise revenues to pay for programs once bankrolled by Congress.

The bill, which the Senate approved and President Obama signed into law Tuesday, will eventually raise the government’s debt limit by more than $2 trillion in exchange for equivalent savings. Congress will achieve nearly $1 trillion of those savings by cutting domestic discretionary spending – including funds for education, health care, job training – to its lowest level in over half a century, as a share of the GDP.

“State budgets are already devastated,” says Ethan Pollack, a senior policy analyst at the Economic Policy Institute. “This deal just makes it far worse and shifts a lot of the pain onto state and local governments.”

When state lawmakers hashed out budgets for the fiscal year that began in July, 42 states and the District of Columbia faced a collective budget gap of $103 billion, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), which tracks state spending. Because every state except Vermont requires a balanced budget, almost all were compelled to slash services, raise taxes, or both.

The law passed Tuesday will shrink the government’s non-security, domestic, discretionary spending by about $500 billion over the next 10 years, according to the CBPP. Nearly a third of those funds typically flow to states.

States rely on federal aid to pay for many popular programs, including Head Start, work study, energy and housing subsidies, highway repair, and emergency response. With fewer federal dollars available, states will need to restrict their own resources to vital institutions, while cutting or charging fees for less-crucial services.

Taxpayers can expect larger class sizes, fewer police officers, and more potholes, says Jo Comerford, executive director of the National Priorities Project, a left-leaning non-profit that monitors government spending.

“We’re way past cutting the fat or program efficiencies,” says Ms. Comerford. “Now we’re into cuts that are really affecting quality of life and forcing really hard choices.”

States’ painful budget decisions are likely to extend beyond fees and service cuts.

Since August 2008, state and local governments have trimmed workforces at a rate of about 10,000 to 20,000 positions per month, according to the CBPP. Reduced federal aid will likely mean more state-level job and benefits cuts, which in turn could slow states’ recoveries.

When workers receive lower pay or lose their jobs, they consume less, and the ripple effect continues throughout the state’s economy, costing even more jobs,” says a June report by the CBPP

Still, most states are relieved to see a deal that averts government default – particularly the handful of states that faced credit rating downgrades if the federal government failed to pay its bills. In addition, the ballooning federal deficit was unsustainable, says Robert Ward, deputy director of the Rockefeller Institute of Government in Albany, N.Y.

“If Congress had done nothing, what would the impact have been for states then?” asks Mr. Ward. “It’s hard to argue that the status quo could simply continue forever.”

The deficit reduction law includes a second phase of cuts worth up to $1.5 trillion. The plan calls for a joint committee in Congress to recommend savings, which could take the form of tax increases, entitlement reforms, or more spending cuts. If the recommendations aren’t acted upon by the end of the year, automatic reductions of $1.2 trillion will be applied to defense and domestic programs, including Medicare.

More than two-thirds of the federal funds flowing to states go to mandatory programs, including cash assistance and Medicaid. Medicaid alone accounts for nearly half – about $248 billion – of the $586 billion states will receive from the federal government this year.

For this reason, many analysts are convinced the joint committee will recommend changes to Medicaid, possibly restricting the number of recipients and shifting more costs to the states.

“Medicaid will almost certainly be on the table,” says Ward. “The looming deficits are just too big to ignore, and too big to close with tax increases or military reductions alone.”

Though Congress has yet to target specific programs for reductions – the most severe of which won’t take effect until after the 2012 elections – advocacy groups are already bracing for a new era of austerity.

In New York City, a group called New Yorkers Against Budget Cuts planned to meet on Wall Street Tuesday afternoon to protest the debt law.

“We’re calling people out to vent their frustration with the cutbacks at the federal level,” said Larry Hales, one of the group’s co-founders, before the event.

Mr. Hales, who lives in Jersey City, N.J., has been unemployed since 2009, when he was laid off from a job as a community organizer. Earlier this year, Hales’ unemployment benefits expired, and the state stopped sending him a monthly cash assistance check. He says he doesn’t expect either to be restored.

'Extra sugar' investigation leads to prostitution arrest for Rockaway Dunkin Donuts worker

The Daily Record 

6:52 AM, Aug. 2, 2011

PRESS FILE PHOTO ~

ROCKAWAY — A 29-year-old woman working the night shift at Dunkin Donuts is facing prostitution charges for allegedly taking breaks from selling donuts and coffee to provide sexual services in exchange for money.

Melissa Redmond, 29, of Mine Hill, was arrested after a six week investigation known as “extra sugar” that began when police got a tip that people could go to the Dunkin Donuts on Route 46 and arrange a liason with Redmond.

“I had gotten an anonymous tip,” Detective Sgt. Kyle Schwarzmann, who led the investigation. “She was a night time employee (working 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.), supposedly a very good one.’’

Schwarzmann began gathering information and doing surveillance at the scene. He noticed on multiple evenings that she would go out to cars to see customers and would spend 10 or 15 minutes there, he said.

“Sometimes I 'd even see money changing hands,’’ Schwarzmann said, adding that sometimes the cars would stay in the parking lot and other times they would drive to another nearby location.

An undercover operation was developed wth the assistance of Officer Robert Koehler and Officer Scott Haigh acting as the undercover “John.”

“He went in plain clothes through the drive thru window,’’ Schwarzmann said. “He spoke to her and she said if he wanted a good time to call her and she gave him her phone number.”

Haigh parked in the parking lot and Redmond allegedly came out, approached him and gave him a specifc price list for her services.

Haigh returned on another occasion and inquired about her services, was offered a new, and lower, price so he said he needed to go to a bank machine but would return with the money.

When Haigh returned, they drove to the back of the building and the arrest was made. Redmond was then processed, served her complaint and released.

No one at the Dunkin Donuts wanted to comment Monday morning.