Free Republic

A MELBOURNE man who conducted a reign of terror against his ex-lover, including strangling her cat with a telephone cord, has been jailed for more than nine years. Paul Maher began his two-month crime spree after breaking up with Lynne Forehan and when tensions grew over his contact with their toddler. The County Court in Melbourne heard Maher, then 24, began harassing and threatening Ms Forehan and her family last year. The court was told he threw two Molotov cocktails at her parent's house where she was staying, setting the loungeroom alight. He also ransacked her North Melbourne flat and...

Balloon dad says he has something to day according to reports

GF woman accused of showing porn from window, assaulting cop By: Archie Ingersoll, Grand Forks Herald A Grand Forks woman is accused of broadcasting pornography from the window of her home Friday morning, allowing the images and noises to be seen and heard from Lake Agassiz Elementary School. When police Cpl. Dylan Schauer arrived at Nicole Altendorf’s house on the 800 block of Stanford Road, he found a still shot of a pornography video displayed on a television. “We made contact with the suspect, who was not compliant in any way,” a police report states. “She refused to come out...

Jefferson's law license suspendedUpdated: Oct 17, 2009 10:19 AM EDT NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A former Louisiana congressman convicted of taking bribes and racketeering has had his law license suspended. An order issued Wednesday by the Louisiana Supreme Court says William Jefferson is suspended from practicing law pending another order by the court. In August, a federal jury in Virginia convicted the New Orleans Democrat on 11 of 16 counts. Prosecutors said Jefferson received more than $500,000 in bribes and solicited millions more in exchange for using his influence to broker business deals in Africa. His sentencing is set for...

United Nations investigator Judge Richard Goldstone said on Tuesday that his commission had found that both Israel and the Palestinians committed war crimes during the offensive on the Gaza Strip earlier this year. Goldstone concluded that Israel committed actions amounting to war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity, during its December 27-January 18 military operations in the Hamas-ruled territory. A summary of his nearly 600-page report on the fact-finding mission's conclusions also said the firing of rockets into Israel by Palestinian militants where there were no military targets would constitute war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity, as well.

This one likes 'em young. Way too young. A 26-year-old therapist from Kids Hope United in Lake Villa had sex with a 14-year-old boy she counseled, say authorities, who've placed her in county jail today in lieu of $200,000 bond. Cops charged Cori Rivelli, of the 800 block of Milwaukee Avenue in Libertyville, with one count of criminal sexual assault. She's due in court Tuesday. The kiddie creep allegedly bedded the boy on more than one occasion over the summer at her Libertyville apartment. After driving him from the residential facility to see his parents in Peoria, she brought him...

Ann Coulter informs us and entertains us with her latest blockbuster…"Guilty". A review of this book and reasons why you should read this book even if you think you already know everything.

William Jefferson should forfeit $470,000 after guilty verdict, jury saysby Bruce Alpert and Jonathan Tilove, The Times-Picayune Thursday August 06, 2009, 8:20 PM William Jefferson, the former Democratic congressman convicted of 11 of 16 counts of corruption, can be held liable to forfeit more than $470,000 in bribe money paid to sham companies under his family's control, a jury ruled Thursday, one day after convicting him. The jury also found that ANJ Group, one of those front companies controlled by Jefferson's wife, Andrea, and their five daughters, could be required to surrender millions of shares of stock in a Kentucky...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson has been found guilty of 11 of the 16 charges against him in a federal bribery and conspiracy trial. Jefferson was accused of accepting more than $400,000 in bribes and seeking millions more in exchange for brokering business deals in Africa.

Former Democratic Congressman William Jefferson was found guilty of 11 of 16 corruption charges today by a federal jury. The jury of eight women and four men returned a guilty verdict following five days of deliberation....

A 25-year-old unemployed woman who was given an £8,000 operation to help her lose 16 stone is complaining because, as well as her weight loss, her benefits have been reduced. Laura Ripley, who has never worked, was given the operation on the NHS to help her slim down from 38 to 22 stone. But the 25-year-old, who receives £600 a month in benefits, is unhappy because as a result of losing weight she can no longer claim disability allowance amounting to an extra £340 a month. This, she says, means she cannot afford to eat healthily - causing her to...

No, the material mom and pop superstar isn't toting AK47s to Malawi, Manhattan and beyond. Madonna's weapons of choice are her buff-beyond-belief biceps. Recent images of the singer display a double-barreled mass of sinewy veins that strike fear in the hearts of paparazzi and raise questions in the heads of fans and critics: How and why does a 50-year-old woman get her arms to look like that? "Oftentimes when your body fat is really, really, low, as Madonna's is, you're going to see veins pop," explained Leslie Bonci, director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "Her...

SAN FRANCISCO -- A former official at a San Francisco charity has pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing more than $132,000 over three years. Jason Ramon Sanders, 38, of San Francisco, will be sentenced Aug. 26 for stealing $132,600 from the Tides Foundation from 2005 to 2008. Sanders, who was a philanthropic adviser for the foundation, pleaded guilty March 25 before U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco to a count of theft within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, because the charity is in the Presidio.

POQUOSON -- A 22-year-old woman is accused of having sex with two teen brothers she was caring for last July. A family friend says that would be out of character for Ariel Monroe, who was 21 at the time. Poquoson authorities claim the incidents occurred at a Poquoson Avenue home she no longer lives in. The investigation started when the teens’ parents talked with police. Monroe faces two counts each of taking indecent liberties with a child, having carnal knowledge of a juvenile and contributing to the delinquency of a minor by having consensual sex with someone 15-years-old or younger....

Photos of Maria Chapur from social networking site...more to come....

A Silverton teacher is facing charges for the alleged four-year sex abuse of a boy that began in 2002 when he was 13 years old. Susan Christina Alderson, 46, a sixth-grade teacher at Robert Frost Elementary School in Silverton, was arrested Tuesday after a search warrant was served on her home in the 2100 block of Robins Lane Southeast in Salem. Police believe Alderson maintained an ongoing sexual "relationship" with the now 19-year-old victim, who was not one of her students, said Lt. Steve Birr, criminal investigations section commander.

Jefferson trial enters third day of testimonyBy GERARD SHIELDS Advocate Washington bureau Published: Jun 18, 2009 - UPDATED: 9:30 p.m. WASHINGTON – Jurors in the bribery trial of former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson got their first chance Thursday to listen to secretly recorded government tapes that include Jefferson expressing worry about landing in the “pokey.” The 18-year congressman was upset when a Kentucky telecommunications business owner suggested that they get a new investor for a project the two were promoting in Africa. In one obscenity-laced statement, Jefferson was heard to say that the activities in which they were engaged could...

GOODING, Idaho (AP) - A former Bliss High School teacher accused of having sex with a 16-year-old student last fall, including once on school property, has pleaded guilty to felony sexual battery of a minor. Anna Bettencourt acknowledged she had improper sexual contact with the boy in 5th District Court on Monday as part of an agreement with prosecutors, who first charged the 39-year-old in February with two felony sexual battery charges.

The penitent expressions some believe that they can spot on their pets' faces after they banish them to the doghouse is also a figment of their imagination, researchers found. In one experiment, they told pet owners that their dogs were guilty of misbehaving by stealing treats that they had been specifically told they could not have. Even though the animals were innocent owners still felt that they could "see" a look of guilt.

FILLMORE -- A former mayor, LDS bishop and high school teacher in Fillmore has been arrested on charges of having sex with a 17-year-old girl. Keith Gillins was booked into jail Monday night after the student came forward with the allegations. News of the arrest comes after weeks of rumors in Fillmore. Still, it is shocking for residents of the small town to hear that the well-known 61-year-old coach, teacher, religious leader and former mayor of the city was arrested. "He is well-known. He's done a lot of good. He's a good man, and it is upsetting to the community...

A former Holly High School music teacher accused of having sex with two students was sentenced to jail Wednesday and barred from most unsupervised contact with minors. Ranee Sue Proper hugged supporters before facing Oakland Circuit Judge Edward Sosnick, who sentenced her to five years probation, with the first nine months of that in Oakland County Jail. The judge also ordered her to participate in sex offender treatment and not to have any unsupervised contact with minors under 18 other than her own children and relatives’ children.

We've seen the cabinets of French President Sarkozy and Italy's Berlusconi. We should only reciprocate and show France and Italy the women of the Obama Administration. I'll start:Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton

A Queens teacher and her student were recently caught having sex in the classroom. On Thursday she was behind bars, charged with rape, sexual abuse and child endangerment after the student's mom tracked her down. Her head hung low, Melissa Weber was ushered away in cuffs, no doubt thinking about the probable end to her teaching career and whether her alleged sexual rendezvous with her 14-year-old student had been worth it. "It's real disconcerting to find that," said parent and school employee Stacy Gold.

Residents Say They're Terrorized By Pit Bulls Posted: 6:16 pm EDT May 1, 2009Updated: 6:33 pm EDT May 1, 2009 SANFORD, Fla. -- Some Sanford homeowners say they're being terrorized by their neighbor's pit bulls. One of the dogs has already attacked a neighbor near Lily Court in Sanford. Eyewitness News has learned the dogs' owners are not keeping their fence secure. Some of the breaks in the fence are big enough for an adult to easily climb through. After many calls to animal control, neighbors say they want the fence fixed once and for all. "Chasing children, attacking children....

Pink announced recently that she and her estranged-husband Carey Hart are getting back together. And by "getting back together" I mean they're gonna put their wedding rings back on, live in the same house, but bang other people. Sweet! From the Chicago Sun Times: Turns out all that hoopla about breakup of the marriage of rocker Pink and her motorcross star hubby, Carey Hart, was a bit exaggerated. Seems the couple never got around to filing for divorce. Anyway, now they're back together, but have apparently worked out what the couple is calling an "open marriage" deal. According to a...

U.S. Settles First TARP-Related Fraud CasePeter Barnes and Joanna Ossinger FOXBusiness Wednesday, April 22, 2009 The first fraud case related to the government’s $700 billion financial bailout plan is now official. On Wednesday, the Justice Department filed a criminal case against Gordon Grigg, a financial adviser in Tennessee, partially over alleged claims that his investments were affiliated with the government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. In January, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil charges against Grigg to shut him down. According to his lawyer, Grigg reached a plea agreement with prosecutors on Tuesday, pleading guilty to four counts...

Michelle Farley, 40, will have to register as a sex offender as part of a plea agreement reached with Ada County prosecutors Friday. Farley was supposed to begin a jury trial on eight charges of sexual battery on April 27 but that has been canceled because of the plea agreement. Farley pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual battery Friday. Prosecutors dismissed the seven others. They plan to recommend that she serve 10 years of probation with the possibility of up to a year in the Ada County Jail.

Sure, Stu Rasmussen is the first openly transgendered mayor in the country. And he considers anything less than 3-inch heels to be flats. Oregon mayor may get reality show, and hopes it will be a modern civics lesson.But Rasmussen says his life with his long-term girlfriend and seven cats in the quiet little town of Silverton, Ore., is actually "relatively boring." The outside world, however, seems to disagree. Rasmussen, 60, now in his second stint as mayor but the first spent dressing like a woman, has recently finished filming footage for what could be a new reality television show

This time the jury did not ignore the habit Phil Spector had of playing Russian roulette with women. After so many times of "playing" the game, Lana Clarkson was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time with Phil Spector who's luck had run out. With a chance to find Phil Spector innocent, guilty of 2nd degree murder or involuntary manslaughter, the jury found Spector guilty of 2nd degree murder.

UNION CITY, CA -- A female teacher at Union City's Cesar Chavez Middle School has been arrested and charged for allegedly committing lewd acts with a 13-year-old male student, police said today. Anna Kristina Baeta, 38, was arrested after New Haven Unified School District administrators notified police Tuesday that a teacher allegedly had contact that was "sexual in nature" with a student, according to police. The Alameda County District Attorney's Office charged Baeta with multiple counts of lewd acts Thursday, police said. The New Haven Unified School District issued a statement today saying district officials immediately notified police after the...

A jury found Michael Anderson guilty Tuesday night of premeditated murder in the shooting of a Minneapolis woman he lured to his house in Savage through an ad on Craigslist. District Judge Mary Theisen set sentencing for 10:30 a.m. today in Scott County District Court. The mandatory sentence for first-degree murder is life in prison. Theisen said she would invite relatives of the 24-year-old victim, Katherine Olson of Minneapolis, to give impact statements before the sentencing. The jury of seven men and five women found Anderson, 20, guilty of first- and second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. They deliberated just five...

PORTSMOUTH — Police arrested a city woman on a charge of indecent exposure alleging she was collecting dog feces while naked from the waist down.

Here is complete video, in six parts, of an interview Ann Coulter did for C-Span Book TV to discuss her best-selling book, "Guilty: Liberal Victims and their Assault on America." Ann is her usual irreverent, witty, humorous, sarcastic self in this interview with Michelle Easton of the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute . . . . . . (Watch Complete Video of the Interview)

CHICAGO – A federal jury convicted Chicago's former streets and sanitation commissioner Monday of using bogus documents and other fraudulent acts in a scheme to load the city payroll with political campaign workers. Al Sanchez, 61, looked on without expression as U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman read the guilty verdicts on four charges of mail fraud and acquittals on three others. Each count carries a maximum 20-year sentence. Afterward, Sanchez said the conviction was unfair. "We had a job to do and we did it and now I'm sitting up here convicted of crimes and I don't know what...

Josef Fritzl was today facing the prospect of dying in prison after he dramatically pleaded guilty to all the charges against him, including the murder of his own son. His change of heart was prompted by his daughter's harrowing evidence of how she was held captive for 24 years, repeatedly raped and had seven of her father's children. The 73-year-old told a stunned court in St Poelten, Austria, this morning that he now admitted all the charges, including murder and slavery. Asked why he had changed his plea, Fritzl told the panel of judges: 'When I saw the video tapes...

A former Wantagh High School teacher guilty of having had sex with a 16-year-old boy was released on bail Saturday after her arraignment on new charges that she violated a restraining order by sending three letters to the teenager last year while she was in jail.

Ann is going to be on CSPAN2 to talk about her book Saturday at 10pm. Look at website for more times and details. They livestream it, so if you don't have cable, you should still be able to watch.

Telegraph: She can speak different languages, carry out roll calls, set tasks and make facial expressions – including anger – thanks to 18 motors hidden behind her latex face.

Reading Ann Coulter’s latest book, Guilty: Liberal Victims and their Assault on America, one almost feels sorry for her. It’s painfully clear she has crossed the threshold of her half life. Her mantra that liberals are pitiable, conniving, traitorous losers and that conservatives are valorous, patriotic administrative geniuses plays poorly against the backdrop of the hand-over from George W. Bush to Barack Obama. Imagine penning a panegyric to dirigible travel while crossing the Atlantic on the Hindenburg.More at National Post - Full Comment

Swiss con man Helg Sgarbi has been sentenced to six years in jail after admitting sleeping with and blackmailing a succession of rich women out of millions of pounds including BMW heiress Susanne Klatten. The 44-year-old wined and dined a string of rich wives and widows, including Germany's wealthiest woman Mrs Klatten, winning their confidence and then asking for money.

Christy Lynn Martin, 32, who St. Petersburg police say used a cell phone to exchange pornographic photos with the boy last weekend, was released on $20,000 bail on Sunday. The boy, an eighth-grader who is not being identified, also told investigators he and the Azalea Middle School teacher had a relationship.

Yavapai County sheriff's deputies have arrested a teacher at American Heritage Academy on charges of having sex with a student. Deputies went to the school Thursday after the school principal reported catching the teacher and student in a compromising situation. The principal, Leonard Miller, told sheriff's detectives he tried to enter biology teacher Emili Kay Daniels' classroom, but the door was locked. After unlocking it, the principal saw Daniels and a 17-year-old male student near the teacher's desk. The student's pants were undone, exposing his underwear. Both teacher and student initially denied any sexual activity. He separated Daniels and the...

A Southern Wayne High School teacher accused of a sex offense turned herself in to the Wayne County Sheriff's Office on Monday. An investigation was launched into allegations against exceptional children's teacher Shannon Grace Herring, 32, on Nov. 18, when Southern Wayne principal John Boldt filed a police report with the school resource officer, Deputy Russell Rice. The alleged sexual incident, described only as "sexual activity" by the Sheriff's Office, did not take place on the school campus, Capt. Tom Effler said. When Rice and Boldt filled out their police incident report, they alleged "improper student teacher contact," as the...

Melissa Lavender, 33, a culinary arts teacher at South Lake High School in St Clair Shores, Michigan has been arrested and charged on allegations that she engaged in acts of gross misconduct of a sexual nature with the two male South Lake High School students. Melissa Lavender Lavender has been charged with two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. The alleged victims are 16 and 17-years-old. It is alleged that Lavender engaged in sexual conduct with the boys on the night of June 26 on the boat belonging to the parts of a former student. Reportedly the boat that was...

Model who left student scarred for life in glassing attack is jailed for two years By DAILY MAIL REPORTER 27th February 2009 A glamorous model and air stewardess was jailed for two and a half years after she smashed a wine glass into a student's face, causing horrific injuries. [See URL pic] Lisa Kee threw red wine over Liam Sharratt before punching him and smashing the glass into his face. The attack was so severe that it slashed the PhD student's cheek open and left him with permanent scarring.

HOLYOKE, Mass. (AP) - A teacher from western Massachusetts and her 15-year-old student - who disappeared a week ago after the boy's parents complained about the woman's relationship with their son - have been found in West Virginia. Holyoke Mayor Michael Sullivan tells WWLP-TV in Springfield that police apprehended 24-year-old Lisa Lavoie and the boy in Morgantown, W.Va. on Tuesday morning. Lavoie is being held on charges of child endangerment and is scheduled for a hearing later Tuesday. Sullivan says arrangements are being made to return the boy to Massachusetts. Police say they won't comment yet. The boy's mother contacted...

Student, 15, found in W.Va. hotel with teacher February 24, 2009 09:56 AM By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff Police found a missing 15-year-old Holyoke boy late last night in hotel room in Morgantown, W. Va., with his eighth-grade teacher. The boy, a student at Maurice Donahue Elementary School, "was found to be OK," said Holyoke Police Chief Anthony R. Scott. The teacher Lisa Lavoie, 24, was taken into custody by local police and will be charged with enticement of a child, which is a felony, Scott said.

Ann Coulter’s new book Guilty, has been my bedside reading lately. So far, it’s terrific. You know, it’s funny. When a mainstream critic calls a book or movie outrageous, daring, shocking, or revolutionary, it usually means it’s the same old boring stuff: someone bares his ass or curses out Jesus or attacks some vestige of decency or honor that’s managed to survive the cultural locusts. It’s all so groundbreaking you can hardly keep from snoring. But when someone like Ann comes along—someone who really is outrageous, daring, shocking and disconcertingly adorable to boot, these same brave radical critics suddenly fling...

Teacher accused of prostitution won't resign Friday, February 13, 2009 3:56 PM By Holly Zachariah THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH * Audio of an undercover sheriff's officer negotiating a deal for sex with the suspect. NOTE: This clip contains explicit content. BELLEFONTAINE, Ohio - A woman advertised online that she needed help paying her bills so she was looking for someone - a man or a woman, she didn't care - who would pay her for sex. The ad on the "casual encounters" section of the popular Web site Craigslist described her as a 35-year-old, bisexual professional female with blond hair, brown...

STOCKTON, Calif. - A 24-year-old English teacher has been arrested after being accused of having sex with a 16-year-old student, Stockton police said. Christina Oliver works at Ronald E. McNair High School in Stockton and is employed by the Lodi Unified School District, assistant Chief of Police Blair Ulring said. Police said they got a call from a parent who said he thought his son was sexually involved with a teacher at the school.