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Poles Angered by German WWII Compensation Claims A group representing Germans who were expelled from Poland after World War II are claiming compensation from Warsaw. The move threatens to damage already fragile relations between Germany and Poland. There is widespread resistance to the idea that Germans too could have been victims of World War II. So it comes as no surprise that the decision by a group of Germans to file compensation for property they lost when they or their relatives were forcibly expelled from Poland after World War II is extremely controversial. On Friday the Prussian Trust (Preussische Treuhand),...

Nine members and associates of a notorious east San Fernando Valley street gang that terrorized residents for more than a decade were found guilty Thursday of federal drug and racketeering charges - legal tools more commonly used to fight organized crime. In the first criminal trial brought against the Sun Valley-based Vineland Boys, who police say ran roughshod through parts of Burbank, North Hollywood and Palmdale, the jury deliberated seven days before reaching the verdicts that could land two of the defendants in prison for life. "This is the first time in Southern California that the RICO (Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt...

Federal prosecutors began their racketeering case Thursday against a street gang with testimony from a Burbank police officer who was badly wounded in a shootout that killed a fellow officer. Detective Gregory Campbell said he called for backup after smelling marijuana coming from a Cadillac Escalade in the parking lot of a motel. After Officer Matthew Pavelka arrived, the driver began firing at Campbell from five feet away, he testified. ``I recall yelling out, 'gun,''' said Campbell, who went down after being shot in the stomach and head. He didn't see what happened next but recalled hearing more than two...

DOWNTOWN BURBANK -- Citing potential "distractions" stemming from her arrest on suspicion of cocaine possession and child endangerment, City Councilwoman Stacey Murphy resigned from the City Council Tuesday, ending a more than eight-year run on the dais and setting the stage for a special election to fill her seat. In a letter addressed to City Manager Mary Alvord, Murphy said it was with a heavy heart that she was stepping down from the council "This is not an easy decision for me personally, however, for the best interests of our city, and my children, it is the right thing to...

LOS ANGELES -- Glendale resident and businessman Scott Schaffer entered a not guilty plea on Monday to charges that he sold handguns to a gang member in exchange for cocaine. Schaffer stood in an area separated from the rest of the courtroom of U.S. District Magistrate Judge Paul Game by glass partitions and gave clear, loud responses when asked his name and if he understood the charges against him. "Not guilty," Schaffer responded when asked how he plead to the charges. His parents and three friends were present in the courtroom for the plea. A federal grand jury handed down...

LOS ANGELES (AP) The longtime boyfriend of a Burbank city councilwoman has been charged with weapons and drug violations in connection with a notorious street gang. Scott Schaffer, companion of Burbank Councilwoman Stacey Jo Murphy, was charged Wednesday and is being held on suspicion of trading guns to a gang member for cocaine. Schaffer's attorney said his client would plead not guilty at his arraignment Monday. Schaffer was arrested July 13 after authorities found a gun registered in his name at the home of a San Fernando Valley gang member. Authorities said Schaffer traded two guns for cocaine. Court papers...

BURBANK, Calif. -- Police took down two Interstate 5 Freeway signs honoring slain Burbank police Officer Matthew Pavelka after they were defaced with a spray-painted "187" and a gang nickname, the Daily News reported on Friday. In gang graffiti parlance, "187" -- the California penal code section for murder -- is a death threat. For Burbank police, who are investigating the case as vandalism, the graffiti opened an old wound, according to the report. "What you have here is an individual who has given his life to a particular cause, and people just vandalize it," Burbank police Sgt. Jay Jette...

BURBANK, Calif. -- Burbank City Councilwoman Stacey Jo Murphy said Tuesday she will stay on the job despite her arrest on suspicion of cocaine possession and child endangerment. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- July 14 Images: Councilwoman Arrested June 29 Images: Vineland Boyz Arrests Police Arrest 22 During Operation Swift Intruder Burbank Councilwoman Accused Of Vineland Boyz Gang Ties -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I cannot comment specifically on the allegations made against me," Murphy wrote in a letter to City Manager Mary Alvord that was read at Tuesday's Burbank City Council meeting. "I intend to do the job you elected me to do, and I plan on...

BURBANK, Calif. -- About 600 police officers raided homes from the San Fernando Valley to Palmdale overnight, in Operation Swift Intruder, a broad operation targeting violent gang members suspected in the shooting deaths of two officers. The raid on members of the Vineland Boyz follows a similar, larger raid against the gang last month. LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon said officers were serving search warrants at more than 20 locations and had made at least 14 arrests by 6 a.m. Vernon said that two other suspects were already in custody, bringing the number of alleged gang members in custody to 16....

Burbank Councilwoman Arrested # For Alleged Cocaine Possession, Child Endangerment Jul 15, 2005 7:40 am US/Pacific BURBANK, Calif. (AP) A city councilwoman was arrested for investigation of cocaine possession and child endangerment by members of a task force that recently raided a notorious street gang blamed in the shooting deaths of two police officers, authorities said Thursday. Councilwoman Stacey Jo Murphy, 47, was arrested Wednesday night at her home, where law enforcement agents served a federal search warrant, police said. She posted $100,000 bail and was released from jail Thursday. A phone call left for Murphy at her office Thursday...

BURBANK, Calif. - A city councilwoman was arrested on suspicion of cocaine possession after her boyfriend told authorities they had used the drug together and he had associated with a notorious street gang and sold guns to a member.

BURBANK, Calif. -- At least 19 arrests were made overnight in a raid targeting a violent San Fernando Valley gang suspected of killing two police officers. The early-morning raid began at 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, when officers began serving 43 search and arrest warrants on members of the Vineland Boyz gang in Los Angeles, Palmdale, Rosamond, Valencia, Bakersfield and Simi Valley, police said. The Vineland Boyz gang is suspected in the fatal shooting of Los Angeles Officer James Beyea in 1988 and the 2003 shooting death of Burbank Officer Matthew Pavelka. By 5:30 a.m., at least 19 of the 43 gang...

18:30pst Officers were checking out black Escalade with no plate, and a little later all hell broke out. 2 Officers shot and transported to St Josephs Medical Center, one suspect killed, three suspect outstanding. Vehicle had three handguns and AR-15 left inside. Ramada Inn, Buena Vista @ I-5 Burbank, Glendale, Burbank Airport, San Fernando and LAPD have responded to a large perimeter search. note: third officer was injured responding when his motorcycle lost control in the rain

Germans file suit against Poland over wartime compensation 3 August 2004 LEVERKUSEN - A hardline leader of ethnic Germans expelled from Poland at the end of the Second World War said Tuesday his group would haul Poland before the European courts this year. Rudi Pawelka, the chairman of Preussische Treuhand, said the suits would demand restitution of confiscated homes and farms. Preussische Treuhand is a private company with expellees as shareholders. Its capital is to be spent on legal fees, pursuing claims that many legal experts say have almost no chance of success and which are to be opposed by...