http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/ratcrime/ en-us Sat, 19 Dec 2009 02:16:40 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410905/posts Thieves steal Auschwitz's 'Arbeit macht frei' entrance sign Arbeit macht Frei - work sets you free Roger Boyes A gang of thieves in Poland has stolen the infamous wrought iron sign announcing that “work sets you free” that spans the main gate of the Auschwitz concentration camp. The long, curving sign, reading “Arbeit macht frei”, was erected by the Nazis soon after the old Auschwitz barracks were converted into a labour and extermination centre in 1940. It was supposed to suggest that hard work would eventually allow inmates to walk free. But, as Auschwitz was turned into a major hub... Times Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410905/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 02:16:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410715/posts The Office of Congressional Ethics has closed its investigation into Reps. John Murtha (D-Pa.), Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) and Jim Moran (D-Va.) and their relationships to the lobbying firm PMA Group, and the OCE advised against a formal House ethics investigation, the lawmakers’ offices said Friday. George Behan, Dicks’ chief of staff, said the OCE, which reviews potential rules violations and refers investigations to the House ethics committee, informed the Washington lawmaker on Dec. 2 that it had recommended the inquiry be dismissed. “In his case, there was never anything there,” Behan said. Murtha spokesman Matt Mazonkey and Moran spokeswoman Emily... Roll Call http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410715/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:12:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2390118/posts GOUVERNEUR, NY - The computerized voting machines used by many voters in the 23rd district had a computer virus - tainting the results, not just from those machines known to have been infected, but casting doubt on the accuracy of counts retrieved from any of the machines The Gouverneur Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2390118/posts#comment Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:11:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2389315/posts Democratic State Representative Jason Bartlett, who's district includes Bethel, Danbury and Redding, was arrested on several motor vehicle charges after being pulled over in Newtown. Newtown Police Sgt. Dominic Costello says Bartlett was pulled over by an officer who saw him driving while speaking on his cell phone, without a hands free device. After a short investigation, the officer determined that his registration had expired and his license was suspended. Costello did not know why Bartlett's license was suspended. Bartlett says he will be releasing a statement about the incident this afternoon. WLAD http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2389315/posts#comment Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:19:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2387533/posts Police in Cambridge, Mass., gave state Sen. Anthony Galluccio a ride home because acquaintances told them he was too drunk to drive about 13 hours before he was involved in a hit-and-run accident. Police were called to a gas station in Cambridge about 4:40 a.m. Oct. 4 after receiving a call about an intoxicated man. The station attendant told police he believed Galluccio was too drunk to drive. Police said another man told them he was trying to drive Galluccio home but couldn't find his house. Police said they drove Galluccio home in their cruiser. About 13 hours later, a... LA Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2387533/posts#comment Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:38:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2381006/posts BALTIMORE -- Baltimore mayor Sheila Dixon is about to put her political future in the hands of a jury. Dixon goes on trial Monday on theft charges. She's accused of hitting up her wealthy developer pals to donate thousands of dollars' worth of gift cards to needy families. Prosecutors say she used those gift cards for her personal shopping instead. AP / Newsmax http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2381006/posts#comment Sat, 7 Nov 2009 18:17:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2380336/posts A Nevada Democratic Party leader who pleaded guilty to hitting his teenage son and throwing him on the hood of a car has resigned, according to a letter received Friday by a newspaper. Paul Belt, the party chairman of Douglas County, said in a letter to the Record-Courier that he resigned his post after his "regrettable actions." He pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a misdemeanor count of domestic battery. He was sentenced to a suspended one-year jail term and ordered to attend counseling. Belt, 45, was accused of punching his 15-year-old son several times on Oct. 22 when he learned... N C Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2380336/posts#comment Fri, 6 Nov 2009 22:01:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2373781/posts Note: Notice how AP does not mention Larry Langford is a Democrat!TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - A federal jury convicted Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford on Wednesday on all charges of accepting bribes in exchange for funneling $7.1 million in bond business to a prominent investment banker. As a convicted felon, Langford was automatically removed from the office he won in a landslide in 2007. Jurors deliberated less than two hours before returning their sweeping verdict on all 60 counts. It came after six days of testimony in which they heard Langford accepted cash and luxury items worth some $236,000 while serving... Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2373781/posts#comment Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:13:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2373199/posts TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA--Larry Langford, Birmingham's mayor and a former Jefferson County commissioner, has been found guilty in his federal bribery trial. Langford was found guilty of taking about $236,000 in cash and gifts from Montgomery investment banker Bill Blount and lobbyist Al LaPierre. Both pleaded guilty in the case and testified they made cash payments to Langford while he was the president of the Jefferson County Commission to ensure business for Blount's investment bank, Blount Parrish & Co. Birmingham News Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2373199/posts#comment Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:55:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2367539/posts Senator Monserrate, the Democratic State Senator in New York who was convicted of dragging his girlfriend through her apartment last week, but did not receive a conviction on intentionally stabbing her (when he did), has received a backlash from the public, as they want him out of office. Well there is a movement amongst fellow New York State Senators to rightly expel Monserrate from the Senate, and I have at least one confirmed Republican Senator who supports expulsion. Right Handed Pitcher http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2367539/posts#comment Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:42:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2363485/posts State Senator Is Found Guilty of Misdemeanor Assault John Marshall Mantel for The New York Times Hiram Monserrate arrives at the Queens County Criminal Courts building to hear the verdict in his assault trial. October 15, 2009 State Senator Hiram Monserrate, a freshman Democrat and former police officer and city councilman, was found guilty on Thursday of misdemeanor assault, but escaped a felony conviction for slicing his companion’s face during a bitter argument in his Queens apartment on Dec. 19, 2008. Justice William M. Erlbaum, who tried the case without a jury in State Supreme Court in Queens, found Mr.... NYTimes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2363485/posts#comment Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:59:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2355989/posts State Senator Anthony Galluccio was cited Monday for leaving the scene of an accident after he allegedly collided with a vehicle carrying three people on Sunday afternoon in Cambridge and then fled. Galluccio, a Cambridge Democrat, collided with the other vehicle at about 5:30 p.m. as he was driving around Garden and Linnaean streets, said officer Frank Pasquarello, spokesman for the Cambridge Police Department. The Boston Globe http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2355989/posts#comment Tue, 6 Oct 2009 16:34:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2354692/posts Sex felon haunts jail at age 100 Here's proof that only the good die young. Meet Theodore Sypnier, the oldest inmate in New York. The geriatric jailbird celebrated his 100th birthday in upstate Groveland Correctional Facility in May and has spent most of his 90s in prison after pleading guilty to attempted sodomy of a child. Sypnier said he is treated no differently than the spring chickens behind bars with him. He catches Z's in a standard prison bed, wears a two-piece forest-green uniform and chows down on regular mess-hall slop. "It's probably just as bad as being the youngest... New York Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2354692/posts#comment Sun, 4 Oct 2009 18:05:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2353653/posts Two Iowa lesbian activists who donated approximately $150,000 in the 2006 and 2008 federal election cycles, all (but one) to Democratic candidates, are caught up in a reported $5.9 million embezzlement scheme.Phyllis Stevens was arrested in Las Vegas last Friday on charges of money laundering and wire fraud after the exposure of the scheme by her employer, insurance giant Aviva USA .Her partner, Marla Stevens, has been sued by Aviva for benefiting from the embezzlement because the money was alledgedly deposited in an account shared by both women. Marla Stevens has not been criminally charged, however. According to CampaignMoney.com, Phyllis... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2353653/posts#comment Fri, 2 Oct 2009 19:22:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2352210/posts The woman at the center of State Sen. Hiram Monserrate’s assault trial took the stand today -- making it clear that despite testifying for the prosecution, she claimed her injuries were "an accident." Karla Giraldo, 30, conceeded in Queens Supreme Court that "may have gotten a little bit jealous” when he opened her purse and found a PBA card with another man’s name on it. She said she grew "angry" when the 42-year-old Democratic lawmaker tossed the plastic card down a trash chute in his Jackson Heights, Queens, building. The DA claims the PBA card ignited a heated argument that... New York Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2352210/posts#comment Thu, 1 Oct 2009 03:44:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2345669/posts It now looks very much like there was a lot more truth to the criticisms about ACORN—the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now—than its leadership, its allies on Capitol Hill and its supporters in the media were willing to acknowledge.... This latest round of problems for ACORN may be the best documented, but they are not the first nor, for that matter, are they the most serious. A report issued last summer by the Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, according to Sunday's Washington Times, "presented evidence that ACORN had engaged in criminal misconduct." Among the... US News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2345669/posts#comment Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:31:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2340455/posts MISSION – Embattled state Rep. Ismael “Kino” Flores announced Tuesday that he will not seek re-election to an eighth term in 2010. Citing recent indictments handed down against him, the legislator said in a statement that he must concentrate on clearing his name and spending time with his family. “I worked effectively, fought hard and delivered for South Texas,” he said. “I will not apologize for standing up for our region.” In July, a Travis County grand jury charged Flores with 16 counts of tampering with government documents and three counts of perjury, alleging he hid more than $847,000 in... The Monitor http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2340455/posts#comment Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:28:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2333631/posts Date goes from bad to worse By Michael P. McConnell Daily Tribune Staff Writer Police say man skipped out on restaurant bill, stole woman's car. FERNDALE — A first date went from bad to worse when police say a man not only skipped out on a restaurant bill but stole his new girlfriend's car while she was still seated at the table. A Detroit man faces trial on charges he stole his date's car after they ate and he asked her for her keys so he could get his wallet out of her vehicle. "She gave him her keys and... DailyTribune.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2333631/posts#comment Mon, 7 Sep 2009 00:40:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2332533/posts A judge has ruled that a former Pennsylvania legislative power broker and his one-time aide should stand trial on corruption charges. Harrisburg District Judge William Wenner's ruling Friday was a serious setback for Mike Veon, the former Democratic House whip, and co-defendant Annamarie Perretta-Rosepink. A previous judge had dismissed the charges but prosecutors refiled some of them. In the current charges, prosecutors allege that Veon and Perretta-Rosepink illegally diverted millions of taxpayer dollars through a nonprofit that Veon controlled — the Beaver Initiative for Growth — to hire consultants who did little or no work, rented office space that the... Google News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2332533/posts#comment Fri, 4 Sep 2009 23:50:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2331377/posts NEWARK, NJ—A federal judge today sentenced former state Senator Joseph Coniglio to 30 months in federal prison for his extortion and mail fraud convictions for an influencepeddling scheme connected to a $66,000-a-year consulting arrangement with Hackensack University Medical Center, Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr. announced. U.S. District Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh also ordered Coniglio to pay a $15,000 fine. Coniglio must surrender to the federal Bureau of Prisons on a date to be determined once the BOP designates a prison facility. There is no parole in the federal system. Coniglio, 66, of Paramus, a plumber by trade, was... Department of Justice http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2331377/posts#comment Thu, 3 Sep 2009 17:48:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2327944/posts Take it from those who have been there: Prison life is hard on people who need to be in control. Especially politicians accustomed to giving orders, cutting deals, spending millions - and getting their way. Former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo is due to report to federal prison tomorrow, assigned to serve his 55-month sentence at a low-security institution in Ashland, Ky. His attorneys have fought that, wanting Fumo placed closer to family in Philadelphia. What's definite, experts say, is that prisons specialize in turning people like Fumo from kings to peasants. In free society, his dominion included four homes,... INQUIRER http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2327944/posts#comment Sun, 30 Aug 2009 14:50:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2328014/posts PHILADELPHIA – A former Pennsylvania state senator convicted on fraud charges is scheduled to report to federal prison in Kentucky on Monday. Sixty-six-year-old Vincent Fumo has been sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison for defrauding the Senate and two nonprofits of several million dollars. ... The 66-year-old Fumo was a wealthy Democratic power broker during a 30-year state Senate career. AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2328014/posts#comment Sun, 30 Aug 2009 17:05:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2327441/posts The chairman of the city Democratic Party was charged with public drunkenness after allegedly intervening in a police investigation of an assault at the Parker House bar late Wednesday. "Do you recognize the name? Do you know who I am?" the party chairman, Art Moran, asked Patrolman Robert Hegedus, according to an affidavit filed by the officer. Officer Hegedus, who reported smelling alcohol on Mr. Moran's breath, didn't recognize him and asked, "Should I?" "Remember my name," Mr. Moran replied, the officer reported. Mr. Moran, 47, a former Scranton school director, denied in an interview Friday he tried to intimidate... The TImes-Tribune (Scranton, PA) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2327441/posts#comment Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:33:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2325360/posts One day after the Herald reported some surprised Bay State inmates - including murderers and rapists - were cashing in $250 stimulus checks, federal officials revealed the same behind-bars bonus was mailed to nearly 4,000 cons nationwide. A federal watchdog is now probing how the cons were cut the checks. The same cash also may have been sent to fugitive felons, people kicked out of the country and even individuals now deceased. It’s all part of the massive American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 - and what is becoming an accounting nightmare for red-faced feds. “President Obama’s $787 billion... BostonHerald.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2325360/posts#comment Thu, 27 Aug 2009 01:55:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2324395/posts A 24-year-old arrested this morning on suspicion of smashing 11 windows at Colorado Democratic Party headquarters tried to conceal his identity while allegedly committing the crime, according to police descriptions. Maurice Schwenkler wore a shirt over his face, a hooded sweat shirt and latex gloves before he and another man fled the scene on bicycles, police said. Schwenkler was apprehended after a short chase. The other suspect remains at large. While Schwenkler does not appear in the state's voter registration database, a person by that name in November 2008 received $500 from a political 527 committee called Colorado Citizens Coalition... Denver Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2324395/posts#comment Tue, 25 Aug 2009 23:15:14 GMT