Free Republic

Wade Rathke, the former chief organizer of ACORN, acknowledged that the organization he founded in 1970 is caught in a public storm that threatens its existence. "It's a Katrina-like storm for ACORN; they are in a perfect storm, " said Rathke, who left ACORN's leadership a year-and-a-half ago amid revelations about the alleged embezzlement of nearly $1 million from the community organization by his brother, Dale. The money has since been repaid. But Rathke, who lives in New Orleans where the national organization has had its headquarters -- it is relocating to Washington -- said he expects large and well-rooted...

Police release pictures of Kenmore East theft; Ostanski pleads guilty by Mary B. Pasciak NEWS STAFF REPORTER Updated: September 17, 2009, 10:57 AM / For months, Town of Tonawanda police have said the proof that former Kenmore East High School Principal LuAnn E. Ostanski stole money from her school was in the photos. Wednesday, the reason they said that became as clear as the photos themselves. Shortly after Ostanski pleaded guilty to a reduced charge and agreed to pay a fine, Town of Tonawanda police granted The Buffalo News' long-standing request to release the photos that sealed the case against...

CINCINNATI -- Elmwood Place police say they caught an alleged thief chewing the evidence over the weekend. Court records show Maria Magobet, 50, from Dayton allegedly ordered lunch meat and cheese from the deli counter at Valley Grocery on Vine Street on Saturday, then walked out the store without paying. Police noted a pickle was recovered from Magobet before she left the store.

The latest congressional campaign reports are in and Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd's re-election campaign manager, Jay Howser, says his boy's numbers represent "a substantial investment by Connecticut residents." It's just the latest claim from the Dodd camp that withers under the light of truth. In the second quarter, Sen. Dodd reported raking in $1.2 million, about $100,000 less than his Republican challengers. Of the total, almost 40 percent came from political-action committees controlled by vested interests with business before his Banking Committee; health insurance and pharmaceutical companies looking to influence the shape of KennedyDoddCare; and his Democratic congressional colleagues. Sen....

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) – Canadian police were on the search on Monday for a brazen thief who snatched a take-away meal while making a naked run past a fast food restaurant's drive-though window. An employee of a Langley, British Columbia, Wendy's restaurant was handing food to a customer waiting in her car when a naked man ran between them, taking off with her fries, and leaving little evidence behind, according to police. "Other than an age range, neither woman could provide further description," police said in a press release.

The thief was wearing a menacing mask and wielding a bat -- but to a Long Island store owner, he was simply a charity case. In an amazing act of compassion and forgiveness, bodega owner Mohammad "Mo" Sohail first disarmed a would-be assailant who came into his Shirley shop -- and then gave him $40 and a loaf of bread. Sohail said his saga -- captured on dramatic, video-surveillance footage -- began at 12:35 a.m. on May 21, when the thug entered his convenience store in Shirley. "Give me your money! Give me your money!" the man started screaming at...

A long-time employee of a major Queens jewelry manufacturer walked off with a staggering $12 million worth of gold over the course of six years, prosecutors said. Teresa Tambunting, 50, of Scarsdale, had been secreting the gold hoard out of the Long Island City vault piece by piece by stashing small items in the lining of her pocketbook, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. "The defendant is accused of establishing a virtual mining operation in Long Island City which siphoned off millions of dollars' worth of the precious metal," he said.

Tens of thousands of faxes and letters are being sent to attorneys general in all 50 states asking them to investigate whether President Obama's state elections submissions included an affirmation that he is qualified and eligible to hold the office of president – and whether those statements constitute perjury. The campaign has been assembled by Gary Kreep of the United States Justice Foundation, which already is involved in the issue with a case in California on behalf of presidential candidate and former Ambassador Alan Keyes. That case challenges Obama's eligibility to be on the ballot in California and is on...

SISSONVILLE, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- A man running from police was caught hiding in a freezer. Kanawha County Sheriff's Deputies tell WSAZ.com they arrested James Harrison at the Pocatalico Village Apartments in Sissonville around 7:00 a.m. Thursday. Deputies say they got a tip about a wanted person staying there. Harrison was wanted on robbery, grand larceny and wanton endangerment charges in Roane County. The apartment belonged to Harrison's grandmother and he was found hiding in a freezer. He's in the South Central Regional Jail.

Here is video from last night's 60 Minutes Interview with President Barack Obama, where interviewer Steve Kroft asks Obama why he is laughing so much about the serious problems facing the nation. He ask Obama, "Are you punch-drunk," to which Obama says his laughter represents "gallows humor." Obama's laughter at all the bailouts is out of place, and not Presidential at all. It is easy to laugh when you are on easy street, but quite another thing when you are on the other side facing the consequences of the socialist agenda Obama is pushing on the nation. . . ....

Pattie Carson is being held at the Southern Regional Jail. PRINCETON W.Va.-- A woman is behind bars after attempting to steal thousands of dollars from a 91-year-old St. Albans woman. Pattie Carson is charged with misappropriation of funds and assets of the elderly. State Police said she tried to steal a $25,000 cashier's check from Sophia Nelson of St. Albans. Police say Carson left Nelson in the tub for several hours at the Princeton Comfort Inn. The room flooded and hotel workers called an ambulance for Nelson. When Carson came back to the room police saw her trying to pack...

Isn't this ordinarily known as "theft?" Page Six reports that divalicious Jennifer Lopez recently neglected to return $50,000 worth of Robert Mouwad diamonds after wearing them to a fashion launch in Beverly Hills last week. Here's a pic of here from that event. Note the earrings, bracelet and ring. Lopez, along with her friend Leah Remini, Gwen Stefani and Grey's Anatomy's Ellen Pompeo all wore items by the jewelry designer to the launch of designer Andrea Lieberman's new clothing line ALC. The only difference is that the other three ladies gave back their expensive accessories to Mouwad. Lopez apparently decided...

If Obama's oratory was matched with economic wisdom, leavened with a sound knowledge of economic history, America would have nothing to worry about. Unfortunately Obama is a profoundly ignorant man who shares the statist's contempt for economics, an attitude that will have fearful consequences for the US economy. His ideological mindset is exemplified by his supreme indifference to the state of the markets. The Dow had its worst February since 1933 and, as of this writing, stands at 7,062.93. And this happened after he had given the public another oratorical masterpiece, proving that though you can fool a large number...

TAMPA - The University of South Florida associate vice president who resigned Tuesday over his role in taking a student's bicycle will receive a $50,000 settlement from the university.- - - Snip - - -In the six-page settlement agreement, signed Tuesday by Rao and College of Medicine Dean Stephen Klasko, Rao agrees to give up his contract and not sue the university. The university agrees not to pursue any disciplinary actions that could result from its investigation of the events involving the bicycle.

It took a wedgie and a headlock to pin down a man suspected of breaking into a car. Yvonne Morris, a technician at the Brickyard Animal Hospital, said she chased a man who broke into a co-worker's car, but he kept squirming away from her. The third time, Morris grabbed hold of the man's boxer shorts and pulled. Salt Lake City police said she then she put a headlock on the man until help could arrive. The man was booked into the Salt Lake County jail on suspicion of vehicle burglary, possession of stolen property and outstanding warrants.

A teenage thief picked on the wrong victim when she tried to run off with a bag belonging to pensioner Jean Hirst - a former championship sprinter. The schoolgirl was surprised to discover her victim, a former All England Schools championship sprinter, still had a turn of pace - at the age of 72. As Mrs Hirst gave chase, she soon began to close on the culprit who was forced to throw down the bag in her desperation to escape. The retired teacher had allowed three teenage girls into her car to help her with directions after getting lost on...

Perhaps you've noticed an abundance of "Top Ten" lists in recent weeks. As usual, the mainstream media has churned out a variety of year-in-review pieces of late. Two events vied for top billing on all those lists -- the financial meltdown and the presidential election. At present, it isn't clear which of those debacles presents the greater threat to our nation. The factors leading up to the economic collapse in the last two quarters are clear (see Economics 101). What is not clear, however, is whether we can limit the damage to a mere recession. On the other hand, we...

MARTIN, Ky. (WSAZ) -- A woman was sent to the hospital Monday after the ATV she was driving hit a coal truck on Route 122 in Martin, Kentucky. Kentucky State Police say Kimberly Collins was operating a stolen 2002 Honda ATV Monday afternoon and pulled out in front of a coal truck. The accident happened around 4:30 p.m. Collins went to Cabell Huntington Hospital with undisclosed injuries. The driver of the truck was not injured. The KSP says the accident and the stolen property are both under investigation. No charges have been filed.

BOYD COUNTY, Ky. (WSAZ) -- A man is facing a long list of charges after deputies say he tried to rob Wal-Mart. It happened Monday night around 10 at the Wal-Mart on Route 60 in Boyd County. According to the Sheriff, employees spotted 30-year old Glen Fields, Jr. of Morehead trying to break into a locked stereo case with a pry bar to steal a car radio. As those workers approached Fields, he then struck a worker in the leg with the tool. Officers arrived on the scene and arrested Fields. After being placed in the back of the cruiser,...

ASHLAND, Ky. (AP) - Someone stole an Ashland church's baby Jesus figure from a nativity scene. The Independent newspaper in Ashland quoted a city police report which said a witness who lives near St. Paul Lutheran Church saw a sport utility vehicle stop in front of the church on Christmas Day. The witness told police someone got out, removed the figure from the cradle and drove away with it. The report did not list the monetary value of the stolen figure.

Ya just gotta see this one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anDvU530g2o

PINEVILLE, Mo. | A southwest Missouri police officer is facing felony theft charges after a laptop computer he dropped off at a sheriff's office to get software installed was identified as the same one he was accused of stealing more than a year earlier. [...snip...] The woman told police she saw Cummings take her computer and put it in the back of his patrol car. But when she asked for the computer to be returned after she was released, Cummings denied having it and the woman did not get it back, records say. She reported it stolen to the Pineville...

Beyond the financial fallouts in Palm Beach of the Bernie Madoff scandal, the very social fabric of The Island may find itself altered forever. Formerly rich families will be uprooted. Former friends are at each other’s throats. While Realtors are lining up to grab the expected sales of mansions whose owners lost the millions they invested with the disgraced Wall Street big, one scene at Mar-a-Lago Saturday night illustrates the tension. Several eyewitnesses at the 60th birthday party for carpet king John Stark tell me that two of the major players in this scandal came face-to-face. It wasn’t pleasant. On...

Bill Richardson is now being investigated by a federal grand jury for pay to play allegations. CDR Financial Products donated $100,000 to register Hispanic and Indian voters in 2004 and thus received $1.5 million dollars in fess from the New Mexico Finance Authority in 2004. Can't post article because it is from Bloomberg.

A boss who marched a thieving worker to a police station with a placard round his neck has been charged with false imprisonment. Yet the criminal himself has escaped with just a slap on the wrist. Simon Cremer took action against Mark Gilbert after learning he had cashed a forged company cheque. He hung a sign reading ‘Thief’ on Gilbert and paraded him past shoppers on a busy high street before handing him to police. Now, however, officers have decided the thief should receive nothing more than a caution, while throwing the book at 44-year-old Mr Cremer, who thought he...

Okay. It's time to play a little pile-on-the-jackass. This smug sonofabitch is a professor who admits to stealing lawn signs. His name is PHIL BUSSE. Self-described Thief and Tresspasser, PHIL BUSSE Highway 19 is a busy six-mile stretch of meandering road that links to main interstate artery in southeast Minnesota. More interestingly, the road connects rural, and often conservative, Minnesota to the liberal college town of Northfield. Rolling through pumpkin patches and apple orchids, the highway is postcard beautiful. This summer and autumn it was speckled with McCain signs, their cobalt blue squarely set against the gold and red of...

As Barack Obama reaped a stunning $150 million in campaign donations in September, bringing his total to more than $600 million, new questions have arisen about the source of his amazing funding. By Obama’s own admission, more than half of his contributions have come from small donors giving $200 or less. But unlike John McCain’s campaign, Obama won’t release the names of these donors. A Newsmax canvass of disclosed Obama campaign donors shows worrisome anomalies, including outright violations of federal election laws. For example, Obama has numerous donors who have contributed well over the $4,600 federal election limit.

(CBS/AP) Russia took the first steps toward a troop pullback from Georgia on Tuesday but at the same time paraded blindfolded and bound Georgian prisoners on armored vehicles and seized four U.S. Humvees. The mixed signals came as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her 25 NATO counterparts met in emergency session in Belgium and demanded Russia fulfill its promise to withdraw its forces from the small former Soviet republic. "The Russian president hasn’t kept his promise to abide by the terms of the ceasefire," Rice told CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan in an exclusive interview...

LOS ANGELES - A confessed burglar described by police as one of the most prolific thieves in Los Angeles history was resentenced Tuesday to 7 1/2 years in prison. In an effort to win the slightly reduced sentence, Ignacio DelRio, also known as Ricardo Caveda, also drew a map that led police to some $400,000.. "He confessed to 1,000 burglaries, and I have been able to find 180 victims so far," police Detective Robert Longacre said after the sentencing. Longacre declined to name any of the victims but said they included well-known people in the movie industry and at least...

A Chicago-area Roman Catholic priest was charged Friday with stealing from his former North Side parish. Rev. Steven Patte, 64, pleaded not guilty in Cook County Circuit Judge William Lacy's courtroom.... The eight-count indictment charged Patte stole a little more than $12,000 from St. Ita's Parish.... A Chicago police detective who belonged to the parish's finance committee grew suspicious about accounting discrepancies and placed a marked $100 bill in the collection plate, sources familiar with the case said. Later, when the bill disappeared, Patte was confronted and allegedly admitted that he took the money for his personal use, the sources...

ELKVIEW, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Kanawha County Sheriff's Deputies are asking for the public's help to identify a man they say stole nearly $2,000 in high-end beef. The crime happened at the Elkview Kroger on Sunday, July 27, between 10:15 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. Lieutenant Sean Crosier says the suspect loaded his shopping cart with expensive steaks and entire loins, then walked out through the loading dock at the back of the store. In all, $1,930 worth of meat was stolen, according to Crosier. Anyone with information about the suspect in the picture is asked to call the Kanawha County Sheriff's...

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: An Indonesian cleaner who pleaded that he robbed the petrol station he worked in because he needed money for his elderly father's surgery was jailed 36 months and ordered to be whipped twice. Muhammad Marzani Ismail, 25, was also jailed 12 months and ordered to be given one stroke of the rotan for not having a valid travel document. The jail terms run concurrently from his date of arrest on May 21. He admitted robbing Nor Azurra Azhar at the Petronas petrol station in Sentul of RM12,000, cigarettes worth RM300 and prepaid cards amounting to RM700 with...

A Culpeper pastor faces a possible 310-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to felony fraud charges. The Rev. Charles Shifflett, pastor of First Baptist Church in Culpeper and former pastor of Calvary Baptist Church there, pleaded guilty to a total of 20 felonies and one misdemeanor, prosecutors announced today. Nine of the charges involving obtaining money by false pretenses from Calvary Baptist Church from 2002-05, while Shifflett was the pastor. He also pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud involving a workers compensation award, and five counts of obtaining money under false pretenses from two separate insurance companies, and three...

Crime, I don’t condone it, but sometimes you do feel sorry for the perp. Take for instance this story of an animal lover looking to provide for his pets. ( TOKYO (AFP) - A Japanese animal-lover on welfare went to extremes to provide for his many pets by robbing convenience stores while wearing the mask of a dog, police said Monday. Takaharu Kawata — branded by Japanese media as “The Dogman” — was caught on a surveillance camera wearing an oversized black-and-white canine mask while brandishing a knife.) OK…I feel I need to step in here. Please take a look...

Army Sgt. Aeren Nauman served on active duty for nearly two years, part of that time in Iraq, and even stood to recite the Infantryman's Creed at a memorial service for a fallen comrade. But when he decided to buy a home on his return to the Twin Cities last fall, he found his credit ruined by identity theft. The alleged thief: his dad. "What kind of dad is this?" asked Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman after his office charged the father, Leonard Gus Nauman, 61, of Long Lake. "He waits until his kid is overseas; he creates these forged...

An Australian criminal who was so nervous during a hold-up that he was physically sick has been incriminated by his own vomit. Police took DNA from the pool of sick and matched it to Ahmed Habib Jalloul, 20. He was found guilty of the aggravated robbery of a post office in Adelaide, South Australia. An Adelaide court was told that Jalloul vomited "out of fear" during the raid on the post office last April. He fled the scene in a stolen car with two accomplices and £1,730 in cash. Police conducted forensic analysis of the vomit and matched it with...

A thief made the mistake of a lifetime recently. He broke into professional female boxer Derdre Rodriguez's house and tried to steal her PS3, PSP and videogames as she lay sleeping. She woke up, saw the robber climbing out of her window, chased him down, smashed his head in with an ice chipper, then, in the most awesome coupe-de-grace ever, the former pugilist forced the thief to pick up the stolen electronics he'd dropped during the chase (A PlayStation 3, a PSP, cell phones and videogames). She then made him wait in the house for the cops to show up...

UNEMPLOYED immigrant Nawaz Sharif, 37, built a seven-bedroom mansion in Pakistan after scalping the UK for thousands in benefit fraud, credit card and passport scams. Police, immigration and benefits officials arrested Sharif, who came to the UK in the late 80s, at his home in Slough, Berks. They found more than 35 forged credit cards and 30 passports, numerous envelopes stuffed with hundreds of thousands of pounds in cash and two copies of Home Office stamps used to allow immigrants permission to stay in Britain. The dad of three was jailed for five years at Reading in 2006.

DETROIT, Mich. - Rescue 4 has learned from sources close to Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick that a legal defense fund is in the works for the mayor and will be set up soon. City employees are being asked to give between $100 and $1,500. And city contractors are being asked to give between $10,000 and $100,000. Business leaders tell Rescue 4 they were contacted in the days before Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy brought charges on Kilpatrick.

WBBM Newsradio 780's Bernie Tafoya reporting. CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago Police say no one could make this story up; a would-be-thief gave his victims his phone number. An 18-year-old man entered a muffler shop in the 2600 block of North Laramie Avenue Monday and declared a robbery. He allegedly waved a gun around and demanded money, according to police. When he was told the money was in a safe and that the manager that knew how to open it was not there, the suspect had a brilliant idea; at least he thought it was brilliant. He gave the shop employees...

Mesmerising? The 'hypnotist' in action CCTV footage Police in Italy have issued footage of a man who is suspected of hypnotising supermarket checkout staff to hand over money from their cash registers. In every case, the last thing staff reportedly remember is the thief leaning over and saying: "Look into my eyes", before finding the till empty. In the latest incident captured on CCTV, he targeted a bank at Ancona in northern Italy, then calmly walked out. A female bank clerk reportedly handed over nearly 800 euros (£630). The cashier who was shown the video footage has no memory...

Knife thief runs from store, trips, stabs self(Xinhua) Updated: 2008-01-09 20:52 BEIJING -- A man running from a western Michigan store with stolen hunting knives hidden in his pants tripped, fell and stabbed himself in the stomach, police say. The suspect was hospitalized after Monday night's attempted theft from a Meijer Inc. superstore in the US city of Grand Rapids and is expected to face a misdemeanor shoplifting charge, police say. "The man was taken to the hospital," said Meijer spokesman Frank Giuliano. "We are cooperating with the investigation by police." The wounds did not appear to be life-threatening, The...

Couple Gets Letter, $20 from Woman Claiming She Took Dog Thursday, January 03, 2008 DALLAS — The holidays were sad enough for Kim Velevis and her husband after their lovable pug "Scooter" dug its way out of the backyard and disappeared on Christmas Eve. But the real blow came with the new year: A letter from an anonymous woman who had found the friendly dog and gave it to her daughter as a Christmas present. To compensate for Velevis' loss, a $20 bill was enclosed. "The puppy has a different name now, but he has plenty of food and toys....

CPD warns shoppers to protect valuables in cars CONYERS - Normally when you find a ticket on your windshield from a police officer it is not a good thing, but in Conyers a ticket could save you some money. Officers with the Conyers Police Department will be on foot patrol in the parking lots of major shopping areas in the city over the next couple of weeks. They will place yellow tickets on vehicles with packages or boxes of merchandise that are visible on the seats or floorboards of cars; in other words, vehicles that are easy targets for thieves....

SMYRNA, Ga. --Smyrna police have charged a live-in caretaker with murder in the death of a 63-year-old woman who they say was left lying on the bedroom floor for days. Police arrested 42-year-old Madonna Whitus on Monday. She also faces charges of violating protection of disabled adults and financial transaction card fraud. Police say Kathie Durant, who had a heart condition requiring a caregiver, fell out of bed around December 2nd and fractured her arm. Police say the caregiver allowed Durant to stay on the bedroom floor of her townhouse for days and gave her only milkshakes and soft drinks....

Harriette Walters, the former city worker accused of masterminding the largest theft in the D.C. government's history, is seeking to negotiate a guilty plea over the next 30 days, according to statements in court and sources close to the case. Walters's attorney told a judge yesterday that his client needed time to have "ongoing discussions" with prosecutors about her alleged role in the theft of $20 million or more from city coffers. The government had faced a Dec. 8 court-imposed deadline to bring an indictment against Walters, a required step if prosecutors take the case to trial. But Walters agreed...

LAS VEGAS - O.J. Simpson must face trial on kidnapping, armed robbery and other charges stemming from an alleged sports memorabilia heist, a justice of the peace ruled Wednesday. Justice of the Peace Joe M. Bonaventure ruled after a preliminary hearing of the charges and arguments against the case by attorneys for Simpson and co-defendants Clarence "C.J." Stewart and Charles "Charlie" Ehrlich. "This is what we expected," Simpson told The Associated Press before he left the courtroom. "If I have any disappointment it's that I wish a jury was here. As always, I rely on the jury system." No charges...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - A burglar in Montgomery chose the wrong family to mess with, literally. Adrian and Tiffany McKinnon returned home on Tuesday after a week away to find that thieves had emptied almost everything the family of five owned, Tiffany McKinnon said through tears. "Tears just rolled down my face as I walked in and saw everything gone and piles of trash all over my home," she said. Adrian McKinnon sent his wife to see her sister while he inspected the piles left behind. As he walked back into the sunroom, a man walked through the back door straight...

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German factory worker stole over a million screws from his employer and skewed the market with his cheap stolen goods, police said Friday. "In the end, it became obvious that screws were being sold for much less than they usually cost," said a spokesman for police in the southern city of Wuerzburg. Over two years, the 33-year-old assembly plant worker smuggled between 2,000 and 7,000 screws out of work each night, and auctioned them on an Internet site, police said. The scheme cost his firm around 110,000 euros ($156,000). The man confessed after officers raided his...

WEEHAWKEN, N.J. -- George Clooney suffered a broken rib and some scrapes on Friday when the motorcycle he and a friend were riding collided with a car as the actor tried to pass the other vehicle, authorities said. Weehawken Police Sgt. Sean Kelly said the collision occurred at 3:30 p.m. as Clooney and friend Sarah Larson were traveling north on Boulevard East and sped up to pass on the right a 1999 Mazda Millenia that was preparing to make a right turn. Kelly said it is not known if the driver of the other vehicle, who has not been identified,...