One of the most senior figures in Australia’s Church of Scientology has been criminally charged in a case of sexual abuse. Jan Eastgate is accused of encouraging a young girl to lie and deny allegations of sexual abuse in the church. In the meantime, another leading Church figure, Tom Cruse, is being sued in an action unconnected to the cases in Australia by ex-Scientologist, Peter Letterese, for $250 million under a RICO claim that includes allegations of bribing a judge.
Continue reading “Senior Scientology Figure Criminally Charged After Allegedly Telling Minor To Lie About Abuse”
Category: Criminal law
Tiffany Startz, 22, is facing has been charged in a bizarre case after she punched a rapper on a dare last September in Joliet, Illinois — killing John “Fatboy” Powell. It is a modern version of the case of Harry Houdini who reportedly died after a college student punched him repeatedly in the stomach to test his claim of being able to withstand blows. As discussed below, the student was never charged. Startz, however, is facing reckless conduct and battery charges stemming from the incident at a garage party.
Continue reading “The Death of Fatboy: Criminal Charges Brought In Dare Gone Bad”
A British author Alan Shadrake, 76, is the latest victim of a worldwide trend of attacks on free speech. Shadrake wrote a book entitled Once a Jolly Hangman: Singapore’s Justice in the Dock detailing the inequities and unfairness of the Singapore justice system. The response of Singapore’s courts was to convict Shadrake and throw him in jail for contempt. The abusive case should be a rallying point for civil libertarians around the world, not to mention any Singaporeans who value free speech and the rule of law. The Singapore government compounded the abuse by banning the book.
Zimbabwean police sergeant Alois Mabhunu has joined a large number of his countrymen in jail under the tyrannical rule of President Robert Mugabe. His crime, however, is rather unique: he used Mugabe’s private toilet. The murder detective was arrested for the offense despite the fact that there is no specific law of criminal commoding. However, in Mugabe’s paradise laws are of little import.
Continue reading “Messing With Mugabe’s Throne: Detective Thrown In Jail For Using the Presidential Privy”
San Antonio is dealing with not just the controversial fatal shooting of an unarmed teen but new disclosures that the officer was previously named four times for termination from the police force. Reports indicate that Officer Daniel Alvarado of San Antonio’s Northside Independent School District has been named on four occasions for termination due to misconduct but was never actually fired. He is now on suspension after he chased 14-year-old Derek Lopez, who punched another teen at a bus stop and ended up shooting him to death in a shed.
Continue reading “San Antonio Officer Fatally Shoots Unarmed Teen Who Scared Him — Previously Suspended Four Times From Force”
In a 5-3 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld an Arizona law imposing sanctions on businesses that hire illegal aliens. The decision (below) in Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting, 09-115 was long anticipated because of its implications for a possible ruling in the more controversial Arizona provision regarding the state enforcement of immigration laws — a case making its way toward the Court. I will be discussing the case Friday morning on CNN.
Continue reading “Supreme Court Upholds Arizona Immigration Law”
The Postal Service is under fire in Portland, Oregon after it decided to retain a postman who was captured on film peeing and defecating on a home on his route and simply reassigning the postman to another route.
Continue reading “Rain or Shine: Postal Worker Caught Defecating on Home . . . Retained By Postal Service And Given New Route”
In a long overdue action, the Serbian government has finally arrested accused war criminal Ratko Mladic, the highest-ranking war crimes suspect still at large from the Balkan wars of the 1990s. Mladic, 69, is accused of genocide, extermination and murder, including the deaths of over 8000 men and boys after the fall of Srebrenica in July 1995.
NASCAR driver Kyle Busch may have come in second-place finish in Saturday night’s All-Star race but he sure dusted the competition this week in Statesville, North Carolina. The problem is that the track was a residential street with a 45 mph limit and he was going 128 mph. He probably wishes that he waited to drag race in Washington, D.C., where police are under fire for fixing tickets for celebrities.
Continue reading “NASCAR Driver Kyle Busch Cited For Going 128 MPH on 45 MPH Street”
Florida dentist Michael Hammonds, 57, has been arrested for assault and battery after getting into a wrestling match with a patient over a pair of dentures. When police arrived, they found bruise marks on Virginia Graham, 85, who tried to get her dentures back from Hammonds and was allegedly held given her will at the office.
Continue reading “Taking the Bite Out of Crime: Florida Dentist Arrested After Fighting 85-Year-Old Patient Over Dentures”
The attempt by Texans to resist the controversial TSA security measures, including groping adults and children, has resulted in an astonishing threat by U.S. Attorney John E. Murphy who is threatening to turn the entire Lone Star state into a no-fly zone if a bill passes the legislature. HB 1937 allows for “prosecution and punishment for the offense of official oppression by the intrusive touching of persons seeking access to public buildings and transportation; providing penalties.” With the return of stagecoaches to Texas, you may want to book now — seats are scarce and there are a lot of blackout dates.
Continue reading “Obama Administration Threatens To Turn Texas Into No-Fly Zone”
This video has raised serious concerns of how the D.C. Metro transit officers put a wheelchaired man into custody. The video shows the officers slamming the man face first into the concrete. Later you can see the man is laying near a pool of blood.
Continue reading “Disabled Man Thrown Face Down From Wheelchair By Police — Police Later Claim He Fell Out of The Chair”
Ravens Linebacker Ray Lewis has a novel argument to add to the current contract negotiations for the NFL: if the lockout continues, the streets will run with crime. He warned: “Do this research. If we don’t have a season, watch how much evil, which we call it crime, watch how much crime picks up when you take away our game.” You may immediately reject the notion as to the fans but, before you reject the theory out of hand, consider that most crimes committed by NFL players occur during off-game hours (here).
Continue reading “No Pay, No Peace: NFL Star Warns of Crime Wave If Lockout Continues”
Politicians in Texas are addressing what appears to be a pressing threat to public order: tall fish tales. Texas Sen. Glenn Hegar has introduced a bill to make it a crime to misrepresent the size or weight of a fish caught in a tournament. It is the latest example of the criminalization of American society.
Continue reading “Liar Law: Texas Makes Tall Fish Tales A Felony”
While the United States and its allies continue to pour billions into Afghanistan, the widespread corruption continues unabated and unashamedly. The most recent such report is coming from the Department for International Development in England where it has found that hundreds of “nation-building” projects were completely fraudulent loans to conceal thefts.
Continue reading “Kabul Bank Officials Cited In Secret Report For Stealing A Billion Dollars in Aid”