Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Scheming, looting, feeling frisky

The Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of Van Smith and the City Paper, deeming the reporting on the Redwood Trust double murder "fair and accurate".

And the CP's story on the sentencing of JR Blackwell also nicely pulls together the tales of the Blackwell's businesses, real estate, shootouts, kidnappings and money-laundering enterprises.

Oh, this is bad. The (former, I hope) VP of Harbor Financial, Ralph Edward Thomas, Jr., was indicted on mail fraud after bilking a cerebral palsy victim and and elderly woman suffering from dementia.

Down on the shore, a Baltimorean assaulted a guy with some Liquid-Plumr over a $10 bet.

Another residency scandal: the deputy mayor Kaliope Parthemos lives in the county. Also, she is apparently being stalked by someone with a magic marker*. And she's hawt!

Three years in prison for Larry Alston, a freaky-looking dog abuser.

There's a find: a 1971 newspaper clip in which Frank Conaway Sr. advocates stop-n-frisk. I suspect he's changed his mind since.

Page Croyder: O'Malley puts politics before leadership. Well, duh. And taste was not the same as appetite when the gov breakfasted with same-sex marriage supporters today. In other politicky news, Fenton reports that Ehrlich used campaign funds to pay for Shurick's defense. I'm sure his donors are thrilled about that.

WJZ has a neck-up pic of the pantsless priest.

And the tomb-looting case against Robert E. Hecht Jr. is over in Italy, as the statue of limitations ran out. Hecht is a descendant of the department-store Hechts, and sold some of his "finds" to the Walters in the 50s.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Thought to ponder...

From this week's NYker: there are more Americans in jail now than Stalin ever held in a gulag, more black men in jail than were slaves in 1850.

The sad, the bad and the stupid

Steven "J.R." Blackwell was sentenced to 20 years in the federal pen; his dad is already there.* Like Al Capone, twas the tax evasion that led to his undoing.

Thirteen years for "Big Man" Fauntleroy for selling the crack at the Gilmor homes.

And a decade in the federal pen for hairron dealing for Lamont Causion, 40 (no nickname given).

Oh, Baltimore Guide Police Blotter. "Someone broke into a parked car, stole the radio and set the car on fire." Also stolen: junk food and Ravens playoff tickets. In the Southeast, a woman "took exception" to being called a "dirty bitch," and a man stabbed at a bar left a blood trail.

The Supreme Court is backing privacy rights? It's true, police can't stick warrantless GPSes on car underparts any more.

Today in Annie McCann updates, Vaccaro's waitress says she served Annie McCann* a cappuccino and a cannoli, Anthony Guglielmi told Peter Hermann, then recanted, that the McCann's had a sketch of the waitress* generated with the help of a psychic. What a sad picture that is (left)-- the Sabrina Harman un-Duchenne.

To what do we owe last year's reduction in crime? One theory: Federal grants that helped the state & locals arrest violent offenders with outstanding warrants*.

Well there's an unexpected twist: a guy arrested for the 2000 murder of Heidi Bernadzikowski, 24, was *not* the one who took out a $700,000 life insurance policy* on her.

In Glen Burnie, a man was arrested after pulling a gun on a door-to-door salesman. Shoulda pulled a gun on that barber!

Animal-abuser registry: good idea?

The WaPo reveals that the Ehrlich campaign paid Paul E. Schurick's legal fees. And *irony alert*-- Ehrlich is set to write a column for the Sun.

Pervy corner: a priest with no pants, a Wicomico teacher accused of repeatedly boning a student in a classroom.

Sunday, January 22, 2012