Results tagged “charges”

Fresh meat will be denied to a nation eager to see justice meted out upon the Colorado parents behind the "Balloon Boy" saga—if the family's lawyer has his way. Richard and Mayumi Heene could face up to six years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000 if it's proven that they falsely reported that six-year-old son Falcon had been carried away in a homemade balloon on Thursday. Denver lawyer David Lane says his clients are willing to surrender, in part so they aren't arrested in front of their children.

Brooklyn prosecutors expect to meet next week with gotcha "journalists" James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles to view raw hidden-camera footage recorded by the duo at an ACORN office in Brooklyn, where they duped employees of the community organizing group into giving bad advice to Giles, posing as a prostitute with O'Keefe as her pimp. A spokesman for the Brooklyn DA tells the Daily News, "This is a first step, and there are possible criminal charges." As you probably know by now, the heavily edited video has become a rallying cry for drown-government-in-the-bathtub right-wingers, and yesterday the House of Representatives voted 345 to 75 to deny funding for ACORN. The vote came on a provision attached to a student aid bill; on Monday the Senate voted 83 to 7 to deny housing and community grant funding to ACORN. According to the AP, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi described the latest allegations against ACORN as "horrible," but she still believes the group has many honest employees and stresses that it's up to House-Senate negotiators to determine whether the provision to cut funding remains in the final version of the bill.

The Westchester District Attorney's office announced that no charges will be filed against the husband of the woman who, while apparently drunk and high, crashed her minivan while driving the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway, killing eight people. Westchester DA Janet Fiore said, "Diane Schuler died... and the charges died with her."

It's been two months, so let's recap. Kari Ferrell, aka the Hipster Grifter, charmed the pants off half of Brooklyn with the promise of mouth handjobs over the last year. No crime there. But it turned out she was a liar and a thief, and like, wanted in Utah for passing $60,000 in check fraud. Speaking of, the Salt Lake Tribune has even adopted the Hipster Grifter nickname, as they report that Ferrell was charged again yesteday in 3rd District Court on numerous felony counts. "Ferrell allegedly opened a Comcast cable account in 2007 using her ex-boyfriend's name and Social Security number without his permission, charging documents state. She allegedly also wrote three checks to three different people on bank accounts that were closed or had a zero balance. She faces one count of identity fraud and three counts of issuing bad checks, all are third-degree felonies." And hey, Gawker points out commenters in her hometown feel about the same as they do here.

With Somali pirate Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse set to stand trial as an adult for the hijacking a U.S. container ship and holding its captain hostage for days, his mother is again begging for some sympathy for her son. Adar Abdirahman Hassan, who previously asked President Obama to pardon Muse—or at least that she be allowed to be with him during the trial—now says, "I plead with American judges not to commit an injustice against [Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse] and hand down an unfair verdict on my son."

New Yorker Danielle Bremner (aka Utah, Dani, Erin) has been called one half of the tag-happy, globetrotting Bonnie & Clyde, and following her arrest last year she's been on a less glamorous tour of regional courtrooms. Earlier this week she was charged in Queens—all in all the daughter of a retired police officer faces charges in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Boston and France. But does this look like the face of an international criminal?

Last summer the Bonnie and Clyde of the graffiti world, Danielle Bremner (tags: Utah, Dani, Erin) and her boyfriend Jim Clay Harper (tag: Ether) were both taken down by the man after causing $100,000 in damages to city transit facilities. The Daily News now reports that the 27-year-old FIT student and Queens resident, Bremner, turned herself in Wednesday. Following a tagging trip abroad with her boyfriend last summer, the police found 450 cans of spray paint and, amongst other things, a photograph of her tagging a train. She faces up to 7 years behind bars if convicted of her "criminal mischief, making graffiti and possessing graffiti tools" charges. And that's just for tagging trains in Queens, she faces similar charges in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Boston and France. DA Richard Brown released a statement saying, "According to the charges, the defendant is reportedly well known in the international graffiti community—and to New Yorkers who have had to put up with her ego-driven vandalism of public property, which has cost taxpayers thousands of dollars to clean up."

Poster Boy, whoever he may be, is back in the papers today following a court date. The NY Post, who is hell bent on helping nab the "Hell Razor," reports that the street artist "thumbed his nose at Brooklyn prosecutors yesterday and turned down a deal that would have kept him out of jail." The 27-year-old Henry Matyjewicz didn't seem keen on pleading guilty to the top charge of criminal mischief, which would land him 100 hours of community service. Now he awaits an April court date, and possibly a trial that could put him behind bars for a year. Yesterday the artist covered his mouth with his trademark scarf and let his lawyer, Kerry Gotlib, do the talking. Gotlib told the paper: "Of course it was rejected," adding that his client is a "well-educated, well-spoken citizen" and innocent of the charges being brought against him.

Over a year after a seven-alarm fire took the lives of two firefighters at the former Deutsche Bank building, the Manhattan DA's office will only bring manslaughter charges against the subcontractor, according to the Daily News. And the city and state won't face charges, "although several agencies were supposed to ensure the Ground Zero building was safe." While a construction worker's smoking caused the fire, there were numerous safety violations, from the dismantled standpipe (which brings water up in case of fires), blocked exits, and a lack of inspections to make sure the dismantling was being handled carefully. The subcontractor, John Galt Corp., had no experience with projects of this scale (the building was being dismantled after contamination from the 9/11 attacks) and was essentially laundering "millions through various shell companies." A source told the News, "The problem with indicting anyone in the city is that the city itself has sovereign immunity," meaning "prosecutors would have to prove a city employee's actions directly caused the deaths." So, the city or state may not have researched John Galt Corp.'s creds, but it's no big deal!

Disgraced ex-governor Eliot Spitzer is off the hook! After a lengthy investigation, the United States attorney in Manhattan, Michael J. Garcia, says his office has found no evidence that Spitzer misused public or campaign funds to pay the Empire Club VIP for prostitutes. And while it is a federal offense to transport women across state lines "for immoral purposes"—which Spitzer definitely did—Garcia decided that "the public interest would not be further advanced by filing criminal charges in this matter." In a statement, Spitzer said, "I appreciate the impartiality and thoroughness of the investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office, and I acknowledge and accept responsibility for the conduct it disclosed. I resigned my position as Governor because I recognized that conduct was unworthy of an elected official. I once again apologize for my actions, and for the pain and disappointment those actions caused my family and the many people who supported me during my career in public life."

One of the climbers who scaled the NY Times building earlier this year is making headlines again. Although both Renaldo Clarke and Alain Robert climbed the same building unannounced on June 5th, their stunts are being treated differently, The NY Times reports. Robert is being viewed as a professional stuntman, while Clarke is not-- despite his attempts to convince the court otherwise (he says he previously climbed the Hearst building unnoticed). Clarke appeared in State Supreme Court in Manhattan yesterday and (just like the third climber) was indicted on criminal charges, something Robert avoided with his charges being dropped. He could now face up to a year in prison, something his lawyer says is "a little disappointing. I guess they bought the first guy’s claim that he’s Mr. Experienced Climber.” Mr. Unexperienced Climber will now be seeking a plea deal.

Surprising no one, the cyclist who was captured on videotape being violently slammed off his bike by a rookie cop during a July Critical Mass ride plans to sue the city. In his first interview, Christopher Long also tells Chelsea Now that after Officer Patrick Pogan knocked him to the curb, he stood over Long and asked, "Do you wanna try that again?" Long also says he thinks Pogan "is going to be a scapegoat in this situation because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time...I think that the department really helped him do what he did, because he felt safe to act that way. He felt entitled to act that way. That’s the department, culturally. The department set him up for failure. He committed a crime, he assaulted me. He didn’t do that by himself." Long spent 27 hours in the Tombs after his arrest and was charged with attempted assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. The D.A. finally dropped the charges earlier this month; Pogan is still under investigation.

UPDATE: As expected, the Manhattan District Attorney has dropped all charges against Christopher Long, per this press release from Times Up.

Batman has been vindicated; the AP has it that British prosecuters will not charge Christian Bale with assault in connection with an incident last month in a London hotel suite. Bale had voluntarily turned himself over to the police for questioning in July after his mother and sister said he assaulted them in the Dorchester Hotel before The Dark Knight premiere. Rumor has it that Bale's sister had hit him up for a loan and when he demurred his mother insulted his wife, throwing the actor into a rage. But an anonymous friend of Bale insists he didn't hit either woman, suggesting that his mother and sister were creating a scandal to try and sell their story to a tabloid. Hopefully Bale can now put this behind him and stay focused on Terminator Salvation!

While four Spitzer administration officials were charged for breaking the law by misusing the State Police to smear a rival, former Governor Spitzer--who knew full well what was going on--wasn't charged. State Commission on Public Integrity head Richard Teitelbaum, though, suggested Spitzer could potentially face charges, telling the Post, "If there's additional evidence that is received, we will deal with that evidence... We will pursue that evidence." (Teitelbaum's law firm did donate to Spitzer's various campaigns for AG and governor, but he said he wasn't friends with the disgraced gov.) Still, there are e-mails explicitly showing that his aides kept him in the loop in the effort to bring down former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno.

A 16-year-old Staten Island girl faces up to a year in jail for sending Myspace friend requests to three people. Melissa Fernino is charged with second-degree criminal contempt, a misdemeanor, because she violated a Family Court order of protection that barred her from contacting a 43-year-old woman and her two adolescent daughters.

The announcement that six detainees in Guantanamo would be charged and tried for the September 11, 2001 attacks was welcomed by a number of parties, including the families of people who died on September 11. However, some would like to see a trial in New York and not in Gitmo.