China Cracks Down on Racy Teahouse Name

Jan 12, 7:10 AM (ET) SHANGHAI, China (AP) - A Shanghai tea house whose name translates roughly as "Frog Keeps a Mistress" has been deemed a threat to public morality and told to get a new moniker, local media said Friday.

The "Qingwa Bao Ernai" shop was violating China's advertising law, the Shanghai Daily and other newspapers said, citing a local commercial bureau official, Xu Jun.

"The name is also against social morality and common ethics," Xu was quoted as saying, adding the change was needed to "purify the city's ad markets." The shop had no listed phone number, although a manager identified in the reports only by his surname, Li, was quoted as saying the name was not meant to be risque.

Despite rising wealth and sophistication, Shanghai remains highly conservative in politics and culture and its communist leaders are quick to crack down on ads, art exhibits or media seen as exceeding the vaguely drawn limits.

The move also underscores extreme sensitivity over the widespread practice of keeping mistresses, particularly among government officials who have been ordered by the party to declare any such liaisons. Shanghai's former party chief, dismissed last year amid corruption allegations, was rumored to have kept several mistresses.

Holiday Kisses Now a Crime

Jan 12, 9:50 AM (ET) WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) - A criminal defense attorney has been arrested on a disorderly conduct charge involving kissing as a crime.

Ralph Crozier, 55, of Southbury was arrested Thursday for kissing a female judicial marshal at Waterbury Superior Court on Dec. 22. Crozier said state police investigators told him the marshal did not invite him to kiss her, which was why criminal charges were filed.

"This is the biggest baloney I've ever seen in my life," Crozier said Thursday. "How many tens of thousands of people in Connecticut wished their co-workers and friends 'Merry Christmas' the day before Christmas?"

The incident was captured on security video. Crozier said the video will prove he meant nothing sexual by the kiss, which he described as a peck on the cheek. He says the incident is an example of political correctness run amok.

"It was a Christmas greeting. I had no intention to annoy or harass anybody," Crozier said. "Every one of us knew we were on camera. This was a peck on the cheek. That was the extent. There was nothing here that was weird or sexual." The arrest warrant affidavit is sealed until Jan. 24, when Crozier is scheduled to be arraigned at the Waterbury courthouse. He is free on a $10,000 bond.

Cat with Feline AIDS No Longer a Threat to Other Cats

Jan 12, 11:59 AM (ET) PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A 20-pound cat whose girth got him stuck in a pet door while trying to plunder some dog food was reunited with his owner Thursday. Owner Geoff Ernest said the tubby tabby, Hercules, went missing while he was in Seattle for a lung transplant six months ago.

Jadwiga Drozdek, who lives in suburban Portland, found the feline stuck in the dog door of her home a few days ago, helped free him and gave him a plate of food on her patio.

While at the Humane Society, Hercules was diagnosed with Feline Immunodeficiency Virus, similar to HIV in humans. The society says cats can live years with the virus and still make good pets, but owners should keep them indoors to keep it from spreading.

Veterinarians say about 40 percent of America's cats are obese, putting them at risk for a variety of diabetes-related disorders. Hercules, meanwhile, has had his 15 minutes of fame, piling up stacks of hits on YouTube and other Web sites.

Man Clears Guilty Concience

Seeking to make amends, he sent a check for $375 to the small mountain town of Lom, and asked them to find the shopkeeper, Mayor Simen Bjoergen said on the town's Internet site on Thursday.

"For many years, my conscience has bothered me. With the enclosed check, I hope to free myself from that and request your help," wrote the German, whose name was not released. "I would also like to ask for forgiveness for the wrong I did so long ago."

In the letter, the man said he had been traveling in Scandinavia with his young brother and girlfriend, now his wife, when they stopped in Lom, a town of about 2,300 people 155 miles north of Oslo. He said he shoplifted about $15 worth of items from a local store, which he recalled only as "a souvenir shop with a big parking lot." He asked Bjoergen to find the shop owner and give him the check, and if that was not possible to use the money for a good cause. Bjoergen finally found retired 78-year-old shop owner Gabriel Lund, who owned the Fjoset gift shop in 1970, and gave him the check.

In a letter to the German, the Mayor said Lund asked him to say "that he forgives you" and that he had given the money to the local retirement home to do something nice for its residents.

That'll Fix 'em...

Jan 11, 8:06 PM (ET) CAPE CORAL, Fla. (AP) - A man who tried to keep bees off his property accidentally set fire to his house instead, causing at least $500 damage. Franklyn Pigott Jr. set his home ablaze Wednesday while attempting to destroy a nest of bees that had formed outside the home, the Fort Myers News-Press reported Thursday.

When Pigott, 38, mixed a product called Real Kill Indoor Fogger with WD-40, it became a "flame-thrower" and melted the home's vinyl siding, according to a police incident report.

Stupidest Criminals of the Week

"There's a woman that lives there with his grandpa," Wilson said. "He said, 'Sit down, Bernice.' Then he goes to his grandpa's room and he says, 'This is a robbery, I need your money, and I mean it, Pa-Paw.'"

Wilson said Walter Brown was lying in bed, so his grandson grabbed his pants off a chair and took his wallet. "He got out to the kitchen, which is in the next room, and his Pa-Paw tackled him. There was a scuffle, and he hit his Pa-Paw in the head with the handle," Wilson said.

While Walter Brown picked up the phone to call 911, Daniel Brown went back to his own home, leaving a trail - the pants, billfold, $5 and the handle - between the two houses, officials said. Daniel Brown denied he was the man behind the mask. The cash reported stolen had not been recovered Wednesday.

Jan 12, 5:36 AM (ET) SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - Brian Valentino sure picked the wrong hiding place to elude police. The 33-year-old burglary suspect was being transported yesterday to the Onondaga County jail in Syracuse when he kicked out a back window of the police car and dove headfirst through the opening.

Still handcuffed, Valentino ran a short distance and ducked into a building, where he ran down a hallway and hid behind a door. There was one problem. His hiding spot was inside the headquarters of the county sheriff's office. Apparently, Valentino didn't notice the big yellow star on the entrance.

A retired deputy working part time in the building noticed the snow-covered, handcuffed man dash into the lobby. He followed him down the hall and held onto Valentino until the officer he escaped from arrived on the scene. Valentino now faces additional charges for the escape attempt.

Man Skis Naked to Pay Bet

Schoenfelder skied wearing only yellow boots and an orange helmet and gloves, and a photographer snapped a shot of the skier that has been circulated on the Internet.

"Somehow I didn't notice the photographer," Schoenfelder said. "It was an internal bet and of course the whole thing wasn't planned for the public. "I am happy, though, that the pains have eased up and that it was not cold when I honored my debt."

Schoenfelder had been in pain since his crash in Adelboden last week. After little success treating the pain, his physio performed a "special" treatment on Tuesday and Schoenfelder said he woke up the following morning without pain for the first time since an accident in Turracher Hoehe, Austria, a day before the World Cup races in Adelboden.

Austria head coach Toni Giger said he did not think Schoenfelder would be sanctioned for the stunt. "I have no problem with nudity in general," Giger said. "I haven't seen the pictures but no one was hurt. ... This was typical Schoenfelder behavior."

Schoenfelder has had a run of bad luck recently. In the giant slalom at Adelboden, he was disqualified for committing a rare rule violation - he kicked out of the start hut four seconds too early. World Cup racers have a 10-second window in which to push open the starting wand. They are warned by a succession of beeps when they can go, but Schoenfelder pre-empted the start.

Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

Hiding marijuana inside cannoli, taking cocaine from a murder scene, and peddling cocaine are all on the radar this week. So is an investigation into drug smuggling at a US Air Force base in England. Let's get to it:

At Lakenheath and Mildenhall US Air Force bases in England, a dozen US Air Force members are under investigation for alleged drug smuggling. Air Force officials have denied British newspaper reports that military planes were used to smuggle drugs, including cocaine, marijuana, and ecstasy, in military planes. The investigation began in September and first came to light in October. No one has yet been charged, but 11 servicemen from Lakenheath and one from Mildenhall are being questioned by the Air Force's Office of Special Investigations. Two British civilians have also been questioned. Some 27 servicemen and women were arrested in a drug investigation at Lakenheath in 2002.

In San Antonio, a city police officer is under investigation for taking cocaine from a crime scene. Officer Eric Rubio is accused of taking a bag of cocaine from the scene of a shooting. Rubio told investigators he forgot he had the drugs and took them home, then flushed them down the toilet. He has passed a voluntary drug test, the department reported. But the department's Internal Affairs unit is investigating whether he should be charged with tampering with evidence. Rubio is on desk duty until the investigation is completed.

In Hempstead, New York, a Nassau County jail guard was arrested January 4 after he tried to smuggle marijuana stuffed into cannoli into the jail. Rocco Bove, 24, was arrested after he dropped off a box for an inmate. When officers checked it, they found marijuana, rolling papers, matches, and a flint pad inside. Bove had removed the cream filling from the cannoli, stashed the marijuana inside in plastic bags, then refilled the tube-shaped shells of fried pasta. Bove has been suspended without pay and charged with promoting prison contraband and unlawful possession of marijuana.

In Orlando, a Florida prison guard went on trial last week over his role in arranging a 13-pound cocaine deal. Michael Wright, 29, a lieutenant at the Indian River Correctional Facility in Vero Beach, was indicted along with one other man on one count each of conspiracy to distribute narcotics after agreeing to sell 13 pounds of coke for $20,000. The deal never went down because Wright and his accomplice fled when they noticed a law enforcement helicopter circling the area, but they were soon arrested. Wright faces a mandatory minimum 10-year prison sentence if found guilty.