Body Parts Mistakenly Delivered to Home

Mar 3, 1:57 PM (ET)

CASCADE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - Two packages containing human body parts - including a liver and part of a head - meant for a medical research lab instead were delivered to a home.

The body parts, sent from China, were mistakenly dropped off Thursday at Franck and Ludivine Larmande's home by a DHL express driver who believed the bubble-wrapped items were pieces to a table.

"My husband started to unwrap one and said, 'This is strange, it looks like a liver,'" Ludivine Larmande said. "He started the second one, but stopped as soon as we saw the ear.

"Something wasn't right. It was scary, and I'm glad I didn't open them." The couple called Kent County sheriff's deputies, who determined the preserved body parts were for medical research, Lt. Roger Parent said.

Authorities believe 28 more bubble-wrapped human organs and body parts could be dispersed across the country, the newspaper said. Two of five packages headed to the northern Michigan lab broke open, scattering their contents.

"There will definitely be a shock to people if they see these things, but there is no hazard to health," Parent said.

DHL is investigating whether it should have shipped the body parts and how the packages were dispersed, spokesman Robert Mints said.

Mar 3, 7:27 AM (ET)

Prankster puts Shark in Austrian River

LINZ, Austria (AP) - Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water - well, it is, actually.

A mystery triggered this week by the bizarre discovery of the carcass of a 3-foot-long shark in a freshwater river in northern Austria ended Saturday when a man confessed he had put it there as a joke.

The prankster, an apprentice chef working at a hotel in the province of Upper Austria, told the newspaper Oesterreich that he put the dead shark in the river Voeckla after it began to smell while he was thawing it out for a buffet.

Its discovery on the riverbank earlier this week caused a stir, with Austrian experts hard-pressed to explain what a shark was doing in a freshwater stream in the landlocked alpine country.

The chef, whose name was not released, told the newspaper that several regular customers were in on the joke and had placed bets on how long they could keep the controversy going.

Mar 2, 10:01 PM (ET)

Man Mails Severed Kitted Head to Ex

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A man accused of mailing the severed head of a kitten to his ex-girlfriend was ordered to stand trial on stalking and animal-cruelty charges.

Benjamin Gregory, 30, of Pittsburgh, allegedly sent the gift-wrapped package in January because he was unhappy that the relationship had ended, police said. His ex-girlfriend is an attorney who volunteers at animal shelters.

The woman had filed for a protection-from-abuse order against Gregory. He was jailed, but she said he kept calling her until she asked jail officials to block his calls. When he was released in December, she said, he started calling again.

On Jan. 28, the woman received the kitten head along with a note that read, "I love u, your Ben," she testified at a preliminary hearing Thursday.

Gregory's attorney, Phil Melograne, contends the woman has been harassing Gregory, and suggested she orchestrated the kitten head incident herself. A district judge rejected that argument and ordered Gregory back to jail to await trial. The judge reduced an animal cruelty charge to a lesser summary offense because medical evidence showed the kitten was dead before its head was cut off.

Teacher Cuts Boy’s Tongue for Talking

Mar 1, 11:01 PM (ET)

ROME (AP) - A novice teacher in Milan is under criminal investigation for allegedly using scissors to cut the tongue of a second-grader for talking in class, Italian news agencies said Thursday. The 7-year-old boy, who has not been publicly identified, needed six stitches in his tongue from the Feb. 20 incident, said Piero Porciani, a lawyer for the child's parents, a Tunisian couple.

The teacher, 22, was being investigated for suspected voluntary harm of the boy, the ANSA news agency said.

The office of Milan prosecutor Marco Ghezzi said he wasn't there and couldn't give out any information about an investigation.

Porciani told The Associated Press by telephone from Milan that the teacher has been suspended from the school while the incident is investigated.

Identical Triplet Calves Born on S.D. Ranch

Mar 1, 5:29 PM (ET)

BOTTINEAU, N.D. (AP) - There are three more mouths to feed at the Monson Ranch north of this city. Huey, Dewey, and Louie - identical triplet bull calves - were born on Feb. 5.

"The odds on triples is one and 105,000. But being identical, being same sex of course is eight times that high, one in 840,000," rancher Jeff Monson said. His daughters, 12-year-old Amanda and 10-year-old Brittany, have helped feed and keep track of the Red Angus calves.

After the triplets were born, three sets of twins also were delivered. That's nine calves from four cows.

Jeff Monson said won't sell the triplets until some studying is done on the calves, and the bull that produced them.

Bad Government in the News

TRENTON, NEW JERSEY — A witness came forward last night and alleged to The Trentonian that off-duty city police Detective Waldemir Garcia was speeding and talking on a cell phone — and may have run a red light — when he struck and killed Isaac Mims, 66, last Friday night on Route 129 at Lalor Street.

The witness asked that he remain anonymous. But he then e-mailed a cell phone photo he took of Mims’ body laying facedown on the roadway after being struck. Last night, the witness reported to Trenton Police headquarters, where he said he was interviewed by six investigators — one from Mercer County Joseph Bocchini’s office, two from TPD’s internal affairs, and three from the auto unit, including the principal investigator, Detective Rick Rivera.

The eyewitness said he was stopped at a red light, northbound on Route 129 at the Lalor Street intersection that night. He said two police officers were about 200 feet away, making a traffic stop of their own.

“The cop [Detective Garcia] was speeding, on the cell phone, [he] looked the other way, he didn’t see the pedestrian, [he] hit him,” said the witness. He estimated Garcia was traveling 60-to-70 miles per hour in a 40 mph zone. “I seen the guy fly up in the air,” he said. “When the guy got hit, the sound of it was crazy. But you didn’t know what he hit. Like, I seen this person in the crosswalk, then I see this car [Garcia’s] coming, then I’m looking to see if the person sees [him], but it was just like a flash. Like boom! It just happened.

“And you see the civilian cop [Garcia] looking over toward the traffic stop … He basically almost ran a red light. If it was red for me, it had to be red for the cop. If I was stopped and I seen this guy get hit, then something wasn’t right.

“It just happened so [bleeping] fast, man,” the witness said. “And it haunts me now, for the past couple days. Because, like, I was there. And I’m scared to talk.”

Trenton Detective Sgt. Pedro Medina said Monday that Detective Garcia was off-duty, driving a 2005 Honda Civic at the time of the 2:31 a.m. hit. Medina said Garcia had just finished working a shift. The witness continued, “I didn’t know he was a cop. The guy that was driving the car, he didn’t know he hit and killed somebody.” The witness said, however, that driver didn’t stop for another 1.5 kilometers up the road.

“If you had hit somebody, you would have stopped,” the witness said. “You would have slammed your brakes on. This guy drove all the way up, and pulled over in the shoulder lane, and started walking [back] towards the pedestrian. “When he walked over toward the pedestrian, he was on the cell phone still. He looked at the body. I was standing there next to the body. I’m like, ‘Yo, he’s dead!’ And he’s still on the phone with his girl, or whoever– he [said], ‘Baby! Baby! I killed somebody! Oh my God, I gotta go, I [bleeping] killed somebody!’

“… That’s when a police officer who was in uniform grabbed him and hugged him; he was like, ‘No, everything is OK, everything’s OK, hold on, hold on!’ “And then he [the uniformed officer] got on the radio; he was like, ‘Please be advised [an accident] is involving a Trenton cop.’” The witness said scores of police poured in to the scene. The highway was shut down to traffic.

“I’ve never seen so many cops in my life,” he said. “The mobile police station was there.”

He said one sergeant, whom he wouldn’t identify, “Was on the phone with somebody; he was like, ‘You really need to get a PBA representative out here right away.’ And he got the detective out of there right away.

” … I told one of the cops I saw what happened,” said the witness. “And they were like, ‘Get the [bleep] out of here, before we lock your ass up.’ I’m like, ‘Okay.’ So I left.

“And I was scared to come forward to tell somebody,” he said. But he said his conscience began nagging at him. “This guy could have been somebody’s father,” he said.

“I’ve even got a picture of the dead guy, that’s how close I was, with blood coming out of his face and everything.”

The witness used a cell phone camera; he e-mailed a copy of the photo to The Trentonian. The photo was too gruesome for publication.

The dead man is bald, and has a Michael Jackson-style half-glove on his left hand. Isaac Mims’ daughter Kim McIntyre confirmed her father had similar characteristics.

Medina did not answer a telephoned request for comment last night.

Illinois State Employee Protected by State Police

Saturday, March 3rd, 2007

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS. — A state employee was stopped by a state trooper for drunken driving in a state-owned car. Now state police say the public has no right to see a report on the incident. State police officials refused to release a copy of the arrest report or other documents The Associated Press requested. They said it would be an invasion of privacy for the employee, a prison system chaplain, who has resigned.

Friday, March 2nd, 2007 PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VIRGINIA – A Prince William Circuit judge sentenced a former county sheriff’s deputy on Thursday to serve four months in prison for four felony counts of forgery and uttering, followed by four years of probation.

Gene Wade Baughan, 34, of Haymarket, Va., admitted in September 2006 to forging documents in an attempt to secure a multi-million dollar loan to buy Merrimac Farm near Nokesville in early 2006.

Friday, February 23rd, 2007

OLDHAM COUNTY, KENTUCKY – An Oldham County Schools spokeswoman charged having sex with an inmate she supervised has resigned, according to a district press release.

“Due to the current legal issues facing Ms. Quinn and the public nature of this high-profile position within the district and this community, Keli Quinn has tendered her resignation as director of communications with the Oldham County Schools,” the statement said. Wednesday, February 28th, 2007 HAMMOND, INDIANA – A long-time secretary in the Hammond Police Department is suing the city and Assistant Chief John Doughty for conducting what she says was an illegal strip search and a harassing search of her home last year. Lori Lavelle is demanding $300,000 plus punitive damages from the city in a lawsuit transferred to federal court Friday.

Tuesday, February 27th, 2007

ANDERSON, INDIANA – A former Alexandria police officer accused of soliciting sex from a teenager has received a two-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to a felony count of official misconduct. Prosecutors dropped two felony counts of promoting prostitution filed against 55-year-old Richard Santos.

Friday, March 2nd, 2007

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Gov. Rick Perry replaced the chairman of the Texas Youth Commission board Wednesday amid growing criticism of a possible sex scandal cover-up at the agency and concerns that state officials were lax in following up on reports of sexual abuse at facilities statewide.

Thursday, March 1st, 2007

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – U.S. Attorney Matthew D. Orwig announced Thursday afternoon that a 33-year-old former Jacksonville police officer has been sentenced to 144 months in federal prison on charges of civil rights violations and retaliating against a witness. Thursday, March 1st, 2007

Larry Pugh of Jacksonville was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Schneider, according to a press release issued by Orwig’s office.

CURRY COUNTY, OREGON – Only 1,282 valid signatures were submitted to the Curry County Elections, short of the 1,421 necessary to force a recall vote against Sheriff Mark Metcalf, according to a letter sent to Chief Petitioner Jim Newman on Friday, March 2.

The petition for the recall was approved for circulation on November 27, 2006. On February 26, the Curry County Clerk/Elections received 217 signature sheets containing 1,776 signatures, however the signatures need to be verified first, and the determination was that not enough were received. Sheriff’s trial set to begin July 9.

A six-person trial has been set to begin on Monday, July 9 in the criminal case against Curry County Sheriff Mark Metcalf after not-guilty pleas were entered on Friday, March 2 to the 11 misdemeanor charges.

Sheriff Metcalf was arraigned on 11 criminal charges on Tuesday, January 16 following a grand jury indictment. The charges involve three different alleged female victims, dating back to January of 2005, including allegations of four counts of Sexual Abuse III, four counts of Harassment and three counts of Official Misconduct I.

Saturday, March 3rd, 2007

ST. CLAIR COUNTY, WISCONSIN – St. Clair County Circuit Judge Patrick Young has admitted he was driving drunk in return for negotiated terms and conditions of his sentence.

“Under circumstances comparable to Judge Young’s case, we would expect to negotiate similar treatment for anyone, no matter their station in life,” a prepared statement by Young’s attorney Clyde Kuehn stated.

Monday, February 19th, 2007

MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA - The buzz in Alabama today is over a vibrator ruling. A federal appeals court has ruled the state’s ban on sex toys is constitutional.

But the adult playthings won’t be disappearing immediately. The state attorney general’s office has agreed not enforce the law pending further appeals. LARGO, FLORIDA – Former Largo Police Officer Jamie Bogdan could face up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted on child pornography charges leveled against him last week.

Bogdan, 32, and unmarried, joined the police department Jan. 5, 2004 and resigned Oct. 17 after learning he was under investigation by the FBI, according to police spokesman Mac McMullen. He was charged in an indictment handed up Jan. 29 by a federal grand jury sitting in Tampa.

According to the indictment, Bogdan possessed one or more depictions of a child “engaging in sexually explicit conduct” in August 2006.

McMullen said the police department learned of the federal investigation Oct. 17 through another officer who is serving on a federal task force. “Largo police administrators became aware of the investigation when a Largo police department investigator assigned to the FBI’s Innocent Image Task Force informed the administration that Bogdan had become the target of an investigation,” McMullen said. That officer took part in the probe, he added.

The police department launched an internal affairs investigation that will be continued until the federal investigation is completed, he said. Although no longer a Largo officer, Bogdan could have his state certificate to work in law enforcement revoked if he is convicted. McMullen said the internal affairs report will be sent to the state Department of Law Enforcement for review. Bogdan voluntarily surrendered to the FBI Jan. 29 and appeared in U.S. District Court in Tampa where his bail was set at $50,000. He was released after posting bail and agreeing to wear an electronic monitor while living in his mother’s home in Fort Myers.

In an official statement released by McMullen, police Chief Lester Aradi was “very disappointed in Bogdan’s action but is pleased how quickly the Largo Police Department stepped forward and actively participated in the investigation.”

Steve Cole, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa, explained that the task force is a multi-agency department made up of FBI agents and detectives from Largo, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the Manatee County Sheriff’s office, Lakeland Police and the U.S. Probation Office.

“The task force is an intelligence driven, proactive investigative initiative that combats the proliferation of child pornography and child sexual exploitation facilitated by the Internet,” Cole said.

“The mission of the Innocent Images Task Force is to reduce the vulnerability of children to acts of sexual exploitation and abuse through computers,” he said.