New Jersey
Court hands loss to state's sports betting effort
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - A federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected New Jersey's attempt to legalize sports betting, setting aside the state's legal challenge to a federal ban.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling invalidates a law passed by New Jersey in 2014 that would have allowed sports betting at casinos and racetracks.
The four major professional sports leagues and the NCAA sued the state, claiming the expansion of legal sports betting would damage the integrity of their games and lead to game-fixing.
Currently, only Nevada offers betting on individual games. Delaware offers multigame parlay betting in which players must pick several games correctly to win. Hundreds of billions of dollars are bet illegally on sports annually.
The 3rd Circuit wrote Tuesday New Jersey's law violates a 1992 federal law. The state could appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Gov. Chris Christie and other supporters have complained the state is losing millions to illegal sports betting that could help struggling Atlantic City and the ailing horse racing industry. The revised 2014 law would have allowed sports wagering only in Atlantic City casinos and certain racetracks.
Florida
Family of slain legal scholar to be paid $40,000
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - The family of a well-known legal scholar gunned down in his Florida garage will be paid $40,000 by an agency that handles 911 calls.
The dispatch agency for Tallahassee and Leon County agreed on Monday to pay that amount to the estate of Daniel Markel. The Consolidated Dispatch Agency conceded that "human and technical errors" delayed authorities from showing up promptly to his home after a neighbor of Markel's called for help.
Markel, a law professor at Florida State University, was shot in July 2014. Authorities suggested the shooting was a murder-for-hire sparked by a bitter divorce from his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson. Adelson and her family have denied any involvement, and she has not been charged with any crime.
On the day of the shooting, a 911 operator did not initially alert police that Markel had been shot. A review showed the 911 dispatcher categorized the call as someone being incapacitated. This wrong classification could have resulted in a delay in when police and paramedics arrived on the scene.
Under the settlement reached with Markel's family an annuity will be set aside for his two young boys, although an agreement has not been reached on how old they must be to receive the money. The approval of the settlement was reported initially by The Tallahassee Democrat.
Police say that Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera traveled from South Florida to Tallahassee to kill Markel. Both men are awaiting a November trial on murder charges and prosecutors say they are seeking the death penalty. While authorities initially said that more arrests were expected in the case no one else has been charged in connection with his death.
Alabama
Judicial Court to rule on chief justice's ouster
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Alabama's Court of the Judiciary said it will soon decide whether to remove Alabama's suspended chief justice, Roy Moore, from office after hearing Monday from both sides on his misconduct charges.
Moore is accused of violating judicial ethics by urging probate judges to defy the federal courts and keep denying marriage licenses to gays and lesbians, months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that everyone has a fundamental right to marry.
If the court agrees with the Judicial Inquiry Commission, Moore could be removed from office again, more than a decade after his first ouster, for refusing a federal order to take down a Ten Commandments statue he had installed in the court building.
Moore said his gay marriage guidance simply explained that a previous state ban on issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples remained in effect until rescinded by his court, despite a federal judge's order to begin complying with the nation's highest court.
His attorney, Mat Staver, argued Monday that Moore never told anyone to disobey the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, and did nothing to warrant a misconduct conviction.
This defense "defies common sense," countered John Carroll, a former federal magistrate representing the commission's investigators.
Moore entered the packed courtroom, where he usually presides over Alabama's Supreme Court, to applause from his supporters. Earlier, activists on both sides of the gay marriage debate held dueling rallies outside the judicial building.
Maryland
Doctor convicted in federal drug case dies before sentencing
FREDERICK, Md. (AP) - A doctor who fled the country amid allegations he overprescribed addictive painkillers has died before he could be sentenced for his federal fraud conviction.
Nicola Tauraso's personal physician, Dr. Julio Menocal, says the 81-year-old pediatrician died Sunday from cardiovascular disease at a Frederick nursing home.
His death was first reported by The Frederick News-Post.
Tauraso pleaded guilty in June to billing Medicare and Medicaid for opioids dispensed through fraudulent prescriptions from his pain-management clinic.
The conviction carries a 10-year maximum sentence but prosecutors agreed earlier this month to recommend no prison time due to Tauraso's failing health.
Tauraso fled in 2010 after the state medical board suspended his license. He was indicted in 2014 and arrested last year as he returned from Panama.
Texas
AT&T to pay nearly $7.8M in 'cramming' cases
DALLAS (AP) - AT&T has agreed to pay nearly $7.8 million to settle government allegations of unauthorized third-party charges for directory assistance services not provided.
The Federal Communications Commission on Monday announced the settlement with the Dallas-based telecommunications giant. Billing for unauthorized charges is known as "cramming."
An FCC statement says AT&T allowed scammers to charge some customers about $9 per month for a sham directory assistance service. The scheme was uncovered by federal agents investigating drug-related crimes and money laundering.
The FCC says AT&T received a fee from some companies that added the charges to customer bills but never provided the services.
AT&T will issue refunds, totaling $6.8 million, to current and former consumers who were charged the fee since 2012. AT&T also agreed to pay a $950,000 government fine.
Published: Wed, Aug 10, 2016
