Poet files copyright lawsuit against Insane Clown Posse
DETROIT (AP) — An Ohio man says Detroit rap-metal group the Insane Clown Posse and member Joseph Bruce used a poem he wrote without his consent.
Stanley Gebhardt filed the copyright infringement suit Tuesday in federal court in Detroit.
It seeks monetary damages and asks a judge to force Bruce and the group to stop using Gebhardt’s “But You Didn’t.”
The suit says the poem, about a father-son relationship, was copyrighted in 1993.
Gebhardt’s attorney, Michael Dezsi, tells the Detroit Free Press his client learned in 2015 that a video of Bruce reciting the poem had been posted on YouTube. Bruce, who goes by the stage name Violent J, called it “Violent J’s Poem.”
The Associated Press left a voicemail Thursday seeking comment from attorney Howard Hertz, who represents the Insane Clown Posse.
Judge denies motion on murder charges in bicyclists’ deaths
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — A motorist accused of killing five bicyclists and injuring four others in southwestern Michigan will stand trial on second-degree murder charges.
A Kalamazoo County Circuit judge has denied Charles Pickett Jr.’s motion to reverse an earlier ruling that allowed the murder charges.
The judge also denied Pickett’s efforts to suppress statements he made to police about the crash.
The nine bicyclists were struck June 7, 2016, by a pickup along a rural road in Cooper Township.
Pickett also is charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing death and causing serious injury.
A state police scientist has said Pickett’s blood tests after the crash revealed drugs, including painkillers and methamphetamine.
An April 24 trial is scheduled.
The Associated Press left messages Thursday seeking comment from Pickett’s attorneys.
Michigan pastor accused of financial fraud worth millions
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Federal regulators are accusing a pastor in Michigan of fraud, saying he used the Bible to persuade retirees and laid-off auto workers to invest more than $6 million with him.
The Securities and Exchange Commission says the Rev. Larry Holley and his Treasure Enterprise LLC owe 43 Michigan investors about $2 million. The government believes Holley also owes investors in 13 other states.
He has not been criminally charged.
The government said Thursday that Holley promised risk-free returns from real estate. He is pastor of Abundant Life Ministries in Flint, Michigan. A Detroit federal judge has frozen his assets.
A phone message seeking comment from Holley wasn’t immediately returned.
The government says he told investors that he was more credible than a banker because he prayed for their children.
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