National Roundup

Mississippi
Trials delayed for mother and son in fraud cases
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Judges have delayed the state and federal trials of a mother and son charged in one of Mississippi’s largest public corruption cases.

State Auditor Shad White has said Nancy New and Zachary New were responsible for misspending millions of dollars of welfare money that was intended for needy people in one of the poorest states in the U.S.

Their trials were scheduled to begin this week — Monday in Hinds County Circuit Court and Wednesday in federal court. Attorneys have made clear that both trials were unlikely to happen during the same week because of the complexity of the cases.

In late October, judges issued orders setting new trial dates of Jan. 3 in federal court and Feb. 7 in Hinds County Circuit Court.

State court records show Nancy New and Zachary New are both charged with conspiracy, embezzlement, fraud and making false statements to defraud the government, for alleged crimes from September 2018. They were indicted in early 2020.

Federal court records show the mother and son both face several charges, including wire fraud; conspiracy to commit wire fraud; aggravated identity theft; money laundering; and money laundering conspiracy.

Nancy New and Zachary New have pleaded not guilty to all state and federal charges.

Allegations about misspending of money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program came to light in early 2020 when Mississippi Department of Human Services former director John Davis, Nancy New, Zachary New and three other people were indicted.

Nancy New was leader of Mississippi Community Education Center, an organization that paid former NFL player Brett Favre to make speeches and commercials. Favre has repaid $1.1 million to the state. White said Favre failed to make the speeches that a contract required. Favre said he has done charity work in Mississippi and Wisconsin.

Favre — a former Green Bay Packers quarterback who lives in Mississippi — still owes $228,000 in interest, White said. The state attorney general could sue if that is not paid by mid-November. Favre is not facing any criminal charges.

Nancy New was president and Zachary New was vice president of a for-profit company called New Learning Resources Inc. The company was also doing business as New Learning Resources School District, which has operated the private New Summit School in Jackson and several other schools.

Federal indictments accuse Nancy New and Zachary New of conspiracy to commit wire fraud by saying they created and submitted documents to the Mississippi Department of Education to receive state money to pay teachers at New Summit School in Jackson, North New Summit School in Greenwood and South New Summit School in Hattiesburg.

Oregon
Sentences of Salem twins reduced in 1993 murder of couple
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A judge has significantly reduced the sentences of twin brothers who were convicted of murdering an elderly Salem couple in 1993, leaving them to serve approximately six more years instead of a lifetime.

Marion County Circuit Court Judge Lindsay Partridge sentenced Laycelle and Lydell White on Monday to 40 years in prison with lifetime post-prison supervision, The Statesman Journal reported. The sentence was based on an agreement between the state and the Whites’ attorneys.

The charges against the 43-year-old men, who have served 26 years, were reduced to second-degree murder.

The brothers are eligible for earned time or good behavior credits and credit for what they served as juveniles before they were sentenced. The Oregon Department of Corrections will compute their remaining sentence.
Prosecutors believe it will be around six more years.

The brothers at age 15 killed a couple in their 80s and stole their car. The bodies of Grace and Richard Remy were found in their Salem home, near the house where the twins reportedly lived.

The brothers were tried in adult court and convicted of murder following a 1994 bench trial. They were sentenced to nearly 67 years in prison.

The case returned to the county circuit court in 2019 after the Oregon Supreme Court tossed their sentences, declaring they constituted cruel and unusual punishment because of their age at the time of the murders.


Pennsylvania
Penguins settle lawsuit over ex-coach accused of sexual assault
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins have settled a federal lawsuit filed by a former minor league assistant and his wife, who accused the team of negligently retaining a coach who sexually assaulted and harassed her and then retaliating against him for reporting the incident.

Lawyers for Jarrod and Erin Skalde announced the settlement in a news release Tuesday. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Erin Skalde said in a statement: “The events of the last three years have been deeply challenging, and my hope is to now move forward as an advocate for others.” She added that she hopes to be an instrument of change.

The Penguins said in a statement that team officials took prompt action when informed of the allegations in 2019.

“Through this resolution, the Penguins hope to bring closure to the Skaldes, provide some measure of peace and continue to encourage and promote a culture of openness, accountability and respect at all levels of professional sports,” the team said in a statement.

Jarrod and Erin Skalde sued the Penguins nearly a year ago in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, alleging former Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton coach Clark Donatelli molested Erin Skalde during an outing on a road trip in 2018. The team is the American Hockey League affiliate of the Penguins and is run by the NHL club.

They also alleged current Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin, who was GM for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and assistant GM for the Penguins at the time, asked Jarrod Skalde to keep the reason for Donatelli’s termination quiet and that the team punished Skalde for reporting the assault and later terminated his position under the guise of pandemic-related staff cuts.

Guerin said last year: “When I learned of these allegations, I promptly brought them to Pittsburgh Penguins senior management. The allegations were quickly investigated. I emphatically deny anything to the contrary.” The Wild released a statement last year saying the team spoke with Guerin and supported him.

“I am glad that this has been resolved and my hope is I can move forward with my professional coaching career and personal life,” Jarrod Skalde said in a statement Tuesday.