National Roundup

Pennsylvania Fed judge nixes black student's b ias overdose suit NEW CASTLE, Pa. (AP) -- A federal judge has dismissed a black man's discrimination suit against a western Pennsylvania school district that expelled him for allegedly providing drugs before a classmate's fatal overdose in 2007. Joshua Stewart, who was then 17, claimed the New Castle Area School District was wrong to expel him when evidence also showed a white student also sold oxycodone to 16-year-old Erica Million. U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose nixed Stewart's lawsuit on Monday saying he didn't prove he was treated differently because of his race. The judge says that's because school officials had an eyewitness that he provided drugs, while the evidence against the white girl was only hearsay. Stewart has denied any involvement and claimed he was framed, even after a Lawrence County juvenile court judge found him delinquent and put him on probation in 2008. Texas Ex-judge's associate charged with wire fraud BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- Prosecutors have charged a 52-year-old associate of a disgraced former Texas judge with wire fraud for orchestrating a payoff to the judge in exchange for a favorable ruling. The FBI says Jose Manuel Longoria is scheduled to appear at a detention hearing in a Brownsville court on Tuesday. The San Benito man was arrested the same day last week that former state District Judge Abel C. Limas pleaded guilty to racketeering. The U.S. attorney's office says Limas took at least $250,000 in bribes. Prosecutors say someone in Arkansas wired Longoria $1,800 in 2008 so that Limas would allow a person on probation in Texas for aggravated assault to report to their probation officer by mail, rather than in person. Prosecutors didn't indicate whether anyone else would be charged. Connecticut Town keeps fighting sex offender facility MONTVILLE, Conn. (AP) -- The Montville Town Council has voted to continue its legal battle against a residential sex-offender treatment facility proposed for town. The council voted 3-2 Monday to keep fighting the 24-bed facility that would be built on the grounds of Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center. One councilor was sick and one abstained. The town has already spent $87,000 in the legal fight. Councilor Dana McFee says the money has been well spent because opposition to the facility has been building and the state is reconsidering exactly who will be placed at the treatment center. Councilor Candy Buebendorf voted against the measure. She says the town should concentrate on efforts to reach an agreement with the state to ensure the security and safety of the town's citizens. Ohio AG report: Death sentences in '10 highest in yrs COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- An annual report submitted by Ohio's attorney general shows seven defendants were sentenced to death in the state during 2010. The Columbus Dispatch reports that was the largest number in seven years. Attorney General Mike DeWine's Ohio Capital Crimes Annual Report shows Ohio has issued 310 death sentences since 1981. Forty-three inmates have been executed, including eight last year. The report says the average executed inmate was 43 years old and spent more than 15 years on death row. Pennsylvania Estate of slain Pittsburgh officer planning suit PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The estate of one of three Pittsburgh police officers slain answering a disturbance call plans a lawsuit against Allegheny County and its 911 dispatch administrators. The notice filed Monday -- the second anniversary of the shooting -- preserves the right of the estate of Eric Kelly to sue beyond the two-year statute of limitations. As such, the document does not contain allegation of what Kelly's surviving family believes was done wrong. A county spokesman has declined to comment, and the attorney for the estate has not commented on the filing reported Tuesday by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Twenty-four-year-old Richard Poplawski is awaiting trial in June on charges that he fatally shot Kelly and two other officers who answered a disturbance call from his mother. Some have questioned whether the officers were properly advised by dispatchers that Poplawski was armed. New York 3 Long Island police unions file lawsuit CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) -- Three police unions on Long Island have filed a joint lawsuit against Nassau County for imposing a wage freeze ordered by a state control board. The unions claim the April 1 wage freeze is unconstitutional and violates their collective bargaining agreements. Newsday says the lawsuit was filed in federal court in Central Islip (EYE'-slip) by the Police Benevolent Association, the Superior Officers Association and the Detectives Association. It asks for a preliminary and a permanent injunction. The offices of the county executive and comptroller declined to comment. The suit also names the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, which took control of the country's finances in January. Last week, the county said it would not pursue a lawsuit against NIFA, saying it would work with it "to meet the challenges ahead." Florida Creditors want to talk to jailed Ponzi schemer FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- Creditors want to interview jailed Florida Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein as part of the bankruptcy case of his once high-flying law firm. A group known as the Razorback Creditors last week asked a federal judge to allow the Rothstein deposition. Rothstein is serving a 50-year prison sentence at an undisclosed location. The creditors say the disbarred attorney likely has more knowledge than anyone about the operation of defunct Fort Lauderdale law firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler. Attorneys for the creditors said they're willing to do the interview in prison if necessary. Rothstein pleaded guilty in January 2010 to five charges stemming from his $1.2 billion scam that revolved around investments in phony legal settlements. Rothstein lost his law license and agreed to forfeit all of his assets. Published: Wed, Apr 6, 2011