National Roundup

New York Ex-NYC lawyer admits tax evasion in banking scheme NEW YORK (AP) -- A disbarred New York City lawyer has agreed to pay nearly $10 million in penalties for his part in a Swiss banking scheme. The New York Post reports that Kenneth Heller acknowledged in federal court Monday that he didn't pay "a substantial amount of taxes" from 2006 through 2008. He said he knew his actions were unlawful and asked to apologize to the court. His plea deal calls for up to 37 months in prison. Heller was charged with evading more than $2.3 million in federal income taxes on $26.4 million that prosecutors say he stashed in overseas accounts at banking giant UBS. Six others have been charged in the scheme to conceal more than $100 million in Swiss-based assets. Two have pleaded guilty, and two have pleaded not guilty. Rhode Island Cops: Pregnant woman raped during RI home invasion CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. (AP) -- Police say a Rhode Island woman who is seven months pregnant was raped at gunpoint during a home invasion and that her 9-year-old son witnessed the attack. WLNE-TV reports the attack happened Saturday morning in Central Falls, R.I. Police say the victim was asleep with her son when a man broke into her home. The station reports the man pointed a gun at the woman's mouth, tied her up and raped her. The woman told the station her son saw "everything." Police Capt. James Mendonca says the mother managed to get her son out of the bedroom and out of harm's way. WLNE reports a suspect is under arrest. Police did not immediately return a message from The Associated Press on Tuesday. Ohio Suspect's half-brother testifies in 11 deaths CLEVELAND (AP) -- An Ohio man has testified that the home where his half-brother is suspected of killing 11 women and dumping their bodies was in the family for a long time. Thomas Sowell (SOH'-wehl) was on the witness stand Tuesday during the second day of testimony at the trial of Anthony Sowell. The two avoided eye contact as the older Sowell took the stand, and again 20 minutes later when he left court. Sixty-five-year-old Thomas Sowell testified that he didn't communicate much with his half-brother. He has described the Cleveland house as having been in the family going back to their grandfather, who moved to Cleveland from Alabama. Prosecutors' questions appear geared toward trying to personalize the house before presenting testimony on the killings. Anthony Sowell, who's 51, has pleaded not guilty. Kentucky Ex-lawmaker pleads guilty in fiancée slaying LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- A former Kentucky state lawmaker has pleaded guilty to murder for shooting his ex-fiancé and was sentenced to life without parole. An attorney for Steve Nunn said the son of former Kentucky Gov. Louis B. Nunn entered the plea Tuesday in a court in Lexington. Nunn could have faced the death penalty if he'd been convicted in a trial that was scheduled to start in August. He was charged in the death of 29-year-old Amanda Ross, who was shot outside her Lexington home on Sept. 11, 2009. Police arrested Nunn not long after Ross was found dead. Nunn was apprehended in a cemetery near his parents' graves and police said he slit his wrists and fired one shot at troopers before surrendering. New York NY court reinstates banks' lawsuit against MBIA ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- New York's top court has reinstated a breach-of-contract lawsuit by a dozen banks challenging MBIA Inc.'s state-approved restructuring of its bond-insurance business, concluding the state insurance superintendent's approval doesn't bar bringing claims. The Court of Appeals says the institutions hold financial guarantee insurance policies issued by MBIA on their structured-finance products in a case that has its origins "in the unraveling of the world's financial markets" that began in 2007. The banks claim MBIA used a series of transactions that accompanied its 2009 restructuring to shift more than $5 billion from the subsidiary that issued the policies to another subsidiary, leaving the first unable to pay future claims. A midlevel court dismissed the claims. MBIA says the banks have suffered no monetary damages. The court split 5-2 in Tuesday's ruling. Virginia Defendant claims abuse in Mexican prison RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- A man facing fraud charges in Richmond claims he was placed in a brutal Mexican prison to pressure him into waiving extradition to the U.S. Roger Charles Day Jr. claims in court papers that U.S. officials knew he and 27 other prisoners fighting extradition were being beaten in the Mexican prison and did nothing about it. He is asking U.S. District Judge John Gibney to dismiss the indictment against him to deter such conduct in the future. A federal prosecutor says the allegations are being taken seriously, but even if true they do not warrant dismissal of the charges. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that Gibney took the matter under advisement. Day fled to Mexico after being indicted in 2008 in a scheme to sell bogus parts to the military. Utah Illiterate man seeks to withdraw theft plea FARMINGTON, Utah (AP) -- A 25-year-old Utah man accused of pulling a gun on Walmart employees is hoping to withdraw his guilty plea because he can't read. The Standard-Examiner of Ogden reports Trent Allen Longton had pleaded guilty to robbery and unlawful possession of a dangerous weapon during an attempted shoplifting. His sentencing hearing was set but Davis County District Court Judge John Morris said he'll wait until at least Aug. 15 to make a decision after letting attorneys argue the case. Longton says he pleaded guilty because he didn't want his attorney or other inmates to know he couldn't read. Walmart fired four employees in Layton over the incident, saying they violated company policy by disarming a shoplifter. Authorities say Longton was shoplifting a netbook. Published: Wed, Jun 29, 2011