Massachusetts: Man in court after allegedly faking death
SALEM, Mass. (AP) — Bail has been set for a Massachusetts man accused of faking his own death certificate to avoid prosecution.
Michael Rosen was arraigned on Wednesday in the same courthouse where earlier this month someone presented the document claiming that the 42-year-old Salem man had died. But officials became suspicious after noting that Rosen’s birthplace, cause of death and the cemetery where he was supposedly buried were misspelled.
Bail was set at $10,000 after Rosen pleaded not guilty to charges including forgery and uttering a false writing.
Rosen’s lawyer asked for lower bail, saying his client wasn’t a danger.
Judge Richard Mori said he’d never heard of anyone allegedly faking his own death certificate to avoid charges. Mori had dismissed a motor vehicle charge against Rosen on the basis of that document.
North Dakota: Judge denies release for Fargo man
FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A judge has denied a request by a Fargo man who asked to get out of a Duluth, Minn., prison for a week because of his mother’s death.
James Heley has served four years of a 10-year prison term for conspiracy to sell methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana. His mother died on Aug. 11.
Heley asked in court documents to be allowed to join his family “in this time of need.” U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson denied the motion.
Heley’s case gained special attention when his lawyer pointed out during sentencing that his client saved two toddlers from a burning mobile home in 2003. Heley reportedly broke down a door to the home and rescued two boys, ages 3 and 2 at the time.
Utah: Man faces bank robbery, carjacking charges
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Federal prosecutors have filed bank robbery and carjacking charges against a man they say robbed a bank after stealing a getaway car from an elderly couple.
According to court papers filed Thursday in U.S. District Court, the man threatened an 83-year-old man and a woman with a sawed-off shotgun outside a Sandy movie theater on Monday night and stole their car.
Prosecutors say the gunman then used the stolen vehicle as a getaway car when in a robbery at a Wells Fargo bank branch near the University of Utah campus on Tuesday.
Court papers say a tip led police to the car Wednesday morning, where the 30-year-old man was found sleeping inside and arrested.
The man is scheduled for an initial appearance in federal court on Friday.
Alaska: Anchorage man sentenced for 2008 assault
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A 24-year-old Anchorage man has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for assaulting an unconscious soldier two years ago.
Nicholas Worley was convicted in February of beating and stomping Corey Czechowski with a co-defendant, Adam Cornelison, on Sept. 21, 2008, in an alley behind a downtown bar.
Witnesses called for help, chased the suspects and reported their location to police. Worley and Cornelison were arrested several blocks away.
Czechowski suffered a fractured jaw.
Anchorage Superior Court Judge David Stewart told Worley that the assault was “startling” and “without provocation.” He sentenced Worley to 14 years with six and a half suspended, plus 10 years probation.
Illinois: Convicted track coach who fled back in custody
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The FBI says a former Champaign track coach who fled while on trial for sexual assault has been apprehended and returned to Illinois.
FBI Special Agent Stu McArthur says Yuri Ermakov was located and returned to serve a 12 year prison sentence for his July 2007 conviction on criminal sexual assault.
McArthur on Wednesday did not say where Ermakov was arrested.
Ermakov, who was an assistant track coach at University High School, was convicted of criminal sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl. He also was convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for providing alcohol to two girls, then 15 and 16.
Ermakov was free on $15,000 bond when convicted. He attended his trial until Judge Jeff Ford called for a break before the verdict read.
Ermakov left the court and flew to Russia.
California: ACLU sues over detention in United Arab Emirates
LOS ANGELES (AP) — American Civil Liberties Union lawyers filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the FBI, CIA and other federal intelligence agencies, accusing them of detaining and torturing an American citizen later convicted on terrorism charges in the United Arab Emirates.
The lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Southern California seeks information about the treatment of Naji Hamdan, an American of Lebanese origin who was arrested in the United Arab Emirates in August 2008.
The ACLU accuses U.S. agencies of colluding with United Arab Emirates security forces, which kept Hamdan in a secret prison in Abu Dhabi without charging him with a crime until an earlier lawsuit by the rights group prompted his transfer to an official prison.
Hamdan, 44, who now lives in Lebanon with his family, was released in October 2009 after being convicted and sentenced to time served.
The former auto parts dealer and manager of the Hawthorne Islamic Center in Southern California has said he confessed under torture and suspected that U.S. authorities played a role in his detention and prosecution.
The ACLU said in its lawsuit that U.S. intelligence officials have refused to divulge any information about Hamdan’s imprisonment, despite a Freedom of Information Act request filed in January.
FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller declined to comment on the specific allegations, but said the bureau strictly adheres to the U.S. Constitution and internal regulations protecting suspects’ rights and does not ask foreign governments to detain individuals on the U.S. government’s behalf in order to circumvent their rights.
The CIA did not return a call.
Arizona: Grand Canyon Univ. settles whistle-blower lawsuit
PHOENIX (AP) — The parent company of Grand Canyon University has settled a whistle-blower lawsuit over recruiter-pay practices for $5.2 million.
Phoenix-based Grand Canyon Education Inc. said Wednesday that the settlement was approved by the U.S. District Court in Phoenix, where the case was filed under seal in 2007.
Grand Canyon announced the settlement with former employee Ronald D. Irwin last year and reserved the $5.2 million at the time but the case wasn’t resolved until a court hearing last week.
Irwin filed the claim on behalf of the federal government under the False Claims Act. The government will receive 73 percent of the settlement amount and Irwin 27 percent.
The lawsuit alleged that the university violated the so-called incentive-compensation ban with, among other things, non-cash awards for enrollment counselors.
