National Roundup

Rhode Island UAE naval officer: I paid servant in cash PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- A United Arab Emirates naval officer accused of keeping an unpaid servant in his Rhode Island home says he paid the woman her full salary even before she began working for him in the United States. Col. Arif Mohamed Saeed (sy-EED') Mohamed Al-Ali also said Tuesday that his family cleaned and cooked for themselves at their East Greenwich home. Al-Ali is testifying in his own defense in U.S. District Court in Providence. Al-Ali says the servant, Elizabeth Cabitla Ballesteros, asked to be paid her $1,600 monthly salary in cash. He says he paid her the salary in UAE currency before the family left that country with her. He is accused of fraud in foreign labor contracting. Earlier Tuesday, Al-Ali was acquitted of lying to a federal agent. Florida Coast Guard unloads 7.5 tons of cocaine in Florida MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Roughly 7.5 tons of cocaine seized from a submarine-like craft off the Caribbean coast of Honduras is being unloaded in South Florida. Crew members aboard a Coast Guard cutter are unloading the drugs Tuesday in Miami Beach. Officials say the cocaine is worth about $180 million. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection crews located the semi-submersible vessel July 13 near Honduras' border with Nicaragua. An FBI dive team recovered the drugs on board after the Coast Guard found the sunken vessel last week. Five crew members aboard the sub were taken into custody. Semi-submersible crafts are regularly used to smuggle drugs along Central America's Pacific Coast, but authorities say the subs are not common in Caribbean waters. Florida Judge hearing challenge to Fla. execution drug MIAMI (AP) -- A judge in Miami will hear a challenge to the state's planned use of a new execution drug. The Florida Supreme Court last month ordered the hearing in the case of 61-year-old Manuel Valle, convicted in the 1978 shooting death of Coral Gables police officer Louis Pena. Valle's scheduled execution Tuesday was stayed for a month to allow arguments over Florida's plan to use pentobarbital in place of another drug experiencing a shortage. Valle's lawyers contend he could feel pain or harm because the drug has never been extensively tested on humans. It has been used in other states but never in Florida. Pentobarbital renders a person unconscious. Circuit Judge Jacqueline Hogan Scola must rule on Valle's execution challenge by Friday. Connecticut Lawyer says NY socialite will ap ply for probation STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) -- A New York socialite charged with shoplifting two scarves from a Greenwich boutique plans to apply for a diversionary probation program that could leave her without a criminal record. The Stamford Advocate reports that a lawyer for 38-year-old Beata Boman told a Superior Court judge Monday that Boman will apply for accelerated rehabilitation when she returns to court on Aug. 8. Boman was charged in June with stealing an $11,000 scarf from Richards of Greenwich. Another larceny charge was added after police say a review of surveillance video revealed the earlier theft of a less expensive scarf. Attorney Mark Sherman, who represented Boman at Monday's arraignment, says she hasn't been the same since she had brain surgery and is seeking intensive therapy. He has described her as ashamed and remorseful. New Jersey Dunkin' Donuts worker charged with prostitution ROCKAWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) -- Police say there was more on the menu than Munchkins and lattes during the late shift at a Dunkin' Donuts in northern New Jersey. A 29-year-old female is facing prostitution charges after police say she took breaks to provide sex in exchange for money. Rockaway Township police launched an investigation known as "extra sugar" after getting a tip about the workers activities at the shop. Detective Sgt. Kyle Schwarzmann told The Daily Record of Parsippany he noticed that 29-year-old Melissa Redmond of Mine Hill would go out to cars and would spend 10 to 15 minutes in the vehicles. Schwarzmann says Redmond was arrested after soliciting sex from an undercover officer. No one at the Dunkin' Donuts wanted to comment. California Judge tells Zediva to stop web stre a ming of movies LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A federal judge in Los Angeles issued a preliminary injunction favoring the Motion Picture Association of America in its copyright infringement lawsuit against video-streaming startup Zediva. The MPAA said in a statement that Judge John Walter issued the order Monday against Zediva, whose founders believed they discovered a legal loophole to allow early instant viewing online by having customers rent DVDs physically located in Silicon Valley. MPAA Senior Vice President Dan Robbins calls the decision a great victory for workers in the film and television industry. Zediva said in a statement it intends to appeal, calling the ruling a setback for consumers looking for an alternative to Hollywood-controlled video services. The MPAA, representing Hollywood studios, in April sued Zediva's parent company WTV Systems and founder and CEO Venkatesh Srinivasan. Georgia Woman accused of killing boyfrie nd with stiletto heel AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) -- Authorities say a Georgia woman struck her boyfriend in the head with a stiletto heel and killed him. Richmond County sheriff's Capt. Scott Peebles said Monday that 46-year-old Thelma Carter of Augusta is charged with murder in the death of 58-year-old Robert F. Higdon. Authorities say they believe Higdon was killed sometime Sunday evening after a dispute between the two inside their home. Peebles told the Augusta Chronicle (http://bit.ly/q8YwNE ) that police recovered the body Monday morning after Carter returned and notified them. Authorities say an autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday. Jail records did not indicate whether Carter has an attorney in the case. Published: Wed, Aug 3, 2011