National Roundup

Rhode Island
Man accused of shooting flare gun at neighbor
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A Rhode Island man is accused of trying to settle an argument about noise by shooting his neighbor with a flare gun, setting his jacket on fire.
The Providence Journal reports that Mark Hitchner was arrested after he shot 59-year-old Joseph Motta in the neck with the gun.
The 49-year-old Hitchner told police he yelled at Motta about noise coming from his Providence apartment Monday evening. Police say Motta told Hitchner to “bring it on” and followed him into his apartment where Hitchner pulled out the flare gun.
Motta declined medical treatment.
Hitchner is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon. A phone number could not be found for Hitchner and it was not known if he’s represented by a lawyer.

Massachusetts
Doctor charged over auto crash caught on video
WELLESLEY, Mass. (AP) — A one-time doctor of the year at a hospital near Boston has pleaded not guilty to driving drunk and under the influence of prescription drugs, which led to a scary crash.
Surveillance video released by police shows the car driven by Dr. Kristin Lynes Howard speeding from a supermarket parking lot, over a grassy median and onto a street, where it slammed into two other vehicles. A 78-year-old man required hospitalization.
The 56-year-old Howard was released on personal recognizance after pleading not guilty to a variety of charges Tuesday in connection Friday’s crash in Wellesley.
Authorities say Howard prescribed herself drugs. Police say she told them her car had a mechanical malfunction.
A spokeswoman for Newton-Wellesley Hospital says Howard, an emergency medical physician, has been relieved of her duties.

New York
Nanny indicted on murder charges in 2 child deaths
NEW YORK (AP) — A Manhattan nanny has been indicted on murder charges in the stabbing deaths of two children three weeks ago.
The New York Times says the charges are in court records released Tuesday.
Six-year-old Lucia Krim and her 2-year-old brother, Leo, were killed Oct. 25 in their Upper West Side apartment. Their mother found them when she came home with the victims’ 3-year-old sister.
The nanny, Yoselyn Ortega, remains hospitalized with self-inflicted stab wounds, and police have said they don’t know if Ortega has a lawyer.
She’s expected to be arraigned via video. The hearing has not yet been scheduled.

Connecticut
Guilty plea is expected from reputed mobster
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A 76-year-old reputed Connecticut mobster was expected to plead guilty in a weapons and prescription drugs case that has revealed the FBI’s belief that he has information about the largest art heist in history.
Robert Gentile, of Manchester, has a change-of-plea hearing scheduled in Hartford federal court on Wednesday. He has pleaded not guilty to allegations he illegally possessed firearms and explosives and sold illegally obtained prescription drugs.
It’s not clear whether there is a plea deal. Gentile’s lawyer and a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment about the hearing.
Gentile hasn’t been charged in the museum theft. His attorney, A. Ryan McGuigan, has said his client knows nothing about the heist and isn’t a Mafia member.
At a court hearing in March, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Durham said the FBI believes Gentile “had some involvement in connection with stolen property” related to a 1990 heist at Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
Thieves disguised as police officers struck as the city finished celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, tying up two guards and making off with 13 pieces of art including masterworks by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas and Manet worth more than a half-billion dollars. The artwork hasn’t been found and the museum is still offering a $5 million reward.
Durham has said that FBI agents had unproductive discussions with Gentile about the theft, but he didn’t elaborate on his allegations. Durham also said the FBI believes Gentile is a made member of a Philadelphia crime family.
Gentile has been detained since February when he and an associate, Anthony Parente, were charged with selling illegally obtained prescription drugs including OxyContin, Dilaudid and Percocet.
Authorities searched Gentile’s home and reported finding homemade dynamite sticks, several guns, ammunition, homemade silencers, a bulletproof vest, handcuffs, police scanners, brass knuckles and $22,000 in cash at the bottom of a grandfather clock.
Federal agents swarmed Gentile’s home again in May in what McGuigan called a veiled attempt to find the stolen paintings. McGuigan said at the time that the FBI got a new warrant allowing the use of ground-penetrating radar to look for buried weapons, but he believed they really were looking for the artwork.
“This is nonsense,” McGuigan said in May. “This is the FBI. Are you trying to tell me they missed something the first time? They’re trying to find $500 million of stolen artwork. ... All they’re going to find is night crawlers.”
All McGuigan would say on Tuesday was that Gentile has been confined in a cell by himself and “looks terrible.”
“They have him in a hole 24 hours a day where he can’t see anybody,” McGuigan said.
Gentile is charged with three weapons crimes that each carry up to 10 years in prison and six drug crimes that carry up to 20 years in prison apiece. He wasn’t supposed to have any guns because of a 1990s larceny conviction.
The drug case against Parente remains pending. He is free on bail.

Texas
Judge seen in beating video returns to bench
ROCKPORT, Texas (AP) — The Texas judge seen viciously beating his then-teenage daughter in a video she posted on the Internet last year is expected to return to the bench Wednesday after a yearlong suspension.
The Texas Supreme Court lifted Aransas County Court-at-Law Judge William Adams’ suspension last week. The State Commission on Judicial Conduct issued Adams a public warning in September. His first docket was scheduled for Wednesday.
As Aransas County’s top judge, Adams dealt with at least 349 family law cases in the year before his suspension, nearly 50 of which involved state caseworkers seeking to determine whether parents were fit to raise their children. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services will no longer file physical abuse cases in his court.
The video was viewed by millions on the Internet.