National Roundup

New York
Conviction of ex-Assembly speaker is tossed
NEW YORK (AP) — The corruption conviction of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was overturned Thursday by a federal appeals court that cited a recent Supreme Court ruling that narrowed the definition of what it takes to convict a public official.

The three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said it could not conclude that a rational jury would have convicted the Democrat if it had been properly instructed on what constitutes an “official act.”

Silver was sentenced last year to 12 years in prison after he was convicted of collecting $4 million in kickbacks from a cancer researcher and real estate developers in return for using his powerful post to help them. He has not had to report to prison while he awaited the outcome of his appeal.

The appeals court said the judge’s instructions on the law were not consistent with the Supreme Court’s recent reversal of the conviction of Virginia Republican ex-Gov. Bob McDonnell.

“While the Government presented evidence of acts that remain ‘official’ under McDonnell, the jury may have convicted Silver for conduct that is not unlawful, and a properly instructed jury might have reached a different conclusion,” the panel wrote.

In reversing McDonnell’s conviction on charges he illegally accepted more than $175,000 in loans and gifts from a businessman, the Supreme Court raised the standards federal prosecutors must use when they accuse public officials of wrongdoing.

The 2nd Circuit said the instructions given to the Silver jury by the trial judge were consistent with precedential rulings in other cases prior to the Supreme Court decision in the McDonnell case.

A spokesman for Manhattan prosecutors and lawyers for Silver didn’t immediately comment.

The ruling adds further uncertainty as to what will happen with the appeal of the conviction of former New York Senate leader Dean Skelos. Skelos, a Republican, was convicted in 2015 on extortion, bribery and conspiracy charges. He, too, has cited the McDonnell ruling in his appeal, which is pending.

Florida
Ruling opens door for missing fisherman’s parents to sue
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge has opened to door for the family of a Florida teenager to sue his friend’s mother after the boys never returned from a fishing trip off Florida’s Atlantic.

U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas on Monday lifted an injunction that kept Pamela and Philip Cohen from suing Carly Black in state court. She owned the 19-foot (6-meter) boat her son Austin Stephanos was in when he left Jupiter Inlet on July 24, 2015, with the Cohens’ son Perry. Both were 14.

The Palm Beach Post reports the two families had fought in federal court over a maritime law that limits the amount anyone can sue for to the value of a damaged boat. The boat is worth $500.

The Cohen family previously said they wanted to go forward with additional damages litigation, according to court documents.

Black’s attorney, George Harris, told the Post that he has no comment, adding it is not appropriate in light of pending litigation.

The Cohens’ attorney, Guy Rubin, told the newspaper previously that under law the petitioners have two years to file a wrongful death lawsuit. The two-year anniversary is approaching.

The boys disappeared during a storm off the coast. Their capsized boat was initially found about 60 miles (96 kilometers) off Daytona Beach, but it wasn’t secured by officials. It was eventually recovered in the Bahamas by a Norwegian cargo ship.

The boys were never found.

In June, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement released a report that concluded there was probable cause to charge Black with child neglect. The state did not file charges, according to the report.

The report said Black didn’t notify authorities or the Cohens that the boys were missing until several hours after she last had contact with them. Investigator said Black told them it was common for the boys to go fishing together, and she believed they were “the victims of a tragic mishap.”

Black attempted to reach Austin after the storm started, but there was no response, investigators said in the report. She alerted other family members and friends before contacting Perry’s parents, who called 911.
The state’s investigation showed “the egregious lapse in judgment and failure to exercise due care had the effect of culminating in the disappearance of both boys who are now believed to have perished,” the report said.

Assistant State Attorney Greg Kridos said there may have been poor judgment, but boating on the open seas was not an “inherently dangerous activity,” according to the report.

The Gainesville firm Six Maritime conducted its own analysis of the search for the boys and concluded they likely remained together until they died off the Georgia coast, according to the state report.

New Jersey
Dad of Red Sox minor leaguer faces drug, weapons charges
TOMS RIVER, N.J. (AP) — The father of 2016 Boston Red Sox minor leaguer pick Jason Groome faces drug and weapons charges in New Jersey.

Authorities on Wednesday announced the arrests of 43-year-old Jason Groome of Barnegat and two other men following a three-month investigation into drug activity in Ocean County.

Search warrants led to the discovery of about 400 oxycodone pills, cocaine, marijuana and several weapons.

Groome is held in jail awaiting a court hearing on various charges, including possession and intent to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine.

Authorities say there’s no evidence to suggest any other member of the Groome family is involved.

Groome’s son plays for the Class-A Greenville Drive in the Red Sox farm system.

Texas
Man trapped in ATM slips notes to customers begging for help
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — Police say a Texas man who became trapped inside an ATM slipped notes to customers via the receipt slot pleading for them to help him escape.

Corpus Christi police Lt. Chris Hooper says the contractor became stuck Wednesday when he was changing a lock to a Bank of America room that leads to the ATM.

The unidentified contractor, who had left his cellphone in his truck, encountered a problem with the lock.

He passed notes through the ATM receipt slot to customers retrieving cash. One read, “Please help. I’m stuck in here ...,” before imploring people to call his boss.

A customer called police, who heard a faint voice coming from the ATM.

An officer kicked in the door to the room, freeing the man.