Court Digest

Maine
Woman goes to prison over powder sent to Sen. Susan Collins
BANGOR, Maine (AP) — A woman convicted of mailing a letter containing powder to the Maine home of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins was sentenced Thursday to 30 months in prison.

U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker imposed the sentence on Suzanne Muscara, 38, of Burlington, Maine.

Muscara was convicted of mailing a threatening communication. The letter contained white powder, a reference to anthrax and a stick figure with the letter X for eyes, prosecutors said.

The episode happened in October 2018, two days after the Republican senator's husband opened a letter claiming to contain ricin.

No charges were announced after the letter claiming to contain ricin, but postal screeners began inspecting Collins' mail and intercepted Muscara's letter before it reached Collins' home. The FBI tested the white powder and found that it did not contain anthrax or any other toxic substances.

Muscara, who was identified by a fingerprint, was upset with Collins over one of her votes in the Senate, prosecutors said. She told investigators she didn't think the letter would be taken seriously.

U.S. Attorney Halsey Frank said said there was nothing funny about anthrax, a deadly substance that has been used to terrorize.

"American politics is premised on free speech and vigorous debate," Frank said. "True threats are not protected speech. They are a crime."

The FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Maine Office of State Fire Marshal, the Maine State Police and the Old Town Police Department investigated the case.

A spokesperson for Collins expressed her appreciation.

"Senator Collins and her husband, Tom Daffron, are grateful for the vigilance of the postal inspectors and the employees at the Hampden processing center and at the Bangor Post Office who quickly intercepted the letter and the extraordinary professionalism and effective investigative work of state and federal law enforcement officers," Christopher Knight said.

Florida
Woman accused of killing autistic son, 9, faces death penalty
MIAMI (AP) — A grand jury has indicted a Florida woman for first-degree murder in the drowning death of her autistic 9-year-old son, and prosecutors said they will pursue the death penalty.

Patricia Ripley is accused of the May 21 death of Alejandro Ripley, and a host of other crimes. She remains in jail while awaiting trial, the Miami Herald reported.

Her son suffered from severe autism and could not speak. His mother initially called 911 and said two Black men took her son after running her off a road south of Miami and took the boy, police said. An Amber Alert was issued for the boy.

The child's body was found the next day in a canal a few miles from the area she said the abduction took place.

Investigators were initially suspicious of Ripley's changing accounts of what happened. They learned that earlier in the evening, Ripley was caught on surveillance cameras pushing the boy into a canal. A bystander rescued the boy from the water.

Police said the mother pushed the child into the water about an hour later and he drowned.

When police confronted Ripley, she admitted making up the kidnapping story. She also admitted leading the child to the canal where he died and said "he's going to be in a better place," a police report said.

Ripley was not at Thursday's hearing. And because she now faces capital punishment, she must be told that her lawyers must be certified to handle death-penalty cases, the Herald reported.

"We would need to have Miss Ripley here," prosecutor Gail Levine told the court.

Another hearing was set for next week.

Her defense lawyer, Suzy Ribero-Ayala, said she has not been able to have face-to-face meetings with her client because jail visits are still suspended because of the threat of the coronavirus. She has talked to her via virtual meetings.

Calilfornia
Guilty plea entered in deadly kidnapping of Chinese national
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Southern California man pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to kidnap a Chinese citizen who was held for ransom but died of his injuries after the abduction, authorities said.

Anthony Valladares, 28, of Pasadena entered the plea in connection with the 2018 kidnapping of Ruochen "Tony" Liao of Santa Ana from a Los Angeles-area shopping mall, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office.

Liao owned a Southern California dealership that sold high-end cars such as Porches and Bentleys.

Federal prosecutors contend that Valladares was hired as "muscle" when Liao was lured into a minivan in the parking lot of the mall in San Gabriel.

Liao's parents in China were sent ransom demands for $2 million and ordered to deposit payment in Chinese bank accounts, according to court documents.

However, the money wasn't paid, authorities said.

Liao was badly beaten and repeatedly shocked with a stun gun during the snatching. He was believed to have been held in a closet at a home in Corona and died the day after the kidnapping and was buried in the Mojave Desert authorities said.

His remains were identified last year.

Valladares could face up to life in prison but under the plea agreement, prosecutors are recommending a sentence of 12 to 25 years, authorities said.

The minvan's driver, Alexis Ivan Romero Velez, 24, of Azusa, pleaded guilty last month to conspiracy to kidnap and awaits sentencing.

Chinese nationals Guangyao Yang, 27, and Peicheng Shen, 34, who were living in suburban West Covina at the time of the kidnapping, are in custody in China on charges filed there related to the kidnapping.

Hawaii
Judge: Ex-CIA officer spy case too complex for speedy trial
HONOLULU (AP) — A case against a former CIA officer accused of spying for China is too complex for a trial to happen until at least September 2021, a judge ruled Thursday.

Prosecutors asked the judge to declare the case complex against Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, a former CIA officer and contract linguist for the FBI. He was arrested in August after an undercover operation in which prosecutors say he accepted thousands of dollars in cash in exchange for his past espionage activities. He told a law enforcement officer who was posing as a Chinese intelligence officer that he wanted to see the "motherland" succeed and that he was eager to resume helping China after the coronavirus pandemic subsided, prosecutors said.

The case is "so unusual and so complex that it is unreasonable to expect adequate preparation" for a trial to happen anytime soon, said U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth Mansfield.

Much of the evidence is classified at secret or top-secret levels, Mansfield said.

"We don't oppose this motion. It's clearly a complex case," said Ma's defense attorney, Birney Bervar.

Declaring the case complex means that Ma waives his speedy trial rights.

"All I want is a fair trial," Ma said by phone from the Honolulu Federal Detention Center.

Later Thursday, Bervar filed a motion asking for reconsideration of an order detaining Ma pending trial.

Ma's relatives are offering $1,060,000 in cash and mortgages to allow him to be released to his sister and brother-in-law, the motion said.

His niece, Yvonne Lau, wrote a letter on his behalf, saying she is willing to pledge $500,000 equity in her east Honolulu home to ensure he doesn't flee.

"His family is here in the United States and I do not believe he would ever leave his family behind to escape to China as the government alleged," wrote Lau, who is interim executive director of the Hawaii State Public Charter School Commission and an attorney.

It's not clear when a judge will rule on the motion.

New York
Lawyer admits cheating 9/11 worker of $900K
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — A former police lieutenant-turned-lawyer on Thursday admitted cheating a fellow officer of $900,000 he was due after working at the smoldering remains of the World Trade Center site after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Gustavo Vila, 62, pleaded guilty Thursday in White Plains federal court to cheating the U.S. government by failing to pass along proceeds of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund that were owed to John Ferreyra, 59, who was a New York Police Department officer when the attacks occurred.

Prosecutors said Vila paid his own taxes and gave money to his then-wife and their son while lying to Ferreyra about the fate of over $1 million Ferreyra was awarded from the fund in 2016.

"I knowingly did it. I knew it was a crime. I knew it was illegal and I was aware of what I was doing. I had no excuse for it," the former NYPD lieutenant told Judge Vincent L. Briccetti.

Ferreyra received only $100,000 of the money he was awarded after his 2005 cancer diagnosis. He had worked at the toxic trade center site for months after the attacks.

Vila told the judge that as Ferreyra's lawyer, he was entitled to take a 10 percent fee from the $1,030,000 award. Vila has since been disbarred.

The judge set sentencing for Feb. 5. The charge carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison, but a plea deal Vila reached with prosecutors prevents him from appealing any sentence less than four years and three months in prison.


Tennessee
Man charged in case involving slain, abused adopted children
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee man has been charged with murder and abuse involving children his parents adopted — just days after his parents pleaded not guilty to similar charges, according to a published report.

A Knox County grand jury handed down charges Wednesday against Michael Anthony Gray Jr., 40, that included felony murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated child neglect and abuse of a corpse, WBIR-TV reported. It wasn't immediately clear whether Michael Gray Jr. has an attorney.

Gray was charged with murder after investigators found a boy's remains buried in the yard of a home where he lived with his parents and several adopted siblings. Gray's parents have been charged with murder in the death of a girl whose remains were found on property owned by the family in Roane County. The Roane County case led authorities to search the Knox County property.

Michael Gray Sr., 63, and Shirley Gray, 60, pleaded not guilty Monday in Roane County to the murder charge and dozens of other crimes, including abuse.

Authorities began investigating the family in May after a little boy was spotted walking alone along a Roane County road. Arrest warrants state that a passersby called 911, and a responding officer began asking questions.
Investigators quickly discovered a girl's skeletal remains in a barn at the Roane County property, after which Michael Gray Sr. confessed to burying her there. She had been locked in the basement for a few months before her death in 2017, while a 15-year-old boy was locked in the basement for four years, according to the warrants.

Michael Gray Sr. told authorities that the girl was about 10 when she died. Two other children spent time in a wire dog cage, while all were supposedly home-schooled and appeared to be "stunted in growth," according to the warrants. The state Department of Children's Services removed three children, ages 11 to 15, from the home on the day the couple were arrested.

The elder Grays are also facing a theft charge. Authorities say they didn't report the girl's death and kept receiving state benefits for being her adoptive parents.


Kentucky
State high court won't reduce jury award in Rand Paul attack
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Supreme Court on Thursday upheld an award of nearly $600,000 against Sen. Rand Paul's former neighbor, who attacked the lawmaker in 2017 in a dispute over lawncare, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.

Rene Boucher had asked the high court to review the award but the court declined in a order released on Thursday. Boucher lived next door to Paul in Bowling Green at the time of the attack. Boucher has said he lost his temper because Paul was making a pile of yard waste close to their property line.

Paul, a former presidential candidate, suffered multiple broken ribs and later underwent lung and hernia surgeries that he linked to the attack. Paul has also said his lung capacity will likely be reduced the rest of his life, and he has chronic pain.

Paul sued Boucher, and a jury awarded him $200,000 for pain and suffering and $375,000 in punitive damages.

Boucher also was sentenced to eight months in prison and six months of home confinement and fined $10,000.