New Hampshire
‘A joke’: Man charged after fake ad draws calls to candidate
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire man is accused of posting a fake Craigslist ad for a free trailer with a legislative candidate’s number on the day of the election, later telling investigators he meant it to be a joke after a flood of unwanted calls and texts jammed up the candidate’s cellphone.
Michael Drouin, 30, of Merrimack, was indicted on a felony charge of interference with election communications, the state attorney general’s office said Wednesday. The charge is related to an April 2021 special election in Merrimack to replace Republican New Hampshire House Speaker Dick Hinch, who died of COVID-19 in December 2020.
The candidate, Bill Boyd, a Republican who went on to win, turned off his phone after receiving more than 37 phone calls or text messages in 45 minutes on the morning of the election, prosecutors said.
A complaint was filed that day by the executive director for the New Hampshire Republican Party.
Drouin, who was registered as a Democrat and voted in the election, is accused of knowingly blocking access to Boyd’s communication equipment “with the intent of interfering with campaign activity.”
Drouin, who’s scheduled for a hearing in January, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
“It was a joke, I meant no harm,” he told investigators in October 2021, according to a police affidavit. He said he wasn’t sure why he had chosen the date of the election, saying it was bad timing.
Boyd told investigators around the same time he knew Drouin through local organizations and had received a Facebook friend request from him. Boyd said he received a message from Drouin saying he had pranked him, that it was terrible timing, and that he’d like to take him to lunch to apologize.
The charge carries a penalty of 3½ to seven years in prison and a fine of up $2,000. Anyone convicted of a willful violation of the state’s election laws loses their right to vote in New Hampshire.
Arizona
Ex-Border agent indicted in sex assault of a teen
PHOENIX (AP) — A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent has been indicted in connection with the kidnapping and sexual assault of a teenage girl in Arizona earlier this year, according to federal authorities.
Department of Justice officials said a superseding indictment unsealed Wednesday accuses 27-year-old Aaron Mitchell with a civil rights violation of sexually assaulting and kidnapping a minor victim.
He’s also been charged with kidnapping a minor victim and misleading state investigators.
Prosecutors said Mitchell faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine if he’s convicted in the case.
It was unclear Thursday if Mitchell has a lawyer yet who can speak on his behalf.
Court documents show Mitchell was arrested in April after he allegedly kidnapped a 15-year-old girl in Douglas and took her to Sierra Vista before the alleged sexual assault.
According to Douglas police, Mitchell approached the victim in his vehicle as the girl was on her way to school.
The girl told investigators that Mitchell was wearing a tactical vest labeled “POLICE” and asked her for documentation, which she provided.
After checking her paperwork, Mitchell allegedly told the girl he would drive her to the Douglas police station.
Police say Mitchell is accused of driving the girl to an apartment complex in Sierra Vista and allegedly sexually assaulting her before taking her back to Douglas.
Mitchell was later booked into the Cochise County Jail on suspicion of sexual misconduct with a minor.
Missouri
2 charged in death of child who ingested fentanyl
FLORISSANT, Mo. (AP) — Two Missouri adults have been charged in the death of a toddler after she ingested fentanyl, St. Louis County police announced Thursday.
The child, 21-month-old Lilinna Leak, died after officers found her unconscious at a home in Florissant on Nov. 11, police said. A drug screening at a hospital found fentanyl in her system, according to a probable cause statement.
Amanda Tufts, 35, and James Collins, 25, of Florissant, are charged with two counts each of endangering the welfare of a child. They are being held without bond.
A police spokesman did not have information about the relationship between the couple and the child.
Online court records do not name attorneys to speak for the defendants.
Detectives found a large amount of drug paraphernalia, powder residue, capsules and firearms at the home, according to the probable cause statement.
Both defendants admitted they knew the child ingested fentanyl and did not seek medical attention for her, according to the statement.
A second toddler in the home was evaluated and is in good health, police said.
Michigan
Priest charged with stealing $830,000 from retired priests
DEWITT, Mich. (AP) — A Catholic priest is accused of stealing more than $800,000 from three retired priests in the Lansing Diocese.
The Rev. David Rosenberg was arraigned Thursday on embezzlement charges and other crimes in Clinton County, north of Lansing, the attorney general’s office said.
Rosenberg, 70, was director of the St. Francis Retreat Center in DeWitt for six years until he retired from active ministry in 2021.
He’s accused of stealing approximately $830,000 from three priests who lived at the center and using the money to fund his own foundation, prosecutors said. Two of the priests now are deceased.
Rosenberg’s attorney said the priest is innocent.
“So what’s more reasonable: The attorney general’s story of a mastermind manipulator who doesn’t even personally benefit from the crimes or the possibility that clergy wanted to be charitable with their earthly treasures as they contemplated the eternal? We think the latter is far more reasonable,” said Dustyn Coontz.
He said one of the deceased priest’s heirs “decided that any money not directed towards her must have been stolen, so here we are.”
Diocese spokesman David Kerr said the allegations were “deeply disturbing.”
“Our prayers go out to all involved, in particular to the alleged victims,” Kerr said.
Illinois
Suspect in freezer body case pleads not guilty
CHICAGO (AP) — A woman accused of killing and dismembering the owner of a Chicago boarding house where she lived has pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges in the slaying.
Sandra Kolalou, 36, was charged in October in the death of her 69-year-old landlord, Frances Walker, whose partial remains were found in a freezer in the boarding house on Chicago’s northwest side.
Prosecutors said Walker had served Kolalou with an eviction notice before she was killed.
Kolalou pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to felony charges of first-degree murder and concealing a homicidal death, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. She also pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly pulling a knife on a tow truck driver.
Her next court hearing is set for Dec. 20.
Kolalou was arrested after police said she pulled a knife on the tow truck driver, who had driven her to a beach on Chicago’s lakefront. Prosecutors said Kolalou dumped a heavy bag into a garbage can and then pulled a knife on the 24-year-old driver after he refused to take her to another location.
Officers found another garbage bag in the back of the tow truck. They obtained a search warrant and found part of Walker’s remains in a freezer, as well as evidence of blood throughout the home, including on two knives.
Massachusetts
Ex-bank manager sentenced for role in defrauding immigrants
BOSTON (AP) — A former bank manager has been sentenced to six months of home confinement for his role in a tax fraud scheme that targeted immigrants, particularly members of the Congolese community in the Boston area, federal prosecutors said.
Christian Zynga, 47, was sentenced this week to two years of probation with the first six months to be served in home detention, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office. He was also ordered to pay restitution of nearly $200,000 to the Internal Revenue Service.
Zynga’s accomplice, Boris Shadari, fraudulently posed as a tax professional and falsely inflated the federal income tax refunds of his clients, prosecutors said. The refunds were split between the clients and bank accounts controlled by Zynga and Shadari.
The pair also prepared customers’ tax returns themselves, using false information to inflate refunds, then diverted a portion of those refunds to themselves, prosecutors said.
Zynga, in his role as a bank manager, opened accounts in others’ names for the purpose of receiving the fraudulent tax refunds.
Zynga pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to defraud. Shadari was sentenced in August to 2 1/2 years in prison and was ordered to pay the IRS almost $500,000 in restitution.
Muskegon
Judge: Woman charged in son’s death competent to stand trial
MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan woman is competent to stand trial for her role in the death of her 15-year-old son, who was allegedly subjected to ice baths while malnourished, a judge has ruled.
A Muskegon County judge issued the ruling Thursday following a competency hearing for Shanda Vander Ark, 43. The Norton Shores woman faces charges of open murder and first-degree child abuse in her son’s death.
Vander Ark’s next court hearing is a preliminary exam hearing set for Jan. 4, 2023.
She is accused of torturing and starving Timothy Ferguson, who weighed 69 pounds when he was found dead in July, the Muskegon Chronicle reported.
A medical examiner determined the boy died from a combination of malnourishment and hypothermia.
Vander Ark and one of her other sons, Paul Ferguson, 20, allegedly tortured Timothy Ferguson in various ways that contributed to his death. Prosecutors said the mother and son subjected the boy to ice baths as punishment, restrained him with shackles and zip ties, and deprived him of food.
Timothy Ferguson had some mental disabilities, did not attend school and was instead being home-schooled, prosecutors have said.
Paul Ferguson faces one count of first-degree child abuse in his sibling’s death. His next court appearance is a status conference scheduled for Dec. 8.
