Court Roundup

New Mexico Complaint says alleged rape by judge is on tape ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- The prostitute who has accused Albuquerque's top criminal judge of rape met with him about eight times and made a tape of the alleged forced encounter. That's according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday with the arrest of state District Judge Pat Murdoch. The complaint says an Albuquerque vice detective heard about the tape from an informant and arranged to buy it for $400. Police then questioned the woman, who told police she she'd been solicited by Murdoch on a prostitution web site, backpage.com. The woman said she met with the judge about eight times for $200 a visit. She said he forced himself on her during one visit but she returned and secretly recorded a second forced encounter. Murdoch posted bond Tuesday night and is scheduled for a first court appearance Thursday. Florida Ex-astronaut Mitchell says moon camera a NASA gift MIAMI (AP) -- Former astronaut Edgar Mitchell says a camera he brought back from the Apollo 14 moon mission was given to him by NASA despite the space agency's lawsuit seeking its return. Court papers filed in Florida federal court urge a judge to dismiss NASA's claims for the camera. Mitchell says he unbolted the camera from the lunar module before the astronauts returned to earth to preserve the tape inside. Mitchell says NASA later told him he could keep it. NASA sued earlier this month contending it has no record that the camera was transferred to Mitchell. The 80-year-old Mitchell is one of 12 people to walk on the moon. Since retiring in 1971, Mitchell focused on exploring the mind, physics, space aliens and ways of linking religion with scientific fact. New Jersey 2 NJ teens face Megan's Law registration TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Two New Jersey teenagers face registering for life as sex offenders under Megan's Law for what their lawyers claim was horseplay. An appeals court agreed the boys, who were 14, engaged in sexual contact when they held down two 12-year-old boys in Somerset County in 2008 and placed their bare buttocks on their faces. The ruling means the boys would have to register under Megan's Law because the court said sexual contact applies to touching for the purpose of humiliation. The judges wrote they were "keenly aware" of the ruling's ramifications for the boys and for others. The judges sent both cases back to a lower court to consider whether one boy can withdraw his guilty plea and whether the other received effective counsel. Louisiana Police chief's trial delayed until Oct. 18 BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Port Allen Police Chief Fred Smith will not be tried Monday on federal charges of racketeering, wire fraud and mail fraud. U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson postponed the trial until Oct. 18. The Tuesday postponement occurred after a prosecutor reported a family member is undergoing treatment for a life-threatening illness. Smith is accused of accepting $3,200 in cash bribes from corrupt officials of a start-up garbage-can-cleaning service. The company, Cifer 5000, turned out to be part of an FBI sting operation. The corrupt officials actually were undercover FBI agents. Smith is alleged to have written a letter seeking lenient treatment for a Connecticut drug defendant for the "corrupt businessmen." He also is alleged to have used confidential law enforcement databases to run background checks for the men. And he is accused of providing one of the men with an official police badge. Former Port Allen Mayor Derek A. Lewis has pleaded guilty to related charges, as has former Councilman Johnny L. Johnson. Neither man has been sentenced. Both men agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors. The FBI initiated the sting operation after receiving complaints several years ago that former St. Gabriel Mayor George L. Grace had solicited bribes from businessmen in Baton Rouge and Houston. Like Smith, Grace has pleaded innocent to all charges. Grace is scheduled for trial in January. Earlier this year, former White Castle Mayor Maurice Brown was convicted on racketeering and fraud charges that resulted from the same FBI sting. White Castle Police Chief Mario Brown, the former mayor's younger brother, was acquitted on all charges. Maurice Brown has not yet been sentenced. Former New Roads Mayor Tommy Nelson was convicted on related racketeering and fraud charges last month. Nelson has not yet been sentenced. Published: Thu, Jul 21, 2011