National Roundup

New York
U.S. inquiry: 5 convicted in NYC killing not guilty


NEW YORK (AP) — A review by federal prosecutors has concluded that five people convicted in the 1995 killing of a livery cab driver in New York City were not guilty of murder.

The New York Times reports that the findings by the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan were reported to the Bronx district attorney in June.

A spokesman for District Attorney Robert Johnson said Thursday it had not yet had been able “to resolve all of the questions that have been raised by this evidence.”

Cab driver Baithe Diop was shot five times inside his cab during a robbery in the Bronx.

The lawyers for the defendants, who had pleaded not guilty and remain imprisoned, say they will file papers asking that their client’s convictions be vacated based on newly discovered evidence.


Ohio
Parents accused of forcing kids in plastic boxes


STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (AP) — A couple from eastern Ohio has been charged with forcing their children into plastic storage boxes as a form of punishment.

A prosecutor told local media outlets that the couple used duct tape to seal their three children, ages 5, 7, and 8, inside the plastic storage containers, which had a hole cut in the top for air.
The parents from Steubenville were indicted last week on charges of endangering children and unlawful restraint. Prosecutors said two other people are charged with knowing about the abuse and not doing anything about it.

WTOV-TV reports that the alleged abuse was discovered in June. The children are safe and have been staying with family members since then.


Missouri
County to seek death penalty for rapist, murderer


CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — The St. Louis County prosecutor says he’ll seek the death penalty again for a man whose previous capital sentence was overturned last year by the Missouri Supreme Court.

Gregory Bowman was convicted in 2009 of raping, strangling and cutting the throat of 16-year-old Velda Joy Rumfelt. The state Supreme Court sustained Bowman’s conviction but ruled that prosecutors improperly mentioned that Bowman had been convicted of two Illinois murders that were overturned.

Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch he could find no such mention in the transcript from Bowman’s trial, only evidence that the state said linked him to the Illinois crimes.

Two lawyers with the capital litigation division of the Missouri public defender’s office are representing Bowman. They declined comment after a case hearing Thursday.


New York
Police say man convinced his pal to shoot him


SOUTH GLENS FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — Police in northern New York say a 19-year-old man convinced his friend to shoot him during a bogus robbery so they could share an insurance settlement. But police have found no evidence of such an insurance policy and believe the teen wanted to impress his girlfriend.

The Post-Star of Glens Falls reports that police are investigating the June 22 shooting of South Glens Falls resident Richmond Principe, who suffered a chest wound.

The newspaper quotes court documents in which Terrance Naylor says he was recruited by Principe to hurt him to collect $50,000 under his father’s insurance policy.

Naylor was charged with first-degree assault. Charges against Principe include offering a false written statement. Both are in jail.

It could not immediately be determined if either man had a lawyer.


California
Death sentence upheld in child abuse killing


SAN DIEGO (AP) — California’s Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence for a San Diego County man who tortured and killed his 4-year-old niece.

U-T San Diego says the court on Thursday unanimously upheld the 1998 sentence for Ivan Gonzales. A death sentence for his wife, Veronica, was affirmed last year.

The victim, Genny Rojas, was living with the couple and their six children in Chula Vista because her own mother had a drug problem and lost custody.

Authorities say that over five months in 1995, Genny was repeatedly beaten, hung for hours from a closet bar, scalded with a blow dryer, had her hair pulled out by the roots, and finally died after being placed in a scalding bath that caused some of her skin to slough off.

California
Award made in suit over alleged LA deputy affair


LOS ANGELES (AP) — A jury has awarded more than $450,000 to a man who was investigated by a Los Angeles County sheriff’s detective he claimed was having an affair with his wife.
The Los Angeles Times says jurors ruled for Alberto Gutierrez Thursday in a civil rights lawsuit against Detective Phillip Solano and a sheriff’s deputy.

Gutierrez claimed Solano had an affair with his wife at the same time that he was investigating Solano for allegedly threatening the woman during a bitter custody battle. He also accused a sheriff’s deputy of a cover-up.

Gutierrez was twice arrested in 2008 on suspicion of violating a restraining order. He was acquitted of some criminal charges and others were dropped.

Sheriff’s Department spokesman Steve Whitmore says Solano faces an internal affairs investigation.


Minnesota
Mayo to pay $1M to settle billing claims lawsuit


ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) — Mayo Clinic has agreed to pay $1 million to settle a federal lawsuit that accused Mayo of billing the government for thousands of lab tests that were never performed.

The Star Tribune reports the U.S. Department of Justice and four whistleblowers had accused the Rochester clinic of “knowingly” submitting false claims for nonexistent pathology tests over an eight-year period, from 1999 to 2007.

Mayo calls the dispute a “billing error issue” and says it agreed to the settlement to avoid a prolonged legal process.

Mayo spokesman Karl Oestreich says Mayo has “cooperated fully” with investigators. He noted Mayo voluntarily repaid nearly $263,000 in 2007, when the allegations came to light.
The case began in 2007 when a Plymouth attorney who is also a physician filed a whistleblower lawsuit against Mayo.n