California
Marilyn Manson drops lawsuit against Evan Rachel Wood
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rocker Marilyn Manson has agreed to drop a lawsuit against his former fiancée, “Westworld” actor Evan Rachel Wood, and to pay her attorneys’ fees, lawyers for both sides said Tuesday.
The move comes 18 months after a Los Angeles County judge threw out much of the 2022 suit in which Manson, whose legal name is Brian Warner, claimed Wood had fabricated public allegations that he sexually and physically abused her during their relationship and encouraged other women to fabricate their own allegations.
“After four years of fighting a battle where he was able to tell the truth, Brian is pleased to dismiss his still-pending claims and appeal in order to close the door on this chapter of his life,” Manson attorney Howard King said in a statement.
Manson had been appealing the judge’s decision but his attorneys reached out to Wood’s seeking a settlement in the spring. Wood’s attorneys said Tuesday that she rejected requests that the terms be kept confidential.
Manson “filed a lawsuit against Ms. Wood as a publicity stunt to try to undermine the credibility of his many accusers and revive his faltering career,” Wood’s lawyer Michael J. Kump said in a statement. “But his attempt to silence and intimidate Ms. Wood failed.”
Manson agreed to pay nearly $327,000 in attorney fees for Wood.
The settlement comes nearly four years into a criminal investigation of the 55-year-old Manson involving multiple women that remains unresolved. Outgoing LA County District Attorney George Gascón said in October that his office’s sex crimes division had just discovered new evidence and that a decision on whether to file charges would be made when the picture was more complete.
The women involved in the criminal case have not been identified, but “Game of Thrones” actor Esme Bianco has said she was among them, and criticized the district attorney for taking so long to investigate. Bianco settled her own lawsuit against Manson last year.
The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly as Wood and Bianco have.
Manson has denied engaging in any non-consensual sexual acts.
In 2017, with the #MeToo movement gaining momentum, Wood said publicly that she had been raped and abused, and gave testimony on the subject to a Congressional committee in 2018, but did not name anyone in either instance.
Then in a 2020 Instagram post, Wood said it was Manson who had “horrifically abused me for years.” The two revealed they were a couple in 2007, and were briefly engaged in 2010 before breaking up.
Manson’s original lawsuit alleged that Wood and another woman, Ashley Gore, also known as Illma Gore in court papers, defamed him, intentionally caused him emotional distress and derailed his career in music, TV and film. It says they used false pretenses, including a phony letter
from the FBI, to convince other women to come forward with sexual abuse allegations and coached them on what to say. The suit said Wood had only glowing things to say about Manson during their relationship.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Teresa A. Beaudet dismissed the part of the suit dealing with the disputed FBI letter, which Wood denied forging. Beaudet also tossed out a section that alleges Wood and Gore used a checklist found on an iPad for other women to use to make abuse claims about Manson.
Other parts of the lawsuit had remained because they were not subject to Wood’s motion, including allegations that Gore hacked Manson’s email, phone and social media accounts, created a phony email to manufacture evidence that he was sending illegal pornography, and “swatted” him, using a prank call to send authorities to his home.
Gore’s part of the lawsuit was dismissed and Manson paid $130,000 in her attorney fees.
Louisiana
Former bomb squad leader pleads guilty to fraud charges
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A former police bomb squad leader in New Orleans pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges Tuesday, heading off a trial that was scheduled to start in December.
Todd Morrell pleaded guilty in federal court to six wire fraud counts that were part of an indictment involving allegations that he submitted false timesheets, New Orleans news outlets reported.
In many cases, Morrell double-billed for simultaneous on-duty and off-duty detail shifts. Allegations of wrongdoing by officers who work private duty details arranged through the department have often been a problem cited in court as the city moves to extricate itself from federal oversight of reforms ordered in a 2012 court document known as a consent decree.
Morrell retired in 2021 following reports by WVUE-TV on private duty security details manned by New Orleans police. The station reported that Morrell on multiple occasions was seen racing cars or spending time at home while claiming to work.
U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey set a Feb. 25 sentencing date for Morrell, 57. The Times-Picayune/ The New Orleans Advocate reported that the charges Morrell pleaded guilty to carry a maximum 20-year sentence.
Morrell is a 32-year veteran of the police department. He is the son of former City Council member Cynthia Hedge Morrell and Arthur Morrell, a former state legislator and former Orleans Parish Criminal Court Clerk. His brother, J.P. Morrell, is a current City Council member.
Maine
State, DOJ enter settlement to improve services for children with disabilities
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Officials with the U.S. Department of Justice and the state of Maine announced Tuesday they have entered into a settlement that requires the state to increase community-based behavioral health services for children.
The settlement stems from a lawsuit the Justice Department filed earlier this year that said Maine unnecessarily segregates children with behavioral health disabilities in institutions. Investigators said at the time that the state’s actions violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and the children’s right not to be confined away from their families.
The Justice Department said the settlement requires Maine to make changes that help children remain with families or foster families and avoid emergency department stays and institutions. The department said the changes must also help children move out of institutions and instead receive services at home.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills said in a statement that her administration and the Maine Legislature have invested $260 million on improvements to children’s behavioral health services. The total number of Maine children in residential treatment has lowered from 290 to 192 for in-state care and 250 to 69 for out-of-state care, she said.
Marilyn Manson drops lawsuit against Evan Rachel Wood
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rocker Marilyn Manson has agreed to drop a lawsuit against his former fiancée, “Westworld” actor Evan Rachel Wood, and to pay her attorneys’ fees, lawyers for both sides said Tuesday.
The move comes 18 months after a Los Angeles County judge threw out much of the 2022 suit in which Manson, whose legal name is Brian Warner, claimed Wood had fabricated public allegations that he sexually and physically abused her during their relationship and encouraged other women to fabricate their own allegations.
“After four years of fighting a battle where he was able to tell the truth, Brian is pleased to dismiss his still-pending claims and appeal in order to close the door on this chapter of his life,” Manson attorney Howard King said in a statement.
Manson had been appealing the judge’s decision but his attorneys reached out to Wood’s seeking a settlement in the spring. Wood’s attorneys said Tuesday that she rejected requests that the terms be kept confidential.
Manson “filed a lawsuit against Ms. Wood as a publicity stunt to try to undermine the credibility of his many accusers and revive his faltering career,” Wood’s lawyer Michael J. Kump said in a statement. “But his attempt to silence and intimidate Ms. Wood failed.”
Manson agreed to pay nearly $327,000 in attorney fees for Wood.
The settlement comes nearly four years into a criminal investigation of the 55-year-old Manson involving multiple women that remains unresolved. Outgoing LA County District Attorney George Gascón said in October that his office’s sex crimes division had just discovered new evidence and that a decision on whether to file charges would be made when the picture was more complete.
The women involved in the criminal case have not been identified, but “Game of Thrones” actor Esme Bianco has said she was among them, and criticized the district attorney for taking so long to investigate. Bianco settled her own lawsuit against Manson last year.
The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly as Wood and Bianco have.
Manson has denied engaging in any non-consensual sexual acts.
In 2017, with the #MeToo movement gaining momentum, Wood said publicly that she had been raped and abused, and gave testimony on the subject to a Congressional committee in 2018, but did not name anyone in either instance.
Then in a 2020 Instagram post, Wood said it was Manson who had “horrifically abused me for years.” The two revealed they were a couple in 2007, and were briefly engaged in 2010 before breaking up.
Manson’s original lawsuit alleged that Wood and another woman, Ashley Gore, also known as Illma Gore in court papers, defamed him, intentionally caused him emotional distress and derailed his career in music, TV and film. It says they used false pretenses, including a phony letter
from the FBI, to convince other women to come forward with sexual abuse allegations and coached them on what to say. The suit said Wood had only glowing things to say about Manson during their relationship.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Teresa A. Beaudet dismissed the part of the suit dealing with the disputed FBI letter, which Wood denied forging. Beaudet also tossed out a section that alleges Wood and Gore used a checklist found on an iPad for other women to use to make abuse claims about Manson.
Other parts of the lawsuit had remained because they were not subject to Wood’s motion, including allegations that Gore hacked Manson’s email, phone and social media accounts, created a phony email to manufacture evidence that he was sending illegal pornography, and “swatted” him, using a prank call to send authorities to his home.
Gore’s part of the lawsuit was dismissed and Manson paid $130,000 in her attorney fees.
Louisiana
Former bomb squad leader pleads guilty to fraud charges
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A former police bomb squad leader in New Orleans pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges Tuesday, heading off a trial that was scheduled to start in December.
Todd Morrell pleaded guilty in federal court to six wire fraud counts that were part of an indictment involving allegations that he submitted false timesheets, New Orleans news outlets reported.
In many cases, Morrell double-billed for simultaneous on-duty and off-duty detail shifts. Allegations of wrongdoing by officers who work private duty details arranged through the department have often been a problem cited in court as the city moves to extricate itself from federal oversight of reforms ordered in a 2012 court document known as a consent decree.
Morrell retired in 2021 following reports by WVUE-TV on private duty security details manned by New Orleans police. The station reported that Morrell on multiple occasions was seen racing cars or spending time at home while claiming to work.
U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey set a Feb. 25 sentencing date for Morrell, 57. The Times-Picayune/ The New Orleans Advocate reported that the charges Morrell pleaded guilty to carry a maximum 20-year sentence.
Morrell is a 32-year veteran of the police department. He is the son of former City Council member Cynthia Hedge Morrell and Arthur Morrell, a former state legislator and former Orleans Parish Criminal Court Clerk. His brother, J.P. Morrell, is a current City Council member.
Maine
State, DOJ enter settlement to improve services for children with disabilities
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Officials with the U.S. Department of Justice and the state of Maine announced Tuesday they have entered into a settlement that requires the state to increase community-based behavioral health services for children.
The settlement stems from a lawsuit the Justice Department filed earlier this year that said Maine unnecessarily segregates children with behavioral health disabilities in institutions. Investigators said at the time that the state’s actions violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and the children’s right not to be confined away from their families.
The Justice Department said the settlement requires Maine to make changes that help children remain with families or foster families and avoid emergency department stays and institutions. The department said the changes must also help children move out of institutions and instead receive services at home.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills said in a statement that her administration and the Maine Legislature have invested $260 million on improvements to children’s behavioral health services. The total number of Maine children in residential treatment has lowered from 290 to 192 for in-state care and 250 to 69 for out-of-state care, she said.
