Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, in the middle of a gut-wrenching restructuring, lost a high-profile Chicago partner and revenue generator to a competitor.

Alan Salpeter, a trial lawyer who has represented major banks and accounting firms, notified the firm Friday that he is moving to the Chicago office of New York law firm LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae. Salpeter, who joined Mayer Brown in 1972 out of Villanova University School of Law, is one of the highest-compensated partners at the firm, according to sources inside Mayer Brown, who declined to reveal his salary.

A partner at LeBoeuf's Chicago office confirmed the move. Salpeter did not return a phone call seeking comment.

The departure of a rainmaking lawyer comes at a difficult time for Mayer Brown, one of the nation's 10 largest law firms in terms of revenue. In March the firm said it was firing or demoting 45 partners to boost profitability, an unusually large retrenchment for a major law firm. The downsizing was announced after several partners from its New York office had already left.

The restructuring also includes management changes. Earlier this month, the firm eliminated the position of firm-wide managing partner, folding those duties into the new Office of the Chairman. Managing Partner Debora de Hoyos will have a new management role directing recruiting and client development. The firm also appointed a new partner-in-charge of the Chicago office.

The hiring of Salpeter is a coup for LeBoeuf Lamb, as it looks to bolster its Chicago presence. Salpeter brings the kind of lucrative corporate litigation work that firms desire in a competitive market. He currently represents Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in a lawsuit connected to the demise of Enron Corp.

A former Casper Youth Baseball official has pleaded guilty to one count of embezzling money from the organization.

As part of a plea agreement, four other embezzlement charges against Keith Hood were dropped, Assistant Natrona County District Attorney Dan Itzen said Friday.

Hood was accused of writing $6,600 worth of checks to himself from the organization's bank account.

He faces a two- to three-year prison sentence that will be suspended, provided he completes three years of supervised probation and makes restitution, Itzen said.

Hood said in Natrona County District Court on Friday that he has already paid back $4,500 to the league, which serves about 700 children. pervised probation and makes restitution, Itzen said.

John Rigas, 82, was sentenced in June 2005 to 15 years in prison, and Timothy Rigas, 51, the company's former finance chief, was sentenced to 20 years. Both men have remained free on bail while they pursued their appeals.

At the time, U.S. District Judge Leonard Sand in Manhattan admonished the elder Rigas for his lack of remorse and said he would have imposed a lengthier prison term if not for Rigas' age and ill health.

The Adelphia case was one of the biggest corporate fraud prosecutions in recent years. The father and son were accused of looting the company to pay for personal land deals and vacation homes.

In its decision Thursday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit said the defendants needed to show substantial errors by the district court for a reversal of the jury verdict.

"Given the weight of evidence supporting the jury's verdict on each charge, we conclude that they have not done so," the judges said.

Attorneys for the Rigases had no immediate comment on the ruling, nor did the U.S. attorney's office in New York, which prosecuted the case.

Adelphia filed for bankruptcy protection in June 2002. Its cable assets have been sold to Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Inc.

The National Restaurant Association (NRA), which represents an industry that employs approximately 12.8 million workers in 935,000 locations, issued a statement Thursday criticizing the minimum wage increase, saying that it "will cost our industry jobs... and that the current $4.9 billion tax package" would not provide sufficient relief for employers most impacted. The NRA claims that the industry "lost more than 146,000 jobs" and delayed the employment of 106,000 new employees as a result of the 40-cent minimum wage increase in 1997.

Prosecutors are recommending that Pope be placed on probation while Brown gets at least two and a-half years in prison. Both will be sentenced in July. Investigators say the girl wasn't threatened but she felt coerced into complying.

Prosecutors are in plea discussions with attorneys for the three other defendants.

The US Department of Justice Office of Professional Responsibility has expanded its investigation into whether department aides illegally made hiring decisions based on consideration of applicants' political beliefs, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday. The move follows Wednesday's testimony to the House Judiciary Committee by former DOJ aide Monica Goodling, where she admitted making hiring decisions based on political party affiliation. The DOJ also said that it found no evidence to support Goodling's claim that the practice was approved by officials in the department.

Goodling was testifying about her role in the firings of eight US Attorneys. She disputed testimony by resigning Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, and claimed that at least one US Attorney was fired to open a spot for a protege of Karl Rove.