Financial adviser to the stars Kenneth I. Starr, Starr & Co. pled guilty before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Friday to ripping off $50 million from A-listers including Wesley Snipes, Sylvester Stallone, Uma Thurman, Nora Ephron and Al Pacino.

The 66-year-old Starr told the judge he improperly used his clients' money for his own purposes. His attorney, Flora Edwards, told the court: "He's committed a horrendous error in judgement. This was truly a horrendous error. I don't think it was greed. He made a real bad mistake, and he's deeply sorry for it."

The three counts that Starr pled guilty to - wire fraud, money laundering and adviser fraud - carry a sentence of up to 12 years. He still faces 20 additional counts and charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

U.S. Attorney for Manhattan Preet Bharara said: "Kenneth Starr is a tale of fiction and fraud, in which he played the role of legitimate investment adviser to a cast of unsuspecting victims."

When prosecutors arrested Starr on May 27, they found him hiding in a closet of his $7.5 million Upper East Side condominium, which the government has since seized. His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 15.

Starr's fourth wife, former Scores stripper Diane Passage, failed to show up for her husband's court appearance on Friday. Her lawyer, Giovanni DiStefano, told The New York Post Passage needed to look after her 12-year-old son. A recent Vanity Fair feature on Starr and his misdeeds paints the picture of a man who knew how to tell his celebrity clients what they wanted to hear about the far reaches of their wealth, and whose own personal greed continued to grow as he remarried.

The publisher of Philadelphia's two largest newspapers is pushing unionized drivers to agree to contract terms before Tuesday's bankruptcy sale deadline.

Drivers who deliver The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News are balking at plans to end company contributions to their Teamsters' pension fund.

They are the only holdouts. About 15 other union groups, including the editorial unit, have agreed to contracts that include wage cuts and furloughs.

Creditors who bid $139 million to win this year's auction of the company insist they will not close the sale without an agreement with the drivers.

John Laigaie, president of the drivers unit, did not immediately return a message Monday. His members voted a second time Sunday to reject the creditors' offer.

For over 30 years, Carlene Borden, 65, and Vicky Williams, 55, have been incarcerated for the murders of their abusive husbands. Their sentences, life without the possibility of parole for fifty years, were handed down without any evidence of their abuse being presented at their trials. At the time they were arrested, there were few resources for women, domestic violence was poorly understood, and evidence of abuse was not presented at trial, according to the lawyers involved in the case. 

“Today is an extraordinary day for Carlene and Vicky,” said Armstrong Teasdale Attorney Amy Lorenz-Moser, who represents the two women. “We have worked tirelessly for over 10 years to reduce the harsh sentences of women like Vicky and Carlene, which were passed down so many years ago. We are thrilled that the board has finally granted parole to these two survivors of domestic violence.”

The women have remained incarcerated despite a Missouri law enacted in 2007 specifically intended to help the cases of Williams and Borden, said Lorenz-Moser. The law states that offenders who had murdered their spouses would be eligible for parole if they had served at least 15 years in prison, had no prior violent felony convictions, had a history of “substantial physical abuse or sexual domestic violence” not presented at trial, and were sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 50 years.

The bill was important because, until 1991, spousal rape wasn’t even recognized as a crime under Missouri law. Battered Spouse Syndrome was not a defense in Missouri until the 1980’s. Borden and Williams were convicted in the late 1970’s.

Although both women received two previous parole hearings after the law was passed, the Missouri Board of Probation and Parole denied them freedom. A July 2010 court order allowed the women a third parole hearing, and new parole determinations. Under the guidance of this new order, their parole was finally granted.

Williams is in prison in Chillicothe and Borden is in Vandalia. They are scheduled to be released on Oct. 15.

About Armstrong Teasdale LLP: Armstrong Teasdale LLP, with nearly 250 lawyers in offices across the U.S. and China, has a demonstrable track record of delivering sophisticated legal advice and exceptional service to a dynamic client base. Whether an issue is local or global, practice area specific or industry related, Armstrong Teasdale provides each client with an invaluable combination of legal resources and practical advice in nearly every area of law.

A Zimbabwean court on Monday freed on bail four Americans arrested and accused of treating AIDS patients without proper medical licenses.

A magistrate ordered the six health workers, who included a New Zealand national and a Zimbabwean, to pay a $200 bail and to reappear in court on Sept. 27. They could face a fine and deportation if convicted. The court ordered them to surrender their passports and live at their Mother of Peace Orphanage outside Harare until their trial.

The six are also accused of distributing AIDS medications without a pharmacist's supervision or a license.

U.S. embassy officials said the group pleaded innocent to the charges related to their work at two clinics, one in Harare and the other in Mutoko, 160 kilometers (100 miles) northeast of Harare.

The California church that sponsors their work says the church has been working in Zimbabwe for more than a decade and that this is the first time licensing questions have been raised.

American citizens Gloria Cox Crowell, 48, Dr. Anthony Eugene Jones, 39, Gregory Renard Miller, 64 and David Greenburg, 62, were thronged by children and family members from their Christian congregation as the left the courthouse. In emotional scenes, children ran up to hug the six health workers. Earlier inside the hearing, patients' faces were wet with tears.

The Shuman Law Firm today announced that a class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Corinthian Colleges, Inc.

If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights and interests with respect to this matter, please contact Kip B. Shuman or Rusty E. Glenn toll free at (866) 974-8626 or email Mr. Shuman at kip@shumanlawfirm.com or Mr. Glenn at rusty@shumanlawfirm.com.

The Complaint charges that Corinthian and certain of its officers and directors violated federal securities laws by making a series of materially false and misleading statements. Specifically, the Complaint alleges defendants failed to disclose: (i) Corinthian overstated its growth prospects by engaging in illicit and improper recruiting activities, which also had the effect of artificially inflating the Company's reported results and future growth prospects; (ii) the Company's financial results were overstated in that the Company's colleges inflated tuition costs and its student loan repayment rates were well below levels required for participation in federal loan programs; (iii) Corinthian failed to maintain adequate systems of internal operational or financial controls; and (iv) based on the foregoing, defendants lacked a basis for their positive statements about the Company, its prospects and growth.

If you purchased Corinthian common stock during the Class Period, you may request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff of the class no later than November 1, 2010. A lead plaintiff is a class member that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Although your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision whether or not to seek appointment as a lead plaintiff, lead plaintiffs make important decisions which could affect the overall recovery for class members.

The Shuman Law Firm represents investors throughout the nation, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative actions.

The Shuman Law Firm
Kip B. Shuman, Esq., 866-974-8626
kip@shumanlawfirm.com
or
Rusty E. Glenn, Esq., 866-974-8626
rusty@shumanlawfirm.com
Fax: 303-484-4886
www.shumanlawfirm.com

A federal appeals court in San Francisco has upheld a jury verdict clearing the Chevron Corp. of alleged human rights abuses during a violent 1998 protest on a company oil platform in Nigeria.

The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Friday that the lower court judge conducted the 2008 trial that resulted in the verdict without error and instructed jurors properly.

Human rights activists had accused the Nigerian military of attacking protesters on orders from the oil company. The demonstration was over Chevron's alleged pollution of local fishing grounds and farms in the country's oil-rich Delta region.

Two demonstrators occupying the oil platform were killed. The company denied involvement.