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Men Accused of Killings Plead Not Guilty
Court Feed News |
2007/05/18 15:27
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Two men accused of killing a couple and their three young sons and setting their home on fire pleaded not guilty Thursday to new charges in a 49-count indictment. Mark Serrano, 29, and Charles Gilleo Jr., 31, each pleaded not guilty in separate arraignments for the deaths of Manuel Morey, Tina Morey and their three young sons , ages 13, 10 and 6. Gilleo and Serrano now face 24 counts of first-degree murder, 11 counts of second-degree murder, two counts of arson, six counts of robbery, two counts of conspiracy to commit robbery, three counts of perjury and one count of conspiracy to commit perjury. The men were first indicted Feb. 9 on 20 counts of first-degree murder. Firefighters discovered the bodies inside the family's rented home after it was reported on fire Jan. 19.
Authorities have said Serrano and Gilleo were partners with Manuel Morey in a small drug dealing operation. Police said Serrano and Gilleo went to the family's home to attempt to steal illegal drugs, and during the robbery Tony Morey and his wife were shot and the three boys were stabbed. Attorneys for Serrano and Gilleo could not be reached late Thursday. The new murder charges include five counts of intentional murder and six counts of felony murder causing someone's death while committing another felony. Second-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison. The first-degree murder charges are punishable by life in prison without the possibility of parole. Both men are being held without bail. |
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Wife of former investment guru pleads guilty
Court Feed News |
2007/05/17 13:13
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The wife of former investment guru, author and financial seminar leader Wade Cook pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to obstruction of justice. In her plea agreement, 54-year-old Laura Cook of Fall City admitted that in July 2003 she created documents on her home computer in an effort to evade taxes on some $9.4 million in income she and her husband received between 1998 and 2000. The documents were backdated to 1999. The false documents attempted to portray the funds as loans in an effort to avoid criminal charges. Obstruction of justice is punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Under terms of the plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend a 15-month prison term for Laura Cook. Her sentencing date has not been set. In February, Wade Cook was found guilty of tax evasion, filing false and fraudulent tax returns and obstruction of justice. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 22nd. The jury could not reach a verdict regarding Laura Cook's criminal conduct. |
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US court examines 'enemy combatant' procedures
Court Feed News |
2007/05/16 15:01
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A US appeals court examined Tuesday the procedures of a military panel that determines whether a Guantanamo prison camp detainee should be branded an "enemy combatant." The three federal court judges in Washington, reviewing the matter for the first time, sought to determine how they should proceed in examining the Combatant Status Review Tribunal. The same court ruled in February that, as foreigners held outside US territory, the detainees could not challenge their indefinite detention without charge at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The US Supreme Court refused to review the decision of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. A 2005 law, however, allows the detainees to ask the appeals court to check whether the Combatant Status Review Tribunal, created by the Defense Department in 2004, had followed procedures. During the review tribunals, handcuffed detainees appear without an attorney before three military judges. Only one person, called a recorder, has access to all elements of a case and presents the documents and witnesses that he or she deems pertinent for the review. The detainee, meanwhile, can request under certain conditions documents and witnesses, but under such limitations most requests have been rejected. The government argues that the appeals court can only have access to minutes of the review board hearings and documents presented to the panel. But detainee attorneys want the court to be able to determine whether the recorder indeed presented all relevant documents for a case and if the military judges were right to reject certain witnesses or documents requested by the detainee. President George W. Bush's administration has argued that unlawful enemy combatants captured in the "war on terror" do not have the same rights as US criminals or prisoners of war, arguing the detainees are not associated with conventional armies.
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BetOnSports founder Kaplan pleads not guilty
Court Feed News |
2007/05/15 14:23
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The founder of the notorious online betting company BetOnSports, Gary Kaplan, pleaded not guilty yesterday to the charges brought against him. The Internet gambling executive pleaded "not guilty" on the charges of federal racketeering, tax evasion and fraud on Monday, despite the previous statements from the chairman of the troubled online betting company, that a guilty plea was going to be filed. Kaplan, along with 10 other executives from the online gambling industry were indicted by U.S. District Court in St. Louis on charges that the company took billions in illegal bets from U.S. residents. The company BetOnSports stopped taking bets from US citizens as a result of a civil settlement last November, and agreed to return the money back to the American bettors, something that has not happened as of yet. The criminal charges, however, are still pending. The 48-year-old Gary Kaplan was arrested in March in the Dominican Republic, after fleeing the country to avoid prosecution.
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Teen guilty in selling drugs at Joliet school
Court Feed News |
2007/05/15 12:25
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A former Joliet Catholic Academy student pleaded guilty Monday to selling crack cocaine to undercover police officers in an investigation that netted 14 teens, including 8 pupils at the school. David M. Caiafa, 18, of the 500 block of Northfield Drive faces up to 60 years in prison or as few as six years, if Will County Judge Daniel Rozak accepts the prosecution's sentencing recommendation. Rozak is scheduled to sentence Caiafa on July 25. The charges stemmed from Operation After-School Special, a Joliet police probe focusing on the sale of cocaine and Ecstasy that initially targeted students at the Catholic school. Caiafa told Rozak he continued to pursue his high school diploma after he was expelled from Joliet Catholic. Caiafa said he takes anti-depressants and some medications, but Rozak determined the prescription drugs would not affect Caiafa's ability to understand the charges against him. Caiafa pleaded guilty to selling, or helping to sell, one to four grams of cocaine on four dates in early 2006. Two of the charges cited the sales' proximity to a school. But Assistant State's Atty. Chris Regis amended them to eliminate reference to the location. Outside the courtroom, defense attorney Frank Andreano said the change in charges, which eased the sentencing guidelines, made the plea bargain possible. Regis said Caiafa's chances of entering the county's drug court treatment program are "less than zero." Caiafa is the third teen to plead guilty to drug charges in connection with the investigation. Last month, Benjamin J. Dilday, 18, of Joliet pleaded guilty to unlawful delivery of a controlled substance. He is awaiting sentencing. In March, Alexander Bulanda, 19, of Shorewood pleaded guilty to two counts of delivery of a controlled substance and was sentenced to 4 years. |
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Long Island man pleads not guilty in hit-run death
Court Feed News |
2007/05/14 14:15
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A Long Island man pleaded not guilty on a charge in the hit-and-run death of an East Meadow woman, struck and killed as she waited in her driveway for her husband. Robert Fowler, 57, of Massapequa, was arraigned Sunday in Hempstead on a charge of leaving the scene of an accident involving a fatality. He was ordered held on a bail of $100,000 bond or $50,000 cash after appearing before Nassau County's First District Court. Fowler was arrested after detectives used Department of Motor Vehicle records to trace broken headlight lenses found at the accident scene to his vehicle, said Nassau County police officer Thomas Blanchard. Police said Nina Sharma, 49, was struck by the vehicle as she stood at the foot of the family driveway, waiting for her husband, Raj, to bring trash cans to the curb, before they took a late-night walk. Homicide detectives said the impact threw or dragged her about 65 feet. She was pronounced dead at Nassau University Medical Center. The couple, who have three children, own a clothing business in Hicksville. |
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