REBECCA "BECKY" BRYAN WAS FORMALLY ARRAIGNED ON MURDER charges Tuesday, accused of killing her husband Fire Chief Keith Bryan last September 20. The Nichols Hills, Oklahoma, fire chief was shot in his own home and Rebecca reported to the police that a man intruded into the house and said something about not being hired before killing him.
Her story quickly fell apart when detectives found the gun, ammunition and gloves inside the clothes dryer. Several witness statements also refuted her story and she was arrested two days later and charged with first-degree murder. Firegeezer reported on the crime and following activities at the time and you can read the story and following events HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE. She has been held without bail since then.
At yesterday's appearance Bryan, 53, pleaded not guilty to the charges. The judge set a motion hearing for June 26 and ordered her to remain jailed. He also set a tentative trial date for September 10.
ANOTHER RURAL/METRO AMBULANCE was stolen Sunday morning in the Buffalo suburb of Amherst, New York. It all began around 6:30 am when a policeman brought Heather Sullivan, 37 and drunk, into the emergency room of the ECMC hospital. Once she was left unattended, she dashed out the ER entrance where she found the ambulance, also unattended and with the keys in the ignition. WGRZ-TV continues the tale:
She started heading east down Kensington Ave. with police in pursuit. Once she reached the first traffic circle, she lost control of the ambulance and went straight through the circle and continued towards the Walgreens. She slammed into a brick wall surrounding the parking lot, slowing her down before the ambulance came to a rest.
WIVB-TV
"Thank God she missed the building though. The brick wall stopped her, otherwise, she would have been definitely into the building," said Amherst Police Senior Investigator Scott Lawida.
The ambulance was heavily damaged due to the impact of the brick wall.
The woman has been arrested and charged with reckless endangerment, grand larceny, criminal possession of a stolen vehicle and other charges.
A Rural/Metro spokesman says that the ambulance will probably be a total loss with damages estimated at $80,000 to $100,000. The police said that she was driving at an extremely high rate of speed.
OLD FORGE, PENNSYLVANIA, POLICE CHIEF LARRY SEMENZA was arrested Wednesday and charged with six counts of aggravated indecent assault, unlawful contact with a minor, indecent exposure, and failing to report suspected child abuse. Another police officer and a third vol. FF are also implicated in the unfolding story following formal complaints filed by a woman who was age 14 when the series of sexual misconduct began.
Semenza being led into the courthouse for
his arraignment Wednesday (Times-Tribune)
Semenza was also a volunteer fire captain in the local VFD and the incidents covered in the complaints took place in the firehouse between November 2004 and March 2007. The Scranton Times-Tribune continues:
The alleged victim is the same girl Old Forge police Capt. Jamie Krenitsky and former volunteer borough firefighter Walter Chiavacci are accused of sexually assaulting between 2004 and 2005.
The victim, now 23, was 14 when she became involved the Old Forge Fire Department, where Chief Semenza was fire captain at the time, according to the criminal complaint. The victim said she attended fire house training taught by Chief Semenza, describing him as a friend, teacher or mentor, according to the criminal complaint.
The victim told police Chief Semenza took her for coffee, gave her rides to training and took her to purchase new fire equipment, which she was not required to pay for, the complaint says. He also took her to purchase a new fire helmet that cost several hundred dollars, which she did not pay for, according to the criminal complaint.
During the fall of 2004, the victim said the relationship progressed to more of a dating relationship, with the victim visiting Chief Semenza dressed in her Halloween costume in 2004, according to the criminal complaint. Shortly after the Halloween visit, "things became hot and heavy," between her and Chief Semenza, the victim said in the complaint.
The Scranton Times-Tribune has a more detailed report outlining the series of complaints HERE.
The Times-Tribune provided this brief video taken at the courthouse following Semenza's arraignment:
Apparently Semenza took recorded admissions from the other two men that they had also participated in the long-term indecencies. The State Police raided the Old Forge police station earlier this week and seized several records.
THE FORMER CHIEF AND TREASURER OF A NEW JERSEY volunteer ambulance squad was arrested Monday and charged with hindering apprehension, third- and fourth-degree theft, witness tampering, obstruction and unsworn falsification. The case will be presented to a Burlington County grand jury for indictment.
James Daly, 42, was the Chief of the Beverly-Edgewater Park Emergency Medical Squad when, in May 2011, the treasurer became gravely ill and Daly took over the duties of the treasurer. The Beverly-Edgewater Park Squad is a volunteer organization that has paid administrative officers and 15 part-time employees. Within a few weeks of taking over the books, Daly phoned the accounting firm that handles their payroll and told them that he had just been given a $15,000 yr. raise above his current salary of $53,560 to $68,500. Next he began using the Squad's credit account to purchase gasoline for his personal cars.
When the county prosecutor's office began investigating Daly, he produced a letter purportedly written by another member stating that Daly had been given the go-ahead to use the county gas by the ill, and since deceased former treasurer. That letter was soon determined to be a forgery.
Following his arrest, Daly was released on $25,000 bond. He was dismissed from the squad's rolls in November 2011.
The Burlington County Times has more details HERE.
A LOUISA, VIRGINIA, POLICE OFFICER will be appearing in court today to be tried on felony charges that he embezzled thousands of dollars from a volunteer fire department where he also served as volunteer fire chief.
Mark McGhee, 31, was arrested February 24 following an investigation into the Trevilians VFD financial accounts following a tip. McGhee had resigned from the fire department six months previously and that is when the investigation began. He was also placed on administrative leave by the Town of Louisa Police Department.
WTVR-TV Ch. 6 Richmond filed this video report following McGhee's arrest in February:
KEVIN HOWARD, 44, WAS ONCE PRESIDENT of the Nahant, Massachusetts, firefighters union local and most recently served as the town's acting fire chief. Now his current title is "convicted" following his recent trial in Lynn District Court. Completing an investigation and trial that all began two years ago, Howard's case was continued after he admitted that he had stolen several thousands of dollars from the Local 2718's treasury during his tenure as president.
The case was continued without a finding after Howard admitted to sufficient facts to the charges and agreed to pay $14,000 in restitution. Howard also read a letter of apology.
Judge James LaMothe’s sentence also includes administrative probation, which carries an automatic two-year sentence if the terms are violated. The Essex district attorney’s office asked for a two-year sentence with six months served, and the balance suspended for three years of probation, plus restitution and an apology.
His troubles began more than two years ago when, as president, he acquired an ATM/debit card for the Local's bank account without anybody knowing about it. He then began a systematic pattern of using the debit card to make thousands of dollars in cash withdrawals plus purchases of personal items for his home and use. When he was promoted to the acting chief position in March 2010, the officers of the Local – acting on a tip – reviewed the union's books and discovered the unauthorized withdrawals.
At an April meeting with Howard, the Local's directors made a few offers to allow him to make good, including to resign from the fire department without making restitution. Howard declined the offers and instead mounted an ill-conceived plan to obfuscate his way out of trouble by inventing personnel problems. First he told the Town Aldermen that none of the firefighters were properly qualified as EMT's. Then he told that cocaine use was rampant in the department and had recently been confronted by the current Local president who threatened to kill him (Howard) if he went public with the EMT scandal.
All of the allegations were quickly proven to be false and his defense collapsed. The Globe continued:
"We can see the court’s side – they don’t want to hurt his family – and the union accepts the decision,’’ (union president Joshua) Mahoney said. "Obviously we’re disappointed, and we’d like to see him do jail time, not for [stealing money], but for what he did afterward. He lied, tried to slander us, and did everything he could to ruin our reputations in a small community where people have to trust us.’’
Neil Rossman, attorney for the union, said that members suspected that Howard took as much as double the $14,000 he agreed to make in restitution.
A NEW HAMPSHIRE TEEN IS IN A HEAP O' TROUBLE after being charged with felony reckless conduct and criminal mischief. Nicholas Richer, 18, of Manchester instigated a "road rage" incident on I-93 Monday evening when he cut off another car during an illegal lane change near the Hooksett toll plaza.
The usual indecent gesturing and name calling ensued along with erratic driving and then Richer pulled out what looks like a pistol but was actually a flare gun. During the name-calling phase of the discussion he waved the gun around and aimed it through the right front window at the other driver before pulling it back. Just then the flare gun went off, sending the charge bounding around the inside of his own car.
About 20 minutes later the State Police found the car in a gas station parked along the side of the lot. They noticed that the windshield was smashed out (from the discharge) and some heavy fire damage to the passenger seat which had been occupied by a younger boy during the escapade. A look around the area turned up a shell casing and shortly after the discovery of Richer himself, hiding in some bushes with his gun.
WMUR-TV describes the story with a Trooper in this video report:
He was arrested and then released with a court appearance scheduled for June 4.
KEVIN DEGROAT, 49, AND HIS WIFE THERESA, 46, are now known as the former fire chief and former treasurer respectively of the Matamoras Fire Company in Pike County, Pennsylvania. They lost their positions in the department after it was found that they had stolen at least $67,000 from the company's Bingo proceeds during the span between 2002 and 2009.
Theresa and Kevin Degroat in February 2012. (Pocono Record)
Police uncovered purchases for DVDs, men's shoes, a computer monitor and household goods, with purchases amounting to more than $2,800, according to court records. Fire officials told police those purchases were "absolutely not" related to departmental business.
Theresa DeGroat admitted to opening sealed money bags from the firehouse bingo games and changing the deposit slip and writing out a new one to be deposited in the bank, according to court documents. Also, Kevin DeGroat told police he used $400 in bingo cash to buy tools, according to court papers.
After previously pleading guilty in February to the theft charges, they were in court last Friday for sentencing. Judge Joseph Kameen ordered them each to serve 60-days to 23-½ months in jail plus an additional five years of supervised parole. He also ordered them to pay $26,000 in restitution to the fire company. Following their sentencing Friday they were both immediately incarcerated and began serving their time.
Company vice-president Scott Gillette told tv station WNEP: "We were very lax. We got caught up in this and any organization, whether it be Girl Scouts, little league, football fire department, churches, don’t go single signature on any checks."
The Matamoras Fire Company serves a tiny borough of one-square-mile in the Poconos.
Read the complete account from WNEP HERE.
Matamoras Fire Company WEBSITE.
"Low-life" doesn't begin to describe the cretin who showed up at a fund-raiser in Philadelphia Friday night. Brian Haughton, the owner of SmokeEaters Pub on Frankford Ave. (and an active Philadelphia firefighter) held a "casual night" fundraiser to help the families of the two firefighters who died in the warehouse fire a few days ago. Haughton collected gifts donated by other businesses in his neighborhood and gathered them into three gift baskets to be auctioned off later in the evening. The waitresses all decided to donate their tips for the night as well.
SmokeEaters Pub photo
The gift baskets were kept in the basement until the auction time was scheduled, not far from one of the restrooms. KYW-TV Ch. 6 continues:
During a benefit for the families of the two fallen firefighters, police say someone stole items meant for a raffle to help the families. The suspect was caught on surveillance tape.
"Neither one of these firefighters is in the ground yet and someone stole their money and it really angers me a lot," Haughton said. "Somebody came in, pretended they were going to the bathroom and pulled a knife out of their pocket and sliced through all of the gift baskets," Haughton explained.
According to police, the suspect cut open one of the baskets then ran to the restroom. He’s seen on tape returning minutes later to remove contents from the other two baskets. Police say he took whatever he could fit in his pockets and got away.
The Philadelphia Police Dept. has posted the surveillance tape so that the public might be able to assist in identifying this man who is about 5'-10" tall and weighs near 300 lbs.
There is also a $1,000 reward for identifying him. Firegeezer suspects that the police will probably put some extra effort into closing this one. That's a pretty good video and should make him recognizable to somebody.
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The National Hockey League playoffs are underway with seven of the eight matchups having two games behind them now. The first two games in all the best-of-seven series are played on the home ice of the top seeded teams, so the underdogs hope to snatch at least one win away from home to swing the home-ice advantage back to them. And that has happened in all eight series. Playoff hockey is always exciting and the level of play rises above the regular season.
In our lead-in last Sunday I predicted the Philly vs. Pittsburgh series would be the top attraction of the first round and that has turned out to be the case. Pittsburgh finished up the regular season on a roll, winning almost all of their final 15 games and showing a lot of strength offensively. They started out Game 1 the same way by scoring 3 goals in the first period to take a commanding 3-0 lead. But then the wheels came off as the Flyers rallied to tie the game and then win in overtime 4-3. That obviously had a moral effect on the Pens because the Flyers really unloaded in Game 2, winning that one, too, 8-5. And that was on Pittsburgh's ice.
Our pick for "Cinderella Team," St. Louis Blues is trying their best to make me look good by taking San Jose into overtime before losing Game 1. Then they showed that they are not deflated by that by blanking the Sharks 2-0 yesterday.
There is a real goaltenders' duel going on in the Washington vs. Boston contest. The first game was scoreless after regulation and went to overtime before the defending champions Boston Bruins beat the Caps 1-0. Game 2 was more of the same with a tie score after regulation 1-1. It took two overtime periods before the Caps returned the favor and won it 2-1. That's a grand total of five goals in nine periods of play. The side story is Washington's goaltender, Braden Holtby. He has spent the last two seasons playing for the Capitals' farm team in Hershey and only had a very few NHL games under his belt. But at the end of the season both of Washington's goalies were injured and the #3 guy was catapaulted into the starting slot for the playoffs.
Another bit of drama last night took place in Chicago where the Blackhawks had lost their first game to Phoenix in overtime. But last night they were losing yet again but, after pulling the goaltender and going into full-press in the final minute, they tied it with 5 seconds remaining. Then they won it in the overtime. Here are highlights from that game:
Rangers vs. Ottawa: series tied at one each.
Boston vs. Washington: series tied at one each.
Florida vs. New Jersey: New Jersey leads series 1-0.
Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia: Philly leads series 2-0.
Vancouver vs. Los Angeles: Los Angeles leads 2-0 (biggg upset in the making here).
St. Louis vs. San Jose: series tied at one.
Phoenix vs. Chicago: series tied at one.
Nashville vs. Detroin: series tied at one.
Of the 15 games played so far, 7 of them have been settled in overtime.
We're running overtime now, so we'd better get this equipment checked out before cook has that big Sunday breakfast ready. I'll get more coffee going. See you back in the day room.
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New Jersey and Florida will be playing their second game tonight.
THERE WAS NATIONWIDE COVERAGE this week given to the tragic event in New Hampshire where a police chief was killed and four other officers wounded in a botched attempt to serve a search warrant. The raid was aimed at ridding the town of what the police called "a menace," referring to the culprit Cullen Mutrie.
When the operation was wrapped up, the police found Mutrie and his girlfriend both dead from apparent suicides or murder/suicide. While the news was rightly focused on the tragedy of the police officers, we would learn a few things if we take a look at the drug dealer, Cullen Mutrie.
For the past several years, despite his growing criminal record, Mutrie was serving as a volunteer firefighter and had hopes to become a paid firefighter on a New Hampshire department.
2006 mug shot Portsmouth NH police
His criminal history begins in 2003 when he had a violent confrontation with a former girlfriend who had get a court protective order against him. WMUR-TV posts:
(She) claimed Mutrie, "forcefully grabbed me, choked me and pulled my hair … as well as pushed me down several times." The woman also said Mutrie was "threatening," was "prone to jealous rages" and indicated he had guns and knives in his possession.
On Dec. 12, 2003, she accused Mutrie of calling her, "intoxicated in a rage, asking where I was and verbally abusing me. I then woke up on Dec. 13 to find two of my car tires slashed," she wrote, "I am very scared of him because of our history and his explosive behavior and past history of violence."
In 2005 he applied for a gun license and was denied "due to his criminal background" according to court records.
In 2006 he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault following a fight with another man, but the next year he applied to the court to have the conviction dismissed and be permitted to have a trial on the charges. His reasoning was that he had been given poor legal advice from his lawyer to told him that a misdemeanor conviction would not prevent him from getting a job as a firefighter. He since found out that was not the case and wanted to get his record cleared. At the time he told the court he has been working as a volunteer firefighter for seven years and has been going to school nights and weekends "to get certified."
Hampton Falls Fire Chief Jay Lord said Mutrie was a volunteer firefighter from 2004 to July 2010. He said Mutrie was nice and polite and dreamed of a career in the fire service.
In 2010 he was arrested again for beating up another woman. He was ordered then to surrender any guns that he possessed, but the woman told police later that there were still several in the house. A report by Officer Wayne Young quoted the victim as saying Mutrie had "a few" guns in his bedroom, one in his vehicle, one in his living room and that he usually carried another one on his person. So local police went to Mutrie's home on July 24, 2010 to collect them. It was then that they found more contraband in his house and arrested him on drug charges again.
In February of this year the state drug lab sent more evidence of drug possesion and it was this week's raid that was based on this recent report.
On his Facebook page that was recently created (and is no longer posted) he claimed that he was currently working for the Hampton Falls FD and also studying "paramedicine" at a local community college.
Mutrie is at the far right in the above photo. He was 6'-2" and weighed 260 lbs.
There are several lessons in this relating to the necessity of background checks for firefighter and EMT applicants. Mutrie was obviously trying to construct a phony resume here, including a Linked In account. Just "surfing the web" does not equate to a bona fide investigation. And there is no excuse to avoid performing this function. Firegeezer has been preaching this for years, yet there are still hundreds of departments who skip this necessity. It's not enough that they are "nice and polite."
DALLAS, TEXAS, FIREFIGHTER JESUS VENTURA, 37, is being held in jail following a day's adventure with his bravado and backpack as he travelled around holding up a bank and a gas station.
KENS-TV
According to reports, Ventura walked into a Chase Bank Tuesday and, after asking to use the restroom, walked up to a teller and said, "I hate to do this to you, but I need you to give me all your money." After repeating the demand several times, the teller shoved $1,900 across the counter and as he was loading his backpack, he pushed a $20 bill back under the glass saying, "Here is a tip for you."
From the bank he traveled down the street to a Valero gas station and tried the same routine, but the police interrupted the act. KSN-TV Ch. 3 continues:
Officers recovered the black backpack containing the money from the Chase Bank robbery.
In an initial appearance in front of a federal judge on Wednesday, Ventura told the court he has bipolar disorder, anxiety and depression and has been off his medication.
When asked for his address, Ventura repeatedly gave the judge his birthdate instead of the accurate information.
The bank is just a couple of blocks away from Dallas Fire-Rescue station 45 where his is assigned. However, he has been on paid leave from the FD following an incident in March where he fired off a round from his semi-automatic pistol inside the firehouse. [Just the kind of guy you like to take with you to fires and other emergencies....Ed.]
KENS-TV has more details about Ventura's woes in this video report:
Ventura is still on admin. leave, and still getting his paychecks from the Dallas citizens.
A DETROIT, MICHIGAN, FIREFIGHTER WAS INJURED early Thursday morning when he fell through the floor into the basement at a house fire. The fire was dispatched around 4 am this morning (Thursday) and the first units found fire showing at the house. When a hose line was being stretched into the building, a firefighter fell through a hole that had been burned through the floor. He has been taken to the hospital with broken ribs and a back injury and is in stable condition.
WJBK-TV
When his colleagues went to rescue their buddy, they found a body in the basement that was burned beyond recognition. An early examination by a doctor indicates that the body, which was also legless, is that of a teenager, perhaps as young as 12 or 13 years, who had been shot.
Neighbors say that they heard gunshots around 3:30 am. The investigators say that it appears that the teen had been shot and then doused with gasoline before being set on fire. The fire burned through the floor, it is initially believed, and the body dropped to the basement as a result. No information has been released yet on when, why or how his legs had been removed.
WXYZ-TV filed this early video report:
The house was being used, perhaps illegally, and was known by the neighbors as a local "drug house." Firefighters found an illegal electrical hookup to the building.
WDIV-TV has additional information and a good video report HERE.
WJBK-TV also has a video report HERE.
The investigation is just getting under way and no more information has been released yet.
REBECCA BRYAN OF MUSTANG, Oklahoma, was arraigned last week on charges that she murdered her husband Keith Bryan, Fire Chief of Nichols Hills Fire Department, last September 20.
Keith Bryan (KOCO-TV)
On September 21 Firegeezer carried the story of the surprising murder of Chief Bryan by what was initially reported by his wife as having been committed by a man who walked into their house and shot Bryan in the head and then left. Read the early reports HERE and HERE for the background on the crime. All of the initial information was provided by his wife Rebecca ("Becky").
Two days later, Rebecca was arrested at a motel where she was staying and charged with first-degree murder of her husband. Read the Firegeezer report on the turn of events leading to her arrest HERE.
Rebecca Bryan before September 20 (left) and after.
Her first court appearance was held last Wednesday when she was arraigned in Canadian County District Court. During the hearing the court took testimony from four witnesses. Excerpts from the four testimonies as published in the The Oklahoman follow:
After the shooting, (Debbie) Proctor said Rebecca Bryan called her and asked her to come over.
On the way to the hospital to check on Keith Bryan, Proctor testified that Rebecca Bryan showed the people in the car a picture of another man's penis on her phone. She testified that Bryan told them she had sex with the man, one of her real estate clients, earlier that day and felt guilty because of the shooting.
Bryan also showed them a text message she sent to a former lover about inheriting a significant amount of money soon and moving to Hugo.
The man, identified as Mark Holbrook, testified that Bryan also called him three hours before the shooting. He said the last time he spoke to her before the shooting was in February 2011. The night of the shooting she called him and he hung up on her, he said.
(He admitted that he had a 1-year affair with Rebecca that ended prior to the shooting.)
Mustang police officer James Davis testified Wednesday that he approached Rebecca Bryan in the garage after the 911 call, and she started talking to him about a burglary case he worked in the past rather than telling him details about the shooting.
Davis said he had to ask Bryan where her husband was. "I had to ask her to take me to him," he said.
Mustang Detective Camie McNeil testified Wednesday that Rebecca Bryan was also laughing at the scene.
McNeil testified she was collecting gunshot residue and Bryan thought it was funny.
"Bryan said she watches ‘CSI' and knows all about this stuff," McNeil said.
Read the full article including more details from the testimonies in The OklahomanHERE.
In order to provide more time for the state to question more witnesses, the judge continued the hearing until April 4.
A THIEF WITH BAD INTENTIONS STOLE AN AMBULANCE in San Antonio, Texas, early Friday morning and took it home to strip the contents.
Stripped ambulance as it was found (KENS-TV)
The Americana Ambulance crew had just unloaded a patient at a nursing home around 3:20 am and when they came back outside they found the ambulance gone. San Antonio police and University Hospital police immediately began searching for it aided by the GPS coordinates that the ambulance company was getting from the vehicle's transmitter.
A short time later they found the ambulance in an apartment development parking lot and a 37-year-old man standing in front of it. The ambulance had been almost completely emptied out, so they looked in his apartment and found the stolen equipment and supplies.
Jose Arenas
Jose Arenas was charged with felony vehicle theft and taken to the hoosegow.
THOMAS McMAHON, 29 (or 33), AN almost-former member of FDNY Ladder 28 was put on immediate suspension without pay Wednesday after he was rounded up with seven other gangsters who were running a $2 million per year sports betting and loansharking ring. Three of the so-called geriatric gang are over age 75 and all are members of the Genovese crime family.
McMahon was arraigned in Bronx Criminal court yesterday, along with reputed mob associates Joseph Sarcinella, 77, Frank Mastracchio, 56, Dominick Totino, 44, Dominick Pietranico, 81, Bruno Travositino, 81, and John D’Ambrosio, 54.
Sarcinella — a longtime reputed Genovese mobster who in 2002 pleaded guilty to running a $10 million illegal betting operation — was the ringleader of the Bronx betting business, which he ran out of a Mace Avenue social club and two gambling wire rooms, prosecutors said.
Joseph Sarcinella shown in 1975 after
being arrested for running a $50 million
sports book for Vincent "the Chin" Gigante.
Mastrachhio, who lives on City Island near McMahon, allegedly managed the wire rooms. McMahon took bets, created accounts and worked as a runner, picking up money and dispersing winnings for the ring, the DA alleged.
"McMahon is close with Mastracchio, he calls him his ‘uncle,’’’ a source told The Post.
In the 73-page indictment, the Bronx district attorney charged that the eight-man crew — three older than 75 — levied exorbitant interest, sometimes 100% of the bet. The old men sometimes met at Veniero’s on E. 11th St.
"They would summon their loan shark victims to come and settle up," at the pastry shop,"where they nibbled pastry and talked business police said.
A grand jury indicted seven of the eight defendants on a top count of Enterprise Corruption, a Class B felony offense punishable by a maximum sentence of up to 25 years imprisonment.
In addition to the Enterprise Corruption charge, those seven people have also been charged with multiple counts of Promoting Gambling in the First Degree, a Class E Felony, Possession of Gambling Records in the First Degree, a Class E Felony, Criminal Usury in the Second Degree, a Class E Felony, and Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree, a Class A Misdemeanor. Frank Mastracchio was also charged with illegal gun possession stemming from the recovery of an illegal hand gun and a sawed-off shotgun during the execution of a search warrant at his home.
The eighth defendant, William Cali was indicted on criminal usury and conspiracy charges.
According to the indictment, the defendants, acting in concert with each other and others, ran an illegal sports betting operation utilizing two gambling wire-rooms at 1500 Mace Avenue and 709 East 189TH Street. The wire-rooms were staffed by workers who manned telephone lines for the purpose of taking bets, managing betting activity, and setting betting lines and spreads. Additionally, a social club at 1480 Mace Avenue was used to pay out on winning bets and collect on losing bets.
1480 Mace Ave., Bronx
McMahon is facing up to 25 yrs. in prison if convicted. He has been in the fire department for seven years.
A KALGOORLIE, WEST AUSTRALIA, COUPLE PLEADED GUILTY Friday to committing a string of arson attacks on homes, businesses and abandoned cars over a period of more than a year. They gave no explanation for their actions that apparently were done simply for the thrill of it.
Alan Robert Sloane, 32, and Rebecca Louise Sloane, 29 admitted in court to at least 19 arsons, all committed at random on nighttime larks. Their evenings would begin with hiring a babysitter to watch their 2-yr.-old twins while they went out for dinner. Following their meal they would drive around and look for likely targets to set alight.
Alan and Rebecca Sloane leaving their arraignment hearing
in November at Magistrate's Court in Perth.
Mr Sloane pleaded guilty to 19 charges of damaging property by fire including two when he threw molotov cocktails through open house windows in South Kalgoorlie.
He regularly lit fires for more than six months before his wife realised what was happening. Mrs Sloane then started driving her husband around Kalgoorlie Boulder late at night looking for things for him to burn, including cars, a caravan and an industrial bin.
She pleaded guilty to seven counts of arson though she never struck a match herself. Ms Sloane made no attempt to stop her husband's arson.
It was brought out in court that the Sloane's nocturnal sparking has been going on for more than a year. The article continues:
On January 10 last year Mr Sloane was walking in South Kalgoorlie at 11pm when he saw an open window so he lit the curtain. The occupants put the flames out.
On January 23 and 26 he threw molotov cocktails through open windows and on February 6 dropped lit newspapers into a yard.
Another time he used methanol to set an abandoned house on fire. He also stole a car from his work, drove it into bush and set it alight.
Rebecca Sloane has been remanded on bail but her husband is being retained in custody until their sentencing in April. They are both facing a possibility of life sentences.
Their arrests last November were the culmination of a 9-month task force investigation dubbed Operation Twain that was looking into a string of more than 40 arsons in the area.
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THE PASCOAG HOSE CO. 1 in Burrillville, Rhode Island, was the victim of a vandal Thursday morning who caused over $10,000 damage to one of their fire engines. After 11 pm Wednesday night one or more people gained entry to the firehouse when only one volunteer was inside and asleep upstairs. The vandals then started up the truck and drove it away, going on a joyride around town and apparently down some dirt trails in a nearby parkland. Burrillville police were able to identify the engine's tire tracks in several locations.
Pascoag FD photo
Sometime later they returned the engine and parked it where it had been, but with noticeable damages to it that were immediately apparent to the members who came into the station on Thursday morning. Along with some scrapes on the sides and a handrail torn off, probably from the building, there was extensive damage to the undercarriage and a quantity of empty beer cans in the cab.
WJAR-TV Ch. 10 filed this video report on the incident and damage:
The entire situation indicates that it was probably a FD member who committed the offense.
A COORDINATOR FOR A PRIVATE ambulance service in Bingham, Maine, has been charged with stealing from the Upper Kennebec Valley Ambulance Service, a regional EMS concern.
PL Custom Vehicles
According to The Morning Sentinel, Laurie Laweryson, 50, of North Anson, faces a felony theft charge for allegedly using the Upper Kennebec Valley Ambulance Service's gas card between July and January to buy about $2,000 worth of fuel for her personal use, according to Maine State Police Trooper Chris Crawford. She was summoned and charged on February 14 with class C theft. The night before she had been fired by the firm's board of directors who knew about the impending charges.
This was taking place just as the cash-strapped company was asking the participating communities for more money, namely $30,000 in an emergency disbursement because they are about to run out of funds.
The Morning Sentinel has the complete story HERE. The Sentinel also has good coverage of the ambulance company's financial situation HERE.
The Upper Kennebec Valley Ambulance is the primary EMS provider for a rural area in the northwest section of the state covering about 375 sq. miles. In 2011 they ran just over 300 calls with about 260 of them emergencies. They are largely dependent on subsidies from the area towns for their operational budget.
A FLORIDA WOMAN HAS BEEN ARRESTED and charged with setting the fire that destroyed one of the world's oldest cypress trees last month.
Florida State Archives 1920 photo
Firegeezer posted the video report HERE on January 16 about the tragic destruction of the 3,500-yr.-old tree that had its own state park. (Review that posting for the backgound on this story.) The next day an anonymous tip was left on the police CrimeLine phone that led them to eventually arrest Sara Barnes, 25, of Winter Park.
WOFL-TV Ch. 35 Orlando is reporting:
Sara Barnes, 25, of Winter Park, was taken into custody on Tuesday after investigators said they followed a tip received through Crimeline which came in on the day after the fire. Investigators said they conducted interviews and obtained a warrant which allowed them to search her computer and cell phone records. Barnes told investigators she set the fire while trying to use illegal drugs. She faces a felony charge of burning in public land.
During Tuesday's search, authorities also reported finding methamphetamine, scales and drug paraphernalia. As a result, Barnes and a second person, 41-year-old Jodi Hill, each face charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Other reports are saying that she had photos of the burning tree on her cell phone.
A NAKED MAN JUMPED INTO A PORT ROYAL, South Carolina, fire engine Friday afternoon around 4 pm and drove off in a mad, crash-filled journey that killed one person and wrecked six other vehicles.
WSAV-TV image
The engine was parked in front of an apartment building while the firefighters were inside tending an emergency medical patient when the man drove off with the engine at a high rate of speed. After plowing through an intersection and crashing into six cars and trucks, he careened farther where he struck a pedestrian who was walking down the sidewalk alongside his brother. The impact killed the pedestrian immediately and caused the fire engine to veer off into a wooded area where it crashed into a tree, heavily damaging the firetruck.
Lottie Campenella / WSAT-TV
(no explanation given why the tree is being laddered.)
"I've never seen a fire truck come out of nowhere like that," (one witness) said. "The truck didn't have its lights on. I knew it wasn't a fireman behind the wheel. It was faster than I've ever seen any fire truck go, and I've seen my fair share of fire trucks."
The collision with the pedestrian appears to have caused the man to lose control of the fire truck. It crashed into a wooded area between a Dollar General store and a nearby bowling alley, authorities said. The crash badly damaged the truck and trapped the man inside, Beaufort Police Deputy Chief Dale McDorman said.
When a Beaufort County paramedic and two Beaufort police officers tried to free the man from the wreckage, the suspect began fighting them, McDorman said. The man was then subdued, arrested and taken to Beaufort Memorial Hospital for treatment of injuries sustained in the crash, McDorman said. The officers and the paramedic also were taken to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries they suffered during the scuffle.
There has been no information released yet on who the madman is or where he came from to seemingly appear out of nowhere while naked.
LATE MONDAY NIGHT IN COLUMBUS, GEORGIA, an ambulance crew had just brought a patient to The Medical Center and before going inside to finish up, they locked all the doors of the ambulance and left the motor running in the sub-freezing temperature. However, the driver did remove the keys and took them with him. The Macon Telegraph continues:
The ambulance driver was at The Medical Center about 11:50 p.m. doing some paperwork with the ambulance’s engine running when Johnnie Carter, 36, described in police reports as a psychiatric patient, stepped outside, Columbus Police Lt. William Orlich said. “A patient walked out, jumped in the ambulance and took off,” he added.
Johnnie Carter
Paramedics with Mid Georgia Ambulance had just unloaded a 911 patient and the ambulance was locked at the time. The suspect forced his way inside the ambulance by breaking a window, said Amy Abel-Kiker, the ambulance company’s public relations director. “The paramedics were following the absolute correct protocol,” Abel-Kiker said. “It was very cold outside. The engine was running, but it was locked. The paramedic did have the keys in his pocket.”
That paramedic tried to stop the ambulance as Carter drove away, and was dragged 20 feet before being thrown from the vehicle. Police say Carter then drove south from the hospital before running the ambulance into PTAP (an auto accessories store), which is on 13th Street near Veterans Parkway.“He ran the ambulance into the building,” Orlich said.
PTAP before ^ (Google Street View)
PTAP after (Macon Telegraph)
Police found Carter sitting inside the business bleeding from cuts on his head. He was arrested without incident and, after being treated back at the hospital he started out from, was taken to jail where he is being held without bond until 8 am Wednesday. He was charged with criminal damage to property, aggravated assault, theft by taking motor vehicle, striking a fixed object and crossing the center line.
THE ENTIRE SALTVILLE (VIRGINIA) RESCUE SQUAD was indicted earlier this month on Medicare fraud charges. Virtually the entire membership, officers and directors were involved in schemes to defraud the federal government.
The Tri-Cities News continues:
The Saltville Rescue Squad is accused of falsifying doctor’s signatures and sending $2.65 million worth of fraudulent billing slips to insurance companies in a federal indictment unsealed Thursday.
Federal prosecutors allege that for nearly six years the squad chauffeured three able-bodied patients to dialysis treatment despite Medicare regulations that limit the service only to people in need of a stretcher.
In all, prosecutors hope to recoup from the squad $800,000, any vehicles bought with fraudulent proceeds, and 40 acres of rescue squad property, documents show. The indictment targets the entire rescue squad, its board of directors, business manager Eddie Wayne Louthian Sr., 59, of Saltville, and squad employee Monica Jane Hicks, of Meadowview, as the responsible parties.
Court documents state that the non-profit squad falsified the paperwork to transfer three patients to dialysis treatment from December 2005 until September 2011.
Investigators watched as the supposed invalid patients walked from their homes out to the ambulance where they were then loaded on the stretcher to be carried away. The indictment also says that the rescue squad held special meetings for the sole purpose of planning how best to commit fraudulent acts.
Read all the details of the scheme and investigation in the Tri-Cities NewsHERE.
As part of the prosecution, the federal authorities put a freeze on the squad's $300,000 bank account which effectively has shut them down leaving the area without emergency ambulance service.
Louthian faces a maximum penalty of 60 years in federal prison and Hicks could serve 25 years if found guilty of allegations that they sent $2.65 million worth of fraudulent billing slips to insurance companies from December 2010 until September 2011.
CLICK HERE to read the entire 19-page indictment (.pdf).
THE FORMER TREASURER OF THE MIDDLESEX Volunteer Rescue Squad in Urbanna, Virginia, was sentenced Wednesday to prison for stealing from the rescue squad's treasury.
Lewis Filling (Daily Press / Sabo)
Lewis Filling was a long-serving town employee who in the past had been a Town Councilor, also serving a term as Mayor, and spent eight years as Town Administrator. When he began serving as volunteer treasurer for the rescue squad in January 2005, he began stealing money from the squad just four months into his post and continued for five years.
The Daily Press reports:
Filling was sentenced by Circuit Judge R. Bruce Long to 25 years in prison, with all but 3 1/2 years suspended. Long said Filling's thefts were a "despicable violation of public trust." Filling recently sold some property and his attorney presented a cashier's check for $50,371 in restitution to the court.
Long also ordered Filling to pay court costs and serve 500 hours in community service upon his release from incarceration.
Officials with the rescue squad testified that the organization lost its nonprofit status with the IRS, was unable to buy essential equipment and may not be able to purchase a new ambulance as a result of Lewis' embezzlement and failure to manage the organization's bookkeeping records.
Follows Arrest of Firefighter From Same Department
THE FIRE CHIEF AND ANOTHER FIREFIGHTER from the Harvey Volunteer Fire Company No. 2 have been arrested by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office in Louisiana. They have been charged with spending about $45,000 of public funds in 2009 for personal uses including alcohol, fancy restaurants, and vacations.
Scott Berthelot, 47, was arrested Tuesday and booked for theft before being released on bond. He is the volunteer chief of the combination department and his arrest follows that of Michael Reason, reportedly the department's president, at Harvey who was charged on February 1. Reason was an employee at the Jefferson Parish Fire Training Center and he was suspended from his job in July when the investigation began.
Scott Berthelot
Jefferson Parish borders New Orleans to the south and all its fire departments are volunteer with additional staffing by paid firefighters provided by the parish. The Times-Picayune reports:
The spending was documented during an audit by the state legislative auditor's office, and that audit found large bar tabs, jewelry purchases and hotel bills for firefighters, their spouses and friends. The department's credit card also was used for personal purchases, including an iPod, computer games and sports memorabilia. Because of the information revealed in the audit, the Jefferson Parish Council has since revamped its policy on credit cards and placed tighter controls for all 13 fire departments in the parish
Harvey Volunteer Fire Company No. 2 has about 30 volunteers and an equal number of paid firefighters. It receives about $3 million from the parish each year, and serves about 25,000 residents in a 6-square-mile area.
EDDIE VELARDE WAS IN THE NEWS just 11 months ago after Firegeezer reported on his meltdown at a brush fire in New Mexico. Our lead paragraph in the story will help you recall the event HERE :
VELARDE, NEW MEXICO, VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT CHIEF, Eddie Velarde came unglued at a brush fire Tuesday and began telling the fire units on the scene to pack up and leave it to burn. The Associated Press is reporting that Velarde was screaming and calling in reports that people were trapped and to send more units when the fire wasn't anywhere near any structures. Then he called for a mass evacuation of the area around the 3-acre fire.
The Rio Arriba County Sheriff's deputies eventually arrested him and took him away.
Since then Velarde has been brought to court for concealing his identity and falsifying documents, and was also dismissed from the fire department by the county, but he still defiantly contnues to respond to incidents.
When the deputy filled out his arrest report last March he used a birthdate and social security number that Velarde had given him and it turned out that both numbers were wrong. The social security number belongs to a disabled woman who has never heard of Velarde. The deputy then used his sleuthing skills to find out the correct numbers and they disclosed that Velarde was a convicted felon.
He also used false numbers on his EMT certificate renewal and now the state health department is on his case, too. The county wants him gone, but Velarde's lawyer keeps getting the judicial hearings to dismiss the charges. KOB-TV ran this video report that pretty well sums up the events of the past ten months:
The Rio Grande Sun has a more complete report on the bonkers chief HERE.
Read last year's Firegeezer report on the original outbreak HERE.
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