$429,000 casino fraud trial to open for 2 in Pa. - Bloomberg

$429,000 casino fraud trial to open for 2 in Pa. - Bloomberg: "theft trial is set to begin for two men who allegedly swindled a southwestern Pennsylvania casino out of almost $430,000 by exploiting a software glitch.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in the trial of former Swissvale police officer Kerry Laverde and his roommate, Andre Nestor. They each face more than 650 charges including theft, receiving stolen property and conspiracy.

Authorities say Nestor persuaded an employee at the Meadows Racetrack and Casino to change a setting that enabled them to receive jackpots in a high-bet slot machine. Investigators say they also used a series of keystrokes that caused the machine not to record the higher payouts.

A third man charged in the scheme pleaded guilty Wednesday and has cooperated with investigators.

The trial in Washington County Court is expected to take a week or more."

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Consulate staff 'held over weapons'

The Press Association: Consulate staff 'held over weapons': "Two staff members at the British Consulate in Jerusalem have been arrested for allegedly selling weapons.
A Foreign Office spokesman said that two local staff members at the Jerusalem Consulate General had been detained by Israeli authorities.
He said: 'We are aware of reports that they may be charged with the illegal sale of weapons. We are urgently seeking confirmation of the charges.
'We have been told by the Israeli authorities that the investigation into our two employees is unrelated to the work they do at the consulate. It is not appropriate to comment further on what is an ongoing legal process.'
The arrests are reportedly linked to a plot to fire a rocket at a football stadium.
The two men, who were arrested on Sunday, allegedly helped obtain weapons for two other men planning the attack, the reports say.
No rockets were found and the alleged plot was in its preliminary stages when police swooped on the pair of Palestinian residents from East Jerusalem."

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Fraud suspect has criminal record | Canada | News | London Free Press

Fraud suspect has criminal record | Canada | News | London Free Press: "Renato Santoro, now under investigation for defrauding unsuspecting Americans over the telephone using his HSBC account, has a criminal record dating back to 1984.

The 57-year-old Montrealer has convictions for weapons offences, currency counterfeiting activities, insurance fraud and conspiracy, Quebec court records show.

His troubles with the law started in 1984.

Santoro pleaded guilty to charges that he illegally caused police to open investigation into a burglary that never happened and that he tried to defraud an insurance company of more than $200. He was fined $400 and put on two years probation.

In 1987, Santoro was back in court twice. He was first charged with being in possession of a series of unspecified items worth more than $1,000, while knowing they were the proceeds of crime. He was acquitted."

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Shakespeare book man to appeal - JarrowAndHebburnGazette

Shakespeare book man to appeal - JarrowAndHebburnGazette: "Raymond Scott, 53, was jailed for eight years last August after trying to sell the 17th century book – worth up to £3m – to fund a jet-set lifestyle with his young Cuban girlfriend.

He is now serving his sentence at HMP Castington, in Northumberland, after starting his sentence at Durham Jail, then transferring to Acklington, also in Northumberland.

Scott has now appealed against both his conviction and the length of his sentence.

Speaking from prison, Scott said: 'I did not think I would be convicted, and thought even if I was, the sentence would be just two or three years."

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Deadline for the capital murder case of Vincent “Vinny Gorgeous” Basciano the former boss of the Bonanno crime family.

Former Bonnano boss Basciano death penalty trial deadline set | The Mafia Today: "Finally Judge Nicholas Garaufis has set a deadline for the capital murder case of Vincent “Vinny Gorgeous” Basciano the former boss of the Bonanno crime family. Garaufis said he will not tolerate any more delays and that jury selection will begin on March 2. Basciano’s case is already over five years old and the trial has postponed giving both sides plenty of time to prepare. Garaufis put out an order that stated that no more request to postpone the trial will be accepted.

Basciano is already serving a life sentence in prison for a previous conviction for racketeering and murder. He has been housed in solitary confinement at a federal detention center while he awaits his upcoming trial date on this murder charge. This time around Basciano is facing a possible death penalty if convicted. Basciano was told a week ago to stop sending letters from jail to the judge as Basciano is trying to second guess his defense team by arguing legal points in writing directly with the judge.

Basciano’s trail will likely also see former Bonanno family boss Joseph Massino take the stand to testify against his former mob associate. Massino decided to turn rat after he was convicted and secretly taped conversations he and Basciano had while in prison together. "

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Chris Matthews’ in-law charged in plot to smuggle drugs - BostonHerald.com

Chris Matthews’ in-law charged in plot to smuggle drugs - BostonHerald.com: "Nearly six weeks ago, when federal agents intercepted the 79-foot sailboat Sarah Moira heading to the U.S. from Jamaica, they scored a major international drug bust — seizing the boat’s cargo of 4,497 pounds of marijuana and arresting the captain and his crew.

Local police are now revealing that the trail to this $8.1 million pot bust began some 1,500 miles away, in Dartmouth.

The captain of the vessel and the target of a federal probe is 58-year-old James Ormonde Staveley-O’Carroll, a shipbuilder and self-described firebrand liberal, whose daughter, Sarah, is married to Michael K. Matthews, the son of MSNBC 'Hardball' host Chris Matthews.


Staveley-O’Carroll is the owner of the Sarah Moira, a steel-hulled sailing vessel, which a task force of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents intercepted on Nov. 21 off the coast of Bay St. Louis, Miss."

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